[NiVrA]

DAP is to upgrade first. IEMs or headphones tend to be very revealing, and that means they could get a lot of sizzling sibilants if not plugged into a good source (DAP or Amp)....so, DAP first !

ok thanks you..from your profile pic I see its a Ibasso DX200..what do you think of it compared to the sony NW-WM1A ?

I use my 1Z in the hotel room at night (I travel about 150 nights a year with work) and at the destination on holliday. On the go my iPhone with true wireless iem’s is plenty good enough. At home I have my main rig.

ok thank you! sony NW-WM1A vs 1Z SQ?does it warrant the big price jump?big difference in terms of sound quality?

 

[nc8000]

ok thanks you..from your profile pic I see its a Ibasso DX200..what do you think of it compared to the sony NW-WM1A ?

ok thank you! sony NW-WM1A vs 1Z SQ?does it warrant the big price jump?big difference in terms of sound quality?

Have never heard the 1A. At the time I bought the 1Z I was in a position to pay what it cost so simple went for it and am glad I did as I could not afford to do it today however I’m sure I would have been happy with the 1A as well. A huge draw for me with Sony is the looong battery time compared to anything else out there and I only need pure playback of files stored locally.

 

[ryaneagon]

Thanks! if you were going to upgrade one item at a time..what do you upgrade first?My dap or the iem?

Personally I would upgrade your IEM's. Headphones or IEM's will effect/change the listening experience much more than a new player. As far as recommendations...Well, that's tough...Everyone has their preferences and hear things different. Are you looking for analytical, bass heavy, smiley face, a lot of mid presence?...The list goes on.

I can tell you this, I'm a huge fan of Shure products, for their build quality and sound, their IEM's fit my ears perfectly. I'm a touring musician and have used the E5's-SE535 for over 10 years, not one issue if you ask me their mids / vocal presence is hard to beat for the price.

I also use the 846's for more audiophile listening, as they are tuned more for recorded music, they also have 3 removable filters to tailer the highs to your liking.

I also have a set of A12t (custom IEM's) I use for touring, They are really great for isolation and live performance, not so good for home or audiophile listening. I've also tested the JH audio LAYLA and 16v2Pro, If you have the money...Man those are nice too.

the only other set I use for on the go, are the newer (to me) BGVP DM6, they a 5 driver balanced armature IEM for $200 that in my opinion rival the Shure 846's. Can't say enough positive things about them. They come from China and take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to arrive in the US. But, they are worth the wait.
https://www.linsoul.com/product-page/BGVP-DM6-Earphone

Cheers!

 

[Whitigir]

ok thanks you..from your profile pic I see its a Ibasso DX200..what do you think of it compared to the sony NW-WM1A ?

ok thank you! sony NW-WM1A vs 1Z SQ?does it warrant the big price jump?big difference in terms of sound quality?

The one in my profile is a Limited Edition , the DX200Titanium, of Dx200. I liked the Dx200 as I would look at it and 1Z side by side. The 200 has a different ways to present the music and soundstage than the 1Z. But the 1Z should be more realistic and with emotions in compare to 200 which is more about details and air.

I do opt for Dx200 further because I only use full-size headphones, so I need power, and Dx200 has the ability to swap modules to satisfy driving power. I also love soundstage and airy presentations. Therefore, I opted for DX200Titanium. The Dx200 is also able to be used as External USB/DAC that can play DSD512 too.

Ounce quality the DX200Titanium is slightly better or at least equal to 1Z, and 1Z is slightly better than 200. Depends on what features you want, and how practical each players are for your desires, hen you can grade them a bit different. In overall general, I would rate Dx200Ti >= 1Z >= 200

 

[ryaneagon]

Have never heard the 1A. At the time I bought the 1Z I was in a position to pay what it cost so simple went for it and am glad I did as I could not afford to do it today however I’m sure I would have been happy with the 1A as well. A huge draw for me with Sony is the looong battery time compared to anything else out there and I only need pure playback of files stored locally.

Totally forgot to mention battery life. I can leave my WM1Z on in standby for weeks at a time, all the other players I have demoed barley get a day or more. I guess that's what you get when you don't have Wifi, or Android UI.

 

[nc8000]

Totally forgot to mention battery life. I can leave my WM1Z on in standby for weeks at a time, all the other players I have demoed barley get a day or more. I guess that's what you get when you don't have Wifi, or Android UI.

Yep. With my use pattern I charge it every Sunday and get a weeks use on a charge and never turn it off

 

[ryaneagon]

The one in my profile is a Limited Edition , the DX200Titanium, of Dx200. I liked the Dx200 as I would look at it and 1Z side by side. The 200 has a different ways to present the music and soundstage than the 1Z. But the 1Z should be more realistic and with emotions in compare to 200 which is more about details and air.

I do opt for Dx200 further because I only use full-size headphones, so I need power, and Dx200 has the ability to swap modules to satisfy driving power. I also love soundstage and airy presentations. Therefore, I opted for DX200Titanium. The Dx200 is also able to be used as External USB/DAC that can play DSD512 too.

Ounce quality the DX200Titanium is slightly better or at least equal to 1Z, and 1Z is slightly better than 200. Depends on what features you want, and how practical each players are for your desires, hen you can grade them a bit different. In overall general, I would rate Dx200Ti >= 1Z >= 200

What Amp are you using for the 200? When I compared the 1Z with the DX200 with the stock amp 1, there was no comparison, at least to my ears, the iBasso sounded like garbage. I tested using Focal Clear, Shure 846, JH LAYLA, and DM6's all of these sounded better on the WM1Z. However the AMP 8 on the DX150 was surprisingly close, the Wm1z was a bit fuller, wider, and more laid back on the top end 8k and on. Didn't get a chance to try the DX200 with Amp 8 though. I personally prefer the AK44 chip of the Sabre DAC's though.

 

[Whitigir]

What Amp are you using for the 200? When I compared the 1Z with the DX200 with the stock amp 1, there was no comparison, at least to my ears, the iBasso sounded like garbage. I tested using Focal Clear, Shure 846, JH LAYLA, and DM6's all of these sounded better on the WM1Z. However the AMP 8 on the DX150 was surprisingly close, the Wm1z was a bit fuller, wider, and more laid back on the top end 8k and on. Didn't get a chance to try the DX200 with Amp 8 though. I personally prefer the AK44 chip of the Sabre DAC's though.

Mehhzzz...Amp1 stock on Dx200 is trash, period. Any amp modules from Amp3 and up would be a lot better

I use Amp8, a Modified Amp8. I also now use modified DX200Titanium.

I love Sabres, if done right. Unfortunately, sabres are very intolerances toward bad components and bad implementations, which put Sabres into “glares, and bright” being from the general consensus

 

[gerelmx1986]

Nope

But your inner voice is craving for it (DMP-Z1)

 

[nc8000]

But your inner voice is craving for it (DMP-Z1)

Not even close

 

[bflat]

But your inner voice is craving for it (DMP-Z1)

I will ask my inner voice when it stops laughing from the initial announcement.

 

[Malevolint]

Thanks! if you were going to upgrade one item at a time..what do you upgrade first?My dap or the iem?

Always your headphones/IEMs. Good iemd will sound great even ito of a phone, but crap IEMs won't sound good from a good dap .

 

[Malevolint]

ok thanks you..from your profile pic I see its a Ibasso DX200..what do you think of it compared to the sony NW-WM1A ?

ok thank you! sony NW-WM1A vs 1Z SQ?does it warrant the big price jump?big difference in terms of sound quality?

Everyone that has a 1Z seems to love it. If you need any portability, you're going to want the 1a,athough. There's an 8oz difference between them. You can find the 1a for 700 refurb on eBay. If you buy on a day where you can get 20% off then it's even less.

Separately

What I was trying to say about Sony getting it together besides the issues on 3.0 is the sound signature. I hate the tinny/metallic treble and lack of bass (on the 1a). I'm back on 1.2 because it's the only version with organic sounding bass.

 

[davidmolliere]

@Mrcojocaru Or you can get a ZX300, highly portable and the SQ is not so far off from WM1A...

 

[KaiserTK]

Although I also recommend the ZX300, the upgrade to the 1A made a huge difference for me in long listening sessions. While A/B testing both I found the difference generally pretty small; but after listening through entire albums, the 1A kept me engaged with the music while the ZX300 more frequently lost interest. But ofc, YMMV.