[osiris1]

That brings us back to Sony Again ... the Xperia Pro 5G

I would be more inclined to have some good TWS as well. most of my IEMs are 4.4 balanced and that would also mean another adapter to use 3.5mm anyway.

 

[ttt123]

Speaking of different tiers…



Even this famous YouTuber/earphone ranking site admin has the opinion that you don’t need an amplifier/dac/anything else and using just an iphone headphone dongle will do “fine”.

I am surprised that given his pedigree of reviewing so many iems, he has this opinion that audio sources and amplification don’t matter and that an amplifier’s only job is to make things louder.

I guess those of us who owns Walkmans/DAPs/amps must be just getting “marginal” improvements vs an iPhone headphone dongle according to him.

It’s quite contrasting to the earlier part of this thread where people here are debating if 250mW output of the Walkman is enough power to fully drive Dynamic driver iems.

Sounds like this may be a disciple of the old Stereo Review Magazine from the '70s, from the early days of Audio. I read most issues, and had a stack of them.
One day, I realized that the "reviews" were not really reviews, and the magazines were not even useful as toilet paper (too slippery). So I threw them all out. This was so against my frugal nature, that it tells you something about the value of the magazines.

I can still, to this day, remember what I learned from Stereo Review/Julian Hirsch.
- All amplifiers sound the same. Just buy based on features you want, and with enough power for your speakers.
- All CD players are perfect, and sound the same. Again, just choose a player based on what features you want.
- All Speakers are perfect. Just get one with the proper WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor), and that will fit in your living room. Obviously, bigger rooms will need bigger speakers.
- Speaker wires and interconnects: just make sure they have enough capacity (large enough wires). Otherwise, all wires are the same. 30 cents per foot lamp cord (for wiring lamps) is all you need. (actually, there is cheaper lamp cord, but we can spend a little more, as the extra money gets a better outer cover)

I learned so well that I realized that there was no need to read any more reviews, as all equipment had already reached the stage of ultimate perfection. And that is all each issue of the magazine said. Perfect....perfect....perfect.

Unfortunately, I was somehow led off the "perfect" path, and started to experiment with, and question why wires and interconnects sounded different, and why simple Audiophile Amplifiers with no features/controls were so much more expensive than the Yamaha and Harmon Kardon amplifiers with a staggering array of switches, knobs and relays, that I had bought at the behest of Stereo Review. I thought amp quality was based on weight, so I had the top Yamaha Receiver, a 45 lb monster.....

Needless to say, I am now too far from the true path to ever be able to rejoin the true believers/graduates of Stereo Review. Such a wasted "audio" life, when I could have been happy and satisfied for so many years. All that is needed is "faith", and blind belief in the leader.

Ahh, Placebo, where were you, when I needed you the most?

Oh, I just realized that the old beliefs that I learned, are still totally true today, in our DAP/Mobile audio hobby....
- all DAPs are perfect, and sound the same
- all wires sound the same. Don't waste your money on "snake oil" wires.
- Hi-Res files are not necessary, and would never pass a DB (Double Blind) test. MP3 files are all you need.
- MicroSD cards !! Of course there cannot be any difference. Just buy the cheapest one, with the capacity that you need. And if you convert everything to MP3s, you will only need a small memory card. So this is a true win/win!
- Earphones: Can't forget these, eh? The surplus Apple/Android earphones you have lying around are perfect. You will be absolutely amazed if you try a DB test with them.

I cannot emphasize how shocking it was, to realize that all those super expensive IEMs are just absolute snake oil, as you cannot tell the difference, using a DB test.

Oh, and I am much happier now, after my lobotomy.....

 

[Ryokan]

Bet he's great at listening out for nuclear subs! Get him in the Navy

I work with a guy who used to be a radio operator and was picked because of his acute hearing.


This volume cap must be taken very seriously by Sony else they would've allowed a workaround like being able to change regions using Rockbox with the non Android players: which was probably an oversight?

 

[The1Signature]

That brings us back to Sony Again ... the Xperia Pro 5G

Sony phones with hi-res ability - simply outstanding.

 

[The1Signature]

Sounds like this may be a disciple of the old Stereo Review Magazine from the '70s, from the early days of Audio. I read most issues, and had a stack of them.
One day, I realized that the "reviews" were not really reviews, and the magazines were not even useful as toilet paper (too slippery). So I threw them all out. This was so against my frugal nature, that it tells you something about the value of the magazines.

I can still, to this day, remember what I learned from Stereo Review/Julian Hirsch.
- All amplifiers sound the same. Just buy based on features you want, and with enough power for your speakers.
- All CD players are perfect, and sound the same. Again, just choose a player based on what features you want.
- All Speakers are perfect. Just get one with the proper WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor), and that will fit in your living room. Obviously, bigger rooms will need bigger speakers.
- Speaker wires and interconnects: just make sure they have enough capacity (large enough wires). Otherwise, all wires are the same. 30 cents per foot lamp cord (for wiring lamps) is all you need. (actually, there is cheaper lamp cord, but we can spend a little more, as the extra money gets a better outer cover)

I learned so well that I realized that there was no need to read any more reviews, as all equipment had already reached the stage of ultimate perfection. And that is all each issue of the magazine said. Perfect....perfect....perfect.

Unfortunately, I was somehow led off the "perfect" path, and started to experiment with, and question why wires and interconnects sounded different, and why simple Audiophile Amplifiers with no features/controls were so much more expensive than the Yamaha and Harmon Kardon amplifiers with a staggering array of switches, knobs and relays, that I had bought at the behest of Stereo Review. I thought amp quality was based on weight, so I had the top Yamaha Receiver, a 45 lb monster.....

Needless to say, I am now too far from the true path to ever be able to rejoin the true believers/graduates of Stereo Review. Such a wasted "audio" life, when I could have been happy and satisfied for so many years. All that is needed is "faith", and blind belief in the leader.

Ahh, Placebo, where were you, when I needed you the most?

Oh, I just realized that the old beliefs that I learned, are still totally true today, in our DAP/Mobile audio hobby....
- all DAPs are perfect, and sound the same
- all wires sound the same. Don't waste your money on "snake oil" wires.
- Hi-Res files are not necessary, and would never pass a DB (Double Blind) test. MP3 files are all you need.
- MicroSD cards !! Of course there cannot be any difference. Just buy the cheapest one, with the capacity that you need. And if you convert everything to MP3s, you will only need a small memory card. So this is a true win/win!
- Earphones: Can't forget these, eh? The surplus Apple/Android earphones you have lying around are perfect. You will be absolutely amazed if you try a DB test with them.

I cannot emphasize how shocking it was, to realize that all those super expensive IEMs are just absolute snake oil, as you cannot tell the difference, using a DB test.

Oh, and I am much happier now, after my lobotomy.....

this is such an honest post.

actually, we buy just dreams of something... something that "should be better".... no, that "must be better" because so many engineers at sony worked on it. wow, sony. what a huge company. so many intelligent people from all over the world work for this company. this must be good, right? if the world's best engineers need 6 years to re-invent the wheel from wm1z to wm1z m2... this must be something fundamentally different now, right?
and if they say that they improved by far... we just believe it. and this kind of believing is enough for spending (more) money, again. it is the endless search for the one unicorn, the ultimate enlightenment. but we do not want to accept that we found it already, for some people even 1-2 decades ago.

@ttt123
this post should be on the front page of head-fi to bring back the natural mindfulness when enjoying a hobby - talking about hobby: i often feel it is not a hobby for many people, but more a frantic search for "something".

 

[maddib]

Bits are bits? How can digital audio go wrong? You send ones and zeros to a dac using ram data buffer, how can the dac give “wrong” results? Input = output right? You key in 1 + 1 on a calculator, the result is always 2 right?

Isn’t 44.1Khz enough sampling rate in theory? Why do audiophiles need to listen music at 96KHz,192KHz sampling rates? Do they have dog ears or bat ears or something?

Last comment on this topic. IMHO, strong recommendation for this OT. Please attach a current personal audiogram from your otologist, before continuing this discussion in another thread

 

[INGRAMLI]

this is such an honest post.

actually, we buy just dreams of something... something that "should be better".... no, that "must be better" because so many engineers at sony worked on it. wow, sony. what a huge company. so many intelligent people from all over the world work for this company. this must be good, right? if the world's best engineers need 6 years to re-invent the wheel from wm1z to wm1z m2... this must be something fundamentally different now, right?
and if they say that they improved by far... we just believe it. and this kind of believing is enough for spending (more) money, again. it is the endless search for the one unicorn, the ultimate enlightenment. but we do not want to accept that we found it already, for some people even 1-2 decades ago.

@ttt123
this post should be on the front page of head-fi to bring back the natural mindfulness when enjoying a hobby - talking about hobby: i often feel it is not a hobby for many people, but more a frantic search for "something".

The ironic truth :

1. I had much happier time with my music collection before realizing the differences between different players/earphones,

2. I am much happier now after I learn to compromise, forget about the endless quest for SQ, just listen to my music collection with what i have got. The early phrase wasn't exactly easy, just like the addiction of cocaine, but, if you manage to pull it off, not reading the head-fi forum, not following any head-fi news, not making any new purchases (except additions to you music collection), after a year or two, you may be able to return to the state before entering the head-fi hobby (which is where I am now).

 

[osiris1]

The ironic truth :

1. I had much happier time with my music collection before realizing the differences between different players/earphones,

2. I am much happier now after I learn to compromise, forget about the endless quest for SQ, just listen to my music collection with what i have got. The early phrase wasn't exactly easy, just like the addiction of cocaine, but, if you manage to pull it off, not reading the head-fi forum, not following any head-fi news, not making any new purchases (except additions to you music collection), after a year or two, you may be able to return to the state before entering the head-fi hobby (which is where I am now).

when you focus on the music, your brain will compensate for the equipment.
it's nice to buy something nice and expensive but you should never have to justify to others. some can afford more, some less so.

 

[INGRAMLI]

when you focus on the music, your brain will compensate for the equipment.
it's nice to buy something nice and expensive but you should never have to justify to others. some can afford more, some less so.

I do not meant to "justify" my experience. It is not about whether it is affordable or not, but the pursuit for SQ itself, to me, it diverted my attention from the music to the imperfection of the sound reproduction, this, inevitably, negatively affected the quality of the listening experience.

I understand that some of us in this hobby are having a lot of fun from the quest of pursuing SQ, but after spending years and a small fortune, I figured out I have more pleasure from my music collection than from the "achievement" of the hobby. That is the conclusion solely for myself, and I wish everyone understand what they are really after and have fun.

 

[psikey]

That brings us back to Sony Again ... the Xperia Pro 5G

I tried the Xperia 1 III and great phone and sounds great via its 3.5mm too but I found the screen format a bit too long making other apps a bit stretched. Decided to stick with my S10+ with 1TB total storage for another year. Battery life wasn't as good as I expected.

 

[Whitigir]

Well, at least with Rooted N8ii there is an option to use system wide DSP, the MSEB.

 

[nickwerner]

Well, at least with N8ii there is an option to use system wide DSP, the MSEB.

This is only after rooting the n8ii and is not a standard feature of the n8ii

 

[Whitigir]

This is only after rooting the n8ii and is not a standard feature of the n8ii

At least it is something that is possible now. No one is developing Walkman M2 root yet . It is all thanks to Steve

 

[nickwerner]

At least it is something that is possible now. No one is developing Walkman M2 root yet . It is all thanks to Steve

Agreed, but it should be something to mention in the post (which you did in the n8ii post, in bold).

But I do agree that the rooting of n8ii is great and opens a lot of doors for the device.

I am still really on the fence which one to keep. I can’t really justify keeping both, the n8ii and wm1zm2. But I do think they are complimentary in a way and I personally prefer slightly the warmer and punchier sound of the wm1zm2. However, the wm1zm2 is just for iems and low impedance/ high sensitivity headphones (like my denon 9200 or meze Elite). Anything moderately sensitive the wm1zm2 does not suffice.

 

[denis1976]

How many hours a capped Sony battery lasts? If the normal is 30 hours +- with less 59 times of power in SE and less 249 times of power in balanced.... Lasts 100 hours?