SONY NW-WM1Z M2 / WM1A M2
Sep 14, 2022 at 7:20 PM Post #6,318 of 15,985
I demoed the 1AM2 when it was on pre-order. Its been OOS here in Singapore for months now but I got someone travelling to another part of Asia where stocks are readily available and now I would like to revisit this player.

Anyone noticed that there isn't a lot of 'official' reviews for the 1AM2 (video/article) coming from the usual reviewers? Got me wondering why. Is it because it got shun by other DAPs? Or units are still hard to get by? 🤔
 
Sep 14, 2022 at 7:37 PM Post #6,319 of 15,985
I demoed the 1AM2 when it was on pre-order. Its been OOS here in Singapore for months now but I got someone travelling to another part of Asia where stocks are readily available and now I would like to revisit this player.

Anyone noticed that there isn't a lot of 'official' reviews for the 1AM2 (video/article) coming from the usual reviewers? Got me wondering why. Is it because it got shun by other DAPs? Or units are still hard to get by? 🤔
I don't think Sony needs the press, good or bad, that come from reviews at the moment. They have more sales and potential sales than they can supply at the moment. This under supply would also put pressure on having review units available. I did find it hard when I was ordering mine, I use reviews heavily to decide on purchasing gear as I can't demo gear easily. Luckily all the Sony gear I have bought has met or exceeded my expectations. Being glass half empty all the time helps!
 
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Sep 14, 2022 at 8:45 PM Post #6,320 of 15,985
I don't think Sony need the press, good or bad, that come from reviews at the moment. They have more sales and potential sales than they can supply at the moment. This under supply would also put pressure on having review units available. I did find it hard when I was ordering mine, I use reviews heavily to decide on purchasing gear as I can't demo gear easily. Luckily all the Sony gear I have bought has met or exceeded my expectations. Being glass half empty all the time helps!

I get your point - but still, reading/viewing opinions from veteran reviews is still a plus to a lot of people. I'm lucky enough to be able to demo different DAPs at will and I know I just really need to listen to my ears but additional inputs won't hurt.
 
Sep 14, 2022 at 9:45 PM Post #6,321 of 15,985
I demoed the 1AM2 when it was on pre-order. Its been OOS here in Singapore for months now but I got someone travelling to another part of Asia where stocks are readily available and now I would like to revisit this player.

Anyone noticed that there isn't a lot of 'official' reviews for the 1AM2 (video/article) coming from the usual reviewers? Got me wondering why. Is it because it got shun by other DAPs? Or units are still hard to get by? 🤔
I guess the reason is ZM2 takes the shine.also, the competetiors in same price range are more easily to get.
 
Sep 15, 2022 at 3:27 AM Post #6,322 of 15,985
Anyone finding the WM1AM2 a little bright leaning - like the upper treble being a little too sparkly/steely? I'm hoping more burn in will help. My other sources: Hiby RS6 and ifi Gryphon seem to control the treble a little better, making it sound more natural and organic.
 
Sep 15, 2022 at 4:03 AM Post #6,328 of 15,985
I also find I can get better LDAC sound quality from my Samsung phone - as I'm able to change to highest quality bitrate via developer settings there, where the Sony only allows best effort. In defence of the Sony however it can automatically change the LDAC sample rate based on the source which is very nice. but ultimately falls short as it typically uses about 660kbps vs the Samsung's 900+ LDAC mode. I find the Sony via LDAC sounds a little soft/rolled off which coincides with the reduced bitrate possibly. The Samsung LDAC sounds almost same as USB on my ifi Gryphon.

I find UAPP Qobuz streaming doesn't work too well on the Sony, it keeps dropping network connection or failing to buffer correctly I have to tinker with it bit too much. On Samsung and Hiby RS6 it seems to be more stable - possibly due to better processors.

I've got to say I'm not floored by the Wm1AM2 so far, for the huge money it costs it's not exactly blowing my socks off, both on functionality and sound quality which I find a little bright leaning and touch robotic. Both the Hiby RS6 and ifi Gryphon I find have a more choerent and flowing sound, both denser and less digital sounding. I will spend more time with it lets see how things go - it might be synergy thing as I have IEMs pairing that go better with different respective sources.
 
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Sep 15, 2022 at 6:24 AM Post #6,329 of 15,985
I think mine might be stuck pixel as its white and shows in certain colors only. Might even be a pressure points from something pushing behind the screen (it's on top where the sd card slot is).
It's relatively subtle it might be that I just didn't notice it at first.

I bought the DAP from a Sony store - was surprised when I got home the box has been already opened and the DAP was out of its little paper sleeve - didn't look used so it might have just been shown to others but not demoed.

Anyway it's small and subtle enough that I can roll with it I think but if things get worse I will be taking it back. If I take it back now I feel they will fight me that its within "acceptable parameters" - they even have a whole faq on sony website justifying dead pixels.. you can bet your ass if I take my iPhone back to Apple with dead pixels there won't be any justification but a swift replacement. Anyway I can't make any judgements I haven't had the experience of Sony customer support yet
Had those on my old Sony, used some apps that claim able to fix it, no luck but they just gone one day. There's more chance for it to fix itself than deadpixel.
 
Sep 15, 2022 at 8:38 AM Post #6,330 of 15,985
I also find I can get better LDAC sound quality from my Samsung phone - as I'm able to change to highest quality bitrate via developer settings there, where the Sony only allows best effort. In defence of the Sony however it can automatically change the LDAC sample rate based on the source which is very nice. but ultimately falls short as it typically uses about 660kbps vs the Samsung's 900+ LDAC mode. I find the Sony via LDAC sounds a little soft/rolled off which coincides with the reduced bitrate possibly. The Samsung LDAC sounds almost same as USB on my ifi Gryphon.

I find UAPP Qobuz streaming doesn't work too well on the Sony, it keeps dropping network connection or failing to buffer correctly I have to tinker with it bit too much. On Samsung and Hiby RS6 it seems to be more stable - possibly due to better processors.

I've got to say I'm not floored by the Wm1AM2 so far, for the huge money it costs it's not exactly blowing my socks off, both on functionality and sound quality which I find a little bright leaning and touch robotic. Both the Hiby RS6 and ifi Gryphon I find have a more choerent and flowing sound, both denser and less digital sounding. I will spend more time with it lets see how things go - it might be synergy thing as I have IEMs pairing that go better with different respective sources.
O, thanks to your post, I revisited ZM2 settings, developer options, I can now force the LDAC to 990kbps. I remember this option wasn't there in the previous firmware. It even has other options like bitrate, default at 32 bit, I might play with it on 24 bit later. Need to connect bluetooth to device, otherwise all grey out.
 

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