Seeing 'DAC in a PC sony nw-zx505 ?' prompts me to write this:
Certainly it's strange to have Android models get rid of the USB DAC functionality.
I also would like clarification on the sony nw-zx505. JD sells it at a reasonable price. But I want to dig deeper into the sony nw-zx505. If all the DSP effects were removed from it, would the Sony House Sound (Sony hardware only) still be worth that (still) high price when compared to
Device | SINAD (dB) | SNR (dB) | Vrms |
---|
Apple USB-C to 3.5mm | 98 | 113 | 1.039 |
Values from AudioScience.
Or Tempotec HD Pro, which is the only cheap yet high specs product (other than IVX's USB DAC prototypes) in
AudioScience currently
.
Anyone can use Android on a phone obviously, and if 3.5 mm is now on par with balanced with the latest firmware, and by December Sony will port DSEE HX AI into Music Center for PC, then anybody should be able to use a PC, install software, plug in the Apple USB-C ( CS46L06-CWZR ) and use Sony MDR-ZX110 to achieve good Sony sound with just $35 AUD. All the praise I have read in this thread is not yet enough to make one grab nw-zx505 and flash its firmware, then grab MDR-M1ST and perhaps Kimber Kable for balanced connection.
Seeing as the beloved A105 walkman has such bad specs over 3.5mm, what is one to say about Sony's incredible audio? Do the engineers know something secret about good sound with bad specs and bad sound with good specs? Isn't a USB cable far more cheaper and portable compared to the large frame walkman?
My background in audio includes CXD9872 of Sigmatel, IDT found in VAIO, which could record DSD over mic in when it changed to ALC889DSD in 2008, and ALC1220 (DSD128 capable) found in game boards, which unfortunately isn't able to work with VAIO software in the same way...then recently ALC4042, 4050, 5686 all can do DSD256 but the implementing engineers often turn DSD mode off. I'm a fan of onboard audio and more recently, of these USB C adapters which were a dream only a few years ago. I collect DSD CDs (SBM Direct processed off Sonoma software) and upscale SBM-D 24/44.1 files back to DSD, trying to find out if it's the same as the source DSD master. SBM-D sounds good, and it seems (subjectively) that no other DSD2PCM converter, Philips, Saracon, TEAC or others can match it. I also do 60000 taps FIR filter processing to upscale PCM to DSD, using the software Ama Ama Audio Visual の sunacchi 様が作成された PCM-DSDコンバータ version1.5. Finally, before DSEE HX got ported to PC, Wave Pcm Upconvert Player was the only PCM upconverter available as freeware.
Finally, I have to say, walkmanuser's writing makes one want to try out ZX505.
And if Cirrus Logic sounds better compared to sabre-like ESS, how does Cirrus Logic compare vs S-Master HX?