[sanguineburrito]

If there is a Sony religious cult here, you would be the inspiration to everyone here lol.
Your active participation gives life to this thread. Your determination to rent the device multiple times is some real dedication. And the long list of Sony gears that you own.. i think i need to work on my Sony fanboy game lol

 

[sanguineburrito]

Thanks for letting me know! I am also eying LCD-5 to try out. I did audition LCD-4z in comparison to Hifiman HE1000V2, the latter won for detail retrieval, but lost in the bass territory. Do you on anyone knows of a store in the US that has LCD-5 to try out? Thanks again!

I tried lcd5 with DMP. I think DMP can drive it. Has good detail, sense of space and dynamics. Very good all rounder. Listening volume usually at around 12-2pm via balanced. I dont reside In the states at the moment, so maybe check out the lcd5 thread for locations.

 

[pdL389]

When you say you were looking dor the amp. Was it the TA-ZH1ES?

I dis try the TA and the SMP and for me too the SMP WON. I also tried other DAPs likeibasso 300 abd a SP2K. DMP still has the best perf, and that is the reason i got it.

Nope, I auditioned Sony TA-ZH1ES three times at Audit Advice, Raleigh, NC and although it has the same tonality of Sony WM1Z and DMP, it did not sound as clean as DMP did to my ears. Simply put, TA-Z just didn't offer the same level of refinement in music reproduction. DMP-Z1 does it with finesse (it is a Rolex in music!)

 

[pdL389]

I tried lcd5 with DMP. I think DMP can drive it. Has good detail, sense of space and dynamics. Very good all rounder. Listening volume usually at around 12-2pm via balanced. I dont reside In the states at the moment, so maybe check out the lcd5 thread for locations.

TY!!

 

[nanaholic]

Fully customised? Really? The linked article states that they tried to customize it and failed because the original one sounded the best and so they gave up. Maybe we have different definitions of "Fully Customised". For me, doing minor adjustments that doesn't matter to be able to implement it in the device is not fully customised.

You are cherry picking the interview - it's fully customised because in the beginning they tried changing the body with different materials instead of the original brass (such as substituting it with aluminium) but found them not as good as the original, Sony then suggested they try using the gold plating method over copper they've invented in the WM1Z and apply it to the RK501, which they then did by first plating the brass body with copper, and then plating it with gold to get the fully customised RK501. It is fully customised because Alps never had this in their line up for the RK501 and it was Sony who provided them with the know-how to do it - this is exactly how fully customised is supposed to mean, as in you can't buy it as it is from the seller.

And yes the Kimber Cable is just Co Engineering by Kimber but what is the point here?

Then it's not "off the shelf" - which is EXACTLY the point, because you were criticising the DMP-Z1 for it not being as "exotic" as the Chord Hugo TT2 because it is using "off the shelf parts", if Sony co-created the cables with Kimber and as a result they are using parts which is only available to them, then it's not "off the shelf" anymore is it?

This really is nitpicking the hard level and why do discussions about the DMP-Z1 always feel like I'm discussing with an religious cult.

Because you started off with a poor definition of what "exotic hardware" means, if you aren't prepare to defend it, don't cry about it now.

Sony buys the DAC, the Amp and the volume knob of the shelve and your argument is "But Chord bought the FPGA". What level of arguing is this?

It's just a music player, gosh. It's not a holy grail. There are devices that measure better and if you prefer achromatic amps, there are devices that sound better too.

You were claiming Chord uses "exotic hardware" which made it superior to the DMP-Z1 - but that's objectively wrong. Chord uses common electronic hardware but made it special with SOFTWARE. To me actual "exotic hardware" would be like the Sony S-Master - a IC chip that is COMPLETELY fabricated by Sony themselves in their own chip fabs that's not sold to any other OEM even if they want it, not a Xilinx FPGA chip that is programmable by a 500 dollar Windows PC with a USB port and a 3000 dollar Xilinx FPGA kit that you and I can buy off Mouser (and again, the special source is COMPLETELY in Rob Watt's software code).

I love Chord products myself and happily paid for them before (I've owned a Mojo and a Hugo 2) because yes, they and Sony are the only two company that pushes the envelope in either creating dedicated hardware or fully supplementing available parts with their own sound-related technology that's not simply a different software UI. You have to frame the issue in the proper context, which IMNSHO, you weren't doing. You can open up a Chord product and even completely copy their internals, but without Rob Watt's software, it's not a going to make it a Chord product. On the other hand for the DMP-Z1, you can't get the same RK501, you can't get the same Sony Kimber Kable (though arguably you can buy direct from Kimber and get a better cable), and you most definitely can't get the DSD Re-mastering engine source code. So using your metric, wouldn't that actually make the DMP-Z1 more "exotic hardware" than the Chord products?

 

[Rob49]

Obviously @nanaholic you KNOW that you’ll be receiving a reply !

 

[Rob49]

What’s your “go to” headphone with the DMP-Z1 ?

 

[gerelmx1986]

What’s your “go to” headphone with the DMP-Z1 ?

I use MDR-Z1R and IER-Z1R. Drom the two the MDR sounds bewt. The IER sounds good too with ciatom tips but they shift the weight outwards and become incomfortable as the tips are now the weight beatrfs

 

[Rob49]

I use MDR-Z1R and IER-Z1R. Drom the two the MDR sounds bewt. The IER sounds good too with ciatom tips but they shift the weight outwards and become incomfortable as the tips are now the weight beatrfs

I can’t tolerate IEM’s. As you know, my “go to” headphones are my Sony 1AM2’s & for me I don’t find that I can listen for hours on end with my MDR-Z1R’s. ( I have Senn HD660S, which I don’t think I’ve given a really good try out. ) Nothing sounds bad to me, but was just thinking of a future alternative ??

 

[gsiu33]

The reasons are twofold.

1. To spend 9k on portable unit involves an act of devotion to the Sony brand which is analogous to being a cult member (because, after all, you're not paying for sound performance but for being peak Sony).
2. This commitment carries with it anxiety about whether the chosen path is the correct one. To fend off buyer's remorse, a certain degree of psychological gymastatics are required, which manifests itself as defensive behaviour.

The results: thorny users.

Firstly, it is not a portable DAP, I will not carry a DMP-Z1 to go for hiking, only with a WM1Z. I bought DMP-Z1 after listened to it for 6 - 8 times at Sony demo room and made the decision because of its performance. BTW, I never consider myself as a Sony‘s fan.

 

[gerelmx1986]

One month with it buen on so far

 

[nanaholic]

Obviously @nanaholic you KNOW that you’ll be receiving a reply !

If he has anything constructive counter arguments to say then I welcome it.

Instead what I find more interesting are people like Vamp898 and Nostoi going around implicating Sony users they've made the wrong choice and got ripped off because they simply don't know better (just realised I replied to Vamp898 in the ZX-500 thread as well, pretty much saying the same things, and ironically, he claims the Sony Walkmans are overpriced for using the S-Master chips, which in this very thread using his own arguments, the S-Master would be an exotic piece of hardware which warrants a price increase). The presumptions they make here are fascinating, because if anything what I find is that DMP-Z1 buyers - like myself - usually knows EXACTLY what they are buying and have more experiences with multiple types of gear of all price points, yet just find the DMP-Z1 to fit that specific usage scenario the best. As I've mentioned in this very thread before, I was initially considering buying a Hugo TT2, but decided against it because a) I physically move around a lot (as in move between cities and countries), I don't want to be tied to a heavy desktop device, and b) the DMP-Z1 is a true all-in-one device, unlike the Hugo TT2 where I still need to supply it with a source. I made the conscious decision to pick the device with the least compromise to me and I wasn't buying for things like "peak Sony" or anything of that kind.

 

[Rob49]

If he has anything constructive counter arguments to say then I welcome it.

Instead what I find more interesting are people like Vamp898 and Nostoi going around implicating Sony users they've made the wrong choice and got ripped off because they simply don't know better (just realised I replied to Vamp898 in the ZX-500 thread as well, pretty much saying the same things, and ironically, he claims the Sony Walkmans are overpriced for using the S-Master chips, which in this very thread using his own arguments, the S-Master would be an exotic piece of hardware which warrants a price increase). The presumptions they make here are fascinating, because if anything what I find is that DMP-Z1 buyers - like myself - usually knows EXACTLY what they are buying and have more experiences with multiple types of gear of all price points, yet just find the DMP-Z1 to fit that specific usage scenario the best. As I've mentioned in this very thread before, I was initially considering buying a Hugo TT2, but decided against it because a) I physically move around a lot (as in move between cities and countries), I don't want to be tied to a heavy desktop device, and b) the DMP-Z1 is a true all-in-one device, unlike the Hugo TT2 where I still need to supply it with a source. I made the conscious decision to pick the device with the least compromise to me and I wasn't buying for things like "peak Sony" or anything of that kind.

I respect that, but as I’ve clearly posted on here, I see what the situation & behaviour is.

They will inevitably always contradict themselves, eventually, by trying to dictate the discussion.

The prime motive is to get a reaction. It’s not about a product, that’s just a tool to use, to get the reaction.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Like @nanaholic said. I was also decided between a TA-ZH1ES or an Hugo2 . I rought it many times as i always wanted a dedicated streamwr like the HAP-S1 to have all my music in one place wirhout having to access the computer.

I also wanted a special “limited edition” sony gear like the famous qualia.

Then i tried it on Berlin and ipon hearing the SMP, i knew WHAT I WANTED, it somply ricked all my boxes.

I dont feel being ripped-off it is well conatructed, firmware is solid, the sound is like no pther.

I still praise sony S-Master and the steps they have made to counter noise from it… from the walkman X series bavk on 2009 that hissed like a corronmouth snake to thw silent WM1A. I wonder how’s the performance of the new S-master found in the SA-Z1.

 

[gerelmx1986]

The included power supply is indeed very goid. I see the battery modus as a convenience for the case of a power outage and for yravel )on a Train or plane)