Is Sony NW-WM1Z after 4 years of its release still a pinnacle DAP

[sabatar]

I have this question, is NW-WM1Z still a first line contender after all the surge of newer DAPs on the market? Is the fact that its price hasn't budged a dime really justified? I'm mostly after SQ and I love the Sony signature sound but I'm very hesitant to pay that much when AK SP2000 is a rival with the same cost.

 

[nc8000]

Today I would buy a 1A (second hand if I could get it) and then send it to Nayparm for his full mod to get something that is better than a 1Z for closer to half the price of a 1Z. That said I thorougly enjoyed my stock 1Z for 3 1/2 years before getting it modded and expect to use it as my main dap for another 10 years. And then add the MrWalkman modded fw to further elevate them. I know they dont do streaming, but they can act as BT receivers and as USB dacs

 

[etlouis]

Today I would buy a 1A (second hand if I could get it) and then send it to Nayparm for his full mod to get something that is better than a 1Z for closer to half the price of a 1Z. That said I thorougly enjoyed my stock 1Z for 3 1/2 years before getting it modded and expect to use it as my main dap for another 10 years. And then add the MrWalkman modded fw to further elevate them. I know they dont do streaming, but they can act as BT receivers and as USB dacs

I have on hand a second hand 1A... and I'm pretty happy with it especially with MrWalkman's Project Z. Is it good enough to be worth the shipping + mod costs? I'm usually terrified of shipping things around since there is a risk of losing the parcel or having it damaged in transport.

It is so much of an improvement over selling the 1A and getting something like a used WM1Z, or AK sp1000m or iBasso DX3000?

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[nc8000]

I have on hand a second hand 1A... and I'm pretty happy with it especially with MrWalkman's Project Z. Is it good enough to be worth the shipping + mod costs? I'm usually terrified of shipping things around since there is a risk of losing the parcel or having it damaged in transport.

It is so much of an improvement over selling the 1A and getting something like a used WM1Z, or AK sp1000m or iBasso DX3000?

I have only heard the stock 1Z, the modded 1Z and then A45 and A55 so can’t compare to any of the last 4 years other top daps but the reason I have not heard any is that with the 1Z I felt absolutely no desire to try anything else. The mod build on everything the 1Z already was, but after the mod the only difference between a modded 1A and a modded 1Z is the copper case. How much that affects the sound I don’t know but the 1A plus modding would by far be the much better value. As to shipping you just have to insure the parcel to match the replacement value of the contents

 

[sne4me]

The 1Z feels and performs very high end

 

[sne4me]

for the price you may consider flying to japan and testing them out in a sony store.

 

[sabatar]

for the price you may consider flying to japan and testing them out in a sony store.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Why fly to Japan........the Walkmans are in pretty much every city on Earth for sale?

Though I have heard stories of demo models having the original software. By the way I was at the flagship store in Tokyo and all the Walkmans were in Japanese? Before I knew about the Rockbox tool they had a domestic ZX300 that was only Japanese. The gal told me since I have the 1A and 1Z I should be able to navigate the Japanese ZX300 with no issues keeping the original language intact!

for the price you may consider flying to japan and testing them out in a sony store.

 

[Gamerlingual]

Heck yes it still is.

 

[sabatar]

LOL. You guys sold me it. I bought it and no regrets. I'm in love with the ease of use on all levels. The SQ is insane.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Cheers! You’ll love it!

 

[Gamerlingual]

Wonderful work. It is under appreciated.