[Bigbeat]

I am very lucky to buy it for $500, it is one of the things that I will always be grateful to sony peru

Are you really sure that your unit is brand new?
Based on the photo you have attached I would say that the sticker covering the original sticker on the back side of the outer card box resembles too much how my NW-WM1A M1 was packed.
With my unit purchased from a third-party seller on Japanese Amazon I have serious doubts that the unit was refurbished but not brand new as the seller explicitely stated in his ad text.

 

[FreeTime]

Small encounter last week to spice things up. I met a colleague who have a Luxury Precision P6 Pro with his AK Pathfinder. He was quite excited to know I have the ZM2, so we brought our gadgets to work the next day. He told me he is very sensitive to noise/hiss from any source and wanted to test ZM2. Nope, he couldn't hear any hiss from the ZM2 with his Pathfinder, and said maybe needed testing in a more quieter place, hehe. It was already a very quiet room left with both of us.

Could not comment much about the P6 Pro with Pathfinder, just have about 25 minutes run with it, short summary, it has the feel of a mini concert with very fast speed, need more time with it, and his tips kept sliding out of my ears. It could not drive ier z1r even with high gain, so cannot make a comparison.

 

[emilsoft]

Are you really sure that your unit is brand new?
Based on the photo you have attached I would say that the sticker covering the original sticker on the back side of the outer card box resembles too much how my NW-WM1A M1 was packed.
With my unit purchased from a third-party seller on Japanese Amazon I have serious doubts that the unit was refurbished but not brand new as the seller explicitely stated in his ad text.

I purchased mine directly from Sony shop, when I opened it, there was dust on the screen and the wrapping was all crumpled up - it was obviously a demo or return unit, but if Sony themselves are happy to sell it to me with brand new pricing then there's not huge hope...

 

[Benesyed]

the telltale audio signal

 

[AudioAndCoffee]

Nah, just a marketing hype to sell more audiophile stuff. I literally meant it. But also, it isn’t like there are people who doesn’t hear the differences, and the engineers intentionally engineered it to be dedicated for audio quality. So your questions lead to 3 different groups

1/ the group that believe everything is marketing hype. Because companies need to sell stuff

2/ the group who can hear the differences

3/ the group of engineerings who designed audiophile stuff just for audio dedication

there is also a 4th group, who prioritize budgets over the hobby

So, if you can hear the differences, then you are good for 2nd group. But I feel sorry for your wallet

now, your question , yes it will have an effects with different sources

Thanks for sharing ur opinion. I was on 1am2 till recently got h7 (pair with samsung hp) as i like it's clarity and treble of the ak chip.

I though I might retire 1am2 since i found a new sound signature (h7+hp). But connecting sony and shanling together make me realized it's a even More* wonderful setup.

My question now. Is it a illogical/overspend way, i mean the idea of h7 is to work with hp right, end up connecting to dap have a better result, at least to me.

 

[Bigbeat]

now, your question , yes it will have an effects with different sources

i tried 1am2 usb out (hi res turn on 96khz) to shanling h7 dac for kkbox music streaming playback.

Listening from H7, music sound more smooth, natural, better sound staging compare to my Samsung s22 usb out (194 khz) to h7.

is there a reason or I am imagining thing in my mind?

Does it mean if i use h7 dac, my source whether it's hp, pc or dap, will affect my h7 dac performance?

Well, I seem to be at least slightly puzzled now.
So far I have thought that if one uses a music source (e.g. a SONY DAP or a mobile phone) as a transport only to an external DAC, it is the external DAC that "makes the music" (i.e. influences whether the analogue sound is warm/cold etc.).

 

[Benesyed]

Thanks for sharing ur opinion. I was on 1am2 till recently got h7 (pair with samsung hp) as i like it's clarity and treble of the ak chip.

I though I might retire 1am2 since i found a new sound signature (h7+hp). But connecting sony and shanling together make me realized it's a even More* wonderful setup.

My question now. Is it a illogical/overspend way, i mean the idea of h7 is to work with hp right, end up connecting to dap have a better result, at least to me.

What headphones are you using?

 

[AudioAndCoffee]

Well, I seem to be at least slightly puzzled now.
So far I have thought that if one uses a music source (e.g. a SONY DAP or a mobile phone) as a transport only to an external DAC, it is the external DAC that "makes the music" (i.e. influences whether the analogue sound is warm/cold etc.).

this is what i initially assume too, dac makes the music, not the source.

but switching the source between hp and dap, i can clearly feel much better music with dap as source. I guess many of the guys here have multiple dap/dac, and they could share with me their experience.

lol, or i had too much sapporo beer ...

 

[AudioAndCoffee]

What headphones are you using?

meze 109 pro, acoustune 1790ti, ie600. I can hear the difference much more on iem than headphone.

 

[andrewski]

I'm learning all the time (ok some of the time).

Not all transports are equal.

Not all Bluetooth sources are equal.

Not all digital optical signals are equal.

Not all cables are equal.

Not all micro ... K I'll stop.

 

[Chezpi]

Are you really sure that your unit is brand new?
Based on the photo you have attached I would say that the sticker covering the original sticker on the back side of the outer card box resembles too much how my NW-WM1A M1 was packed.
With my unit purchased from a third-party seller on Japanese Amazon I have serious doubts that the unit was refurbished but not brand new as the seller explicitely stated in his ad text.

Yes, it's completely new, with a guarantee purchased at a branch of the same brand, it's rare because they put it at that price in my country, but I'm happy that it is, rather they only send stock of 5 units every 2 months approximately .
The photo is because my friend bought it for me, that's why the label looks bad.

 

[likeafranfran]

yes it could be cheap but I do not think it costs $US 500 for a brand new unit, that price is too crazy.

In chile costs aprox US $725

 

[SRKRAM]

I just bought a used WM1AM2 from Japan. I wondered where I can find the number of hours the 4.4 and 3.5mm outputs have been used? I don’t find the info in the About Device section.

 

[likeafranfran]

I just bought a used WM1AM2 from Japan. I wondered where I can find the number of hours the 4.4 and 3.5mm outputs have been used? I don’t find the info in the About Device section.

search in the walkman app settings

 

[ttt123]

this is what i initially assume too, dac makes the music, not the source.

but switching the source between hp and dap, i can clearly feel much better music with dap as source. I guess many of the guys here have multiple dap/dac, and they could share with me their experience.

lol, or i had too much sapporo beer ...

Here is a very interesting article on "Why digital circuits influence the sound quality" by Hans Beekhuyzen

This article is on why digital switches (routers/switches) affect sound quality, but it applies equally to any source/medium, like a DAP, Transport, cables, clocks, power supplies, etc.
The core learning (for me) is that digital data is different from digital audio.
- Data can be transported accurately, regardless of timing/jitter/noise. For Data, it is true that "bits are bits". This is the technical rationale, that as long as this is true, then there can be no difference attributed to sources, cables, network switches, etc. i.e. If the bits received is the same as the bits transmitted, then nothing else can matter, and there can be no effect on audio. This is the simplistic view, and it sounds so logical that it is hard to refute. But things are not that simple....

- Audio uses the data, but the end result, even though the data is perfect, can still result in a different sound, due to timing/jitter, noise, etc., and how these can affect the translation of those bits to music.
You could describe the situation as:
Data is 1 dimensional, and much easier to do than Music, which is 3 dimensional, and depends on attributes that do not matter to Data. (No, this is not science, just my simplistic way to try to understand this complex area)

So the above is something to think about, as long as the mantra of "bits is bits" has not hardened your mind to any other possible complexity when an old Data Transport medium is used for Audio, which it was not designed for.

And if the thought that Audio can be affected by different sources gives you heart failure, then by all means disregard this.
The hobby is about enjoying music, and as long as you are doing that.......

Oh, and I've found a cheap MicroSD card (Sandisk High Endurance 256gb) which sounds excellent. But that subject is even more divisive, so please disregard. One heart attack a day is enough......