[musicday]

Tera Player - 80 gr

 

[nanaholic]

  Okey, first off I don't dislike Sony, I currently own an A17 and a STRDN860 receiver and I like them both very much.  I got good deals on both and so far they have worked great for me.  I have owned and sold alot of Sony products over the years.  Some have been really good and worth the money.  Based on what I am reading about these new DAP's Sony has way overpriced them for what they have to offer.  
 
According to some reports the WM1A is going to replace the ZX2. So you have a new 2016/2017 DAP that offers fewer features than the model it is replacing and with the same suggested price.
 
Comparison ZX2 to WM1A
Same  unit dimensions, same screen size and resolution, same battery life, same storage capacity, NO ANDROID, NO WIRELESS.  
 
At first glance it appears all the changes Sony has made are cosmetic or a reduction in features.  I am willing to bet that the screen and the guts of the new WM1A are the same as or very close to the same as the ZX2.  Suggested retail price is the same.  Sony expects the consumer to pay the same price or more and get less.  All the changes are for pure profit, NO ANDROID, NO WIRELESS = LOWER PRODUCTION COST, SAME SELLING PRICE - LOWER PRODUCTION COST = HIGHER PROFIT.  
 
As for your reference to Sony's financial report, this report is sent to every financial analysis firm and publication.  They not only go by the financial information provided by Sony but they also dig even deeper and take previous years reports into account to paint a true picture of where Sony stands financially.  Again I don't really care about Sony's overall financial situation I only care that they sell good quality products and reasonable prices. 

 
I'm not saying you hate Sony as a whole, I don't care about your product history with Sony but you are clearly unhappy with the new Walkman strategy and I'm just focusing on that alone.
 
The WM1A does native DSD decoding, is most very likely going to have a higher power output (one of the biggest criticism of the ZX2) and has true balance instead of the separate ground in the ZX2. I don't see those as being fewer features than the ZX2.  In fact I see it as being geared more to what most audiophiles (at least in Asia region where streaming market is almost non-existent) want.  You don't like the lack of Android and wireless and see that as being less features, but that's not fact but a subjective opinion. There are others who don't actually like Android too because of how its API handles audio, to them the walkman OS build from the ground up for audio is actually a feature and not a cost cutting measure (plus I would bet money doing their own OS instead of using Android doesn't actually save them that much money - they have to keep a bunch of coders on salary).  There are others whom already said they have no need for wireless, and one could even argue a wireless radio adds noise internally which degrades the audio experience. So I urge you to rethink your position and stop pushing your own personal needs as fact and what ALL consumers want as well as saying that's how Sony is doing their products, when people from the inside had already said otherwise too. 

 

[headfi19]

As a royal customer of Sony for many many years ,I am very sad to see Sony fails without far vision of music life 

 

[mw7485]

4.4 true balanced out and Native DSD Output or playback capability

...you've got me on the DSD stuff - and balanced output. But the price of these features in terms of what's missing is not good. And the feature set as a whole doesn't really differentiate it from the rest of the current market. Don't get me wrong, I really hope Sony makes a go of it, and that those who buy it are not disappointed. I just feel so much more could have gone into this. Ho hum.

 

[fish1050]

  I believe there seems to be some ups and downs for many people in Sony's strategy, but "WHAT IS THAT WEIGHT" is the most immediate question that comes to my mind.
 
Sony A25 - 66 gr
Sony ZX100 - 145 gr
Ibasso DX100 - 265 gr
Astell & Kern Ak380 - 230 gr
Sony ZX2 - 235 gr
 
Sony WM1A - 267 gr
Sony WM1Z - 455 gr
 
Personally thinking of ZX2 as "a heavy device", this is plain gargantuan with it's weight. It even rivals some player + dac / amp combos on that aspect.
 
You raised the bar too high this time Sony.
 
Your new toys should better bring audio nirvana to our ears..!

The added weight is clearly due to the copper body instead of aluminum.  Sony appears to be focusing on making changes to eke out very small possibly imperceptible change to sound quality and forgetting that other features matter as well including the size, weight and portability.  I carry around a smart phone and sometimes a tablet and also carrying a DAP this big and heavy loses its appeal pretty quick regardless of how good it sounds.  This is a portable DAP after all and not a high end home audio product.  
 
Don't get me wrong, I applaud Sony for wanting to make a great sounding DAP.  But I think they are getting carried away a little bit and neglecting other aspects of DAP design that matter. Especially if other manufacturers are offering these features at lower prices and still producing high sound quality.  

 

[drabbish]

Do these play MQA!? Haha just trolled this entire thread.

 

[deafdoorknob]

The added weight is clearly due to the copper body instead of aluminum.  Sony appears to be focusing on making changes to eke out very small possibly imperceptible change to sound quality and forgetting that other features matter as well including the size, weight and portability.  I carry around a smart phone and sometimes a tablet and also carrying a DAP this big and heavy loses its appeal pretty quick regardless of how good it sounds.  This is a portable DAP after all and not a high end home audio product.  

Don't get me wrong, I applaud Sony for wanting to make a great sounding DAP.  But I think they are getting carried away a little bit and neglecting other aspects of DAP design that matter. Especially if other manufacturers are offering these features at lower prices and still producing high sound quality.  

Rightly and wrongly, at this price and as part of the Signature ecosystem, it is clearly meant to be transportable first and portable second. as for it not being streaming or having wifi (which rules it out for me) is mostly fine to its domestic and East Asian markets where services like tidal and Spotify are less popular amongst the audiophile market than they are in NA and EU.

 

[Mimouille]

I hope people are not going to buy into the pure con that the casing material of the player changes the sound...like with the Ak380cu...if the sound is indeed different, either it is different internals, or it is Eq.

They are saying the copper material will give it the natural sound because many instruments use copper? Are you kidding me? This is the biggest BS I have ever heard, worst than cable burn in. Man these audio marketing guys really have no limit.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Any news if the come with an aapter for 4.4 balanced to dual 3.5mm TRS plugs?

 

[bvng3540]

I hope people are not going to buy into the pure con that the casing material of the player changes the sound...like with the Ak380cu...if the sound is indeed different, either it is different internals, or it is Eq.

They are saying the copper material will give it the natural sound because many instruments use copper? Are you kidding me? This is the biggest BS I have ever heard, worst than cable burn in. Man these audio marketing guys really have no limit.

I had said this before, manufacturers will ask or want what they want for their products as long as people willing to paid for it

 

[Whitigir]

I hope people are not going to buy into the pure con that the casing material of the player changes the sound...like with the Ak380cu...if the sound is indeed different, either it is different internals, or it is Eq.

They are saying the copper material will give it the natural sound because many instruments use copper? Are you kidding me? This is the biggest BS I have ever heard, worst than cable burn in. Man these audio marketing guys really have no limit.

Mwahahahaha !mthanks for the good laugh. That is marketing Bs for sure. But look closely into the gold version VS the Aluminum based version. I will list it out

1/ The newest Advanced S-Master HX as Opposed to S-Master HX in 1A which is also found on Zx2

2/ Kimber cables internally VS Oxygen free Copper inside 1A or Zx2

3/ more TFT Capacitors vs OS-Con capacitors in 1A

4/ better Films resistors VS 1A

The most important thing is the (Advanced S-Master HX) chip set inside the Gold Walkman....it is not the Copper-Gold chassis that bring the improvements........

Treat the marketing above as "sarcasm toward AK statement", and look at how beefy the Gold Walkman is built and the differences

 

[Jalo]

Sony WM1Z is 455 grams AK380cu is 370grams. This thing is a brick. It still only has a 10 band EQ and no PQ? What is the DAC inside the WM1Z? Thank you Sony, now the only way AK can one up on Sony is to come up with a solid silver case and oled screen. Paw Gold still has more power at 500mw per channel and it is still very addicting.I do like the 4.4 standard a lot it just look much more sturdy. Let's hope the sound will hold up when folks get to listen to it tomorrow at Jaben. Please compare to LPG and 380cu. May be the copper=to better do have some merit?

 

[Mimouille]

I had said this before, manufacturers will ask or want what they want for their products as long as people willing to paid for it

I am willing to pay for anything of there is an honest rational. If they day, it is 2k more because it is gold and pretty that is OK. Or if they say, it sounds better because it had better internals, ok. But not it sounds better because of the casing.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

I am willing to pay for anything of there is an honest rational. If they day, it is 2k more because it is gold and pretty that is OK. Or if they say, it sounds better because it had better internals, ok. But not it sounds better because of the casing.

 
When do you think you'll be able to audition these?  And will you try both the Z and A?

 

[proedros]

Sony WM1Z is 455 grams AK380cu is 370grams. This thing is a brick. It still only has a 10 band EQ and no PQ? What is the DAC inside the WM1Z? Thank you Sony, now the only way AK can one up on Sony is to come up with a solid silver case and oled screen. Paw Gold still has more power at 500mw per channel and it is still very addicting.I do like the 4.4 standard a lot it just look much more sturdy. Let's hope the sound will hold up when folks get to listen to it tomorrow at Jaben. Please compare to LPG and 380cu. May be the copper=to better do have some merit?

 
zx2 needed burn in , it would very funny if wm1a/z sound like **** due to being brand new 

 
the only question that really matters (and which none of us has the slightest idea) is how these sound ?