[nanaholic]

i hope this is an appropriate post in this thread:

i'm a starting n00b into the head-fi and my current setup is an Onkyo DP-S1 mated either to IE800 or balanced Sony Z7s. I like everything about Onkyo, considering it's price bracket, but it does have terrible battery life and I wonder if stepping up to a more expensive DAP will be a noticeable improvement in sound quality. Someone that started with something that was a little more "budget" than WMA1 and eventually progressed to WMA1, can you please advise?

Specifically what i'm looking at, looking to get used, and hopefully keep budget under $850:

-WMA1 -- love the purity of this device, straight to the point, run your music in possibly the best sound quality available. great battery life, but i don't like only 1 sim card (in Onkyo i run dual 200gb which are about $80 cheaper than a single 400gb card).

-NW300 -- this seems like a phenomenal compromise and reading through many threads people state that the sound stage is very close to WMA1, especially in balanced mode. I really like the USB-DAC function, but i wonder if this makes this device a "jack of all trades master of none" type of device? priced about $300 less than WMA1. Battery life seems great

-A&K KANN -- like that this has 2 memory cards, battery life seems to be good and it's also somewhat of a flag ship device. Tidal streaming is a big bonus. But I am concerned about android system as I have to use a separate Android app on my mac to get it to talk to the device. I would imagine the sound stage would exceed NW300 and would be closer to WMA1 while offering USB-DAC and other already mentioned benefits

A&K 70II -- seems like a competitor to NW300, benefits would be USB-DAC function, tidal streaming. Battery life maybe not so good, definitely seems less than Sonys. How would it compare in sound stage to either of the Sony?

Overall I guess i'm just asking whether it's worth "upgrading" to any of these considering even the cheapest, used, unit above would cost me an additional $350 for what i paid for the Onkyo. Would the sound stage be 2-4x improvement, night & day, or will it be marginally improved and i'd have to listen very attentively to even find the difference?

One thing I reckon you need to be aware of is that Tidal support on AK players is not really known to be particularly good, and there is no offline support. You really need to think hard about your use case before thinking that Tidal support (with a big fat asterisks regarding limitation) is something you would put in the advantage column for AK players.

 

[Hanafuda]

Apart from SQ, objectively I can say battery life, ease of use, non buggy firmware upgrades of WM1A is the top in your list.

Sony's design and build quality is a factor too, I think. Output jacks are mounted independently inside the device and wired to the mobo, not soldered directly to the mobo (see e.g., Onkyo DP-X1a), housing is a solid machined chunk of aluminum, not an open ended enclosure with plates bolted to the ends as covers, components on the board are top notch.

@iridium7777, I agree with your summary of the zx300 vs. the WM1a. I had chosen the zx300 in favor of the WM1A in fact, until recently. Decided to probably go with the WM1A for the little bit of extra output power, extra internal storage, larger screen (won't need to put on my reading glasses every time I adjust something), and mostly cuz I just want it. But I could be just fine and dandy with the zx300, except maybe for the smaller screen which is only an issue due to my older eyes (presbyopia).

 

[San Man]

I already have the premium plus mod and i'm not impressed with the 3.5 it cant drive my dita dream well..lacks bass

The bass on my 1a was just fine and I expect the player to be better overall with the mod.

Perhaps there's something wrong with yours

 

[quodjo105]

I have a budget of about $500 . I'm looking for a closed back cans to use with my 1a . I prefer something with a warmer sound with good details, in short something that can pair nicely with the 1a . I listened to pretty much anything except, heavy metal, EDM.

 

[Quadfather]

I have a budget of about $500 . I'm looking for a closed back cans to use with my 1a . I prefer something with a warmer sound with good details, in short something that can pair nicely with the 1a . I listened to pretty much anything except, heavy metal, EDM.

Shure SRH1540, with 4.4mm, balanced Surf Audio cable... 150 to 200 hours burn in. Delicious, smooth, buttery, warm yet accurate.

 

[quodjo105]

Shure SRH1540, with 4.4mm, balance Surf Audio cable... 150 to 200 hours burn in. Delicious, smooth, buttery, warm yet accurate.

Thanks, I can see they're available on Amazon , so will be easy to return in I don't like them . How are the mids on these ?

 

[Quadfather]

Thanks, I can see they're available on Amazon , so will be easy to return in I don't like them . How are the mids on these ?

The mids are beautiful. Shure is known for their warm, pleasant house sound and beautiful, liquid mid-range. Moon audio has open box going on for $374 I think. I love the treble too, it is very smooth but yet accurate.

 

[teknorob23]

One thing I reckon you need to be aware of is that Tidal support on AK players is not really known to be particularly good, and there is no offline support. You really need to think hard about your use case before thinking that Tidal support (with a big fat asterisks regarding limitation) is something you would put in the advantage column for AK players.

Its going to be interesting to see if AK have sorted the Tidal/ MQA support out with the new models. From the little there is to read out there it appears MQA is a near future planned firmware update on the Se100. Anyway ive done a reckless thing and pre-ordered one to compare to the W1MA and DX200/Amp4 combo, but the SQ will have to be something very special to outgun the battery/sound/UI benefits of the sony.

 

[quodjo105]

The mids are beautiful. Shure is known for their warm, pleasant house sound and beautiful, liquid mid-range. Moon audio has open box going on for $374 I think. I love the treble too, it is very smooth but yet accurate.

Brilliant.. thanks very much

 

[pietcux]

I have a budget of about $500 . I'm looking for a closed back cans to use with my 1a . I prefer something with a warmer sound with good details, in short something that can pair nicely with the 1a . I listened to pretty much anything except, heavy metal, EDM.

Sony MDR-Z7, basta.

 

[JML]

If you're interested in MQA encoded CDs to rip to the WM1A/WM1Z, check out the listing http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/feature/Worlds_First_HiRes_CD_by_Universal_Music_Japan.

 

[Snowball0906]

wm1a + hyla ce-5 mmm

Nice! I just bought HYLA CE-5 and Im loving it!

 

[Snowball0906]

Has anyone tried to drive Audeze isine20 with WM1A?

 

[waxiboy]

what is the mod supposed to improve exactly?

has anyone a/b a stock vs modded wm1/x

the mod should increase the amount of bass specially in the sub bass and tame the treble a little bit. they mod the 3.5 with 4 wire 1960 so i think even though it doesnt have enough power for the dita it should improve the bass not worsen it

 

[buzzlulu]

the mod should increase the amount of bass specially in the sub bass and tame the treble a little bit.

Sounds like the mod is trying to turn it into a 1Z