[Indrajit]

Has anyone compared the sound quality of Cayin N3 vs Sony walkman ?

 

[docholliday]

Has anyone compared the sound quality of Cayin N3 vs Sony walkman ?

I have both. The N3 is more "clear" if both have the EQ disabled. However, with some careful EQ configs on the A35, the Sony can get more resolution than the N3.

But, the high frequencies on the N3 can be tinny, no matter what filter is chosen on the AK chip. The Sony, on the other hand, resolves instruments like crash and ride cymbals much more accurately.

 

[Indrajit]

I have both. The N3 is more "clear" if both have the EQ disabled. However, with some careful EQ configs on the A35, the Sony can get more resolution than the N3.

But, the high frequencies on the N3 can be tinny, no matter what filter is chosen on the AK chip. The Sony, on the other hand, resolves instruments like crash and ride cymbals much more accurately.

Thanks
Can you shed some light on other factions - like soundstage and instrument separation between N3 and the Sony?

 

[docholliday]

Thanks
Can you shed some light on other factions - like soundstage and instrument separation between N3 and the Sony?

I don't pay much attention to those items - with CIEMs, you really don't notice anyways...soundwise, though, they are more similar than different, with the Sony resolving high resonant frequencies much more accurately. Setting the N3 to Super Slow on the filter is the closest to getting these tones right, but at the cost of some upper end sharpness. The Sony builds these instruments to the right tone with good resonant highs, but the low frequencies aren't as crisp as the N3 does.

They are both really good. I'd say the N3 is more clean and the Sony is warmer.

That's about as close as I'll go to describing a "signature".

 

[Indrajit]

And

I don't pay much attention to those items - with CIEMs, you really don't notice anyways...soundwise, though, they are more similar than different, with the Sony resolving high resonant frequencies much more accurately. Setting the N3 to Super Slow on the filter is the closest to getting these tones right, but at the cost of some upper end sharpness. The Sony builds these instruments to the right tone with good resonant highs, but the low frequencies aren't as crisp as the N3 does.

They are both really good. I'd say the N3 is more clean and the Sony is warmer.

That's about as close as I'll go to describing a "signature".

Ok thanks

 

[Gosod]

I'm still waiting for the new firmware, it might fix the problem.

 

[tiralex]

Hi guys,
I have a chance to pick the sony nw a35 barely used for 100 euro. I've read it's a nice overall dap but im wondering how does it compare to other daps in the same price range soundwise...
I've owned shanling m2s and xduoo x3... Is it at least as good as any of those? also how does it compare to like fiio x1 (in terms of sound) an so...
Thanks in advance

 

[HungryPanda]

I have a Fiio X5III and Shanling M1 but love my Sony A35 as it is small and thin, battery lasts for ages, sounds very good and seems to have rock solid firmware. I use mine a lot

 

[damex]

yeah, a35 interface and battery life is unbeatable for sure ;p

 

[tiralex]

Thanks guys, really appreciated!! But I was mainly asking about comparisons in terms of sq.. any clues on that?

 

[docholliday]

I'm still waiting for the new firmware, it might fix the problem.

One can only hope...but it's Sony...

It would be nice if they'd add ReplayGain to it instead of that useless Dynamic Normalizer, though.

 

[superuser1]

One can only hope...but it's Sony...

It would be nice if they'd add ReplayGain to it instead of that useless Dynamic Normalizer, though.

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[fish1050]

Has anyone compared the sound quality of Cayin N3 vs Sony walkman ?

I have demoed the A35 and N3 and find the A35 to have a smoother more relaxed slightly warmer sound. The N3 has what I would call a cleaner but more intimate sound with a more closed in sound stage. The A35 sound stage seems wider and deeper provided of course you have efficient headphones that are easy to drive given it has quite a bit less power than the N3. If I closed my eyes listening to the N3 it seemed like I was at a club listening to music. The A35 I would associate with a concert hall, it just seemed to have a bigger more polished sound for lack of a better word.

 

[lesale08]

Does sony play/read fat32 sd card?

 

[lesale08]

I loaded my card but it doesn’t seem to recognize it. The card is in fat32 and plays perfectly in zx2.