[jirams]

We still follow the rule unless Truss gets in a promised to get rid of many of them

We’ll get lots of support from a Truss

 

[AeroSatan]

This is not a review but first impressions and setup experience. Was a pretty good experience to get it up and running, music transferred not problem with Mac and android transfer. All album artwork intact which was a relief! Apple Music streaming no problems as well. Having come from a previous Sony non android DAP, the integration within android os seems a bit clunky and weird. Maybe i will just get used to it, but at the moment it seems like two devices meshed together, the android presence is always there which I am not sure how I feel about it. It all works pretty well tho. This is probably not a portable device anymore, not that I bought it to be but it is a big unit especially with the case on it. Sound wise, still early days and my comparison was a Sony PHA-3 so not a wide range to draw from. I loved the PHA-3, the M2 seems to have better detail retrieval but maybe not quite the wide staging of the PHA-3. I expect this to improve with time tho. Pretty happy so far. Sorry for the dust in the photo, I’ll talk to wife about it…..

There’s no way any of these daps sound as good or have as much headroom as the PHA -3. If that amp/dac had a 4.4 balanced output it would still be one of the greatest sounding products from the Sony signature editions. If it was a dap it would be compared to the DMP sound more so than to other daps. Expecting to find a dap hitch sounds like that beast is probably not possible.

 

[psikey]

Who's got a Dignis case and how you liking it ?

I had about £20 of points on Amazon Japan after buying the 1AM2 and even though I'm really pleased with the smoke/clear TPU one I got its always nice to have a premium Real leather case. Gone for the Navy Blue one as only colour shipping to UK for some reason (via Amazon Japan). It was between the Green/Blue anyway that I would have picked. Far cheaper way to get one than via ebay for me.

 

[makkusu2021]

Congrats for your new DAP and welcome to the family!

ALAC and FLAC are both lossless formats, it’s just the container that changes.
So no need to re-rip, you won’t hear the difference.

In terms of sound quality, I think so.
But I do have some problem with the album art of my ALAC files on my WM1AM2, some files' album art is unable to be shown, while they work properly on my iPhone.
(This also happened on my old iBasso DX200 and Onkyo HF Player on an android phone)

Not sure if this is related to the 3rd party implementation of ALAC, and thinking if using FLAC could solve the problem.

 

[Andricop]

In terms of sound quality, I think so.
But I do have some problem with the album art of my ALAC files on my WM1AM2, some files' album art is unable to be shown, while they work properly on my iPhone.
(This also happened on my old iBasso DX200 and Onkyo HF Player on an android phone)

Not sure if this is related to the 3rd party implementation of ALAC, and thinking if using FLAC could solve the problem.

I assume you have ripped your CDs with iTunes?
iTunes does not embed the album art in the files so you’ll need a software like MP3Tag to add the album art.
I think it will be easier and quicker than re-ripping everything in ALAC + depending on your ripping software it will not always download the album art correctly (not available, bad quality…).
I have added each album art manually to be sure to have the one I wanted in good quality.

 

[mang72]

There’s no way any of these daps sound as good or have as much headroom as the PHA -3. If that amp/dac had a 4.4 balanced output it would still be one of the greatest sounding products from the Sony signature editions. If it was a dap it would be compared to the DMP sound more so than to other daps. Expecting to find a dap hitch sounds like that beast is probably not possible.

Good to hear your happy with the PHA-3, mine has been my only headphone DAC/Amp for many years and is still a great product even without the 4.4mm balanced. That being said it would be a fairly subjective assessment to rate the PHA-3 as high as the DMP or even the current Sony M2 DAPs. In my opinion the M2 certainly has benefits in sound over the PHA-3 and has more than enough headroom for the gear I plug into it.

 

[Liono]

I assume you have ripped your CDs with iTunes?
iTunes does not embed the album art in the files so you’ll need a software like MP3Tag to add the album art.
I think it will be easier and quicker than re-ripping everything in ALAC + depending on your ripping software it will not always download the album art correctly (not available, bad quality…).
I have added each album art manually to be sure to have the one I wanted in good quality.

Exactly what I do! go for the best quality artwork and then use photoshop to resize to 650. Seems some devices i.e. car stereo system does play ball with overly large art.

 

[mang72]

Exactly what I do! go for the best quality artwork and then use photoshop to resize to 650. Seems some devices i.e. car stereo system does play ball with overly large art.

I think I have spent more time on album artwork than anything else when importing. I cannot rest until it’s all correct. Part of the hobby I suppose. All the artwork remained perfect when I was setting the new M2 walkman. Thank god!

 

[twister6]

Who's got a Dignis case and how you liking it ?

I had about £20 of points on Amazon Japan after buying the 1AM2 and even though I'm really pleased with the smoke/clear TPU one I got its always nice to have a premium Real leather case. Gone for the Navy Blue one as only colour shipping to UK for some reason (via Amazon Japan). It was between the Green/Blue anyway that I would have picked. Far cheaper way to get one than via ebay for me.

Fits like a glove and feels very nice to the touch in your hand without any added bulk. I shared pictures here.

 

[psikey]

Just spent couple hours A-B'ing familiar tracks between my new Sony 1AM2 and Hiby R5II with its class A amp mode with my best IEMs, K10U via 4.4mm silver balanced with HD tacks inc. some MQA.

Using Walkman app and Hiby app with both doing bit-perfect and MQA perfectly.

Sonically they are both fabulous. Sony may be slightly more musical, richer/silky with a purer black background but its amazing how close the R5GII is unless my hearing is just totally shot. Both have excellent voice/instrument positioning/spacing.

DSD's sound better on the Sony.

The Sony is beautiful as the whole package and feels total quality in the hand, but if you can't stretch to £1K+ you should really give the little Hiby a try.

 

[Andricop]

Fits like a glove and feels very nice to the touch in your hand without any added bulk. I shared pictures here.

I have both Midas and Patina - which is amazing. Waiting for the “walkman” edition now. As @twister6 says it fits like a glove, far better than the Sony one.

 

[justanut]

Just spent couple hours A-B'ing familiar tracks between my new Sony 1AM2 and Hiby R5II with its class A amp mode with my best IEMs, K10U via 4.4mm silver balanced with HD tacks inc. some MQA.

Using Walkman app and Hiby app with both doing bit-perfect and MQA perfectly.

Sonically they are both fabulous. Sony may be slightly more musical, richer/silky with a purer black background but its amazing how close the R5GII is unless my hearing is just totally shot. Both have excellent voice/instrument positioning/spacing.

DSD's sound better on the Sony.

The Sony is beatiful as the whole package and feels total quality in the hand, but if you can't stretch to £1K+ you should really give the little Hiby a try.

Compare them again after you've gone 400hrs and see if this still holds.

 

[psikey]

Compare them again after you've gone 400hrs and see if this still holds.

Yep, appreciate Sony will improve. And also depends whats being driven and synergy.

Have you listened to a Hiby R5II?

 

[justanut]

Yep, appreciate Sony will improve. And also depends whats being driven and synergy.

Have you listened to a Hiby R5II?

Nope but I've had the 3Max with Super Class A for almost a year and sold them in favour of the Sony. There's just something about the way soundstage is presented that makes it special to my ears.

 

[andrewski]

Who's got a Dignis case and how you liking it ?

I had about £20 of points on Amazon Japan after buying the 1AM2 and even though I'm really pleased with the smoke/clear TPU one I got its always nice to have a premium Real leather case. Gone for the Navy Blue one as only colour shipping to UK for some reason (via Amazon Japan). It was between the Green/Blue anyway that I would have picked. Far cheaper way to get one than via ebay for me.

I LOVE my green patina! Love the look, the feel and the fit. It certainly is shiny and a little prone to marks and scratches and I love it. I'm going to mark the heck out of it, see how durable it really is.

I also got a Nanuk 903 case, a Brotech matte screen protector (I don't like glass protectors), a Swissbit 256G mSD card, and a nice and cheap DeWalt iPhone holster.

Sigh ... If you care, GET THE SWISSBIT! No question(s!). https://www.mouser.ca/ProductDetail...M1MT-I-7G-211-STD?qs=sPbYRqrBIVmLv5sLjAf58Q==
If you don't care, don't get it.

Note: I saw a horrific picture on this thread of a shipment from Mouser of a card loose in a box. This was not my experience, mine was sealed in two electrostatic bags and packed between foam. Very premium.