[jamato8]

I use the Toshiba 64gb made in Japan with a slower speed. It cost 33 dollars on Amazon and sounds good to me. 

 

[Conext]

  I wish the screen was more resistant to finger prints, since it is to be used with the screen as well as the buttons. Otherwise I am getting very good running time. After being on for an hour or two the battery indicator is still full. 

The absolute best anti-glare screen protector material that I have ever found is from Power Support:
 
http://www.powersupportintl.com/Anti-glare-Film-for-iPhone-5s-5c-5-p/upjk-02.htm
 
(Obviously, they don't make one for the ZX2—you'd have to get the iPhone version and trim to match)
 
I use it on my iPad and it provides a three-fold benefit, as far as I'm concerned. It does remove glare, it also removes the mirror-like finish of the screen, so I don't have to stare at my face while I use the device. And most importantly to me: it conceals/obfuscates finger prints and oils like a mofo.
 
I never really considered using it on the ZX1 or ZX2, as I typically don't interact with the screen—just the navigation controls on the chassis.

 

[spatzi]

Where does zx2 store downloaded spotify content? In the internal memory? How can I see what is in the internal memory or change where it downloads?

 

[djricekcn]

  I wish the screen was more resistant to finger prints, since it is to be used with the screen as well as the buttons. Otherwise I am getting very good running time. After being on for an hour or two the battery indicator is still full. 
 
Per directions of posters here, I put my file into the music file that is created and then I can scan the folder section. It shows my subfiles, such as rock, jazz, classical and so on and I can go into them. I use 128and other sized cards with no problem and have used Toshiba and Sandisk so far. The Toshiba 64gb is made in Japan. I also got a longer USB cable on Amazon for 7 dollars with shipping. 

 
Link to the longer cable please, I need this

 

[franzspohr]

are most of you guys sticking with the stock music app?

 

[Whitigir]

I am, as I believe Sony know it hardware enough to code their own software . I enjoy playing music in Walkman app without equalizer or anything else. It is just that much satisfying

 

[djricekcn]

  are most of you guys sticking with the stock music app?

Yes, it's not bad...does it's job in a nonstressful way  besides, i think some apps can't take advantage of the walkman's full potential..like the onkyo hi-res player that's common in Japan, doesn't and only does 48/16 (from what i read on japanese blogs)

 

[spatzi]

My Amazon review

A lot of this review will be comparing the ZX2 to the a17 which is Sony's much cheaper player at $299. I own the Sony a17 and while I love it, it does not let me download spotify content offline. While I have a large hard drive and SD card collection, I am finding myself using Spotify a lot more these days. Sd Cards are great but it is so much easier to listen to new music and download it quickly with spotify. I am tired of years of micro managing hard drive music collections and the constant hooking up of players to pc's with usb cables to add new music. It's prehistoric.

I have very good ears. I'm a pro musician. Spotify at 320 is good enough for me. I needed android or Apple for downloading spotify content. Not interested in an iTouch or iPhone for music because the sound quality would not be nearly as good as even the A17. So I made the plunge ($1344 Cad after tax) for the zx2. I had briefly considered the ZX1 but not after finding out it only had 128 gigs internal memory and no sd card expansion. My collection is 800 gigs so at least I can get a third of it on the Zx2.

Likes:

- 128 gigs internal storage plus sd.
- Spotify content now so easy to download. Music appreciation and interest now shoots up to previously unheard of levels. EASE OF ACCESS is the key. Takes less than a minute to download an album at 320 OGG. I pay for a membership so I am doing a lot of streaming. Spotify at 320 OGG sounds amazing on this player. I am using Beyer dynamic T 90 headphones, koss ksc 35's and DUNU Titan IEM's. While all sound great, my favorite is the Beyer's.
- The ZX2 does not need an amp to run Beyer t 90's. Volume was never more than 50%. Tried an external amp through the digital out of zx2 but there was no appreciable advantage to me.
- SQ is better than my $300 A17 but it's not a huge difference. Maybe 25% better. ZX2 needs another hundred hours of burn in time and then I will reassess. Even on first play, it has wider soundstage, more clarity and separation on instruments than the A17. Clear bass is the only EQ I use with the beyer's and it works very well.
- Build quality. This thing is built like a tank, but still fits comfortably in my hand. It's a considerably heavier and larger than the a17 but still portable. Not for gym or sports use, obviously. I have owned other bricks like the Fiio x5 but the ZX2 feels much classier and easier to hold.
- DNLA streaming. I may buy a wifi hard drive and try this out so I can access my entire music collection without bothering with SD cards.

Didn't like:

- No screen protector included. How much would that have cost Sony? An extra dime?
- forward and reverse controls on the side of the player only allow song skipping, but do not allow you to fast forward while holding them down. You have to turn the screen on for that. Volume button also needs to be clicked for each change in volume. Would be easier if you could hold it down for steady increase or decrease of volume instead of clicking all the time. My wife already complains as she hears me clicking the volume control at night while she tries to sleep.
- included leather case is a slip on and while it's appreciated, it provides no access to the screen while you're using it. What is the point? Anytime you want to change an album or access your collection you have to pull the player out of the case and then turn on the screen. I expected a more access friendly case. I would've rather had a cheap silicone case and a screen protector included than this leather case. Buying a proper flip case is going to cost me $150!
- Android. Never used android before so I spent quite a bit of time deleting apps, turning off apps and finding out what exactly is draining my battery. Start up time is at least 25 to 30 seconds and after using the a17 which boots in one second I was a bit spoiled. This is the trade off with having an OS. Wish there was a way to bypass using android and just access a basic music player at light speed like the A17.
- it rebuilds the library every time I turn it on. (From sd card) I don't understand that. I can see it needing to build the library every time you put in an SD card but not every time you turn it on. a17 only builds library once.
- Battery life. Have to do more tests but so far I've gotten 6.5 hours of use and I'm down to 50% battery. This is nowhere near the stated 30-60 hours but more akin to my 12 hour ipad. At this rate, I will be getting 14 hours audio play time (assorted MP3, flacs and spotify content) I checked my screen usage time (fully dimmed) and it's close to an hour and a half, but that accounts for only 7% of total battery usage. So, if you don't use the screen much, expect maybe 15 -16 hours music runtime. Some Android processes are likely casing the drain but I have deleted and turned off almost everything I can find. Was hoping for similar usage to A17, which was around 32 hours of music run time, but it's not going to happen.

Sony does say that using EQ will cut down on battery time (some effects as high as 70% less!) but I don't use any of them except 'clear bass'. That function does not have any negative battery effect, at least according to the the manual.
- No way for unit to shut itself off. No sleep timer. If I'm falling asleep listening to music, which I do every night, this player will continue to drain battery. You need to manually shut it down. Small gripe, but I preferred the A17 with its sleep timer.

 

[djricekcn]

you can fast forward and rewind with screen off, i've done it, just done it right now to double check

 

[Whitigir]

you can fast forward and rewind with screen off, i've done it, just done it right now to double check

1+

 

[spatzi]

you can fast forward and rewind with screen off, i've done it, just done it right now to double check

Not on mine. If I hold the buttons down, the song keeps playing. I let go and the track either skips ahead or goes back.

 

[djricekcn]

Had my friend try it on his, his FF and REW too.
 
if it makes any difference, we're both on JP 

 

[jamato8]

With the screen off mine will scan ahead and will change volume by just holding down the volume control. Mine is from Japan.

 

[djricekcn]

Just did the volume thing (cause i usually click) but it goes up and down steadily by holding down on it, for both, screen was off

 

[Whitigir]

Mine is from Japan as well, it does ffw and rw if press and hold like it supposed to, volume need pressing to take affects. I like it this way, so if I accidently lean on it, it won't keep raising or lowering the volume