[kiteki]

Lol.

 

[xszing]

It's available again at $164 at sony.com (US).
 
Don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two gaaaaaaaaah
 
Dead-RInger: I can't compare with iPods and such but the Z's sound is very rewarding; paring it with good headphones will of course make a big difference. The included headphones are decent but upgrading feels like lifting a veil over the music. My ATH-M50 sound great, as well as my XBA-4, although the latter do seem to depend a lot on the recording itself. Blonde Redhead's Not Getting There sounds amazing - and this is off exfm not even lossless...
 
Anyone find another option for a case beyond the usual suspects?

 

[kiteki]

It's available again at $164 at sony.com (US).
 
Don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two gaaaaaaaaah

 
I started saying don't need two don't need two don't need two then clicked proceed to cart........... then......
 
"32GB Android Walkman Z MP3 Player NWZZ1060BLK is currently not available. Please remove it from the cart before proceeding."
 
...well that was fast.

 

[Fizz]

Quote:

It's available again at $164 at sony.com (US).
 
Don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two don't need two gaaaaaaaaah
 
Dead-RInger: I can't compare with iPods and such but the Z's sound is very rewarding; paring it with good headphones will of course make a big difference. The included headphones are decent but upgrading feels like lifting a veil over the music. My ATH-M50 sound great, as well as my XBA-4, although the latter do seem to depend a lot on the recording itself. Blonde Redhead's Not Getting There sounds amazing - and this is off exfm not even lossless...
 
Anyone find another option for a case beyond the usual suspects?

I can make a minor comparison.
 
Having 3 dedicated sources at my disposal I've compared the Ipod Touch to my Cowon J3, and my Cowon to my Walkman Z.
 
Cowon beat out the iPod quite thoroughly, and my Walkman Z out muscles my J3.

 

[kiteki]

 
Cowon beat out the iPod quite thoroughly, and my Walkman Z out muscles my J3.

 
 
You're making me excited.  I don't get how everyone can like the Sony Z so much, it just seems to kill off everything, what does it do?  Lol.  Hurry up and arrive.

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

Makes me wonder, are they killing these off to bring some new walkmans in line.
 
50% off something this good, I dont remember any other mp3 player or other sony walkman with such a huge discount.
 
Maybe save the money to get the newer model (if there is one coming out soon).
 
 
For me, the Z series is the better sounding than the F even without equalization. It was more detailed and has more clarity & less bass than F series. Looks wise the Z is much better even for watching movies. Although the F has the advantage of playing FLAC, I have no advantage of listening to it while outside. For me mp3/flac sound the same in a noisy environment which even the best NC headphones cant cancel out.

 

[kiteki]

The Sony F stands for Flac?  Lol, FLAC suxxx (there, I said it).  Fill your DAP up with lossy, use lossyless at home.

 

[turokrocks]

Makes me wonder, are they killing these off to bring some new walkmans in line.

50% off something this good, I dont remember any other mp3 player or other sony walkman with such a huge discount.

Maybe save the money to get the newer model (if there is one coming out soon).


For me, the Z series is the better sounding than the F even without equalization. It was more detailed and has more clarity & less bass than F series. Looks wise the Z is much better even for watching movies. Although the F has the advantage of playing FLAC, I have no advantage of listening to it while outside. For me mp3/flac sound the same in a noisy environment which even the best NC headphones cant cancel out.

The Z will will get the flac treatment in the coming 2 weeks.

 

[Fizz]

Quote:

 
 
You're making me excited.  I don't get how everyone can like the Sony Z so much, it just seems to kill off everything, what does it do?  Lol.  Hurry up and arrive.

I'll go into a bit of detail.
 
With my J3 music sounded boring unless I used BBE and EQ effects, at which point it came alive. I loved my Cowon for well over a year constantly finding new ways to tweak the sound.
After ordering the Z1060 as a gift for my brother as a replacement for his dying walkman he bought in 2009, I gave it a listen and was immediately blown away as to how good it sounded with the EQ off. Then I flicked on ClearBass. I was in love.
I knew I had to have one. I promptly bought a 1070 off the FS forum did a head to head comparison and found that my new Z sounded superior and far more natural.
Comparing several songs I like to use for reference I found that the J3 had a larger sense of distance between intruments, but not necessarily in a good way.
Charlie Brown by Coldplay sounded far too spaced out, and pushed back in comparison. Now matter how I EQ'd I wasn't getting a good sense of intimacy without giving up something else.
With The Walkman it sounded so natural. Everything was accurately positioned, and while the soundstage could still reach far out it never felt so far that I had to struggle to hear it. Chris Martin's voice sounded closer and clearer, while Jonny Bucklands guitar was much easier to hear. The rumble of Guy Berryman's bass had resounding power, while managing not to drown out any detail. Everything just sounded so.... right.
It seems that a mix of a quality DAC and internal amp make this player feel so much more alive than anything else I've ever heard.
I was previously thinking of trying to find an upgrade to my JH10X3's mistakenly believing that they may have been the part of my set up I was wanting more from. After using them with My Z, it has become apparent that they weren't ever the issue.

 

[Fizz]

Quote:

The Sony F stands for Flac?  Lol, FLAC suxxx (there, I said it).  Fill your DAP up with lossy, use lossyless at home.

I'm in agreement with you here.
It might be audiophile taboo, but I'm under the belief that the only audible difference between FLAC and MP3 is a few db difference in the volume leveling and nothing more.
This was an opinion formed after thorough back-to-back testing. FLAC is a complete waste for when you're on the go.
Quote:

The Z will will get the flac treatment in the coming 2 weeks.

So we'll be getting ICS?
Where'd you hear that?

 

[purk]

Sorry...double posted.

 

[purk]

Quote:

I'm in agreement with you here.
It might be audiophile taboo, but I'm under the belief that the only audible difference between FLAC and MP3 is a few db difference in the volume leveling and nothing more.
This was an opinion formed after thorough back-to-back testing. FLAC is a complete waste for when you're on the go.
So we'll be getting ICS?
Where'd you hear that?

Well, you probably don't believe the benefits of LP & hirez either right?  The difference b/w FLAC and 320 kbps are small but audible with good headphones.  For me, the discerning differences are in soundstaging depth & imaging.  The bass is also slightly firmer as well.  Yes, in most portable listening it is overkill.  However if you own really good earphones/headphones, those improvements can certainly be appreciated even unamped on the F, A, Z waklman. 
 
ICS upgrade is anticipated for the Z some time in December.  It was posted on Sony Japan Site.

 

[kiteki]

The Sony F stands for Flac?  Lol, FLAC suxxx (there, I said it).  Fill your DAP up with lossy, use lossyless at home.

I'm in agreement with you here.
It might be audiophile taboo, but I'm under the belief that the only audible difference between FLAC and MP3 is a few db difference in the volume leveling and nothing more.
This was an opinion formed after thorough back-to-back testing. FLAC is a complete waste for when you're on the go.

 
Yeah, I like high-rez recordings, but mostly since the recording technique itself [expensive microphones, ADC, attention to detail etc.] was high-rez,
 
I think the DAC section, amp section, circuitry, firmware / software, and transducers (IEM's) used are more vital.  I didn't really believe in differences in software before but now I do (I use uLilith, ftr), various codec decoding isn't really perfect either - http://www.underbit.com/resources/mpeg/audio/compliance/
 
Digital audio isn't 1's and 0's - http://www.madronadigital.com/Library/DigitalAudioJitter.html
 
However to defend lossless, I think ABX testing (the most common) tends to mask the differences in anything quite a bit - http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue56/abx.htm
 
...plus, there is already some psychoacoustic masking in the lossy codec.
 
 
 

Originally Posted by purk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Well, you probably don't believe the benefits of LP & hirez either right?  The difference b/w FLAC and 320 kbps are small but audible with good headphones.  For me, the discerning differences are in soundstaging depth & imaging.  The bass is also slightly firmer as well.  Yes, in most portable listening it is overkill.  However if you own really good earphones/headphones, those improvements can certainly be appreciated even unamped on the F, A, Z waklman. 
 
ICS upgrade is anticipated for the Z some time in December.  It was posted on Sony Japan Site.

 
I like the Sony R10 in your picture!  Which IEM's do you use purk?

 

[purk]

Quote:

 
Yeah, I like high-rez recordings, but mostly since the recording technique itself [expensive microphones, ADC, attention to detail etc.] was high-rez,
 
I think the DAC section, amp section, circuitry, firmware / software, and transducers (IEM's) used are more vital.  I didn't really believe in differences in software before but now I do (I use uLilith, ftr), various codec decoding isn't really perfect either - http://www.underbit.com/resources/mpeg/audio/compliance/
 
Digital audio isn't 1's and 0's - http://www.madronadigital.com/Library/DigitalAudioJitter.html
 
However to defend lossless, I think ABX testing (the most common) tends to mask the differences in anything quite a bit - http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue56/abx.htm
 
...plus, there is already some psychoacoustic masking in the lossy codec.
 
 
 
 
I like the Sony R10 in your picture!  Which IEM's do you use purk?

Thanks.  I love my R10.  They are my pride and joy.  I use the JH13pro ampless on my F & Z walkman.  I also use it with my DX100.  

 

[Fizz]

Quote:

Well, you probably don't believe the benefits of LP & hirez either right?  The difference b/w FLAC and 320 kbps are small but audible with good headphones.  For me, the discerning differences are in soundstaging depth & imaging.  The bass is also slightly firmer as well.  Yes, in most portable listening it is overkill.  However if you own really good earphones/headphones, those improvements can certainly be appreciated even unamped on the F, A, Z waklman. 
 
ICS upgrade is anticipated for the Z some time in December.  It was posted on Sony Japan Site.

I don't want this thread to get side tracked, but I'll address my thoughts on this really quick.
I own very good earphones (10X3's as mentioned earlier) and no matter what I've used I've been unable to tell any real difference between FLAC and 320kbps, be it ABX or focused  My hearing is pretty good too, so it's not like that's where the issue lies either. Differences that I thought may have been there were shown to be false assumptions by simply switching back to 320kbps and listening for the same thing again.
As for high-rez I do like listening to dedicated high-rez for the same reason as Kiteki noted. Attention to detail by the Artists and Engineers makes a bigger difference than bit rate.
Listening to Jem's album Finally Woken I noted that even though I listen to it as VBR it sounds better than a lot of 320kbps albums I have since more time and effort was put into the recording process. Earlier Coldplay albums (Parachutes) demonstrate a better dedication to a pleasing experience to fans of music, than say Mylo Xyloto (despite my love for that album).
 
If you feel you have anything else to bring to the discussion (or anyone else) than we should continue that in PM, so as to keep us on topic.
 
I do look forward to getting ICS if Sony decides to push it globally, but they might not.
 
Quote:

 
Yeah, I like high-rez recordings, but mostly since the recording technique itself [expensive microphones, ADC, attention to detail etc.] was high-rez,
 
I think the DAC section, amp section, circuitry, firmware / software, and transducers (IEM's) used are more vital.  I didn't really believe in differences in software before but now I do (I use uLilith, ftr), various codec decoding isn't really perfect either - http://www.underbit.com/resources/mpeg/audio/compliance/
 
Digital audio isn't 1's and 0's - http://www.madronadigital.com/Library/DigitalAudioJitter.html
 
However to defend lossless, I think ABX testing (the most common) tends to mask the differences in anything quite a bit - http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue56/abx.htm
 
...plus, there is already some psychoacoustic masking in the lossy codec.
 

One must always consider the psychological effects when considering the outcomes of perception based testing.