[Arora]

I can totally understand that. I had the same issue with the Moondrop S8 and if you compare the graphs


The Monarch Mk2 and the Moondrop S8 are both All-BA (EDIT: the Monarch is not an All-BA Set, don't know why i wrote that, forget that it has no relevance anyway) sets with recessed lower mids and pushed upper mids/lower treble. That is meant to create an pleasing and fun sound and also sound kinda neutral/flat at the same time and reveal a lot of details. So it tries to be an best of all worlds but this does have negative side effects.

The biggest difference between the Waklman and for example the BTR7 (or M11 Plus ESS which sounds almost the same) is the realism of for example percussion instruments or the high speed.

But with recessed lower mids and pushed upper mids/lower treble, you pretty much kill that advantage.

With the IER-M9 for example, there is an pretty big difference between the Walkman and the BTR7, especially with acoustic instruments, and if you compare the graphs, you can see why



But most Audiophiles love recessed lower mids and pushed upper mids/lower treble as it makes everything sound extremely clear and detailed. Its the same with modern TVs that all have an blue tint because an natural/real white (which is just normal, perfect white) is percieved as "warm" which makes colors less pop and gives an kinda oldish look.

And its the same with Earphones and Headphones. This "colder" more detailed sound feels more modern to a lot of peopls, but at the same time, you loose a lot of informations that are essential to notice the difference between such two DAPs.

Or to use a different meatpher: If you put enough ketchup and mustard on a sausage, you no longer notice how good the meat quality is.

Thanks for sharing. I’m not too sure on the technicalities but my ears suggest this could be right, there is just no difference whatsoever.

I will do some A/B testing (WM1AM2 vs BTR7) with my IER-Z1Rs now.

 

[Vamp898]

Thanks for sharing. I’m not too sure on the technicalities but my ears suggest this could be right, there is just no difference whatsoever.

I will do some A/B testing (WM1AM2 vs BTR7) with my IER-Z1Rs now.

The IER-Z1R is an better choice, even though this model also follows the modern "cold" trend with recessed lower mids.

But it is the better choice and can show the differences, given the Song of course.

I have Songs where i even with the IER-M9 hear almost no difference, and i have songs where its an instantly noticable difference.

Last but not least, it takes some time to notice the changes. When changes take place in areas where you don't expect them, you don't notice them instantly.

 

[boodi]

By fast you mean 10 seconds

most Audiophiles love recessed lower mids and pushed upper mids/lower treble as it makes everything sound extremely clear and detailed. Its the same with modern TVs that all have an blue tint because an natural/real white (which is just normal, perfect white) is percieved as "warm" which makes colors less pop and gives an kinda oldish look.

And its the same with Earphones and Headphones. This "colder" more detailed sound feels more modern to a lot of peopls, but at the same time, you loose a lot of informations that are essential to notice the difference between such two DAPs.

Or to use a different meatpher: If you put enough ketchup and mustard on an sausage, you no longer notice how good the meat quality is.

Well said.
I am in the group ..just saying

 

[andrewski]

Get both AM2 and ZM2

I'm trying really hard not to buy the MDR-Z1R's as I can not afford them and they'd take away from my IER-Z1R's. So, what you've saying is, in my situation, I should get the ZM2.

 

[Arora]

The IER-Z1R is an better choice, even though this model also follows the modern "cold" trend with recessed lower mids.

But it is the better choice and can show the differences, given the Song of course.

I have Songs where i even with the IER-M9 hear almost no difference, and i have songs where its an instantly noticable difference.

Last but not least, it takes some time to notice the changes. When changes take place in areas where you don't expect them, you don't notice them instantly.

Feel free to list some songs where you hear a notable difference as I am intrigued to see if I hear a difference. It could be that my ears are not very discerning.

Apart from the sound (which is obviously the most important factor and will decide whether I keep or sell this), it’s really nice having a dedicated audio player. I really like the size and build of this unit. I happen to think it looks nice and I trust Sony as a brand. The screen is decent although it is far slower than a modern smartphone. Good to have Tidal too as that’s what I use.

There’s a lot of headroom for more demanding headphones. I’m using the low gain mode on 60-69 with both my IEMs.

 

[boodi]

I got the 3th and 4th balanced cable for he1000se : on 1zm2 . I was wondering : and they were worth looking into . Now there s burn-in time . I will keep 2 out of the 4 I have.

 

[wgkwgk]

Hey, a lurker here,
Will this sufficiently drive my ZMFs? Asked differently, do I need my C9?
Thx

 

[linux4ever]

1AM2 (paired with itsfitlab fusion CIEM & 64Audio A18t CIEM):
The DSEE Ultimate upsamples 320kbps MP3 file and sounds very good. Does it not upsample 16 bit 44.1KHz flac file? Also the flac files don't sound as good the upsampled MP3 files.

When engaging DSEE Ultimate, it is also possible to engage the other DSP settings (like volume normalizer so the various audio files being played sound at the same loudness level, Vinyl Processor etc.).

The DSD remastering doesn't allow to engage the other DSP settings (possibly some of those settings are baked in). But the loudness level fluctuates based on the audio file and isn't normalized. anybody experience a similar thing? any options to normalize the audio?

Thank you very much.

 

[TonyStarks]

I'm trying really hard not to buy the MDR-Z1R's as I can not afford them and they'd take away from my IER-Z1R's. So, what you've saying is, in my situation, I should get the ZM2.

If you can afford, I would advise to go with ZM2, MDR-Z1R can wait till you can afford it.
ZM2 presentation of the sound stage, details retrieval, separation is just different to AM2.

 

[Benesyed]

If you can afford, I would advise to go with ZM2, MDR-Z1R can wait till you can afford it.
ZM2 presentation of the sound stage, details retrieval, separation is just different to AM2.

I disagree with this I don't think the ZM2 will be as different of a sound experience as a differently tuned headphone. That being said if your goal is to optimize your current set up and keep using the IER Z1R then perhaps it makes sense.

I would still get the ZM2 from somewhere you can return it if you decide its not for you.

 

[emilsoft]

They are technically inferior to the current DACs that exist.

An Volkswagen Polo is a good car, but an Scirocco is better.

So the question is not why I dislike R2R DACs, the question is why people like them

The answer is simple, advertisements of ChiFi Company.

How can you sell a DAP in a market that is overly saturated and where every DAP has pretty much the same technical specs and sounds the same?

R2R is an solution from ChiFi companies to an problem they created themselves. Oversaturated market where people have no reasons to buy new devices.

Modern DACs have an SNR larger than any Song that exists and will ever exist. There is room for improvement on how to implement DACs, but there is pretty much no room for improvement in sound quality of the DAC chips itself. They are as close to perfection as it gets.

Most companies these days even use 8 Channel Surround System DACs just because they no longer know what to do to make customers buy new devices.

The ESS DAC in the FiiO K9 Pro is/was designed for surround Systems, not for stereo.

And this is my biggest complaint with ChiFi in general. Instead of improving the circuit layout, capacitors and so on what would actually make an difference, due to an lack of knowledge and/or experience, they rather just upgrade the DAC every few months.

And because audiophiles get younger and geekier, they focus more and more on technical details and are always looking for the next Unicorn. And right now, that is R2R. Worst thing, there is absolutely no technical explanation on why or how R2R is superior, it's all voodoo and "You have to believe in it"

Sony used the exact same Amp Chip they used almost 7 years ago, it's identical, and improved the sound quality significantly by improving the surrounding components.

The chips are not the limiting factor and there is almost no improvement possible by changing the Chips, but that is all what ChiFi does because that is all they can do.

And people throw their money at them like they have nothing else they need it for because they believe in the next big hype.

I think you have the wrong idea - it’s not about chifi, schiit is also doing multibit (their own r2r) take. I’m not going to argue the tech behind d/s or r2r. They can both sound great and also measure well (see Holo spring). They sound different to d/s and can come closer to what a good analogue vinyl setup sounds like - a good r2r architecture with feedback correction, solid clocking, linear power and accurate resistors can blow socks off in a way d/s can’t.

Putting forth such opinionated arguments from your side makes me think you haven’t heard a good r2r implementation.

 

[karloil]

Just sent my unit for repair. It has light bleed all around the screen and the plastic at the back isn't flush installed. Both I can live BUT the OC in me is driving me nuts!

 

[emilsoft]

Just sent my unit for repair. It has light bleed all around the screen and the plastic at the back isn't flush installed. Both I can live BUT the OC in me is driving me nuts!

Oh wow that looks a bit dodgy! I also have light bleed around the screen which seems like it’s getting worse… not sure

 

[karloil]

Oh wow that looks a bit dodgy! I also have light bleed around the screen which seems like it’s getting worse… not sure

Yeah, hope they don't charge me for the back panel replacement as I told them I already got the unit as such.

The light bleed is driving me nuts! Even my A306 doesn't have such light bleed. Played around with the 707 earlier, no such light bleed.

 

[emilsoft]

Yeah, hope they don't charge me for the back panel replacement as I told them I already got the unit as such.

The light bleed is driving me nuts! Even my A306 doesn't have such light bleed. Played around with the 707 earlier, no such light bleed.

The light bleed is a common happening it seems, I can roll with it unless it gets worse. Seems it's worse on initial switch on, but gets better in couple of minutes.

So glad you're here, in this thread

At your service sir!