[Gosod]

 
​I think is same DAC as ZX100, it does support native 24/192 FLAC and 32-bit/384 in WAV/AIFF, WM1A/Z have flac 24/384

I think it was a good player until he got your hands on it!

 

[gerelmx1986]

I think it was a good player until he got your hands on it!

Or until the WM1A godness show up

 

[Badsam]

Apologies for the hijack but I have a comparison question.

I have a 1st gen Fiio X1 and tempted to grab a Sony A17 or A35.

For music I mix up some Amazon Tracks with FLAC ripped from CD.

I also use IEM's. RE-00, RE-400 and a pair of Monster Gratitude EW&F editions to keep my ears entertained.

Oddly enough the A15 is about £150 new, the A35 is about £180 new and I can't find the A17 new, it's about £180-200 2nd hand.

Out of the options, would you stick with an X1 or move onto one of the Sony's?

I had and sold a X5ii (didn't like the wheel or interface) and am looking to get a A15 or A35 just like yourself. I don't think the 64gb A17 got released in the UK which is why everywhere just has the £150 16gb A15.

I don't know if there's honestly any difference between the A15 and A35 SQ wise. Reviews on these niche players are hard to come by. It seems silly in a way paying for a product no longer in production when for £30 more you can get something only made a few months ago.

 

[ElcomeSoft]

I had and sold a X5ii (didn't like the wheel or interface) and am looking to get a A15 or A35 just like yourself. I don't think the 64gb A17 got released in the UK which is why everywhere just has the £150 16gb A15.

I don't know if there's honestly any difference between the A15 and A35 SQ wise. Reviews on these niche players are hard to come by. It seems silly in a way paying for a product no longer in production when for £30 more you can get something only made a few months ago.

 
The Gen1 X1 is okay; sounds better than a phone, handles itself alright with the latest firmware, good enough battery life for 10+ hours on a single charge. Fiio's interface isn't great but it's workable. It's also pretty chunky whereas had it been more smartphone-shaped it'd fit better for my purposes.
 
I was tempted to replace my Gen 1 X1 with a sleeker, more nimble model and potentially get some sound improvement out of it... but I question the wisdom, especially as it'd cost me a decent chunk of change even with the X1 sale.

 

[0rangutan]

Just got my A35 yesterday.
 
Too early for any useful listening impressions (although sounds promising so far) but I am really liking the new Sony UI on this.
It is great to see this quality of design going into the interface and physical device, not just sound quality.
 
I have avoided DAPs historically as, despite the sonic benefits, they have been just too ugly or slow to use.  I have instead stuck with my phone and poorer SQ.  The A35 is looking like it might be enough to persuade me to make the jump.
 
FWIW, I have also recently acquired a Cowon Plenue D and the Sony NW-ZX2 with the intention of trialling the three and keeping whichever of the three is a better set of compromises than my iPhone.  Will report back on my findings.

 

[judges]

Sorry if this is a hijack....I have a 2009 samsung YP-R1.Has Various preset sound types and a DNSe setup. Plays the usual formats including FLAC. I'm wondering would I get much more quality from the Sony NW A35. Any advice welcome.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Sorry if this is a hijack....I have a 2009 samsung YP-R1.Has Various preset sound types and a DNSe setup. Plays the usual formats including FLAC. I'm wondering would I get much more quality from the Sony NW A35. Any advice welcome.

Sony DAP usually have pretyy Good quality sound even for lower-end models

 

[gerelmx1986]

The A30 series also has the dual clock fo 44,1Khz and 48Khz
 
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=es&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sony.jp%2Fwalkman%2Fproducts%2FNW-A30_series%2Ffeature_2.html&edit-text=

 

[Akoto222]

Can someone compare the SQ of A35 over Shanling M1? I have the Shanling and want to give it to my wife for her 1st DAP. I'm considering A35 as a replacement.

-how's the sQ vs M1?
-can A35 drive 150 ohm or 300 ohm headphone to a pleasurable level?

Hope to hear from you guys.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Can someone compare the SQ of A35 over Shanling M1? I have the Shanling and want to give it to my wife for her 1st DAP. I'm considering A35 as a replacement.

-how's the sQ vs M1?
-can A35 drive 150 ohm or 300 ohm headphone to a pleasurable level?

Hope to hear from you guys.

For 150-300 ohm i think you'll need a decent portable amp

 

[astroid]

The audio chip (Not really a DAC in this case) is a proprietary Sony chip, according to some its actually the same as the one in the WM1 series, the new HX version.
 
You certainly cant get 35mw out of the A25 series so i doubt its the same as that.
 
Mark

 

[Wiz33]

Can someone compare the SQ of A35 over Shanling M1? I have the Shanling and want to give it to my wife for her 1st DAP. I'm considering A35 as a replacement.

-how's the sQ vs M1?
-can A35 drive 150 ohm or 300 ohm headphone to a pleasurable level?

Hope to hear from you guys.

 
Yea, as other have said, you'll probably want something with more than 35mW/ch. Look at the Teac HA-90SD, Onkyo DP-X1, Pioneer XDP-100R or one of the A&K.

 

[rhull1973]

Looks like the US models are listed on amazon. $219 for 16 gb, $419 for 64gb. Out of stock with no estimated ship date.

 

[Pimmsley]

I am blown away with this player, sound quality is outstanding and drive UE900's perfectly without EQ. Plugged into a Darkvoice THA 332 for use with Beyer DT990 or 770's at home or Fiio a5 on the go... and the new firmware (thanks bhrocks !) is much faster gui with more reliable touch response makes the train ride to work bearable...
200GB Sandisk card no problem and fast.
Been using an A-25 last year which is now a dedicated Frank Zappa player

 

[fish1050]

  The audio chip (Not really a DAC in this case) is a proprietary Sony chip, according to some its actually the same as the one in the WM1 series, the new HX version.
 
You certainly cant get 35mw out of the A25 series so i doubt its the same as that.
 
Mark

Actually the extra power from the A30 series over the A20 series comes from the addition of 5 capacitors on the amplifier output stage to increase the power output.  I think the WM series has 7 higher grade capacitors on the amplifier output stage to provide the extra power the WM series offers.