That 3.0 firmware has me considering the 1Z (BT receiver feature, yeah), I have always loved the Sony house sound and the price drop on the Z makes it a compelling option
I had dropped the WM1A because of the lack of this feature (yeah I do like streaming to discover music) a while back and recently got a ZX300 on a whim and I like it so much (actually very close to WM1A only warmer) I am itching for a 1Z. Anyone had a listen at both and how much of a gap is there?
That 3.0 firmware has me considering the 1Z (BT receiver feature, yeah), I have always loved the Sony house sound and the price drop on the Z makes it a compelling option
I had dropped the WM1A because of the lack of this feature (yeah I do like streaming to discover music) a while back and recently got a ZX300 on a whim and I like it so much (actually very close to WM1A only warmer) I am itching for a 1Z. Anyone had a listen at both and how much of a gap is there?
I have spent limited time with the ZX300, though own both 1A and 1Z. Though I’m not big on streaming. 3.0 takes the 1Z to a very different place. The bass is tighter as well as an expanded soundstage. I like it a lot. The same FW 3.0 tone change happened with the 1A but due to the 1A personality it was of a smaller noticeable degree. I personally feel the 1A and FW3.0 tone didn’t work well with the lack of bass the 1A has naturally; still I didn’t try it that long; and just came to the 3.0 1A after weeks of only using the 1Z. So my 1A is back to FW 2.0 probibly permanently? When I heard the ZX300 it was on FW 2.0 I think. But to compare the ZX300 to the 1Z, the 1Z is more clear, more upfront with more focus. Even more focus now with FW 3.0, being a far cry from the analog smoothness of the 1Z with FW 1.2. With streaming these differences may be way less?
But you will read a bunch of different opinions here. This maybe takes place due to concentration on a specific area of sound. If you contemplate the difference it really does get big. Also it depends on the scalability and tone of your headphones. Some transducers are better with the 1A and some seem better with the 1Z; depending on your style of preference in tone. Though 3.0 has widened the differences today between the 1A and 1Z.
While both players ran on 2.0 the 1A was more flat. The 1A had a faster bass, and a more mid-centric tone. It almost seemed to have more detail at times? The 1A also had a very different soundstage, where instrument placement was slighly less 3D than the 1Z. Sony’s goal was to have the 1A and 1Z complement each other and they do. Some audiophiles want a flat “R-10” style of sound, and I guess the 1A achieves that. Interestingly the 1Z became less warm with 3.0 but in a really good way.
As long as the 1Z is significantly warmer than the 1A then it's more my kind of thing... I listen to hires content but I discover music via streaming for convenience thus the requirement.
I have read @twister6 post on 3.0 firmware, I guess this is an improvement retaining the inherent qualities of the 1Z. Food for thought... DX200 Ti might get up for sale soon...
I’m running multiple different cards on my 1A with no crashes. I have no music on the internal memory though (aside from the preinstalled tracks). Not sure if that makes any difference
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