[24B96H]

Your right but having heard the iBasso DX90, the Fiio X3 II and X5 II, ZX1 and more recently the ZX100 I prefer the sound of the DX90.  Not just more power but better detail, bigger sound stage etc.. Check out some of the DAP rundowns for 2015 and you will find reviewers rate the DX90 and Fiio's 2nd gen X3 and X5 above Sony's DAPs for sound quality, not just my opinion.  Only reason I never bought the DX90 was it was not available for sale in Canada when I was looking to buy a DAP and it was out of my pric.........

I don't think you have heard Sony ZX2 or you won't say any of these DAP is above Sony's

 

[Whitigir]

People take zx2 too lightly and don't do it justice when they never touched TRRS output

 

[heishiro]

 
Your right but having heard the iBasso DX90, the Fiio X3 II and X5 II, ZX1 and more recently the ZX100 I prefer the sound of the DX90.  Not just more power but better detail, bigger sound stage etc.. Check out some of the DAP rundowns for 2015 and you will find reviewers rate the DX90 and Fiio's 2nd gen X3 and X5 above Sony's DAPs for sound quality, not just my opinion.  Only reason I never bought the DX90 was it was not available for sale in Canada when I was looking to buy a DAP and it was out of my price range as the ZX100 is now.

I can agree on everything that you said about Sony Daps. if you will read back on some of my post here you can also see that i criticize Sony Dap
They are not perfect, Fiio/ibasso has more feature than Sony. i even said that i have more cons than pros on sony Dap.
 
- no screen protector , other brand have 1 already attached + 1 more free
- ZX100 no free case, zx1/zx2 have. other brand have
- no line out
- cannot use as desktop dac+amp
- screw data cable
- expensive case/accessories
- ZX100 not touch screen
- no wifi support
- ZX100 primitive OS
 
+ majestic battery life
+ good SQ
+ easy to use OS
+ Ok button design/layout
 
things just narrow down on what you really need and want on a Dap. if you want touch screen then look for a touch screen Dap.
a couple of months ago i almost bought the DX90 2nd option is the Fiio X5 2nd gen, but i didnt buy them because of reason
DX90 = terrible battery life, some reports only 6-7 hours, for me this is very unacceptable
Fiio X5 2nd gen = i dont like the wheel button. yes! that Da*n wheel button
DX80 = new model, i already expect the FW issues
Fiio X7 = over the budget, $600 above??..
 
I bought the ZX100 because it is way cheaper here in my place less than $450.
Dx90 or Dx80 or Fiio X5 2nd gen + 128gb card = will end up the nearly $450 here, same price with ZX100.
there is no prefect dap, in the end just buy what you want/like

 

[gerelmx1986]

I bought my zx100 to introduce to the ZX-sound and i like it already thinking of a zx2 but let me hold till ces 2016 or ifa 2016

 

[heishiro]

me too, thats why i got my zx100

im NO fanboy of any brand, i just buy what i like and what i can afford
change the wheel button of the X5 and i will be interested
make the Dx90 run 15 hours batter life and i will be interested
make the X7 @ $450 range and i will be interested
make a very stable FW for DX80 and i will be interested
of course i only need 1 Dap, if all above can be improved i will go with Dx90 with 15 hours batter life anytime/anyday
 

  I bought my zx100 to introduce to the ZX-sound and i like it already thinking of a zx2 but let me hold till ces 2016 or ifa 2016

better save for a new IEM or custom

 

[cuiter23]

 
Your right but having heard the iBasso DX90, the Fiio X3 II and X5 II, ZX1 and more recently the ZX100 I prefer the sound of the DX90.  Not just more power but better detail, bigger sound stage etc.. Check out some of the DAP rundowns for 2015 and you will find reviewers rate the DX90 and Fiio's 2nd gen X3 and X5 above Sony's DAPs for sound quality, not just my opinion.  Only reason I never bought the DX90 was it was not available for sale in Canada when I was looking to buy a DAP and it was out of my price range as the ZX100 is now.
 
Sony isn't perfect,  they still insist on using a proprietary connector,  their LO implementation sucks and pairing any Sony DAP with an external DAC/Amp knocks the battery life way down.  Not to mention they can't manage to figure out how to show internal and SD card memory at the same time on a computer.  Something the lowly Chinese DAP makers don't seem to have a problem with.  If you find you need to use the  Sony sound enhancement options to get the best sound then what does it say about the standard sound quality of the DAP?
 
What about the features Sony doesn't offer at any price that Chinese DAP makers do!,  no separate DAC/Amp capability, no coaxial connection, ability to access both memory sources at the same time when connected to a computer.  A decent LO implementation.  How Sony can offer such lousy LO capabilities on DAPs that need it more than 90% of the DAPs out there baffles me!
 
Noise Cancellation, potentially a nice feature but when it only works with Sony iem's and headphones, not so much. 
 
What do you think provides the best sound quality connection when processing sound through a home system from a DAP., Bluetooth or a coaxial connection?  I am going to go with a coaxial connection every time.  There are Chinese DAPs that are offering Bluetooth functionality so not a feature exclusive to Sony DAPs, check out the features on the Fiio X7 which will offer a touch screen and streaming capabilities neither of which the ZX100 or even the ZX2 have to offer. 
 
The one main advantage Sony had that no longer exists in Canada is the physical Sony store locations.  That was the main reason I chose my A17 over the Fiio X3II. If I had a problem I could take my unit to a Sony store.  Now Sony has closed all their Canadian stores.   If you go to the Sony Canada support site and try to locate a service center for Sony audio products, none show up for Toronto Ontario.  Great customer service Sony!!!

 
Honestly its a shame Sony closed down here in Canada. I love the new Sony Hi-Res products (look at my sig lol). 
 
I agree Sony is not creating much value in terms of competitiveness with others. The reason why people buy Sony is why people buy Apple. Sony is widely regarded as the Apple of Asia. Like Apple, Sony brings a lot of new innovations, good build quality, well thought out and designed UI/UX, and good sound quality to boot but all this comes at a premium price tag. You're getting the same SQ of a Chinese player that may be cheaper (depends) but you are buying it because there is a connection which leads to conformity to a certain well-respected brand. 
 
Definitely not saying this is a bad thing as Sony makes great products. I've grown to be an avid Sony fan myself.

 

[jamestux]

Honestly its a shame Sony closed down here in Canada. I love the new Sony Hi-Res products (look at my sig lol). 

I agree Sony is not creating much value in terms of competitiveness with others. The reason why people buy Sony is why people buy Apple. Sony is widely regarded as the Apple of Asia. Like Apple, Sony brings a lot of new innovations, good build quality, well thought out and designed UI/UX, and good sound quality to boot but all this comes at a premium price tag. You're getting the same SQ of a Chinese player that may be cheaper (depends) but you are buying it because there is a connection which leads to conformity to a certain well-respected brand. 

Definitely not saying this is a bad thing as Sony makes great products. I've grown to be an avid Sony fan myself.

I disagree here The ZX100 gives me all week battery life, transfers what I am listening to on my headphones to my car stereo via Bluetooth when I get to the last leg of my commute each day, handles every music format I have brilliantly and can feed my DAC when I'm stationary for a while or want to use hard to drive phones. It also has a superb easy to use and responsive UI, loads of on bored memory and that is easy to add to.

For my uses it is very cheap (and I bought at £470 not £330)

 

[heishiro]

   
Honestly its a shame Sony closed down here in Canada. I love the new Sony Hi-Res products (look at my sig lol). 
 
I agree Sony is not creating much value in terms of competitiveness with others. The reason why people buy Sony is why people buy Apple. Sony is widely regarded as the Apple of Asia. Like Apple, Sony brings a lot of new innovations, good build quality, well thought out and designed UI/UX, and good sound quality to boot but all this comes at a premium price tag. You're getting the same SQ of a Chinese player that may be cheaper (depends) but you are buying it because there is a connection which leads to conformity to a certain well-respected brand. 
 
Definitely not saying this is a bad thing as Sony makes great products. I've grown to be an avid Sony fan myself.

spec vs spec sometimes its hard to justify the price of Sony products, before i want to buy a Sony laptop but it is $150 more expensive than Asus
same spec but i need to pay much higher price, to consider Asus laptop have 2 years warranty while Sony laptop only have 1 year warranty.
same with their Cellphones, i find Samsung has better price to spec ratio, same with LCD/TVs i do more prefer Samsung and LG.

 

[PoRidge]

im NO fanboy of any brand, i just buy what i like and what i can afford
change the wheel button of the X5 and i will be interested
make the Dx90 run 15 hours batter life and i will be interested
make the X7 @ $450 range and i will be interested
make a very stable FW for DX80 and i will be interested
of course i only need 1 Dap, if all above can be improved i will go with Dx90 with 15 hours batter life anytime/anyday

i am also keeping my dx90 and bought another battery for it.

 

[gerelmx1986]

 
Honestly its a shame Sony closed down here in Canada. I love the new Sony Hi-Res products (look at my sig lol). 
 
I agree Sony is not creating much value in terms of competitiveness with others. The reason why people buy Sony is why people buy Apple. Sony is widely regarded as the Apple of Asia. Like Apple, Sony brings a lot of new innovations, good build quality, well thought out and designed UI/UX, and good sound quality to boot but all this comes at a premium price tag. You're getting the same SQ of a Chinese player that may be cheaper (depends) but you are buying it because there is a connection which leads to conformity to a certain well-respected brand. 
 
Definitely not saying this is a bad thing as Sony makes great products. I've grown to be an avid Sony fan myself.

One thing that sony does super WRONG is the damned segmented market.. e.g USA gets ZX2 but no ZX100, mexico Gets N-O-T-H-I-N-G but the old A17, setting this aside yes i do agree with you hat sony makes great products i don't deny that

 

[goody]

I disagree here

The ZX100 gives me all week battery life, transfers what I am listening to on my headphones to my car stereo via Bluetooth when I get to the last leg of my commute each day, handles every music format I have brilliantly and can feed my DAC when I'm stationary for a while or want to use hard to drive phones. It also has a superb easy to use and responsive UI, loads of on bored memory and that is easy to add to.

For my uses it is very cheap (and I bought at £470 not £330)

i agree with you ...try using it with the sony MDR1ABT headphones with LDAC it is great sounding i bought it for £330 i think its a bargain for the price ...the battery life is something else

 

[fish1050]

None of your questions are really questions right.

All my questions were answered when I saw how over priced the ZX100 was.   Just letting people know that Sony isn't the only game it town.
 
Sony has a history of releasing over priced, over hyped stuff, most of which suffers a slow and painful death.  Lets see there was Sony Betamax,  Sony Minidisc, HD-DVD, and now we have the whole HiRes audio sham.  History says pretty much every technology Sony supports eventually fails.  You of course are free to spend your money on whatever floats your boat no matter how over priced it is.
 
Peace out !!

 

[fish1050]

  One thing that sony does super WRONG is the damned segmented market.. e.g USA gets ZX2 but no ZX100, mexico Gets N-O-T-H-I-N-G but the old A17, setting this aside yes i do agree with you hat sony makes great products i don't deny that

 

  One thing that sony does super WRONG is the damned segmented market.. e.g USA gets ZX2 but no ZX100, mexico Gets N-O-T-H-I-N-G but the old A17, setting this aside yes i do agree with you hat sony makes great products i don't deny that

If you ever had to sell and provide service for Sony products you would not be such a fan.  Worst record for product failure and returns of any consumer audio manufacturer I ever sold, not even close

 

[ravdo]

 
All my questions were answered when I saw how over priced the ZX100 was.   Just letting people know that Sony isn't the only game it town.
 
Sony has a history of releasing over priced, over hyped stuff, most of which suffers a slow and painful death.  Lets see there was Sony Betamax,  Sony Minidisc, HD-DVD, and now we have the whole HiRes audio sham.  History says pretty much every technology Sony supports eventually fails.  You of course are free to spend your money on whatever floats your boat no matter how over priced it is.
 
Peace out !!

 
HD-DVD is from Toshiba.  Sony wins the war with BluRay

 

[fish1050]

  One thing that sony does super WRONG is the damned segmented market.. e.g USA gets ZX2 but no ZX100, mexico Gets N-O-T-H-I-N-G but the old A17, setting this aside yes i do agree with you hat sony makes great products i don't deny that

 

  One thing that sony does super WRONG is the damned segmented market.. e.g USA gets ZX2 but no ZX100, mexico Gets N-O-T-H-I-N-G but the old A17, setting this aside yes i do agree with you hat sony makes great products i don't deny that

 

I don't think you have heard Sony ZX2 or you won't say any of these DAP is above Sony's

Actually I have heard the ZX2 and like many reviewers I don't find enough of an improvement in sound over the A17 to justify paying 4x as much.  Especially one that still requires a separate amp at that price to power better quality headphones.  
 
The whole point of portable audio is to be PORTABLE. Needing to slap an amp on this thing kind of detracts from the portability.  I would rather spend my money on a nice home setup so I can listen to high quality music in an environment where I can enjoy it.