WM1A vs WM1Z Comparison
I recently spent several hours A-B testing the 1A and 1Z and thought I'd share my observations. All testing was done with my Fitear MH335DW SRs. The units were set to direct mode with low gain. I tested three different pairs of units for just over an hour each:
Shop 1: Firmware 1.0, 1A 71 hours, 1Z 36 hours
Shop 2: Firmware 1.01, 1A 139 hours, 1Z 83 hours
Shop 3. Firmware 1.02, 1A 105 hours, 1Z 132 hours
These were all store demo units so I can't say how many hours went into balanced vs. single ended use. I did the majority of my listening on the 3.5 single ended output, but Shop 3 had a 4.4->2.5 adapter available so I did some listening in balanced mode there.
Diana Krall - Love Me Like a Man
Album : The Girl In The Other Room
DSD64
1A: Clear sound, more emphasis on leading edges and hence a more 'toe tapping', exciting sound. 'S' sounds stand out more in vocals
1Z: Less emphasis on 's' sounds, more relaxed feeling, details I noticed on the 1A went unnoticed here.
On this song I preferred the 1A as I felt it better conveyed the drive and rhythm of the song.
Diana Krall - Departure Bay
Album : The Girl In The Other Room
DSD64
1A: This song also had a strong sense of clarity in both vocals and instruments. The singer's breathing was also more apparent.
1Z: The 1Z made the track feel more intimate. Room ambience was much more apparent, especially in the vocals. Emphasis was on tonality over detail.
The 1Z pulled ahead on this track, conveying the emotion in the singer's voice beautifully.
Cowboy Junkies - Supernatural
Album: The Nomad Series Volume 4 - Demons
FLAC 16/44
1A: Airy sounding, string plucks sound great, more forward sound, imaging is pinpoint sharp.
1Z: Natural, relaxed, sense of ambience is great, more smoothly distributed soundstage.
I enjoyed both players on this track, so I won't pick a winner here.
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, From the New World, 1st movement
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by István Kertész
DSD64
1A: The horn section stood out more on the 1A. It also presented an overall more powerful presentation.
1Z: The strings were a strong point of the 1Z, where they had an excellent sense of tone and resonance. The soundstage was equivalent in width and depth to the 1A but sounded more coherent with the different instruments flowing into one another.
I'll give this one to the 1Z, but on the condition that I'd want to use a higher volume setting vs the 1A to achieve the proper sense of scale.
Saint-Saëns - Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso Op. 28
Your Lie In April Soundtrack
FLAC 24/96
1A: Pure tone, sense of accuracy, better drive and excitement. Light and prancing violin. The breathing of the violinist was more obvious vs the 1Z.
1Z: full bodied sound, excellent hall ambience and reverberation, can hear the wood of the violin. Emphasis on tone over air.
I enjoyed both players on this track, but I'll give a slight edge to the 1A. It delivers better on the excitement of the piece and on the nuances of the bow work here.
Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
Album: Twilight of the Thunder God
MP3 320 Kbps
I didn't take detailed notes for this track. Based on the above results though I expected the 1A to win here. Interestingly though the 1Z held its own, losing nothing to the 1A. I expect it would also be a bit less fatiguing in long listening sessions.
So the question now is which one to buy...and I'm still not sure I've made a decision. It's hard to rationally justify the price premium of the 1Z, but it does do some great things with acoustic music and has a wonderfully luxurious feel. I think based on sound alone though many people will actually prefer the 1A. It has a more versatile signature and will appeal to people that like accuracy and detail. In return for its great ambience and tone the 1Z tends to remove the excitement and drive from some songs.
Hope some people will find this useful!
