Sony D-NE20 my personal REVIEW

[HiWire]

Hey hifiboom,

It looks like your player may have optical out... if you can swing extra dough, the new Headroom Micro DAC or something like it may be able to pull better sound quality out of your red discus. I don't think the North American versions have this extra jack.

Good luck in your search for earphone synergy.

 

[hifiboom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiWire Hey hifiboom, It looks like your player may have optical out... if you can swing extra dough, the new Headroom Micro DAC or something like it may be able to pull better sound quality out of your red discus. I don't think the North American versions have this extra jack. Good luck in your search for earphone synergy.

thank you HiWire, just tested the optical output and recorded the result with Sony Soundforge under WinXP. It does work fine. And it is a native 1:1 optical output. I mean it is not normalized volume to 50% or something like that, So your DAC Amp would work fine, but I won`t spent another 300 $ on my portable audio to make it as hard to transport as a regular standalone CD player with full headphone output for 100$.

Maybe i`ll just go and buy an iAudio M3 or the newer one with 20GB.

I want a portable device with good soundquality and good batt life ( but ~10h are enough for me) I don`t need 100hours... as the sony can do.

I like the sony very much, but I miss a little bit more soundquality, my neighbor has an iPod shuffle and not exactly sure but it is sounding better than this sony model ( but I just did 5 min comaring both ).

I don`t need the best audiophile headphone output, but I need something more brilliant than this Sony....

I`m sure if I buy the iAudio I will be satisfied....
or should i go with iPod?

I don`t want any AMPs !
That doesn`t fit my idea of a portable device. you need extra batts for the amp too, Thats a noGo for me.......
And I want one unit and not 2 or three.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zweroboi I agree with you Ubiza, synthetic and (almost) lifeless dne920 is.

Friends with the Wookies, I am...

 

[hifiboom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Friends with the Wookies, I am...

Little bit angry about my purchases, I am .....

mmmmmh I see:

(1) D211 after one day died
(2) D-NE20 not sounding good in my ears I tell you....

Quite ****ed up, I am ...

Power of the Yedi is needed.

 

[D-EJ915]

Whatever the sound, that is one splendid looking player; thanks for the pics

 

[hifiboom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-EJ915 Whatever the sound, that is one splendid looking player; thanks for the pics

and it would be a real Sony high-end product, if it would sound as good as it looks!!!

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by titaniumx3 LOL, that was funny, an overdose of star wars I guess? I totally agree though. If the D-NE20 sounds anything like my 1.5 mW D-NE10 then it definitely sounds lifeless. I think the main culprit is the 1.5mW amp, it just seems to suck the life out of the sound. I mean, I'd rather cutdown the battery life by 50% and have better SQ. Also with the top end discmans, sony only use one battery stick; why not use two? (I'm pretty sure theres enough space to fit 2 battery sticks on the D-NE10)

Sony AU's website specs the D-NE10 at 5 mW + 5 mW at 16 ohms, why is yours at 1.5mW?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN Sony AU's website specs the D-NE10 at 5 mW + 5 mW at 16 ohms, why is yours at 1.5mW?

The European-market D-NE10 is specced at only 1.5mW + 1.5mW @ 16 Ohms.

 

[hifiboom]

It is also possible that the european version has build in another amp, than the asia / us version and so have a different soundquality.... I found the EU D-NE700 (1,5mW) distorts at lower volumes than my Singapore D-NE20 ( 5mW ). Maybe its not just a volume cap..?

 

[Ubijza]

Hifiboom:

You know what?! I am not too sure about my DNE920 either now... I had a listen with my favourite MDR-E848 earbuds (I think that is their model no - i am not sure... I got them with my first D211, so they are vintage and very, VERY high quality. Supreme in detail, extremely tight,ultra super crystal clear - fantastic earbuds! Beat Seenheiser PXC-250 IMO quite easily in sheer detail when paired with the D211. (admitbly terrible) picture of them:http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/14608540647.jpg&s=x4 They do need some power though - D211 drives well them on the "4" volume setting, where as DNE920 needs to be pretty much full power (5mW)) and... suprise surprise! it(the 920) sounds GOOD! Like you said only *slightly* worse then the (let's face it - legendary) D211... (*slightly* more synthetic, duller). I'll listen some more over the weekend and report my findings.

For fixing your D211 I was refering to the sticky "DIY Discman Repair" thread in this forum http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30179

 

[hifiboom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubijza Hifiboom: You know what?! I am not too sure about my DNE920 either now... I had a listen with my favourite MDR-E848 earbuds (I think that is their model no - i am not sure... I got them with my first D211, so they are vintage and very, VERY high quality. Supreme in detail, extremely tight,ultra super crystal clear - fantastic earbuds! Beat Seenheiser PXC-250 IMO quite easily in sheer detail when paired with the D211. (admitbly terrible) picture of them:http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/14608540647.jpg&s=x4 They do need some power though - D211 drives well them on the "4" volume setting, where as DNE920 needs to be pretty much full power (5mW)) and... suprise surprise! it(the 920) sounds GOOD! Like you said only *slightly* worse then the (let's face it - legendary) D211... (*slightly* more synthetic, duller). I'll listen some more over the weekend and report my findings. For fixing your D211 I was refering to the sticky "DIY Discman Repair" thread in this forum http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30179

jeah Ubijza, I m quite objective reviewer not trying to "swear on my own equipment". And I found the frequence line on the D-NE20 not to be that bad.
Okay it lacks a little bit bass and small high, but thats not the problem:
If I A/B between my amps heaphone output and the D-NE20 I do not find too much differnece between the two at first, Same sound characteristics. A headphone will never sound exactly the same on any amp, it depends on the Ohms etc.......


My problem with the D-NE20 is that if I listen longer to music I feel there is something muddy in that sound, loose in detail. Hard to explain, maybe its the digital amp that has due to its size noreserve to power the headpones with full dynamics and detail. But thats more a subtle effect.
The D-NE700 I had didn`t suffer from that problem, I love to hear hours of musics and find the audio quality to be at its best, ´maybe even near equal to the D211(which is totally dead now after 3 days).The problem was it didn`t get loud so I send it back!


The DNE920 does use the same Digital amp as the D_NE20? I think yes..

I really like to hold the D-NE20 but if I am not lucky with it, I`ll go with an iRiver imp 900, or something like that. Hopefully I will be more satisfied. If not I`ll swich over to iAudio / iRiver HD or Flash Player......

Mad...............

 

[chet]

just discovered this thread... thinking of getting myself a DNE20.

So are there different types of the DNE10 and DNE20 for different markets? Which one would this one be?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chet just discovered this thread... thinking of getting myself a DNE20. So are there different types of the DNE10 and DNE20 for different markets? Which one would this one be?

That would be the "International Tourist" version of the D-NE20. From that site you can also order the Singapore-specific version.

 

[OlManRivah]

I have to agree with this review. I have the DNE920. I chose the 920 because I liked the option of no remote needed unless you want it. I've had it about a week.

Now the sound. It's the default settings. Either the bass boost and/or the equalizer has to be set for your preferences. Once that is set, the sound is really improved. If you're a bass-head, forget this PCDP.

It'll drive the HD595's with volume to spare (50 ohm), but, if bass is your thing, an amp will be needed.

It's a shame Sony decided to have the default settings so bad. They'll turn you off quick against this unit.

 

[chet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver That would be the "International Tourist" version of the D-NE20. From that site you can also order the Singapore-specific version.

aaah... so do you know the differences in these versions? Are there other versions as well?

cheers mate.