[fish1050]

I agree, perhaps the HO perfroms just as well as the LO, the only thing that bothers me a little is.....I would then need to switch off all enhancements (of which there seem to many), typically a line out will do that automatically, or at least give a choice to do that

I don't use any enhancements as a rule but if you use the amp all the time then you should only have to turn off the enhancements once wouldn't you? I haven't had a chance to checkout the A45 yet so not sure how it is setup

 

[blownsi]

Does anyone know what DAC chip is in this?

 

[chinerino]

Does anyone know what DAC chip is in this?

Its a S-master Hx chip, sony tech

 

[dacari]

S-Master HX is Sony's digital amplifier technology, not the DAC itself, this kind of digital amplification was introduced years ago with Minidiscs, not only for sound quality but for efficiency purposes.

I'm afraid the technology used, DAC itself is all Sony proprietary, here you won't see Cirrus, AKM, Sabre...

 

[fish1050]

S-Master HX is Sony's digital amplifier technology, not the DAC itself, this kind of digital amplification was introduced years ago with Minidiscs, not only for sound quality but for efficiency purposes.

I'm afraid the technology used, DAC itself is all Sony proprietary, here you won't see Cirrus, AKM, Sabre...

Here is an excerpt from an innerfidelity review of the A17 describing the Sony design.

Sony has their own version of a PWM amplification stage with no intermediate digital to analog conversion step involved. As such there is no actual DAC chip from the likes of Wolfson or Cirrus Logic, and the headphones are driven directly from the S Master chip itself with no further amplification stage required.

So again no actual DAC likely explains why no Sony DAP has a proper LO setup. I found a more indepth description of the Sony design in another A10 series review but I can't seem to find it again.

 

[dacari]

Here is an excerpt from an innerfidelity review of the A17 describing the Sony design.

Sony has their own version of a PWM amplification stage with no intermediate digital to analog conversion step involved. As such there is no actual DAC chip from the likes of Wolfson or Cirrus Logic, and the headphones are driven directly from the S Master chip itself with no further amplification stage required.

So again no actual DAC likely explains why no Sony DAP has a proper LO setup. I found a more indepth description of the Sony design in another A10 series review but I can't seem to find it again.

Much better explained!

 

[James McGregor]

Here is an excerpt from an innerfidelity review of the A17 describing the Sony design.

Sony has their own version of a PWM amplification stage with no intermediate digital to analog conversion step involved. As such there is no actual DAC chip from the likes of Wolfson or Cirrus Logic, and the headphones are driven directly from the S Master chip itself with no further amplification stage required.

So again no actual DAC likely explains why no Sony DAP has a proper LO setup. I found a more indepth description of the Sony design in another A10 series review but I can't seem to find it again.

Makes a lot of sense thanks, I do wonder how Sony intend Line Out to be implemented, asuimrits by using the HO on max. Others implement it by bypassing the amp, thats kind of the point. Others do report that the Chinese wmport to 3.5mm does produce sound, so maybe they hope people will buy some kind of official dock. It's a hard decision, for myself a clean line out is essential, the player itself does look great, I just can't be sure how to get a clean unamped signal from the device, and Sony sure won't tell me

 

[chinerino]

Makes a lot of sense thanks, I do wonder how Sony intend Line Out to be implemented, asuimrits by using the HO on max. Others implement it by bypassing the amp, thats kind of the point. Others do report that the Chinese wmport to 3.5mm does produce sound, so maybe they hope people will buy some kind of official dock. It's a hard decision, for myself a clean line out is essential, the player itself does look great, I just can't be sure how to get a clean unamped signal from the device, and Sony sure won't tell me

I think at this point you should realize that the ways i can think of, is to use amps that has USB options, or use the HO

 

[James McGregor]

I think at this point you should realize that the ways i can think of, is to use amps that has USB options, or use the HO

I do realise that's an option, but it's not the same as line out. Using a usb out, your then using the Sony as a very expensive transport, using line out allows the processing of the audio to be done by the Sony, by using digital out your bypassing the Sony processing. Both valid, but very different, if they weren't then there would be no need for line out at all

 

[James McGregor]

I think at this point you should realize that the ways i can think of, is to use amps that has USB options, or use the HO

And yes my previous responses acknowledge that the HO may be the only optio, but again - HO is not the same as line out

 

[DW10]

And yes my previous responses acknowledge that the HO may be the only optio, but again - HO is not the same as line out

So I purchased this for my A45:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-Walkm...320636&hash=item4173fc90d6:g:oAUAAOSw~xFZjmcu

If it is not LO then what iis it? I can feed the signal to my FIIO E11 fine. While this device is plugged in,the headphone out does not work until you remove it. Anyway, I didn”t bought the A45 to use with wired headphones but with the WH1000XM2 and to replace my FIIO X3 2nd gen. After using the A45 for 3 weeks, I am not going back to Fiio for DAPs anymore, the UI and the features are superior, even if the Sony casing is plastic only.

 

[James McGregor]

So I purchased this for my A45:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-Walkm...320636&hash=item4173fc90d6:g:oAUAAOSw~xFZjmcu

If it is not LO then what iis it? I can feed the signal to my FIIO E11 fine. While this device is plugged in,the headphone out does not work until you remove it. Anyway, I didn”t bought the A45 to use with wired headphones but with the WH1000XM2 and to replace my FIIO X3 2nd gen. After using the A45 for 3 weeks, I am not going back to Fiio for DAPs anymore, the UI and the features are superior, even if the Sony casing is plastic only.

It's not known exactly what it is as Sony won't tell, it could be line out, it could be HO - noone knows

 

[DW10]

It's not known exactly what it is as Sony won't tell, it could be line out, it could be HO - noone knows

Yes , it is weird. As when it is plugged in volume up and down buttons don”t work. But now I enjoy more listening with my WH1000XM2 than wired. Sony has done a good job with LDAC.

 

[James McGregor]

Yes , it is weird. As when it is plugged in volume up and down buttons don”t work. But now I enjoy more listening with my WH1000XM2 than wired. Sony has done a good job with LDAC.

If volume is locked and enhancements disabled, that would suggest it's line out is think

 

[BadReligionPunk]

Going on 3 weeks for me using A45 and 1000XM2. LDAC is dope, and I'm enjoying quite a bit. I guess I should start messing around with wired phones and playing around with all the options and sound settings.
Thankfully I use folder mode, because the other option is a god awful iTunes from hell clone. I'm also wondering why everytime I turn the power on its got to run through its little deal for a minute or so? that's usually reserved for DAPs that do not have any internal storage. the 45 has 16gb. Not a huge deal, but its a big enough reason to keep the player on all day long.