[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FortisFlyer75 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, yes it is a charging dock station that the Walkman sit upright in and has a direct line out as the player does not have one itself, so you need to have one of these docks to do the direct line out to bypass the headphone amp to get better sq and you can just use a 3.5 miniplug cable connected to the lineout on the dock with the apropriate plugs your amp has the other end. I personally use a from the dock - viablue miniplug with ALO SXC cable with LOK rca's to my amp. I hope that made sense i am not the best at explaining these things either! I have mine hooked upto a Naim Headline amp which is a dedicated hifi headphone amp, but i guess there is nothing stopping you using a portable amp with it, unfortunetely i cannot comment on how it would perform with a portable amp as i do not own one, due to buying the X instead! lol It is handy as i can lsten to the player lineout without theoritical loss in transfer of the music to my ears and it charges at the same time as well as looking nice standing vertically in its nice posh dock! Also, i am not sure which players, i think those thin pen like flash players they done a while back 2-4gb had the ability to record music direct from another source through the line in on the dock, if i remember rightly.

FortisFlyer75 Thanks! This explains a lot. Just one more question haha. Is it possible to listen through the line out without powering the dock?

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jodiuh /img/forum/go_quote.gif The dock works wo/ being plugged into a pc right? I mean, you can get audio from the line out simply by plugging the device into the port...right?

It does work that way. I have mine set up exactly like that right now. Any mini to mini line out cable works.

 

[Jodiuh]

Thank you.

 

[dissembled]

No large improvements amping the unit with the dock? Oh, damn.

 

[Neeley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissembled /img/forum/go_quote.gif No large improvements amping the unit with the dock? Oh, damn.

If you have a revealing system there is, the top end is sweeter and overall the sound is more refined.

Powering the dock makes no difference, it's only for charging not the line out.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissembled /img/forum/go_quote.gif No large improvements amping the unit with the dock? Oh, damn.

To my ears the dock provides a bump in volume, and perhaps a bit more powerful sound over just amping via the HP out on the X by itself. When I had the Mustang and no cradle, I heard a very slight improvement over the X alone... you really had to concentrate to hear it when you were going back and forth with and without.

Now that I have the Shadow and ALO Rx, and the Sony cradle, I'm hearing a significant gain in SQ. It's actually making it a bit hard to go back to the Sony by itself. I think this speaks to the caliber of the sound that the Sony pumps out- that it takes amps at this level to create significant improvements over the X alone. With the X and its cradle, the ALO Rx, and the recabled HFI-780's, I have a work desk rig that is so stunning sometimes that I can hardly concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing! I find myself just closing my eyes and listening instead.

So I guess my point is... if you're interested in amping the X, don't skimp. Pick up something high end. That'll be required to gain much over the already great stock sound.

Pic of the work rig:

 

[dissembled]

Thanks a lot guys. The dock can be had for around $25...a fantastic deal. One of my qualms with the X Walkman is that it doesn't improve markedly when amped through its headphone out. If I didn't purchase the diyMod, the Pico would have seen very, very little use.

Knowing that this pup can improve even more with the cradle....brings tears to my eyes.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissembled /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks a lot guys. The dock can be had for around $25...a fantastic deal. One of my qualms with the X Walkman is that it doesn't improve markedly when amped through its headphone out. If I didn't purchase the diyMod, the Pico would have seen very, very little use. Knowing that this pup can improve even more with the cradle....brings tears to my eyes.

I do find that it improves pretty markedly with the right amps. Like I said I think it takes a very high caliber amp to make much of a gain over the X alone though. I find good results with both the Shadow and Rx running from the X's HP out with a simple Cardas mini to mini cable. But the dock adds in some more power, with its audio out.

 

[FortisFlyer75]

With my Naim Headline amp it definitely improves the SQ and the bass has tightened up even more sounding a bit more solid and controlled with a bit more information revealed and the same as the treble is a bit more clearer and detailed.

I would say it is an improvement using the dock line out, but i do not notice a huge difference (enough though) with my £600+ Naim amp to say it is hard to go back to the X by itself (thank god!) like CN11 said i think it is testimony to the amp that is inside the X and hopefully this is a milestone in how good a dap can sound and hopefully they will only get better with each generation that comes out.

I would say it improves my X a 10% SQ improvement if i had to give a percentage value.

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cn11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pic of the work rig:

Hey, that's a really nice little set up. What are you listening to when you need to be really portable? Is the Shadow small enough to tuck under the X? The Mustang was a bit chubby if I remember, well, obese compared with the Shadow. It looked tiny in the pics I saw.

 

[FortisFlyer75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cn11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pic of the work rig:

^^
Cool band!

This is a good test for the X with the very busy/heavy arrangement of music always sounding in control and making sense of everything that "Live" throws at it.

Muse sounds heavenly on the X also with their new album "The Resistance" in mind and also Florence & the Machines - Lungs (cool bass renditions happening there), what is everyone else's fav albums at the moment on the X?

 

[cn11]

Yeah, Live really helps get the energy going during those dragging work afternoons.

I don't have the new Muse album yet. I'll have to get it for sure.

 

[FortisFlyer75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cn11 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, Live really helps get the energy going during those dragging work afternoons. I don't have the new Muse album yet. I'll have to get it for sure.

If you like the last two Muse albums then you will def like this new album which does see them evolving a bit on this album.

 

[cn11]

Thanks, I will pick it up soon for sure....

Also, regarding the dock I just got, I noticed that it introduces distortion on demanding bass notes! I'm really bummed because I love the functionality of the dock. I have the X with +1 on CB, that's it on any sound adjustments. I started hearing it a couple days ago listening to some NIN, and I was thinking, what's that tinny sound whenever a really deep note hits? I thought there's no way the new ALO Rx could be the culprit, its clean power should do much to alleviate something like that. I unplugged the dock and ran my phones straight out of the ALO, and it was gone. So I knew the dock was the culprit. Unfortunately I'm going to have to return it as much of my music is demanding like that. I'm really, really bummed.

 

[naddy]

if you're using the line-out of the x through an external amp, you'll want to turn off the clear bass, otherwise it will cause distortion.