Official Sony DMP-Z1 Thread
Aug 9, 2018 at 12:13 PM Post #16 of 4,260
They have described it as transportable than portable,

But if it's not meant to be used while on the go. Why would you need batteries in the first place. It's also kind of redundant for a high end device like this as that's meant to be used in a low ambient noise environment. You'll lose most of the benefit if you use it noisy environment so you might just as well use a ZX300.
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 12:14 PM Post #17 of 4,260
https://www.sony.com.hk/en/electronics/walkman/dmp-z1

Official product description in English.

I don't think this is even originally considered for being transportable. Note the battery power/delivery system is being emphasised as supplying clean power, rather than making it movable. Having its own power supply seems more like a side effect rather than the intended goal, and further supported with the shape of the chassis (you REALLY don't what that knob damaged) and the price point of the device.

Have they release any info on the new IEMs from the show yet?
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 12:22 PM Post #18 of 4,260
But if it's not meant to be used while on the go. Why would you need batteries in the first place. It's also kind of redundant for a high end device like this as that's meant to be used in a low ambient noise environment. You'll lose most of the benefit if you use it noisy environment so you might just as well use a ZX300.

They've said why - the battery is to provide clean linear power in place of traditional AC/DC coupled transformers which they say introduce EMI inside the device thus degrading sound quality, and batteries just happens to be the right solution they settled on instead of more shielding/improving the transformer etc. Again, the original goal doesn't seem to be using batteries for portability/transportation, but rather it became a side additional effect because of that choice.
 
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Aug 9, 2018 at 12:32 PM Post #19 of 4,260
They've said why - the battery is to provide clean linear power in place of traditional AC/DC coupled transformers which they say introduce EMI inside the device thus degrading sound quality, and batteries just happens to be the right solution they settled on instead of more shielding/improving the transformer etc. Again, the original goal doesn't seem to be using batteries for portability/transportation, but rather it became a side additional effect because of that choice.

OK, That makes more sense as the battery acts more as a filter/conditioner rather than a power source.
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 12:42 PM Post #21 of 4,260
This has to be one of Sony’s more bizarro product releases. It is waaaaaay overpriced for what it offers. I dont see it doing well at all, at least in the US. :fearful:
 
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Aug 9, 2018 at 1:02 PM Post #22 of 4,260
If Sony sell even a thousand of these, it's over couple million dollars of revenue.

There are loads of products audiophile companies have released at what appears to be silly prices over the years. These arent a massmarket product.
Esoteric sold a world clock for 24k USD.

The margins here are insane as well, 4497 and tp1620a2 chips are cheap.
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 1:06 PM Post #23 of 4,260
This has to be one of Sony’s more bizarro product releases. It is waaaaaay overpriced for what it offers. I dont see it doing well at all, at least in the US. :fearful:
I don't see Sony selling these in the US
The target market of these devices are Asia, namely Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China. That's why they hold this press release in Hong Kong
But then again, the DMP-Z1 itself will be a very, very exotic device. Sony probably estimated only about 5 or 10 shipments per month maximum
Most of the high-end sale will be on the IER-Z1R, M7, M9 and the Z7M2
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 1:07 PM Post #24 of 4,260
If Sony sell even a thousand of these, it's over couple million dollars of revenue.

There are loads of products audiophile companies have released at what appears to be silly prices over the years. These arent a massmarket product.
Esoteric sold a world clock for 24k USD.

The margins here are insane as well, 4497 and tp1620a2 chips are cheap.

The DAC chips are never the expensive part in any summit fi audiophile system as they are usually the only mass produced parts that can be made cheap. Hell most audiophile grade capacitors easily cost more than the chips.

The attenuator in this device is said to be worth 1000 bucks here.
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 1:12 PM Post #25 of 4,260
I might be willing to spend $1.8K on a pair of Z1R headphone but no way am I spending $7.5K on a DAC AMP, I guess it would be ok if you don't have the proper space for a traditional Hi Fi setup. If I'm going to spend that much, I would rather spend it upgrading my fully -restored KEF 105.2 to The R900 or the B&W 700 series. At least I can enjoy my collection of over 300 vinyls with those.

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Aug 9, 2018 at 1:15 PM Post #26 of 4,260
The attenuator in this device is said to be worth 1000 bucks here.
sooo what is it made of?? Unicorn farts harvested during blood moon only?

Price is whats people willing to buy it for and not added value of parts
but it looks overpriced - market will agree/correct very soon
Asia is a big market for overpriced gear where gear is measured/valued
by its price tag and not performance... - by mostly everyone
 
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Aug 9, 2018 at 1:38 PM Post #27 of 4,260
As good as DMP looks, the price point will be the sticking point even for those who do spend big bucks for high end stuff. I would say the current 1Z (or 1A)+TH+1ZR is a much better value proposition versus the DMP alone.
Will be very interested in trying out the new IE-1ZR to compare with my Just Ear. Will not be buying though as I still have to amortize my Just Ear but down the road, when they do come down in price (like most things do), I would not mind picking up a pair , assuming they are as good or close to Just Ear. My upper limit on price though would be $ 1000
 
Aug 9, 2018 at 1:38 PM Post #28 of 4,260
sooo what is it made of?? Unicorn farts harvested during blood moon only?

Price is whats people willing to buy it for and not added value of parts
but it looks overpriced - market will agree/correct very soon
Asia is a big market for overpriced gear where everything is measured/valued
by its price tag and not performance...

Alps had been making volume pots which sells for more than 1k since the early 00s, it's really nothing new in the audiophile world.

Also to be perfectly clear and fair, a pure analog potential meter that doesn't introduce any distortion is extremely hard to make and requires very high precision in both tools and material. Even a stepped attenuator using resistors cost a lot due to complexity and component costs (refer to Burson Audio's volume pot). As a rule of thumb, high quality pure analog components are always going to be very expensive to make, that's just physics at work and had always been the case ever since electronics were introduced. Heck the reason we moved from tubes to transistors is preciously because tubes became cost prohibitive to make at very good quality.
 
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Aug 9, 2018 at 1:56 PM Post #29 of 4,260
Stupid pricing. Nothing more to say. We all still thinking astell and kern is price gouging. Sony rode that bandwagon. 3k for a dap was already absurd but this dwarfs it. Makes a chord Dave at 8k look like a good deal.

Or get Hugo tt2 and an mscaler lol.

Or a yggy analog 2 plus totl headphone amp and a focal Utopia. Lol....all for a pair of ak4497 chips and a golden pot. I wouldnt turn down a chance to hear it, but it's bound to fail
 
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Aug 9, 2018 at 2:13 PM Post #30 of 4,260
Alps had been making volume pots which sells for more than 1k since the early 00s, it's really nothing new in the audiophile world.

Also to be perfectly clear and fair, a pure analog potential meter that doesn't introduce any distortion is extremely hard to make and requires very high precision in both tools and material. Even a stepped attenuation using resistors cost a lot due to complexity and component costs (refer to Burson Audio's volume pot). As a rule of thumb, high quality pure analog components are always going to be very expensive to make, that's just physics at work and had always been the case ever since electronics were introduced. Heck the reason we moved from tubes to transistors is preciously because tubes became cost prohibitive to make at very good quality.

Yeap I know Alps is making pots for ridiculous money for decades it doesn't mean they are worth it... Patek Philippe makes watches for 50k and up it doesn't mean they measure time better than 10 USD casio - but the difference is watches might be treated as jewellery where SA or any volume pot is very hard to treat as one... So unless you treat your audio gear as a fine art... I like to use mine to listening to music
 

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