[musicday]

That's a funny question.The guy was trying to explain about the sound quality of each Walkman with his own words.

 

[Conext]

I'll just summarise a few points from the interview which I personally found interesting and noteworthy:
* There were constraints in developing the ZX series, which they didn't have in the WM series and was allowed to go "all out" for sound quality, this is part of the reason why they decided on the new naming scheme

Does that just apply to the 1Z? Because the 1A and ZX2 are priced, essentially, the same. So I'm not sure how "all out" the 1A design could be compared to the ZX2.

 

[nanaholic]

Does that just apply to the 1Z? Because the 1A and ZX2 are priced, essentially, the same. So I'm not sure how "all out" the 1A design could be compared to the ZX2.

 
They probably saved a chunk of money by not using Android and thus then able to use it somewhere else. Refer to a small event held before where they talk about the development of the ZX2:
 
http://www.phileweb.com/news/audio/201507/21/16143.html
 
「Android OSを採用してソフト開発費を安く上げているという誤解もあるが、ちゃんとGooglePlayを使えるAndroid端末を作るのには、莫大なコストがかかっているんです」という裏話も披露された。
 
"There's a misconception that using Android OS leads to much cheaper development cost, but make an Android device that is able to use Google Play it costs a lot of money."  
 
Note this is a common understanding from IT - when people refer to Android being free it only applies to the ASOP branch of Android which has nothing on it.  Phones which runs Google's apps must go through a bunch of certification and pay licensing fees to Google.

 

[bmichels]

  I'll just summarise a few points from the interview which I personally found interesting and noteworthy:
* There were constraints in developing the ZX series, which they didn't have in the WM series and was allowed to go "all out" for sound quality, this is part of the reason why they decided on the new naming scheme
* The S-Master HX is completely new in the WM series and was redesigned from the chip level up and is newly fabricated. As they said if people were accusing them of cost saving in using such a design they would've just picked an off the shelf ready made chip which would've been much cheaper.
* Their arguments against currently popular dual DAC implementation is that because unlike their approach of full digital pathway (until final output) is that it is done as a way to eliminate cross talk between the L and R channel when the signal is traveling in analogue form down the signal pathway, but because S-Master is fully digital they have no such concern (my note: actually sounds pretty legit from signal engineering POV)
* The special 4.4mm jack used by the WM walkman is developed by Nippon DICS - it has two contact points (top and bottom) unlike normal jacks for the plug such that it has the advantage of reducing connection resistance as well as increasing reliablity.
* They changed the rear panel (which acts as the ground for all the electronics) from stainless steel to a Corson copper alloy, citing the better conductivity of the alloy for increased sonic performance
* The capacitor capacity is increased from 350mF to 500mF for better stability during discharge
* They developed a new condenser and the number of condensers used is different between the 1A and 1Z, thus contributing to the sound difference
* They build a DC regulator into the unit to purify the output voltage and remove noise
* They kept the two clock setup (44.1kHz and 48kHz) - but used a bigger crystal/chip for better stability
* The SE output and the Balance output audio circuitry sits on different sides of the PCB board to they don't interfere with each other
* software UI is redesigned from ground up, with the player interface sitting as the home page and everything else pivots from there
* 5 new DSHEE HX settings - standard/female vocal/male vocal/percussion/strings
* 10 band EQ, 20 steps adjustment with 0.5dB per step
* 120 step volume adjustment, twice that of ZX2, plus normal/high gain setting
* the protruding "ear" at the top of the unit for the headphone jacks was designed to accomodate the BT antenna instead of making the unit taller.
* they made the remote because they expect the weight of the unit means a lot of people will be having the unit in a bag instead of a pocket/carried

 
thanks a lot for the translation.  I suppose they do not explain why NO Wifi and therefore NO Streaming !  May be they start to realize it was a mistake to forget streaming ?

 

[nanaholic]

   
thanks a lot for the translation.  I suppose they do not explain why NO Wifi and therefore NO Streaming !  May be they start to realize it was a mistake to forget streaming ?

 
They've said it before elsewhere, such as the IFA2016 interviews given to phileweb - a lot of user feedback said they don't want to install apps on their Walkman.  So at least from the users buying Walkmans who gave them feedback they've spoken - they don't need streaming.

 

[proedros]

we still need to see some real comparisons between zx2 and 1a , but every day i get the gut feeling that 1a will be a fantastic dap for us who loved zx2 sound
 
(saves money for 1a)

 

[Conext]

we still need to see some real comparisons between zx2 and 1a , but every day i get the gut feeling that 1a will be a fantastic dap for us who loved zx2 sound

(saves money for 1a)

The 1A has my attention for one reason: Power.

If it can deliver a similar sound signature compared to the ZX2, but with a lot more power behind it (and retain a battery life that is head and shoulders above the likes of, well, every other DAP manufacturer), then it's definitely going to remain on my radar.

 

[Leviticus]

The 1A has my attention for one reason: Power.

If it can deliver a similar sound signature compared to the ZX2, but with a lot more power behind it (and retain a battery life that is head and shoulders above the likes of, well, every other DAP manufacturer), then it's definitely going to remain on my radar.

If power is all you need, buy a decent headphone amplifier. More power and native DSD playback alone don't justify splashing out 1200 bucks on the new A1 to replace the ZX2. There has to be a sonic upgrade of sorts. The battery life of the ZX2 is already top-notch.

 

[nanaholic]

 
If power is all you need, buy a decent headphone amplifier. More power and native DSD playback alone don't justify splashing out 1200 bucks on the new A1 to replace the ZX2. There has to be a sonic upgrade of sorts. The battery life of the ZX2 is already top-notch.

 
Some people don't like building a stack and that's worth upgrading for. 

 

[bmichels]

   
They've said it before elsewhere, such as the IFA2016 interviews given to phileweb - a lot of user feedback said they don't want to install apps on their Walkman.  So at least from the users buying Walkmans who gave them feedback they've spoken - they don't need streaming.

 
Agree, myself I do not want to install app on my Walkman, but... I will love to have for example Tidal Streaming integrated into the player (just as it is integrated in ROON, and in the Aurender or LUMIN App)

 

[gerelmx1986]

I like the fact it was improved over ZX2

 

[Replicant187]

streaming is not a thing in Japan so i assume those feedbacks are from Japanese users.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Already sold my Walkman zx100

 

[nanaholic]

streaming is not a thing in Japan so i assume those feedbacks are from Japanese users.

 
Sounding like a broken record now but streaming is not a thing in Asia in general yet Asian region is where headphone sales is biggest in the world and is growing whereas Europe and NA is stagnated. That's the reason these flagship head-fi equipment aren't trying to appeal to the Western crowd because that's not where the money is. 

 

[gerelmx1986]

streaming is not a thing in Japan so i assume those feedbacks are from Japanese users.

Sounding like a broken record now but streaming is not a thing in Asia in general yet Asian region is where headphone sales is biggest in the world and is growing whereas Europe and NA is stagnated. That's the reason these flagship head-fi equipment aren't trying to appeal to the Western crowd because that's not where the money is. 

I am also not into streaming