iBasso DX80 looks pretty awesome!
If your still on the fence about upgrading to the ZX100 then you should definitely check it out. If it sells well then it might force Sony to drop the price on the ZX100 as the DX80 is superior in a lot of areas, especially price. I always thought Sony overpriced the ZX100 and comparing it to the DX80 I can confirm they did. The DX80 is priced roughly half way between the ZX100 and A25HN on amazon.com
before i bought my ZX100 i also consider to wait for the DX80, but im afraid to follow their majestic FW issues.
learning all the issues from their previous model, i dont want to gamble my money. i also read some comment on DX80 topic
that ibasso already fixed most issue, yup they fixed it more faster than the 90's and 50's. but if a company already have
a bad reputation of selling their product w/o a stable FW new/possible customers might stay away, like what i did.
i also agree with you that the ZX100 is really overpriced, for $600 MSRP i will never buy this Dap. got mine less than $450.
I actually like the design of the A3. Definitely unique but has a cool edgy look to it. I buy audio equipment for mainly for the sound but also take into consideration design as a close 2nd.
But hey you may like lobster but I may prefer McDonalds
You can't compare the DX80 on sale to the MSRP of the ZX100. The DX80 has been out for a while (electronics gets obsolete fast and depreciate) The MSRP for the DX80 was more expensive than the ZX100.
The DX80 is iBasso's new DAP just released a couple of months ago (not the DX90) and has been for sale about as long as the ZX100. It is a new release on bhphotovideo.com and it is not a sale price. This is also the exact same price listed on amazon.com, also not indicated as being on sale only that it is selling below MSRP. According to amazon.com the MSRP for the ZX100 is $100.00 more than the DX80.
before i bought my ZX100 i also consider to wait for the DX80, but im afraid to follow their majestic FW issues.
learning all the issues from their previous model, i dont want to gamble my money. i also read some comment on DX80 topic
that ibasso already fixed most issue, yup they fixed it more faster than the 90's and 50's. but if a company already have
a bad reputation of selling their product w/o a stable FW new/possible customers might stay away, like what i did.
i also agree with you that the ZX100 is really overpriced, for $600 MSRP i will never buy this Dap. got mine less than $450.
By that logic we should never buy a DAP from a manufacturer who ever released imperfect DAP's in the past. You can't compare iBasso, Fiio etc,, to Sony as Sony has been making portable audio equipment decades longer than most of the current manufacturers. Sony's first devices had issues too but it was so long ago we forget. Should the Fiio X3 II and X5 II be dismissed because the first models were buggy when they were first released. By all accounts the new Fiio models are quite good and very stable in the new iterations. I am not ready to jump on a new DAP at the moment but will continue to follow the DX80 forums and reviews. If iBasso continues to improve the DX80 then when I have the funds I will definitely consider it as an option.
For me the iBasso DX80 checks more boxes than the ZX100 at a better price.
Yeah I'm glad that more people don't take that stance or Android would have never taken off. What's the most important is that companies have the vision and willingness to create a great UI. It's not possible to get it right on the first run, but as long as their OS base is the right one, they have a chance to make it great. I'm not sure where hifiman is going with theirs, but FiiO and iBasso are getting there, at least closer to where AK is. DAPs really have an advantage over phones in SQ, battery life. Interface (design and ease of use) wise, it's hard to beat the default Google Music or Apple Music apps. They just don't have the budget to get into the fine details. That said I think the Japanese companies have some great looking interfaces (like Sony, Pioneer, etc). I think it will take some time for Chinese companies to catch up to the design sensibilities of US or Japanese or Korean companies. You can see that they have learned a lot from the manufacturing side, with all the great hardware they are churning out. But software is still lagging.
By that logic we should never buy a DAP from a manufacturer who ever released imperfect DAP's in the past. You can't compare iBasso, Fiio etc,, to Sony as Sony has been making portable audio equipment decades longer than most of the current manufacturers.
For me the iBasso DX80 checks more boxes than the ZX100 at a better price.
then why they sell products which are not properly working?
consumers buy products because they want/need the product.
they want to use it that's why they bought it. and they will send them
products that are not working properly? and how many days/months
consumers need to wait until they can properly use what they bought?
That is your opinion and a huge generalization. As for the sound quality not worth the price I would put the sound of the iBasso DX90 and according to the reviews the DX80 above any comparable Sony DAP. The DX80 has confirmed compatibility with 128 GB cards for total possible storage of 256GB. No need to dick around with switching between memory sources like the Sony's. I would call 11 to 13 hours of battery life from a DAP that puts out power that shames all Sony's DAPs at any price pretty good. I could not run any Sony DAP with my choice of headphones to satisfactory levels without an amp. The power from the DX80 would make that unnecessary. So I have to add the cost of an external amp to any Sony DAP which further jacks up the cost for me.
Firmware 1.20 for my Sony A17 caused my player to stop playing any music and caused it to restart constantly. Sony had to release an emergency update firmware to fix the problem proving they aren't perfect either.
I would hope that after 40 years or so Sony would be able to release high quality DAP's. The Chinese DAP makers have been in business for only a few years. Give them a few more years to perfect their products and as long as they support their products and continue to try and improve them I will give them a chance to do so.
By that logic we should never buy a DAP from a manufacturer who ever released imperfect DAP's in the past. You can't compare iBasso, Fiio etc,, to Sony as Sony has been making portable audio equipment decades longer than most of the current manufacturers. Sony's first devices had issues too but it was so long ago we forget. Should the Fiio X3 II and X5 II be dismissed because the first models were buggy when they were first released. By all accounts the new Fiio models are quite good and very stable in the new iterations. I am not ready to jump on a new DAP at the moment but will continue to follow the DX80 forums and reviews. If iBasso continues to improve the DX80 then when I have the funds I will definitely consider it as an option.
For me the iBasso DX80 checks more boxes than the ZX100 at a better price.
I would hope that after 40 years or so Sony would be able to release high quality DAP's. The Chinese DAP makers have been in business for only a few years. Give them a few more years to perfect their products and as long as they support their products and continue to try and improve them I will give them a chance to do so.
Sony already released plenty of high quality Daps, they just don't meet your expectations.
compared to Fiio/ibasso they have more features and well known hardware than Sony daps but it doesn't mean they are better in Sound Quality.
if you will go to much higher/expensive daps, how many can match the SQ of ZX2? but ZX2 cant match the power output of the other brand.
even if you put a quad or octa Sabre/Wolfson/Xmos/etc Dac if they are not properly designed they will still not sound good
compared to a well designed and well engineered quality products.
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