[Hinomotocho]

M11 Pro is a very pure and clear DAP especially with THX, WM1A is far more organic and natural. To me the Sony represents live music, not dead, sterile & pre-packaged. I can feel the emotion with Sony, M11 Pro is just another digital transport...

Q-6

I have a Q5s with AM3D amp module - I think you summed it up nicely there. It sounds quite clear and detailed which could be perceived as better, but there is something about Sony that is more pleasing. Also I can't push the volume with my Fiio whereas I can happily damage my hearing with my ZX300.

 

[Queen6]

I have a Q5s with AM3D amp module - I think you summed it up nicely there. It sounds quite clear and detailed which could be perceived as better, but there is something about Sony that is more pleasing. Also I can't push the volume with my Fiio whereas I can happily damage my hearing with my ZX300.

Absolutely nothing amiss with M11 Pro, equally WM1A has the road. I listen to a lot of live music and the Sony DAP's captures far better. Some DAP's are playing music and some are merely replicating music...

Music is always the source, never your hardware...

Q-6

 

[ngxant]

So, any ideas about WM1A to “weak” to drive Z1R (in ear).
And with Mod FW WM1A maybe better when pair with Z1R?
I try alot DAP but i feel power of Sony Dap is very low.

 

[Hinomotocho]

To finance my WM1A purchase I'm considering selling my amp/dac - I was wondering how many people listen to music entirely using their WM1A and prefer that than PC with amp/dac?

 

[Hinomotocho]

Are we due a successor to the WM1A soon do you guys think?

Not talking about the consumer range here, but they seem to take a long time between releases of their products eg the XBA range to the M7/M9/Z1R, then there have been no updated amp/dacs since the PHA range.
Probably the ZX507 was just a necessary release to cater for all the streamers and not lose out to all the competition. As the WM1A/Z are catering to the high end users who have hi-res/DSD etc on SD cards they don't have the urgency to release anything yet. Like Hawaiibadboy's Youtube review said they have their own technology and do it well and are not caught up in the 'new' chip etc continual upgrades other companies are, also with the number of pages and the amount of activity on this thread they perhaps don't see the need to come out with something new.

 

[Ryokan]

I doubt it

WM1A is 4 years old now, ZX507 is like an interim player (upgrade from the ZX300) so would've thought a new flagship was due out this year.

 

[Ryokan]

Not talking about the consumer range here, but they seem to take a long time between releases of their products eg the XBA range to the M7/M9/Z1R, then there have been no updated amp/dacs since the PHA range.
Probably the ZX507 was just a necessary release to cater for all the streamers and not lose out to all the competition. As the WM1A/Z are catering to the high end users who have hi-res/DSD etc on SD cards they don't have the urgency to release anything yet. Like Hawaiibadboy's Youtube review said they have their own technology and do it well and are not caught up in the 'new' chip etc continual upgrades other companies are, also with the number of pages and the amount of activity on this thread they perhaps don't see the need to come out with something new.

4 years is quite a long time for a DAP though, especially considering some companies seem to release a new player every other month.

 

[Hinomotocho]

4 years is quite a long time for a DAP though, especially considering some companies seem to release a new player every other month.

Agreed, but like I said the ZX507 was probably required to not lose customers who want to stream to other brands offering streaming connections.
It must cost alot of money to come out with a new DAP - it sounds like the WM1Z/A are already great sounding DAPs so they probably don't see the financial gains in the minor improvements to the sound they could make and although streaming might be convenient these are targeted to those who want maximum benefit from lossless or hi-res files played from the device.
As I am looking to purchase WM1A it does enter my mind that in this day and age I'm buying something that was released in 2016 - perhaps proof of it's quality.

 

[mwhals]

4 years is quite a long time for a DAP though, especially considering some companies seem to release a new player every other month.

The Sony HAP-Z1ES, that is a very nice device, was released in 2013 and there has not been a replacement model for it. We have one in our stereo rack.

 

[515164]

Agreed, but like I said the ZX507 was probably required to not lose customers who want to stream to other brands offering streaming connections.
It must cost alot of money to come out with a new DAP - it sounds like the WM1Z/A are already great sounding DAPs so they probably don't see the financial gains in the minor improvements to the sound they could make and although streaming might be convenient these are targeted to those who want maximum benefit from lossless or hi-res files played from the device.
As I am looking to purchase WM1A it does enter my mind that in this day and age I'm buying something that was released in 2016 - perhaps proof of it's quality.

Prepare your wallet/bank account until then. Not saying that it would be more expensive that the current prices, but the current prices are not so low or something

Even if they are made in 2016, they are very good at what they are supposed to do, and they are not old stock. I bought mine this year, beginning of February, and it's manufactured in September 2019.

We might even get future firmware updates! They are usually releasing them at the end of August, though this year it might be a little delayed because of this whole situation with the virus...

 

[Hinomotocho]

Prepare your wallet/bank account until then. Not saying that it would be more expensive that the current prices, but the current prices are not so low or something

Even if they are made in 2016, they are very good at what they are supposed to do, and they are not old stock. I bought mine this year, beginning of February, and it's manufactured in September 2019.

We might even get future firmware updates! They are usually releasing them at the end of August, though this year it might be a little delayed because of this whole situation with the virus...

Yes, I swear in Japan the prices have gone up. I can't get it in my country, but fortunately I can source from a nearby country for probably the lowest I have seen anywhere - the only kick in the nuts is the local tax AND some other add-on fee I have to pay to get it. What is frustrating is that I was due to go on holiday there later this month but travel won't be possible in the foreseeable future with this virus drama.

 

[515164]

the only kick in the nuts is the local tax AND some other add-on fee I have to pay to get it

Tell me about it, in Europe they didn't have it available on Amazon (.co.uk/.de) so I imported it from US. Had to pay around $255 USD for that, but all this is in the past now.

Glad I made this choice.

 

[blazinblazin]

So what do you wish to see in the new Signature series DAP?

Probably more power from each port, even longer battery life, smaller form factor?

We can see current DAPs catching up in terms of power and battery life of WM1 series.

So they probably will have something revolutionary too for the next gen.

 

[Quang23693]

So, any ideas about WM1A to “weak” to drive Z1R (in ear).
And with Mod FW WM1A maybe better when pair with Z1R?
I try alot DAP but i feel power of Sony Dap is very low.

You can try 1A/1Z with high gain and balance 4.4. I'm using 1A to pair with Z1R. I feel very good. If you need more power , you can tried cayin N8, Lotoo paw touch gold but i think you'll miss the sony signature . Enjoy

 

[515164]

We can see current DAPs catching up in terms of power and battery life of WM1 series.

There are DAPs more powerful than the WM1 series. However, I didn't see a DAP yet that is close to the battery life of the WM1