[purk]

I think we are in for a super expensive Sony flagship Walkman. Even if it sounds better than the pha-3, there's no way that they can justify that price tag. Why do they want to be another AK, when they can put an end in that greedy firm by offering a better sounding product for half the price. Seriously, this will be bad for their image. I am on board with the price of their headphones and desktop amp however if their performance justify it.

 

[nanaholic]

I think we are in for a super expensive Sony flagship Walkman. Even if it sounds better than the pha-3, there's no way that they can justify that price tag. Why do they want to be another AK, when they can put an end in that greedy firm by offering a better sounding product for half the price. Seriously, this will be bad for their image. I am on board with the price of their headphones and desktop amp however if their performance justify it.

 
Why wouldn't anyone want to be another AK?  That's like asking who doesn't want to be another Apple and instead they should be the next One Plus or Xiaomi.  Silly question - nobody hates large profit margins. 
 
EDIT:　to be frank, Sony's ZX walkmans don't use many off the shelf parts - many of the electronics and technology is actually designed in house from the ground up - including all the DAC amp and filtering stages. While you may not think the performance is up to scratch and they are sort of reinventing the wheel, I personally respects them for the fact that they do everything from the ground up and think they have earn the right to ask for a higher price for their effort, much more so than other competitors which just source off the shelf DAC chips and just wraps it in a different shell. 

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

   
Why wouldn't anyone want to be another AK?  That's like asking who doesn't want to be another Apple and instead they should be the next One Plus or Xiaomi.  Silly question - nobody hates large profit margins. 

 
The sweet spot tends to be good not great profit, with good sales volume.  I think they hit that with most of their newer "high end" stuff...

 

[nanaholic]

   
The sweet spot tends to be good not great profit, with good sales volume.  I think they hit that with most of their newer "high end" stuff...

 
That's traditionalist thinking - Apple's bucked that trend - Apple iPhones makes the most profit per device, AND they sell only good volume, but not great volume.  That's why everyone wants to be Apple, not just phones but pretty much every sector. 
 
Obviously AK's sort of hit that point in the audiophile DAP market as well.....

 

[gerelmx1986]

There will be three walkmans released one is the A series, the cheap one, and two unde the NW-WM I think hope atleast one is priced like the zx2

 

[leylandi]

Yeah!

 

[purk]

   
Why wouldn't anyone want to be another AK?  That's like asking who doesn't want to be another Apple and instead they should be the next One Plus or Xiaomi.  Silly question - nobody hates large profit margins. 
 
EDIT:　to be frank, Sony's ZX walkmans don't use many off the shelf parts - many of the electronics and technology is actually designed in house from the ground up - including all the DAC amp and filtering stages. While you may not think the performance is up to scratch and they are sort of reinventing the wheel, I personally respects them for the fact that they do everything from the ground up and think they have earn the right to ask for a higher price for their effort, much more so than other competitors which just source off the shelf DAC chips and just wraps it in a different shell. 

You don't get my point.  It is good for them to make all the profits but very bad for us for getting less less for our money.  Sony was releasing flagship MD players every year back in the late 90s for 10 years.  All flagships (year after years) were priced relatively the same from one year to another while each new flagship continued to improve in both aspects of sound and function as well as features.  Why can't we go back to that?  Should I thank AK for this massive greed?  Heck NO!
 
Sony is in a position to price their new flagship at $1500 and eliminating all "off-brand" all together.  Why not do that and take back all of their market share?  Pricing their new flagship DAP $3000 will do more harm than good.  I'm one of Sony biggest fan and I refuse to buy any DAP at that price.  A similar flagship headphones & amp/dac at that price are more reasonable.

 

[gerelmx1986]

I will get one because what if its the last one they relase

 

[purk]

  I will get one because what if its the last one they relase

Go for it man.  Just don't compare it to a $1000 dac/amp desktop combo.  

 

[Cagin]

You both made valid points. Sometimes I wonder what would A&K charge for an AK with App streaming, and battery for 30h flac, 15h dsd or streaming (iems or easier to drive cans).

If they release an improved zx2 with same battery potential with an updated Android, add a gb ram, lower cleaner noise floor, they can charge me what they want because they'll be beating absolutely all the other DAPs out there afaik: AK380, QP1R, LPG, X7, DPX1, OPUS#2, i5, DX200, AR M20, Plenues...et al

I just want a beast DAP to match whichever beast ciems I got. Portable slice of heaven

 

[Sonyvores]

So much fire on for some speculations ^^
Well as someone posted it earlier, it seems that there are 2 references which are.... WM1A and WM1Z...
If you're Sony followers you should know what A and especially what Z stands for...
So you can drive some conclusions on the products and price

 

[purk]

So much fire on for some speculations ^^
Well as someone posted it earlier, it seems that there are 2 references which are.... WM1A and WM1Z...
If you're Sony followers you should know what A and especially what Z stands for...
So you can drive some conclusions on the products and price

We love Sony and that's why we care man.  We want you guys to release a well-priced flagship walkman that put a stop to Astell & Kern as a company.  I hope the top flagship will be priced at $2000 and not $3000.  You can get a GS-X MKII for that price man....and that's one of best dynamic amplifier in the last decade with a built quality to match.  

 

[warrior1975]

purk I completely agree with your post. I love Sony, always have, always will. I grew up loving Sony, they were the best when I was a kid, but they kind of went away for a while. For me they made a comeback with the ZX1 and have continued their resurgence with various other items.

I really hope they price their new DAP closer to the $2k or under, and not $3k. $3k is hard to swallow for a dap. I loved my zx2, it was the best dap I've ever owned in stock form. If it had a little more power, it would have been almost perfect.

Sonyvores I hope the new dap will be Android based, and hopefully we can get root access. If I could root the zx2, I'd definitely buy it again. I listened to the zx2 with my favorite IEMS (tralucent plus 5) and it was magical. On a side note, I love Sony IEMS. I own the XB90ex, Z5, Ex800st, and the Ex1000. They are all amazing. My favorite from that group is the Ex800st. They are one of the best sounding IEMS I've ever heard, and at that price point, absolutely amazing. The XB90ex, best bang for your buck IEMS I've owned. They don't just sound great at their price, but they punch way more than their price. Ex1000 is a classic. The sound is amazing. They can take massive amounts of eq and you can turn them into basshead IEMS with some the cleanest sound I've ever heard, if not the cleanest. I <3 Sony!!!

 

[Sonic Defender]

  That would be cool indeed, time to say bye bye to cables would be a reality for me

I already did for portable use. Sold my DP-X1 and PM3 with balanced cable and just use my LG G3 and a good set of Bluetooth headphones. People who don't think current Bluetooth via Apt X is good enough for true quality listening are very mistaken in my opinion. Yes, I, as have many others, have been saying that wireless is absolutely in the near future the way things will be going. There should be no need for physical cables very soon, certainly within five years.

 

[Sonyvores]

purk By reading your various posts here and there, I can tell you do care for the brand