[Zakalwe]

Technology has advanced somewhat in my lifetime where my interest started in the 1940s with a soldering job on a crystal set receiving AM radio.  First music was via cylinders on an old Edison phonograph (still have it but the cylinders crumbled away years ago), then 78s on a wind up Columbia portable, mono then stereo microgrooves, CDs, SACDs, LDs, DVDs and now BDs and of course DAPs and music on a server.  I'm really feeling ancient these days.

This I find really fascinating. Myself I am approaching 40 now, and I can already look back on some significant technological changes - personal computers were in their infancy when I was, I have seen CDs come and (mostly) go, mobile phones have changed our ways of communication, and of course the rise of the internet (I remember spending hours in libraries searching for some precious tidbit of information, now it is all here everywhere all the time). Yet there have obviously been so many more technological changes before my time, often with much greater impact on society, some of which you must have witnessed - TV, widespread air travel and mobility in general, birth control, advances in medicine. The moon landing - my personal pet peeve, I am very annoyed at my parents for having missed that. Sometimes I already find it tiresome to keep up with the developments; for example, I was very late with getting a mobile phone. "Do I really need to bother with this stuff the kids are using?" I kept thinking. The changes the world have gone through during your life so far are much more significant, and you seem to have kept an open and sound mind, which must give you an interesting perspective on things. Congratulations, and keep it up! I hope I can maintain the self discipline to do the same.

 

[gerelmx1986]

i have only used digital compct casettes for a very short time and then CD only, then WMA, 160kbps, then mp3 192kbps, then AAC 256kbps and finally after the "downgrade of sonic quality" period probably 10 years i went back to "sonic quality as it should be" and began using FLAC since then, so since 2012 i am lossy-files free.
 
My lossy format mp3, WMA and AAC was from 2002-2012 (at the end of 2012 i started ripping it all to flac and redownloading)
 
My DAP period started in 2004 with my first sony walkman a 1GB Network walkman, -WMA
2007 i switched to an 8GB video walkman A810 series, -MP3
then in 2009 got my 32GB x series, -MP3
2011 the iPod, MP3/AAC/LOSSLESS (flac converted to alac)
2013 the fiio x3 I which was 8GB + 128GB card,- FLAC
2014 the A17 64GB + 128GB card -FLAC
2015 to present the ZX100 128GB + 200GB card -FLAC
 
the format after the dash denotes what files i used to play on the dap i owned

 

[Headphone4Life]

I was wondering what dac does it use?  Is it a name brand one like from Cirrus-Logic or their own proprietary dac?

 

[gerelmx1986]

  I was wondering what dac does it use?  Is it a name brand one like from Cirrus-Logic or their own proprietary dac?

a propetary sony DAC S-master

 

[deltronzero]

How is ZX100's line out?  ZX2's line out is basically unusable due to how low the volume is.

 

[gerelmx1986]

  How is ZX100's line out?  ZX2's line out is basically unusable due to how low the volume is.

 
I think is the same as ZX2, sony hasn't bothered on improving it's LO performance , i know it sucks, i owned an A17 walkman and it had very low LO volume too!

 

[fish1050]

  I was wondering what dac does it use?  Is it a name brand one like from Cirrus-Logic or their own proprietary dac?

 
 

 
a propetary sony DAC S-master

 
 

   
I think is the same as ZX2, sony hasn't bothered on improving it's LO performance , i know it sucks, i owned an A17 walkman and it had very low LO volume too!

I actually touched on the Sony DAP design in detail early on in the A10 series forum.  The readers digest version, Sony doesn't really have a DAC in the traditional sense.  The sound kind of gets fed right from the amplifier stage.  Unlike most DAP's Sony uses a proprietary Class D digital amplifier instead of a more traditional Class A/B amplifier.  That is a big part of the reason Sony gets such good battery life.  Class D amplifiers are very efficient and lose much less power to heat than other designs.  On the downside they don't scale very well so using a Class D amp in a portable device limits how much power it can produce thus the low LO volume.  Sony chose to go for more battery life than power and in line with Apple and likes to stay proprietary including the dreaded WM-port. 
 
The ZX100 produces a little more power because Sony uses different capacitors on the amplifier output stage to increase the output power.

 

[Gosod]

   
I think is the same as ZX2, sony hasn't bothered on improving it's LO performance , i know it sucks, i owned an A17 walkman and it had very low LO volume too!

I also had A17 and I liked him, he had a good sound for its size!

 

[Tassie Devil]

   
 
 
 

I actually touched on the Sony DAP design in detail early on in the A10 series forum.  The readers digest version, Sony doesn't really have a DAC in the traditional sense.  The sound kind of gets fed right from the amplifier stage.  Unlike most DAP's Sony uses a proprietary Class D digital amplifier instead of a more traditional Class A/B amplifier.  That is a big part of the reason Sony gets such good battery life.  Class D amplifiers are very efficient and lose much less power to heat than other designs.  On the downside they don't scale very well so using a Class D amp in a portable device limits how much power it can produce thus the low LO volume.  Sony chose to go for more battery life than power and in line with Apple and likes to stay proprietary including the dreaded WM-port. 
 
The ZX100 produces a little more power because Sony uses different capacitors on the amplifier output stage to increase the output power.

Interesting info thanks.  I have an adaptor on the way so will do investigations myself soon.
 
My prejudice is against class D amplification but must say that it seems fine with the SONY DAPs.

 

[Gosod]

  Interesting info thanks.  I have an adaptor on the way so will do investigations myself soon.
 
My prejudice is against class D amplification but must say that it seems fine with the SONY DAPs.

which adapter would you show us

 

[Tassie Devil]

  which adapter would you show us

This one
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281118806230?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[captainmuffins]

You guys should try the digital out from the ZX100 / ZX2. Imho it beats that of the new AK70 and even the AK380. It's a lot cleaner and you dont suffer from the low volume when it is used as a line out.

 

[Whitigir]

You guys should try the digital out from the ZX100 / ZX2. Imho it beats that of the new AK70 and even the AK380. It's a lot cleaner and you dont suffer from the low volume when it is used as a line out.

If you used it with the upgraded dongles cables, it is even much better

 

[Tassie Devil]

  You guys should try the digital out from the ZX100 / ZX2. Imho it beats that of the new AK70 and even the AK380. It's a lot cleaner and you dont suffer from the low volume when it is used as a line out.

I have always understood that no digital out was possible with the SONY DAPs.  Not true??

 

[captainmuffins]

Not true, I'm using one with a Mojo and it's fantastic.

My AK240 gold is just sitting around now haha