[roses77]

when sony releases the 40th anniversary edition walkman (walkman will be 40 in 2019) i promise i will buy the top model... i fear that maybe sony will have plans like apple to slash their walkman line (apple killed almost all iPods, except for iTouch) so if osny releases a 40th i get the top model...

I do certainly doubt sony has such drastic plans like apple did with their iPod, but the fear remains as streaming is catching over downloads to own forever or CD media

The reason Apple ditched the IPods & classic as they were getting less sales of their iPods. As the iPhone does the same thing as their iPod except iPod was not a phone. I doubt Sony will do the same thing unless they don’t get many sales, & want to focus on the Sony smart phone. I particularly don’t like streaming as it loses sound quality. Some streaming companies don’t last long either. It was ITunes or high Rez downloads that caused most of the music shops to shut down which is shame I like the physical CD. With streaming you don’t own the music either.

If the 40th Anniversary Walkman premium sounds better than the Sony WM1Z I’ll buy it. Bring on 2019 we have time to save.

 

[roses77]

I bet there is a difference between WM1Z and WM1A... if i can detect small nuances such as "lossy" process when converting a DSD to PCM, yes there is a difference but minimal and the 1A has sufficient resolution to unmask this. and hearing a big improvement over SE using BAL, from canny toilet-recorded sounding Haydn wind divertimenti to a church recording, with defects in damping the echoeing but whoa a vast improvement, i was left shoked

for this recording i had to ddo some sonic makeup to somehow fix it but not perfectly, heavy EQ and L/R balance, DSEE HX and DC phase linearizer

Some Audiophiles I know have said that Sony WM1Z has fuller sound, lush, meaty bass has better resolution. The Sony WM1A has less resolution you can notice difference after burn in. I have not listened to Sony WM1A.

 

[Quadfather]

I read some reviews that Sony WM1A is more solid state sound & Sony WM1Z is more analogue tubey Sound as both these players have different capacitors.

I have read the same thing. Sometimes I'm in the mood for more solid state sound, and sometimes I'm in the mood for more of a tube sound. I guess I'll need both models.

 

[ttt123]

I have read the same thing. Sometimes I'm in the mood for more solid state sound, and sometimes I'm in the mood for more of a tube sound. I guess I'll need both models.

 

[animalsrush]

another thing to keep in mind when reading comparisons is fw rev, 1.2 vs 2.0. I mean, all is just a relative comparison per ones perception, but to my ears with 1Z the change from 1.2 to 2.0 was noticeable enough, especially with 3.5mm SE output, and also the reason why we had so many discussions about some people going back to 1.2 because they want more of that "tubey" sound

So true.. I listen balanced 4.4 mm and I am one of those switched back to fw 1.2.. love the lush organic sound.. the beauty is it works both for my k10 CIEM and Sony z1r.

Pc

 

[Jalo]

Just to confirm my understanding with regard to line out option for the IZ. As there is no dedicated line out connection on the 1z, the only way to get a line out is to connect through the 3.5 headphone out to an external amp and set the volume to the max. Is that right?

 

[ttt123]

I also thought the price difference was ridiculous and bought the WM1A. After a couple of months of adjusting to it, I worked myself around to believing the WM1Z had a greater ability to resolve micro details, stage, and most important, emotion. So I made the jump, sold the WM1A and bought the WM1Z. The final result, with modded silver wires for the internal headphone wires (plus other things), is that I am happy with the WM1Z, and it's ability to play music that I can get immersed in. Some well recorded (even 44.1), feel holographic, and just amazes. And unexpectedly, I am finding great synergy between the WM1Z and the IE800 that I had not listened to for awhile, as I was using other IEMs that were more resolving.

So I still feel that the WM1Z price is ridiculous, but that's life. Sometimes, the ridiculous decisions work out, sometimes not. If I had bought it, and then after using it, decided that it did not do what I expected, then that would be one of the bad decisions that I have to write the cost off as an expensive lesson. However, if I am happy with the end result, and would make the same choice again if I had to repeat it, then while it is an expensive path, it was the right one for me. For me, it was a good decision that I am happy with.

It is up to each person to decide whether they want to stop somewhere along a path, or keep going to the end. And then keep looking, and never stop. I have always felt that the people who were happy, without going to extremes, were fortunate. If you can achieve happiness with simple(er) things, that is a great situation.

However, an audiophile who has found the perfect solution and stopped looking for anything better, is a description of an oxymoronic situation. Everybody who is on this forum has/are already spending much more than most "normal" people would think is sane. To argue about how much is sane, and how much is not, is pretty silly for us. We're all crazy, just to what degree. Personally, I don't want to look too closely, as any logical analysis would bring into question some of those decisions. But I rationalize it by believing that this addiction has also helped to keep me sane....

 

[productred]

Some Audiophiles I know have said that Sony WM1Z has fuller sound, lush, meaty bass has better resolution. The Sony WM1A has less resolution you can notice difference after burn in. I have not listened to Sony WM1A.

Having both in hand I am reaching for the 1A almost exclusively for the past month. There was a time when the preference was reversed, with the 1Z in my bag for consecutive weeks. As the now well known interview from the developers told us, the 1A and 1Z started off as one concept of two different sound profiles, then spun off with the 1Z became the exponentially more expensive to build sibling, while they could probably achieve the 1A sound profile with less costly components.

I have lived with them for quite some time now. I cannot stress enough that they overall performance of the 2 is definitely on the same level. I never found the 1A is inferior in resolution to the 1Z. On the contrary, when listening the classical or progressive rock the extra snappiness of the 1A brought out the layers and hidden lines better than the 1Z (that's not about resolving power, rather it's about how one perceive resolution). The 1Z's warmer, more relaxed and euphoric profile is always welcoming, and that's why I still cannot make up my mind to flip it even that it is now less frequently used (have flipped many other gears during this time). But curiously enough, I found that with the DSEE on the difference between the two became smaller, with the 1A also sounding somewhat warmer and more relaxed. Maybe one day the preference will switch again, but the 1Z's weight is still a very nagging factor in considering which to bring with me for the day.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Just to confirm my understanding with regard to line out option for the IZ. As there is no dedicated line out connection on the 1z, the only way to get a line out is to connect through the 3.5 headphone out to an external amp and set the volume to the max. Is that right?

Yes the only option set vol. 120/120 and high gain

 

[gerelmx1986]

I have no regrets buying the WM1A, for my tastes (of music) I think it suits them better, accounting the headphone choice as being Dark (MDR-Z7/XBA-Z5), as ProductRed says, the speed of WM1A reveals all the layering and nuances of classical music, even micro-reverb phase/pitch changes in sound with female vocals in church environments

 

[roses77]

Having both in hand I am reaching for the 1A almost exclusively for the past month. There was a time when the preference was reversed, with the 1Z in my bag for consecutive weeks. As the now well known interview from the developers told us, the 1A and 1Z started off as one concept of two different sound profiles, then spun off with the 1Z became the exponentially more expensive to build sibling, while they could probably achieve the 1A sound profile with less costly components.

I have lived with them for quite some time now. I cannot stress enough that they overall performance of the 2 is definitely on the same level. I never found the 1A is inferior in resolution to the 1Z. On the contrary, when listening the classical or progressive rock the extra snappiness of the 1A brought out the layers and hidden lines better than the 1Z (that's not about resolving power, rather it's about how one perceive resolution). The 1Z's warmer, more relaxed and euphoric profile is always welcoming, and that's why I still cannot make up my mind to flip it even that it is now less frequently used (have flipped many other gears during this time). But curiously enough, I found that with the HSEE on the difference between the two became smaller, with the 1A also sounding somewhat warmer and more relaxed. Maybe one day the preference will switch again, but the 1Z's weight is still a very nagging factor in considering which to bring with me for the day.[/QUOTE

 

[roses77]

Please read mine right at the bottom it ended up as a quote, ha ha

 

[roses77]

I have no regrets buying the WM1A, for my tastes (of music) I think it suits them better, accounting the headphone choice as being Dark (MDR-Z7/XBA-Z5), as ProductRed says, the speed of WM1A reveals all the layering and nuances of classical music, even micro-reverb phase/pitch changes in sound with female vocals in church environments

Have you compared it to the Sony WM1Z as well. The Sony WM1A doesn’t have Kimber Kable. Sony WM1Z does, so that’s the difference.

 

[roses77]

Having both in hand I am reaching for the 1A almost exclusively for the past month. There was a time when the preference was reversed, with the 1Z in my bag for consecutive weeks. As the now well known interview from the developers told us, the 1A and 1Z started off as one concept of two different sound profiles, then spun off with the 1Z became the exponentially more expensive to build sibling, while they could probably achieve the 1A sound profile with less costly components.

I have lived with them for quite some time now. I cannot stress enough that they overall performance of the 2 is definitely on the same level. I never found the 1A is inferior in resolution to the 1Z. On the contrary, when listening the classical or progressive rock the extra snappiness of the 1A brought out the layers and hidden lines better than the 1Z (that's not about resolving power, rather it's about how one perceive resolution). The 1Z's warmer, more relaxed and euphoric profile is always welcoming, and that's why I still cannot make up my mind to flip it even that it is now less frequently used (have flipped many other gears during this time). But curiously enough, I found that with the HSEE on the difference between the two became smaller, with the 1A also sounding somewhat warmer and more relaxed. Maybe one day the preference will switch again, but the 1Z's weight is still a very nagging factor in considering which to bring with me for the day.

Wow that’s a very good review unfortunately in my city I couldn’t demo the Sony WM1Z/A as it’s not sold here. I had to go by reviews so I bought the WM1Z. You having owned both & kept both that’s great you can compare. It sounds like from what you wrote that the WM1A has better bass slam, than Sony WM1Z I have burned mine in at least 454hrs so far it sounds great. I also own the Astell&kern Daps 1st 3 flagships generations I’d say the Ak240 has faster bass slam. Owning the Sony WM1Z is good to have a different signature. I’m not sure if I’d own both of Sony’s if the SQ is similar. But a different Dap. So far it’s the best Sony has made as I still have my old Sony MP3 from 2010 which was high End. I’ve heard some Audiophiles had modded theirs, so it sounds better than AkSP1000. I didn’t mode mine as too much hassle to ship out of the country and back.

 

[nanaholic]

Just to confirm my understanding with regard to line out option for the IZ. As there is no dedicated line out connection on the 1z, the only way to get a line out is to connect through the 3.5 headphone out to an external amp and set the volume to the max. Is that right?

You don't have to set the volume to max. Some (most?) amp's analogue output will distort at the maximum output level so it's not where you want it to be. 100 of 120 clicks should be sufficient.

The idea is to feed a clean signal to the external amp and let the external amp do the amplification, after all why put in an external amp in the chain if you aren't letting it actually do its work?