SONY NW-WM1Z / WM1A
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Mar 14, 2017 at 1:19 PM Post #10,291 of 45,723
Thanks nc800,

I should have been clearer. I should have said that I was assuming you tap the digital signal from the DAP or the phone (via OTG) and then feed it into an external DAC. 


There probably still would be a difference but if that difference is big enough to justify the price would be up to the individual. I would never get an expensive dap if I were only going to use it as a transport
 
Mar 14, 2017 at 4:50 PM Post #10,293 of 45,723
Hi everyone! I'm new here. My 1A is not here until tomorrow; hopefully it will be delivered on time. I used to have Cowon iAudio 7 and then sandisk sansa fuze plus (rockbox) and until now iPhone 6s Plus. Sorry I advance, my English is not so good.
I try nw-zx2 last month and I was like G! Sony dap sounds much much better than what I have had before. This is great player but still have little down sides also. After I went though all type of songs, I did noted a little too warm at lower-mid range when play classical music. Bass was also too boomy for me with my xba-3 headphone. I try decrease the bass by 2 steps and that alone brings out more mid details and music instruments sound more natural.
Early this month, I went though about 400 pages all so in this forum and it seems the new 1A should be good for what I need. Less warmth, tighter bass, more extend details and more natural compare to zx2. I ordered from Amazon uk last Sunday for cheaper price then Amazon USA.
I'm looking forward to DIY 4.4mm balanced silver cable myself. Maybe cut old wire from my xba-3 and rewiring it. I'm not sure if I want to do it yet. Hahaha! I wish my UE triple-fi didn't get stolen so I can re wiring for that.
 
Mar 14, 2017 at 5:44 PM Post #10,294 of 45,723
My WM1A is raising eyebrows at work with the dual headphones jacks

Some one told. Me oh dude it has balanced audio, get the cable it will offer you better SQ



 
Mar 14, 2017 at 6:33 PM Post #10,296 of 45,723
Theoretically, transport shouldn't make a difference, so as far as I know your assumptions are correct.

 


Theoretically, if the transport really was processing only true binary 1's and 0's the entire pathway. But sadly, that is not the case. Binary information (except in optical formats) is really transmitted in voltages, and it's not entirely "on" or "off" and in the analog world tries to replicate step changes of the binary world. Additionally, unlike other data transmissions, audio signals do not have the same error-checking processes or ability to ask for the data to be resent. What happens in the signal shows up - there's not a second chance. So the assumptions being made might seem logical, but in the audio processing world they're not always (or even often) correct. Much, much more on this, but don't want to derail here, and it's been stated much better by others elsewhere. Cheers
 
Mar 14, 2017 at 9:49 PM Post #10,297 of 45,723
 
Theoretically, transport shouldn't make a difference, so as far as I know your assumptions are correct.

 


Theoretically, if the transport really was processing only true binary 1's and 0's the entire pathway. But sadly, that is not the case. Binary information (except in optical formats) is really transmitted in voltages, and it's not entirely "on" or "off" and in the analog world tries to replicate step changes of the binary world. 

 
This is both true and false. Optical is not truly "on" "off" either as there is scattered light in the fibre which will arrive at different time due to propagation delay  - it's actually exactly as the voltage range in electrical currents.  Also while the rails are transmitting voltages, they are coded in a way such that there is almost ZERO percentage that they can be decoded as anything but 0s and 1s. Engineers have long thought of this problem and developed coding systems to all but eliminate how to represent bits and prevent them from being corrupted or misinterpreted - it's actually the fundamental of digital systems.  
For example, some systems transmits the voltages as +5V as 1s and -5V as 0s and anything below say 3Vs is discarded.  So it doesn't matter if you lose a bit of the voltage (say +3V) - the bits simply don't flip. There are other coding systems which are even more complicated but even more robust (eg using a pair of wires - A&B - which has to both change states A+B+ or A-B- to represent 1 and 0 - this is the type of system USB uses BTW).  Despite "audiophile myths", bits rarely if ever gets flipped or misinterpreted, that engineering problem of "what if the bits gets corrupted or misinterpreted" is solved at the beginning of digital age - remember currently we are at the time where we can transmit BILLIONS of 1s and 0s per SECOND, with NO error, over COPPER wire, due to such smart coding.  
 
Unlike analogue data corruption, the corruption of binary data results in COMPLETE corruption of the final data - so in the audio world it's not a matter of things like "lost of bass impact" or "smaller soundstage", but it's going to be audio skips and scratching white noises.  If digital data corruption happens, trust me, your ears WILL tell you straight away. 
 
Mar 15, 2017 at 11:39 AM Post #10,298 of 45,723
Xba-z5 + WM1A sound better with stock tips, I did a comparison between the foam-filled tips.

Found the z5 to sound richer with the stock tips, more details, more bass punch, more airy.

The foam filled give a leaner bass with not so great impact and compromises clarity and details
 
Mar 15, 2017 at 4:11 PM Post #10,299 of 45,723
Xba-z5 + WM1A sound better with stock tips, I did a comparison between the foam-filled tips.

Found the z5 to sound richer with the stock tips, more details, more bass punch, more airy.

The foam filled give a leaner bass with not so great impact and compromises clarity and details

after your post, I too did a comparison but I like foam more than usual.
 
Mar 15, 2017 at 6:43 PM Post #10,300 of 45,723
Amazon UK have the NW-WM1A for £680.54 right now.  Also the TA-ZH1ES for £1,199 and the MDR-Z1R for £1,191.
 
If buying only buy from Amazon UK itself, the other low prices are a scam.
 
Mar 15, 2017 at 7:03 PM Post #10,303 of 45,723
Guys, quick question - I know WM1A volume cap issue can now be fixed. But, is there any impact on the sound quality because of this? I am willing to place an order from amazon.uk ..
 
Mar 15, 2017 at 7:13 PM Post #10,305 of 45,723
Basically the volume cap is just a volume limiter in software. the hardware is identical, the hack just removes the limiter and is completely reversible.
 
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