Doing a little listening whilst kids are playing in the park. All I have are much older DAPs as comparisons - bearing in mind that the 1Z is what I’ve been used to for the past 8 yrs.
My prelim notes after ~110 hrs of burn in of the AMP15
I hear more than what I would have missed on the NW-WM1Z. Wider, more detail but somehow I wanted more articulation in the DX340.
The 1Z OTOH is warmer, more intimate, and seems to have a little more smearing of detail but feels more musical & more emotional - coloured but in a positive “close to heart” way.
The DX340 with AMP15 feels more neutral, raw & sterile. I assume colourless is due to the AMP15 - I haven’t burnt in AMP16 yet.
Capability-wise, DX340 is powerful
but I haven’t tried my Susvara yet (Edit: yes I have now). More power than the WA11 Topaz on paper but volume wise seems comparable.
The weight - crazy! I thought my 1Z was heavy enough, the DX340 is heavier. Need new pouch to carry it. It doesn’t fit in my Volk Tactical side pocket that the 1Z lives in.
UI - prefer Sony’s best but at least DX340 is faster than my vintage DX200 (it better be!!)
Buttons are a little annoying. I keep accidentally pausing pressing. Haven’t investigated any button locking yet but everytime I pick up the DX340, I have a 50/50 chance of pausing or rewinding.
Same with the volume dial. I have to disable with screen is asleep but at the same time when I want to change I have to wake it up.
I’ll be searching for DX340 cases tethered by a wrist strap attachment where I can pull it out of a bag or pocket.