[justanut]

The thing is, all these magical self developed components don't offer much real improvement, since off-the-shelf stuff is already very very good.

WM1AM2 is great, but so are many other DAPS and dac/amps around this price. For the sound only i'd rather take mojo2 for example

Not as magical as 24k gold

It's the last 5% improvement that some do hear. Depends on your ears, your source, your gear. If you can't hear the difference, any dongle would do these days.

 

[Vamp898]

Not as magical as 24k gold

It's the last 5% improvement that some do hear. Depends on your ears, your source, your gear. If you can't hear the difference, any dongle would do these days.

Not kidding. I tested the Moondrop DAWN 4.4 and it sounded excellent.

Not perfect, but for the price, it pretty much kills all DAPs up to and including 500€ easily. For 85 Bucks

 

[boodi]

Not as magical as 24k gold

It's the last 5% improvement that some do hear. Depends on your ears, your source, your gear. If you can't hear the difference, any dongle would do these days.

In fact I would advice you a Cayiin RU6 or RU7 if your use is Mojo-like portable and an analogue sound

 

[NewEve]

For some people, this hobby is listening to music and finding the gear that makes it sound best. For others, the hobby is the gear and listening to it.

But if you openly state, that your most enjoyment is the gear, your opinion isn't worth anything so pretty much nobody openly admits that.

That is pretty much spot-on

 

[Noobzilla]

1zm2 is warmer then 1am2 , still not as warm as Shaniling m8; m9+ has a more similar tonality . I have the m15s ( not ak4499 chip inside here , but es9038 ) it sounds livelier and engaging , not particularly warm though ..linear and partially less musical then ak4499, still livelier then 1am2 .

Both 1am2 and 1zm2 have a bit flat dynamics , you might account this also for defining something 'less musical'.. or not.

1am2 is a little bit less smooth then 1zm2 too so..

It did feel to me that 1am2 have "flat dynamics" which is closer to what I meant by "electronic". I think we are referring to that same characteristic but just worded it differently. 1am2 is highly praised DAP I know it must be good so now I'm beginning to question if perhaps the sound I got used to is like a saturated TV where the colors are more vibrant and livelier but not necessarily accurate vs a fine tuned TV that someone would find "dull" after getting used to saturated colors for a long time. But even then, if it's the saturated color that I enjoy then so be it haha

Also , you need give it 200hr burn in before deciding if it sounds 'electronic' , capacitors and internals definitely need a time to set on their designed electrical fine scopes and tunings ( the ones that may add on the feel of something sounding more or less musical, i.e. )

Yup, that's the plan! That's just my initial impression at its current state and not my conclusion. May or may not improve since I cant tell how many hours this used DAP already had. Maybe I'll extend the burn in and not try out again until Sunday.

Edit: typo.. DAP, not stop

 

[boodi]

You' ll notice changes anyway...

 

[Noobzilla]

And that is the reason. If you buy an Walkman with some good IEM, you're done. You've spent a ton of money and your journey ended almost instantly.

And then there are two type of people. The ones who just enjoy music and are done and the others who get bored and want to continue the journey.

The exact same thing exists in all other hobbies but High End Audio is so expensive, that its more dangerous here.

But High End Audio, when people are bored and start to play around, they spend 4-6 figure numbers on things that make absolutely zero difference or even worsen what they had before.

For some people, this hobby is listening to music and finding the gear that makes it sound best. For others, the hobby is the gear and listening to it.

But if you openly state, that your most enjoyment is the gear, your opinion isn't worth anything so pretty much nobody openly admits that.

Very good points!

I personally enjoy comparing different equipment but it's a very dangerous road because once I hear something that's better for me then it's hard to go back so my approach now is to immediately cap out my budget, end the journey, and not look at head fi otherwise it's gonna be a significantly pricier adventure full of temptations lol.

 

[boodi]

It did feel to me that 1am2 have "flat dynamics" which is closer to what I meant by "electronic". I think we are referring to that same characteristic but just worded it differently. 1am2 is highly praised DAP I know it must be good so now I'm beginning to question if perhaps the sound I got used to is like a saturated TV where the colors are more vibrant and livelier but not necessarily accurate vs a fine tuned TV that someone would find "dull" after getting used to saturated colors for a long time. But even then, if it's the saturated color that I enjoy then so be it haha

Yup, that's the plan! That's just my initial impression at its current state and not my conclusion. May or may not improve since I cant tell how many hours this used DAP already had. Maybe I'll extend the burn in and not try out again until Sunday.

Edit: typo.. DAP, not stop

Main notable changes , my ears ofc , with 1am2 burn in were smoothness ( literally loss of grain traits and loss of 'discontinuity' in sound), organicity, and a better handling on frq.s extremes

 

[Vamp898]

Very good points!

I personally enjoy comparing different equipment but it's a very dangerous road because once I hear something that's better for me then it's hard to go back so my approach now is to immediately cap out my budget, end the journey, and not look at head fi otherwise it's gonna be a significantly pricier adventure full of temptations lol.

That is why i just got used (which is absolutely possible) to IEM. They have insanely high (objectively best) sound quality, are affordable (kinda...) and you're just done.

Best Isolation (No need for ANC), comfortable to wear, durable.

If i want a different taste i just use EQ but once you got used to these IEM (like IER-M9, TG335, VE8, Mach 70 and so on) and accept the fact that you have to wear with foam, there is no going back and the journey is over.

Maybe im too boring for this hobby^^

 

[NewEve]

but once you got used to these IEM (like IER-M9, TG335, VE8, Mach 70 and so on) and accept the fact that you have to wear with foam

Do you mind developing this point? I'm genuinely curious as I always found that foam sounded strange — not to mention the comfort issues.

 

[Noobzilla]

Left my 1am2 running overnight. Lost 24% battery on 8 hours playtime. My other DAP wouldnt have made 8 hours.

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

Left my 1am2 running overnight. Lost 24% battery on 8 hours playtime. My other DAP wouldnt have made 8 hours.

That's one of the reasons why I chose the AM 2. 1. Long battery life 2. Doesn't get hot, 3. Sound 4. Weight

Perfect for me.

 

[DefinitioN.]

The thing is, all these magical self developed components don't offer much real improvement, since off-the-shelf stuff is already very very good.

WM1AM2 is great, but so are many other DAPS and dac/amps around this price. For the sound only i'd rather take mojo2 for example

I used mojo 2. I sold it and bought wm1am2. I never regret it. Mojo 2 was very good in terms of sound quality, but WM1AM2 is clearly better. There is a clear difference, especially in DSD recordings.

 

[DefinitioN.]

In Spotify offline mode, the volume is 100. With Clear MG, it dropped from 43% to 30% in 2 hours. The screen is always off and at low gain with the 3.5mm output. Battery life is not that good except for the Walkman application.

 

[German Expat in Vietnam]

I used mojo 2. I sold it and bought wm1am2. I never regret it. Mojo 2 was very good in terms of sound quality, but WM1AM2 is clearly better. There is a clear difference, especially in DSD recordings.

I downloaded an Amy Winehouse album from HD Tracks 3 years ago. It somehow didn't sound good on all the players I've had recently. Now with the AM 2 in Vynil mode / turntable it's fine