I've reached the conclusion That listening to music is an Art. To enjoy the melodies and be immersed into them, getting lost in the music. Enjoying every note, dissecting every detail, no, not for measuring the device as other people do, which is fine and okay. But to discern what the composer intended to transmit with his/her works.
I try to find the harmony between the main part and the accompaniment, like to follow the imitation notes in fugues/preludes/canons and follow the motif in the coming instruments. Love listening to the voicing of the instruments and feel their air.
I love that i have a big library mostly 16/44.1 as my minimum for quality and that i can choose tracks for every occasion. F.e driving can be a symphonic work or organ works with high energy and fast -paced rythm. On the other hand a dinner for two a romantic chopin piano piece, some bach/L. Weiss suites for lute.
Listening to music is like tasting wine, you smell it and then taste it and discern the flavours in it, same for music you hear it, immerse in it, listen to each instrument, to the melody as a whole. I am not saying to concentrate as to "i'am measuring my WM1A to see if DSD 256 upsacle of a CD 16/44 sounds better than the original CD file". Just fall on bed, on the couch and plug your Headphone, your stereo system and press play. Imagine you're the spectator or the artist playing the instrument or the conductor conducting the orchestra/ensemble.
I concentrate as to discern minute differences when i try various versions of some piece/work as to decide which Album is the keeper.
Like @Quadfather I love music so much, there is no single day i don't listen to music (unless i forget my headphones at home ). With no music i tend to get bored
And to reach this conclusion i had to have all my music as lossless and a good source. This started with the apple iPod classic and progressed to a FiiO x3 frist gen, NWZ-A17, ZX100 and WM1A
No but it had plenty hours. North of 100, I doubt hours will radically change the sound that much, I think the said signature is there and will carry on further but you aren't getting another player just because you burn it in. I hated the wm1a and thought It was bogus (sq wise)
I honestly think we all must hear differently, because I find myself reaching for the Sony over LPG Diana most times. I also have a QP1R. That must be because of the music I listen to it as well... I do find I like LPG more for classical and jazz fusion.
I think I'll get a 1z. I hated the 1a sound but maybe 1z is better?
Better as improvement in some areas like separation and better control of notes so made it easier to listen to some busy rock song passages but i only heard my 1A in comparison to the 1Z before the 1A received the 2.0 FW which made the 1A actually more resolving and less thick sounding, more linear with dynamics very present still with the 2.0 FW, so not sure which yours has? Apart from what I heard between them both it was more a case of which signature you prefer as they were both different (prior my FW2.0 upgrade) so was a case if talking new prices if you really fall in love with the Gold enough to of stretched that wallet further.
There are a number of owners on here that prefer the 1A to the 1Z, i personally quite liked both and appreciated what they both brought to the table but the line drawn for me was the price when they were new as I found it more a signature change more than actual sonic improvements enough to justify the price tag of the 1Z even though it was always my dream Sony would do a gold brick like this one day that was so reminiscent of their old ES range of Hi-Fi separates Sony were rebound for back in the day.
I have an opportunity to get one at 1k$ used but still wondering if it's gonna let me down
I agree totally with Quadfather here Naivesound as it was quite scary how much it did change in that period upto 400-500 hour mark. Again only one way to find out is to give it that chance to know for sure and go down that road mileage wise then if it does nothing for you...
I think they are both resolving but in different ways with the sig so again will come down to personal preference if it floats you boat when you plug those cans in and again will come down to what you are pairing might be better with one than the other. I personally liked both and found the Hugo2 a big improvement on the original Hugo but I don't quite get why a lot of people have been asking for that comparison when they are two different tools with what you can do with them.
I am definitely not trying to argue, because I realize that everybody hears differently. One thing I will say about the Sony is that they can really suck with the wrong headphones. I use the Shure SRH1540 in The audioquest Nighthawks with my Sony 1A, And I am in love with the sound. If my LPG Diana wasn't so damn powerful, it would be sold in a heartbeat to get the gold Sony. Oh, I forgot to mention that I only listen in balanced. also, I don't think a hundred hours is nearly enough. 400 to 500 is good
Yes we do for sure, i hear voices in my head, Eh? who said that... I have heard some IEMs that sound shocking through my Sony as a pairing, and expensive ones at that, pairing and synergy is everything, just because two things do not pair well does not make either one of them bad as that said piece of gear could light fires with another bit of kit and you could possibly even change your mind on that said bit of kit that didn't pair in the first place with your source, iem or whatever it may be. I heard the 1A with the Shure 1200 amp/ electrostatics iems at Canjam London and blew me away as I never got on with the dac personally that is in the 1540 model.
Lol, Have to say a pun here but you come across as a little Naive here Naivesound! I'm only going by that quote but have you heard it with any other iems other than the Zues-XR as maybe it's like what I mentioned above here to Quadfathers quote it's just not a good pairing or marriage the two together rather than the Sony been worse than your arse in a Megaphone! as otherwise whats not to say its the Zeus that sounds like wet farts down a megaphone?
If it is the case you find this with other gear than just the Zues then fair enough ignore me and keep farting down that megaphone ; )
@NaiveSound What kind of music do you listen to? I am a big I am a big metal
head, and Sony seems to work really well for that. everybody's ears are so different, I have pretty much hated every Astel & Kern I've listened to
I listen to most genres out there and find the 1A a good all rounder even though I am like you more predominantly a rock head but love Jazz, blues, female vocals, orchestra / big bands, classical, OST's so the 1A needs to sound okay with those for me which I think it does... more so since the 2.0 FW upgrade when it happened.
Have to totally agree with you and say much as i have wanted to love the A&K players just for their cool polished designs like trying to be the Audi of the Dap world I have really struggled with their sound and what they offer for the money on SQ alone even more so when going up their model range and actually have found one player I think sounds okay by them now which is the AK70 mrkII which i think gives the Onkyo Dp-S1 a run for it's money but actually prefer the AK70 to it's flagship Sp1000 model which is a piece of art in itself even though it weight feels like more than the Gold Sony brick. I just feel the A&Ks try to be too flat and linear losing out on natural dynamics (and no I don't mean loud volume making it rock the rafters = dynamics). But then again I may just have more wax than the next guy!?
This if the first time I have actually posted on Head-fi for a while but found yourself Quadfather & Naivesounds conversation interesting as well as the SE to Bal topic about shorting on here tonight actually got my fingers working whilst listening to my 1A which by the way I love listening to with my now defunct Vibro Labs Mayas which I have found to have better synergy than many of the so called flagship iems I have heard the last year costing the equivalent to a 1Z.
So Luke I know you will never read this but you had some ears man and will be missed as I think you worked magic on the Mayas whatever you done with them and a shout out to "LEDZEP" who visits these threads for doing my pure silver cables which now really make this pairing rock even more than all these fancy cables with gold magic mixed in in with enriched plutonium that cost as much as a 1A or 1Z once again.
I honestly think we all must hear differently, because I find myself reaching for the Sony over LPG Diana most times. I also have a QP1R. That must be because of the music I listen to it as well... I do find I like LPG more for classical and jazz fusion.
I love the QPR1 sound a lot also (we probably have similar signatures tastes then) although not so keen on the ergonomics of the QPR1 to operating the Sony touchscreen even though a lot better than their first gen issues they had a few years ago with their click wheel.
I agree totally with Quadfather here Naivesound as it was quite scary how much it did change in that period upto 400-500 hour mark. Again only one way to find out is to give it that chance to know for sure and go down that road mileage wise then if it does nothing for you...
I think they are both resolving but in different ways with the sig so again will come down to personal preference if it floats you boat when you plug those cans in and again will come down to what you are pairing might be better with one than the other. I personally liked both and found the Hugo2 a big improvement on the original Hugo but I don't quite get why a lot of people have been asking for that comparison when they are two different tools with what you can do with them.
Yes we do for sure, i hear voices in my head, Eh? who said that... I have heard some IEMs that sound shocking through my Sony as a pairing, and expensive ones at that, pairing and synergy is everything, just because two things do not pair well does not make either one of them bad as that said piece of gear could light fires with another bit of kit and you could possibly even change your mind on that said bit of kit that didn't pair in the first place with your source, iem or whatever it may be. I heard the 1A with the Shure 1200 amp/ electrostatics iems at Canjam London and blew me away as I never got on with the dac personally that is in the 1540 model.
Lol, Have to say a pun here but you come across as a little Naive here Naivesound! I'm only going by that quote but have you heard it with any other iems other than the Zues-XR as maybe it's like what I mentioned above here to Quadfathers quote it's just not a good pairing or marriage the two together rather than the Sony been worse than your arse in a Megaphone! as otherwise whats not to say its the Zeus that sounds like wet farts down a megaphone?
If it is the case you find this with other gear than just the Zues then fair enough ignore me and keep farting down that megaphone ; )
I listen to most genres out there and find the 1A a good all rounder even though I am like you more predominantly a rock head but love Jazz, blues, female vocals, orchestra / big bands, classical, OST's so the 1A needs to sound okay with those for me which I think it does... more so since the 2.0 FW upgrade when it happened.
Have to totally agree with you and say much as i have wanted to love the A&K players just for their cool polished designs like trying to be the Audi of the Dap world I have really struggled with their sound and what they offer for the money on SQ alone even more so when going up their model range and actually have found one player I think sounds okay by them now which is the AK70 mrkII which i think gives the Onkyo Dp-S1 a run for it's money but actually prefer the AK70 to it's flagship Sp1000 model which is a piece of art in itself even though it weight feels like more than the Gold Sony brick. I just feel the A&Ks try to be too flat and linear losing out on natural dynamics (and no I don't mean loud volume making it rock the rafters = dynamics). But then again I may just have more wax than the next guy!?
This if the first time I have actually posted on Head-fi for a while but found yourself Quadfather & Naivesounds conversation interesting as well as the SE to Bal topic about shorting on here tonight actually got my fingers working whilst listening to my 1A which by the way I love listening to with my now defunct Vibro Labs Mayas which I have found to have better synergy than many of the so called flagship iems I have heard the last year costing the equivalent to a 1Z.
So Luke I know you will never read this but you had some ears man and will be missed as I think you worked magic on the Mayas whatever you done with them and a shout out to "LEDZEP" who visits these threads for doing my pure silver cables which now really make this pairing rock even more than all these fancy cables with gold magic mixed in in with enriched plutonium that cost as much as a 1A or 1Z once again.
Briefly heard the 1a with u18 and Forte and it wasn't anything worth listening to after a few tracks, out of 3 totl iems I don't think it's a synergy thing, I belive wm1a is not for my tastes.
The issue today is... Do I spend a grand on this thing wm1z and expect it to sound entirely different than the hated wm1a?
I love the QPR1 sound a lot also (we probably have similar signatures tastes then) although not so keen on the ergonomics of the QPR1 to operating the Sony touchscreen even though a lot better than their first gen issues they had a few years ago with their click wheel.
To me, it seems as though the QP1R is more detailed and is more of a reference sound. It sounds more vivid. The reason I like the Sony so much is for its smoothness, which is exactly the same reason why others may hate it. The 1Z is similar just with better bass and better extension of treble...and slightly more expansive stage. The battery life of course on the Sony is awesome. The Sony to me is the best player if you're really into extreme metal. I'm talking Lamb of God, Sepultura, Slayer and stuff like that.
I love the QPR1 sound a lot also (we probably have similar signatures tastes then) although not so keen on the ergonomics of the QPR1 to operating the Sony touchscreen even though a lot better than their first gen issues they had a few years ago with their click wheel.
The click wheel doesn't seem bad at all to me. I just got mine back from battery indicator repair in China and it works perfectly now. I just wish the player didn't cut album artwork off like it does. The Sony scales it to the size of the screen
It’s a nice experience, though at times the lesser cost 1A is a better match. The 1A is more midcentric so it fills the Z1R mid area. Both the 1Z and the Z1R are slighly pronounced in the lower bass region making the two together almost an overkill in that area. But maybe if it was as all someone had it would be magnificent. And......you can always EQ.
From looking at your collection I can assure you, you own nothing that sounds like the Z1R. In fact nothing on earth sounds like them. They are an enigma. That said they can take about two days to get used to. Stuff that sounds off the first day, slowly somehow corrects itself as you mentally get used to their signature.
As time goes on I also have started to realize the difference the Sony MUC-B20SB1 cable effect has on the over all sound with the 1A-1Z. And.....crazy as it sounds there may be some truth to........ https://axios.kimber.com/
It’s a nice experience, though at times the lesser cost 1A is a better match. The 1A is more midcentric so it fills the Z1R mid area. Both the 1Z and the Z1R are slighly pronounced in the lower bass region making the two together almost an overkill in that area. But maybe if it was as all someone had it would be magnificent. And......you can always EQ.
From looking at your collection I can assure you, you own nothing that sounds like the Z1R. In fact nothing on earth sounds like them. They are an enigma. That said they can take about two days to get used to. Stuff that sounds off the first day, slowly somehow corrects itself as you mentally get used to their signature.
As time goes on I also have started to realize the difference the Sony MUC-B20SB1 cable effect on over all sound with the 1A-1Z. And.....crazy as it sounds there may be some truth to........ https://axios.kimber.com/
Briefly heard the 1a with u18 and Forte and it wasn't anything worth listening to after a few tracks, out of 3 totl iems I don't think it's a synergy thing, I belive wm1a is not for my tastes.
The issue today is... Do I spend a grand on this thing wm1z and expect it to sound entirely different than the hated wm1a?
I used to buy racing bicycle parts off a rich buddy the same way. The next year some new titanium part would come out making last years product obsolete.
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). With no music i tend to get bored
