[mattheguy]

  Could you compare Plenue D and Sony A35 far as the sound quality is concerned?


 

I only had couple of hours to play today but my initial comments are:
 
Using B&O Play H6 'phones and library of a few MP3 320s & mostly lossless FLAC/ALAC with few HR tracks thrown in for good measure.  Still need to try my B&W P3s at some point.
 
1) To my 38 year old ears, I would say the A35 is a tad clearer than the Plenue D.  Clearer in terms of beats, bass and vocals.  The separation is there. I definitely felt immersed.  I loved the Plenue D but I'm always on look out for the next new shiney gadget!
 
2) The latest FW is snappy & finding searching by scrolling much easier
 
3) High Res Daft Punk sounded warm & could easily listen over and over.
 
Obviously I need to find the sweet spot in terms of comfortable volume but so far, I'm enjoying.  I realise this could be an emperors new clothes feeling as its a new sound I'm not yet familiar with but its got my interest and i'm prepared to keep going.  At present, I do not feel I need a portable amp to get the sound to my liking.
 
I'll keep playing and I'll do a further impressons post towards end of the week.

 

[gobb]

As I have mentioned, changing EQ settings when connected through bluetooth with MDR-EX750BT (supposed to support LDAC) was not possible, I heard no effect, even when trying both of LDAC (quality vs. speed) settings in sound settings and reconnecting BT. This works (and can be heard) when connected through cable. I have returned them already. Maybe they were faulty, so I might order another pair. It seems your earbud unit is pretty much the same as the MDR-EX750BT, but still BT LDAC so it should work. Could it be regional restriction?
It clearly says here on the very bottom http://helpguide.sony.net/dmp/nwa30/v1/en/contents/TP0001154736.html that the sound quality setting wont work over BT. Only thing I can imagine is that they were faulty or I did something wrong considering that EQ should work over true LDAC connection.

 

[gerelmx1986]

As I have mentioned, changing EQ settings when connected through bluetooth with MDR-EX750BT (supposed to support LDAC) was not possible, I heard no effect, even when trying both of LDAC (quality vs. speed) settings in sound settings and reconnecting BT. This works (and can be heard) when connected through cable. I have returned them already. Maybe they were faulty, so I might order another pair. It seems your earbud unit is pretty much the same as the MDR-EX750BT, but still BT LDAC so it should work. Could it be regional restriction?
It clearly says here on the very bottom http://helpguide.sony.net/dmp/nwa30/v1/en/contents/TP0001154736.html that the sound quality setting wont work over BT. Only thing I can imagine is that they were faulty or I did something wrong considering that EQ should work over true LDAC connection.

SOund settings won't work in BT nor Digital Out

 

[Wiz33]

   
How would it know?  BT audio devices don't provide any sort of volume information back from the other end.  It sends the speakers or headphones a volume up or volume down command.

 
Now, that's a belittling post. Not everyone is well versed in BT protocol and know what kind of information is exchanged between the 2 units. BTW, any luck in getting Sandisk to send you your missing 4GB?

 

[Wiz33]

As I have mentioned, changing EQ settings when connected through bluetooth with MDR-EX750BT (supposed to support LDAC) was not possible, I heard no effect, even when trying both of LDAC (quality vs. speed) settings in sound settings and reconnecting BT. This works (and can be heard) when connected through cable. I have returned them already. Maybe they were faulty, so I might order another pair. It seems your earbud unit is pretty much the same as the MDR-EX750BT, but still BT LDAC so it should work. Could it be regional restriction?
It clearly says here on the very bottom http://helpguide.sony.net/dmp/nwa30/v1/en/contents/TP0001154736.html that the sound quality setting wont work over BT. Only thing I can imagine is that they were faulty or I did something wrong considering that EQ should work over true LDAC connection.

 
 
My bad. Although you can change the EQ setting while using BT, it doesn't actually does anything. 

 

[djayyy]

Can anyone compare this to the ibasso dx80 please if they are able to, I'm stuck between these two players.

 

[meringo]

Can anyone compare this to the ibasso dx80 please if they are able to, I'm stuck between these two players.

I've never owned that model -- but I wanted to share some thoughts, as I've had "nicer, pricier" DAPs and was on the Fiio X5iii tour.
 
The Sony player is really impressing me after a few days use. They did an excellent job with the UI, although there is some slight delay when scrolling (but I have the card and internal storage maxed out with FLAC, that may be causing it.) In terms of power, I've had no issue driving any of my IEMs, and the sound quality is quite good, better than my pixel and almost to the level of my previous, costly AK100ii. The BT stability is phenomenal, as is the LDAC sound quality. 
 
So I ask -- What is your intended usage? Are you primarily using IEMs with this? Will you pursue the wireless capability (LDAC?) Do you generally prefer physical buttons? <--- I ask this because the Sony button layout is fantastic. I can completely control my music without pulling it out of my pocket. The learning curve for this was close to nothing. 
 
I bet the DX80 is fantastic, as I've always liked them previously. It's a tough sell right now, though, in such a competitive market. This Sony DAP seems to be a prime budget model, while Fiio's X5iii will likely become the king of mid-range this year. The higher end players are great, too, but what out of my budget and lower returns for your money.
 
I think I'm going to compose a review for this DAP. I've never reviewed a player before, but this one deserves some love.

 

[djayyy]

  I've never owned that model -- but I wanted to share some thoughts, as I've had "nicer, pricier" DAPs and was on the Fiio X5iii tour.
 
The Sony player is really impressing me after a few days use. They did an excellent job with the UI, although there is some slight delay when scrolling (but I have the card and internal storage maxed out with FLAC, that may be causing it.) In terms of power, I've had no issue driving any of my IEMs, and the sound quality is quite good, better than my pixel and almost to the level of my previous, costly AK100ii. The BT stability is phenomenal, as is the LDAC sound quality. 
 
So I ask -- What is your intended usage? Are you primarily using IEMs with this? Will you pursue the wireless capability (LDAC?) Do you generally prefer physical buttons? <--- I ask this because the Sony button layout is fantastic. I can completely control my music without pulling it out of my pocket. The learning curve for this was close to nothing. 
 
I bet the DX80 is fantastic, as I've always liked them previously. It's a tough sell right now, though, in such a competitive market. This Sony DAP seems to be a prime budget model, while Fiio's X5iii will likely become the king of mid-range this year. The higher end players are great, too, but what out of my budget and lower returns for your money.
 
I think I'm going to compose a review for this DAP. I've never reviewed a player before, but this one deserves some love.

 
 
Meringo, thanks so much for the reply. I will be using my Shure 846 IEM's. I have no real need to use the BT however i may use it in the car occasionally so its a bonus. I do prefer physical buttons, its much better to be able to skip tracks etc and increase/decrease volume without having to keep waking the display up. 
 
It is a tough market, I was also looking at the A&K Jnr, but the lack of firmware updates and poor UI as mentioned by others puts me off. I found the Fiio X1 Gen2 sounded great but had a very sensitive touch wheel,just looking at it made it skip. 
 
So I guess where i'm at is, if it sounds as good as or maybe better than the Fiio X1 Gen 2 then this Sony really could be the one for me right now. Surely it must be better than my iPhone 7 plus

 

[Stereodude]

  Now, that's a belittling post. Not everyone is well versed in BT protocol and know what kind of information is exchanged between the 2 units. BTW, any luck in getting Sandisk to send you your missing 4GB?

 
Yep, it's in the mail.  Thanks for reminding me.

 

[meringo]

   
 
Meringo, thanks so much for the reply. I will be using my Shure 846 IEM's. I have no real need to use the BT however i may use it in the car occasionally so its a bonus. I do prefer physical buttons, its much better to be able to skip tracks etc and increase/decrease volume without having to keep waking the display up. 
 
It is a tough market, I was also looking at the A&K Jnr, but the lack of firmware updates and poor UI as mentioned by others puts me off. I found the Fiio X1 Gen2 sounded great but had a very sensitive touch wheel,just looking at it made it skip. 
 
So I guess where i'm at is, if it sounds as good as or maybe better than the Fiio X1 Gen 2 then this Sony really could be the one for me right now. Surely it must be better than my iPhone 7 plus

 
Sounds like you should order one Get it from Amazon and do your own A/Bing. If you don't like it, return it! I went that route, and decided to keep it.

 

[djayyy]

   
Sounds like you should order one Get it from Amazon and do your own A/Bing. If you don't like it, return it! I went that route, and decided to keep it.

 
Meringo, This is the advice i was after. I will order myself one and see how i go. Thanks for your help. 
@gerelmx1986 thanks for your advice earlier too!

 

[funkoid]

I'm seriously torn at the moment, I love the size and look of the player, the spec is good, the battery life is amazing... it's just the storage capacity. Minimum I'm looking at 200-256GB, more if and when it becomes available. 
 
I'm coming from an iPod Classic, the dream is to have my entire collection with me, losslessly, but i'm already hitting 480GB. I've been using my classic with a fiio amp but the stack is just too bulky for my commute so it's got to go, and i'm not a fan of my Shure 425s on the classic without an amp.
 
I was contemplating the x3 gen 2, then x5 gen 2 but the battery life and cost is putting me off slightly.
 
So down to audio quality, I assume it'll be better than my ageing classic and I can carry my favourite albums in alac with the lesser ones in 320, but it's whether i'm going to need it amping to make my 425s sound as good. 
 
Are sony likely to increase the microsd capacity as the card capacity increases?

 

[davidcotton]

  I think I'm going to compose a review for this DAP. I've never reviewed a player before, but this one deserves some love.

It's so damn frustrating for me.  This player ticks nearly all the boxes except one. That's the lack of bookmarking feature for podcasts and audiobooks I muttered about a few pages back.  That might not be an issue for some people, in which case I would say go for this player if you just want to listen to music.

 

[funkoid]

 
I have a Samsung 256GB and my WM1A reads it fine, prior to this i had a sanDisk 200GB in my ZX100 and also grabbe dit OK no prob

 
Have you tested every track on the full 256GB, i've read that the card can be read but there will be stuff potentially missing from the library?

 

[djayyy]

  It's so damn frustrating for me.  This player ticks nearly all the boxes except one. That's the lack of bookmarking feature for podcasts and audiobooks I muttered about a few pages back.  That might not be an issue for some people, in which case I would say go for this player if you just want to listen to music.

But how do you rate the sound quality? I'm looking purely from a music perspective. All i will use this for is Shure IEM 846 and listening to music?? Better than the Fiio X1 Gen2?