[JSBachFan]

When do you get your M9? Really excited to hear your thoughts on it.

it will be shipped tomorrow, so I expect it to arrive in 2-4 days. I cannot wait ...
It was my wish to delay because the whole deal happened during my holidays

 

[Damz87]

Since soon I will be an M9 owner, would you still put M9 bellow WM1Z?
If so, which FW are you using on the 1Z?
And what would you say is better in the sound signature of the 1Z?

I would put M9 above WM1Z but I haven’t A/B’d them directly, and synergy is always a factor but as a general feeling, I think M9 is the better sounding DAP.

When I had a WM1Z, I used the DMP FEv2 CFW.

 

[Giru]

Update18th March 2022:

Revising my list as follows:

1. Quloos QA390 (WAV only Ultimate Firmware)
2. Shanling M30
3. Luxury & Precision LP6
4. Sony NW-WM1Z/Fiio M17 (DC Mode)/Cayin N8ii
5. iBasso DX220 MAX/Lotoo Paw Gold Touch Titanium
6. Sony NW-WM1A/Fiio M17 Battery/QLS QA361 (Extreme Firmware)
7. A&K SP2000T/Shanling M9
8. AR-M2
9. Cayin N8/Questyle QP2R/Chord Hugo 2 + H2Go
10. Shanling M8/Cayin N6ii R01
11. Fiio M15
12. Dethonray DTR1
13. Aune M2Pro

Notes: I wanted to audition the Cayin N8ii for soo long and finally did. This is an interesting dap with a very interesting and capable amp circuit. Lots of settings to play with.
- Classy looks and good build quality.
- The Tube Class A mode is the best with a very warm and mellow sound.
- In any mode the sound is oriented towards richness rather than absolute resolution.
- Bass texture is one of the best there is on a dap (gives the LP6 Ti a run for it's money)
- The only let down is the DAC of the N8ii. While its not bad, there is something left to be desired when it comes to overall resolution and detail retrieval.
- Soundstage could've been better.

I hope Cayin keeps on Improving this DAP with firmware updates etc. Lot's of potential in it, even at its asking price.

 

[vilhelm44]

1. L&P P6 Pro - the best sounding DAP I've had the pleasure of listening to by far! It constantly amazes me!
2. DX300
3. Shanling M8
4. Lotoo Paw Gold Touch
5. Sony WM1Z
6. Lotoo Paw Gold
7. WM1A K Mod
8. Hiby R8
9. Cayin N6ii
10. Cowon Plenue S
11. Cowon P1
12. Calyx M
13. DX200ti

 

[Rockwell75]

1) Shanling M9
2) Cayin N8
3) Shanling M8
4) Sony WM1Z
5) Questyle QP2R
6) AK SR25ii
7) Cowon Plenue 2 MKii
8) Cayin n6ii + E01/E02
9) Sony WM1A
10) Sony ZX300
11) Lotoo P6K

 

[Auricon]

Updated list:

1. Cayin N8ii
2. DX300MAX SS/Ti, Shanling M9
3. M17 Enhanced Over-ear headphone mode (DC)
4. DX312 + C9 / DX312 / DX311.2
5. M11LTD+

Interesting N8ii notes above, I have an alternate impression where N8ii detail, layering, resolution, soundspace and transparency is impressive, one of the best I've experience. VE EXT, EE EVO, UM Indigo, Traillii were used for impressions.

 

[JSBachFan]

1) Shanling M9
2) iBasso DX300 MAX
3) Shanling M8
4) iBasso DX220 MAX
5) FiiO M15
6) FiiO X7ii
7) FiiO X7
8) FiiO X5

 

[Quadfather]

Hello, I've always wondered about the Sony WM1Z. I had a very brief moment where I listen to a WM1A, which was the store owner's personal unit so I know it had a number of hours on it. I listen to that Walkman and I thought it is too warm sounding and the atmospheric details were so missing that I did not enjoy it. I compared the WM1A against a Kann Cube and felt that was a much better sounding dap. I took that cube home with me.

I am aware the Sony WM1Z has a faithful and even cult status so I always wonder if it was my personal taste or if that unit was setup with EQ or something else that made it sound like I was listening to a sound track that had Dolby Labs Noise Reduction turned on. I could not hear secondary wave sound echos or in some tracks even primary sound reflections.

Any thoughts? Now, I may not have been able to give that Sony a fair trial. I only listened to it for 30 minutes and maybe it was still not warmed up? It certainly had not opened up to me. Again, I am alway curious because it seems that many people love the Sonys. I am tempted to order one from Bestbuy to try it for a day or so and then return it if I hate it.

I am the type of listener that needs to hear the difference between Binaural recordings and studio mixes with artificial echos and reflections. If I can't tell the difference then I feel the dac or dap fails to give me the truth.

The NW-WM1A is amazing with Shure SRH1840 using balanced cables. It seems to be a DAP that changes drastically with pairings.

 

[JSBachFan]

Since on The Watercooler ranking lists (Preference Ranking) seem not to be what people jump on, I would like to try here again. Then I give up
Since we all have our sonic preferences, a pure Rank without giving a hint, of what sonic preference you have, might in the end be completely comparing apples and pears. So I got an idea about howo to not make the whole ranking idea too complicated, but bring a tiny bit of objectiveness into it.
Instead of just a rank I would like to give a separate rank on the two main aspects, that pop up all the time in comparisons and where I can feel, they are the main difference in preferences. (yes there is also bassheads and the likes, but then it would get too complicated again)

So I would propose to just do:
1. "clarity" which consists of clarity, resolution, stage and detail (not a fan of calling it "technicalities" since it sounds judging. Music is more then "technical" also for those who prefer better "clarity")
2. "musicality" which consists of flow of music, immersion, texture, foot tapping, "magic", ...

These are the terms, that I (we) used for 30 years now having come from record player / loud speaker Hifi. (Linn Glasgow TOTL stuff, some of which I still have)
The terms could still be the same, although we deal with different issues (mechanical issues vs. digital issues like Jitter etc.). Power btw. was and will always be an issue.
So often in all this years and hundreds of serious comparisons we had the conclusion, that A "sounded" better ("sound" = "clarity"), but B made more "music". And this curse seems to continue in the digital world. It is like if one aspect goes up when tuning, the other one automatically goes down. My feeling is, the DAP developers struggle with that, too.

So I give it a go for my last experince:
Rankin "x/y" is for "clarity/musicality"

Ranking by musicality preference
M9 --> 8/10
M8 -->7/9
3MAX -->10/8
220MAX -->9/7
M15 was like 8/6

Ranking by clarity preference
3MAX -->10/8
220MAX -->9/7
M9 --> 8/10
M15 --> 8/6
M8 -->7/9

Is that helpful?
Would others like to do that with their lists. For people like me with a clear preference, it would be a tremendous help.
Looking for new DAPs to consider I went up and down in this thread and only by knowing certain users got an idea, what might be interesting. Other ranks I simply could not understand at all and got the feeling, it is because the rank lacks the sound preferences.

Last remark: If necessary one day we can go higher than 10

 

[Klabauters]

Is that helpful?
Would others like to do that with their lists. For people like me with a clear preference, it would be a tremendous help.

very good approach - would give a lot more information in regards of the orientation of the device and if it would fit to your personal preferences ...

Maybe it would also make sense to name the Headphone used (maybe even name the indivividual best sounding headphone for the device).
For example the DX220Max sounded (for me) completely unbearable with the HD800s (balanced driven). With the T5P 2nd driven single ended it was very clear and also musical.

 

[JSBachFan]

Maybe it would also make sense to name the Headphone used (maybe even name the indivividual best sounding headphone for the device).

I didn't dare to ask, but yes, that would also be great.
In my case it is VE EXT. 220MAX voting was with VE Elyisium, which doesn't really change the rating in my expectation, since they have a similar characteristic.

 

[ljnew]

Update18th March 2022:

Revising my list as follows:

1. Quloos QA390 (WAV only Ultimate Firmware)
2. Shanling M30
3. Luxury & Precision LP6
4. Sony NW-WM1Z/Fiio M17 (DC Mode)/Cayin N8ii
5. iBasso DX220 MAX/Lotoo Paw Gold Touch Titanium
6. Sony NW-WM1A/Fiio M17 Battery/QLS QA361 (Extreme Firmware)
7. A&K SP2000T/Shanling M9
8. AR-M2
9. Cayin N8/Questyle QP2R/Chord Hugo 2 + H2Go
10. Shanling M8/Cayin N6ii R01
11. Fiio M15
12. Dethonray DTR1
13. Aune M2Pro

Notes: I wanted to audition the Cayin N8ii for soo long and finally did. This is an interesting dap with a very interesting and capable amp circuit. Lots of settings to play with.
- Classy looks and good build quality.
- The Tube Class A mode is the best with a very warm and mellow sound.
- In any mode the sound is oriented towards richness rather than absolute resolution.
- Bass texture is one of the best there is on a dap (gives the LP6 Ti a run for it's money)
- The only let down is the DAC of the N8ii. While its not bad, there is something left to be desired when it comes to overall resolution and detail retrieval.
- Soundstage could've been better.

I hope Cayin keeps on Improving this DAP with firmware updates etc. Lot's of potential in it, even at its asking price.

you have ar m2 really low

 

[Giru]

you have ar m2 really low

I kinda agree, but then again; look at the DAPs in the list bro, these are all heavy hitters.

The ranking is on the basis of absolute SQ and nothing else. It denotes how close a DAP is to a reference setup (a high-mid tier desktop setup) in performance based on SQ parameters.

Regardless, the AR-M2 is one of my favourites. It's form factor and powerful mellow sound are really an awesome combination. However it trails it's higher ranked peers in detail, texture, extension, dynamics, drive flexibility, etc.
I would love to see AR follow up this legend of a DAP with a capable TOTL contender

 

[ljnew]

I kinda agree, but then again; look at the DAPs in the list bro, these are all heavy hitters.

The ranking is on the basis of absolute SQ and nothing else. It denotes how close a DAP is to a reference setup (a high-mid tier desktop setup) in performance based on SQ parameters.

Regardless, the AR-M2 is one of my favourites. It's form factor and powerful mellow sound are really an awesome combination. However it trails it's higher ranked peers in detail, texture, extension, dynamics, drive flexibility, etc.
I would love to see AR follow up this legend of a DAP with a capable TOTL contender

But wm1z and m17 in same spot... Nah. Those 2 are separate. Wm1z surely isn't reference or desktop class.

So you would say wm1z surpassed ar-m2 in dynamics and the other areas you mentioned?

 

[JSBachFan]

But wm1z and m17 in same spot... Nah. Those 2 are separate. Wm1z surely isn't reference or desktop class.

wonder if this thread should not be named "Rank your best liked DAPs ..."

Coming back to the "more refined list" issue, that not only I brought up here before.
I could see WM1Z for being very "engaging, musical" high up in a rank and at the "same" level M17 high up for "impressively strong sounding".
And for that why not "liking" them the same although they are very diffent.

I am about to put my new rank having purchased a P6 Pro. So difficult to put a "sound rank" when you compare M9 (AKM) vs totally different P6 Pro (R2R). Both so nice and so different!