[Dithyrambes]

You forgot to mention usb dac...sony never includes this making it a deal breaker for me

 

[raypin]

Mm...yeah, usb audio support as well.

 

[Dithyrambes]

Limited connectivity options...closed ecosystem...laggy ui...proprietary 4.4m connection...no usb dac functionality, not great screen quality

They do this on purpose so that if you want to enjoy sound from other sources they want you to buy the pairing signature headphone amp.

For the all people who say sony built this from the ground up...no its based off the zx2. And for all the r and d they put in, still competing with an old device like the lpg..can't best the ak380 in sq or features even if it's older by a year....I don't know why people think it's the next best thing.

 

[TaylorDawe]

You forgot to mention usb dac...sony never includes this making it a deal breaker for me

Yes, although, imho, it's a pity that this function is disabled when the amp's live.

 

[raypin]

Mm...the bright spot is Sony is finally in the game (TOTL Dap) and no longer the monopoly of Astell & Kern. Competition is always good for us. The ZX2, which I still use, was not really a game-changer. Frankly, I'm confused why Sony even made it. Too expensive for the mainstream consumer market but not good enough for the TOTL audiophile segment.

 

[AnakChan]

I'm in e-earphone @ moment getting my AK380Cu/ampevaluated for sale/trade in/equal/down to NW-WM1Z and I have to say I'm still contemplating if I should go through with it.

Sonically to me they're more similar than different & 1Z is more full bodied but somehow I still feel it has a little smaller soundstage (yes the 1Z is well burnt in & so is my Cu) and less air.

From physical fit-in-hand OTOH, the Sony is absolutely lovely. Also the 4.4mm is a dream to solder for DIY cable makers. And of course it's battery life is currently legendary for a TotL DAP that supports DSD natively.

But from GUI perspective, maybe I'm too used to the AK but the 1Z is still not too intuitive & it's laggy.

I find it hard to make the decision to change over or not. Let's just say for me the 1Z is not an easy sure winner but at the same time has many attractive features.
 
Edit: 1 hr later. Decided to keep my AK.

 

[onlychild]

I'm in e-earphone @ moment getting my AK380Cu/ampevaluated for sale/trade in/equal/down to NW-WM1Z and I have to say I'm still contemplating if I should go through with it.


Sonically to me they're more similar than different & 1Z is more full bodied but somehow I still feel it has a little smaller soundstage (yes the 1Z is well burnt in & so is my Cu) and less air.


From physical fit-in-hand OTOH, the Sony is absolutely lovely. Also the 4.4mm is a dream to solder for DIY cable makers. And of course it's battery life is currently legendary for a TotL DAP that supports DSD natively.


But from GUI perspective, maybe I'm too used to the AK but the 1Z is still not too intuitive & it's laggy.


I find it hard to make the decision to change over or not. Let's just say for me the 1Z is not an easy sure winner but at the same time has many attractive features.

Edit: 1 hr later. Decided to keep my AK.

Good decision.

 

[raypin]

Mm..

 

[Fr_eak]

I'm in e-earphone @ moment getting my AK380Cu/ampevaluated for sale/trade in/equal/down to NW-WM1Z and I have to say I'm still contemplating if I should go through with it.


Sonically to me they're more similar than different & 1Z is more full bodied but somehow I still feel it has a little smaller soundstage (yes the 1Z is well burnt in & so is my Cu) and less air.


From physical fit-in-hand OTOH, the Sony is absolutely lovely. Also the 4.4mm is a dream to solder for DIY cable makers. And of course it's battery life is currently legendary for a TotL DAP that supports DSD natively.


But from GUI perspective, maybe I'm too used to the AK but the 1Z is still not too intuitive & it's laggy.


I find it hard to make the decision to change over or not. Let's just say for me the 1Z is not an easy sure winner but at the same time has many attractive features.

Edit: 1 hr later. Decided to keep my AK.

what's the reason for keeping the ak? I also have the ak380 + amp (standard version though) and equally interested in the WM1Z

 

[Fr_eak]

IMHO, yes, definitely.  I listen with EE Zeus XR and the amp provides a better depth and bass punch than without it.  Again, IMHO.

I am using the Noble Katana with the ak380 + amp too, and my experience is pretty much similar. The most significant differences are the soundstage (especially depth), body to the music (more solid and focus), and control on the bass (not stronger but tighter). I think the amp added a bit of warmth but the overall signature doesn't change.

I'm using low gain though, personally I don't like using high gain with iems.

However I do have one issue. With balanced out, there is a pretty audible background hiss when music starts playing. No noise at all from the 3.5mm output though.

 

[raypin]

mm..if I had not purchased the cu and cu amp earlier this year and faced with the choice, I would lean towards the Sony Z1R and WM1Z package over the cu and cu amp package (same investment cost). I like the Z1R. It is headphones over DAP, always.

 

[Element47]

Hi,
I wish you all a happy new year 2017!!

 

[Jalo]

@Anak, I still think that is a good decision. As crazy headfiers, we sometimes cannot help but wanted to try totl from the other brand. Now that I have both 1Z and CU in my hand, I eliminated that psychological barrier of the grass is always greener on the other side. My 1Z has reach 200 hours of burn in now but as far as the user experience goes, one very irritating aspect of the Sony is that when you go between screens there is a lag time of one to two seconds and you cannot creat a playlist from both system memory and SD card. Also, I seem to notice hissing in some of the songs more readily but I have to confirm on this one. Cu seems to be cleaner and the UI is the best. I am still holding out my impression on Sony as I don't feel I can fully grasp all aspect of the sound yet. At this point I think themtwo are on even ground with different strength for each. I have no desire to let go of the CU. I will miss the finer sound.

 

[TaylorDawe]

@Anak, I still think that is a good decision. As crazy headfiers, we sometimes cannot help but wanted to try totl from the other brand. Now that I have both 1Z and CU in my hand, I eliminated that psychological barrier of the grass is always greener on the other side. My 1Z has reach 200 hours of burn in now but as far as the user experience goes, one very irritating aspect of the Sony is that when you go between screens there is a lag time of one to two seconds and you cannot creat a playlist from both system memory and SD card. Also, I seem to notice hissing in some of the songs more readily but I have to confirm on this one. Cu seems to be cleaner and the UI is the best. I am still holding out my impression on Sony as I don't feel I can fully grasp all aspect of the sound yet. At this point I think themtwo are on even ground with different strength for each. I have no desire to let go of the CU. I will miss the finer sound.

And I couldn't live with that lag on the UI - I'll stick with my (ordinary) 380. Happy New Year to everyone!

 

[Malevolent]

  I'm in e-earphone @ moment getting my AK380Cu/ampevaluated for sale/trade in/equal/down to NW-WM1Z and I have to say I'm still contemplating if I should go through with it.

Sonically to me they're more similar than different & 1Z is more full bodied but somehow I still feel it has a little smaller soundstage (yes the 1Z is well burnt in & so is my Cu) and less air.

From physical fit-in-hand OTOH, the Sony is absolutely lovely. Also the 4.4mm is a dream to solder for DIY cable makers. And of course it's battery life is currently legendary for a TotL DAP that supports DSD natively.

But from GUI perspective, maybe I'm too used to the AK but the 1Z is still not too intuitive & it's laggy.

I find it hard to make the decision to change over or not. Let's just say for me the 1Z is not an easy sure winner but at the same time has many attractive features.
 
Edit: 1 hr later. Decided to keep my AK.

 
I wasn't a fan of the WM1Z's UI myself. It didn't lag too much, but switching between screens wasn't as fluid an experience as it is on the AK380. I can't really commend on its sound, though, since I wasn't able to get my micro SD cards working on the 2 separate occasions when I had the opportunity to audition the player.