[animalsrush]

Sorry about that .  Yeah, it shows up as yours does...when playing music and hitting the volume. I went to look for it in settings when I wasn't playing music as it doesn't go to landscape (even with the auto rotate box checked) when not playing music at the home screen. Does however rotate to landscape when playing music...

So far I'm enjoying the player, but I need to get some new iem's, it seems, to get more of what's available out of it. I've been using UE10's, which were their top offering January 2007, and while they are decent with a desktop/transportable setup, they just can't be properly driven by the ZX2. Comparing between a simple old micro stack from Headroom and the ZX2, the UE10's have great bass, deep and controlled, and overall excellent authority, and solidity. With the ZX2, they are merely passable, with some material sounding quite good, but for the most part just fairly good. Certainly a step up from the DX90 on it's own, but I know it can be better; listening with my Sennheiser ie800's, I'm able to hear OUTSTANDING resolution on a lot of material, not all of it hirez, but flac at least. I think this combination is quite good, and perhaps good enough for most purposes, but I'm spoiled by the custom molds from my UE's, so I think I'm on the path of picking up a newer pair, as certainly there have been improvements in the last 9 years!

Still, with the ie800's, it really is glaring how much more fuss it is to get a proper seal, and so they stay that way, especially when active. I've actually super glued the tips on these as the way iem's are designed, the tips can (and have on more than several occasions in the now distant past) come off inside your ear canal! I've even had the unpleasant task of changing one of the tips, having to remove a slightly larger tip that had already been glued. I would have replaced both with the slightly smaller size (now that they are glued, I can more freely insert a smaller tip to more easily get a good seal) but the other one is lost somewhere up in the mountains, as one of the aforementioned incidents where a tip came off in ear occurred while hiking over heather, and could not be found...but I digress.

Because of these concerns and more, I'm ready to get a new pair of IEM's, and I'd love to know what the top three consensus ones may be. I see people mention JHAudio monitors for instance, Roxannes. But maybe not Angie's. $2,600.00 is a bit much, given that they are not the 'end all be all' of IEM's, present and future. Steven Rochlan gave some MIGHTY praise for his Noble 10's, notably with the ZX2. The main selling point for me with the ZX2, is that I wasn't quite there with the DX90 (at least unamped, with my meager choices for headphones) and the BATTERY LIFE. I've invested absurd amounts of money (especially relative to my income) into my home rig, so for my portable player, I truly want it to be able to be portable (even use it jogging!) to play music for 18 or more hours and longer if I'm on multi day trips in the backcountry (hiking, camping...). I think the Headroom Microstack sounds great. It sounds better (say with the DX90 feeding the dac/amp stack with digital connection) with the ie800's, than the ie800's and the ZX2. It just goes to show how important proper amping is, I guess. But the Microstack is simply transportable. Certainly it's nothing that I would ever carry with me while hiking or something, and the battery life for the re-chargable  Maha 9 volt batteries is quite paltry, less than 5 hours I'd say. So I LOVE the idea of being able to take really great sound on the go, and I've mostly held off purchasing newer players. I've always wanted one of the top Hifiman players, but again, battery life and size just don't work for my purposes. I like the ZX2, and it's quite good with the ie800's.  Actually it's plenty good for me to justify the purchase, as the resolution is so clear, and sweet, and it can play for days(!) on end, or at least well into the 30's if a lot of hi-rez is on tap, but still; to get sound this good, and it is stunning with the right material, in a one-unit package is sufficient for me and fills my needs. It's just unfortunate to hear the same iem's handled with undeniably more authority, showing me that they are not amped to their potential. But this is the best unit for my needs likely, and I'd like to take it a little further, with the built in benefit of new CIEMS being that I'll have them hopefully for the next ten years.

So any thoughts on the BEST match that folks have found with the ZX2 in terms of CIEM's would be most appreciated. I'm already planning my trip to the audiologist to get my molds made. Though preferably under $2000.

Thanks.

Nathan

I use Westone ES5 with my Sony zx2.. Personally I feel they have great synergy. Details are crisp, bass controlled and deep but not pounding. I find the combo least fatiguing. ES5 have near neutral signature and I use stock player with clear bass +2 that's it.. So they are worth trying..

Pc

 

[rushofblood]

  Sorry about that

.  Yeah, it shows up as yours does...when playing music and hitting the volume. I went to look for it in settings when I wasn't playing music as it doesn't go to landscape (even with the auto rotate box checked) when not playing music at the home screen. Does however rotate to landscape when playing music...
 
So far I'm enjoying the player, but I need to get some new iem's, it seems, to get more of what's available out of it. I've been using UE10's, which were their top offering January 2007, and while they are decent with a desktop/transportable setup, they just can't be properly driven by the ZX2. Comparing between a simple old micro stack from Headroom and the ZX2, the UE10's have great bass, deep and controlled, and overall excellent authority, and solidity. With the ZX2, they are merely passable, with some material sounding quite good, but for the most part just fairly good. Certainly a step up from the DX90 on it's own, but I know it can be better; listening with my Sennheiser ie800's, I'm able to hear OUTSTANDING resolution on a lot of material, not all of it hirez, but flac at least. I think this combination is quite good, and perhaps good enough for most purposes, but I'm spoiled by the custom molds from my UE's, so I think I'm on the path of picking up a newer pair, as certainly there have been improvements in the last 9 years!
 
Still, with the ie800's, it really is glaring how much more fuss it is to get a proper seal, and so they stay that way, especially when active. I've actually super glued the tips on these as the way iem's are designed, the tips can (and have on more than several occasions in the now distant past) come off inside your ear canal! I've even had the unpleasant task of changing one of the tips, having to remove a slightly larger tip that had already been glued. I would have replaced both with the slightly smaller size (now that they are glued, I can more freely insert a smaller tip to more easily get a good seal) but the other one is lost somewhere up in the mountains, as one of the aforementioned incidents where a tip came off in ear occurred while hiking over heather, and could not be found...but I digress.
 
Because of these concerns and more, I'm ready to get a new pair of IEM's, and I'd love to know what the top three consensus ones may be. I see people mention JHAudio monitors for instance, Roxannes. But maybe not Angie's. $2,600.00 is a bit much, given that they are not the 'end all be all' of IEM's, present and future. Steven Rochlan gave some MIGHTY praise for his Noble 10's, notably with the ZX2. The main selling point for me with the ZX2, is that I wasn't quite there with the DX90 (at least unamped, with my meager choices for headphones) and the BATTERY LIFE. I've invested absurd amounts of money (especially relative to my income) into my home rig, so for my portable player, I truly want it to be able to be portable (even use it jogging!) to play music for 18 or more hours and longer if I'm on multi day trips in the backcountry (hiking, camping...). I think the Headroom Microstack sounds great. It sounds better (say with the DX90 feeding the dac/amp stack with digital connection) with the ie800's, than the ie800's and the ZX2. It just goes to show how important proper amping is, I guess. But the Microstack is simply transportable. Certainly it's nothing that I would ever carry with me while hiking or something, and the battery life for the re-chargable  Maha 9 volt batteries is quite paltry, less than 5 hours I'd say. So I LOVE the idea of being able to take really great sound on the go, and I've mostly held off purchasing newer players. I've always wanted one of the top Hifiman players, but again, battery life and size just don't work for my purposes. I like the ZX2, and it's quite good with the ie800's.  Actually it's plenty good for me to justify the purchase, as the resolution is so clear, and sweet, and it can play for days(!) on end, or at least well into the 30's if a lot of hi-rez is on tap, but still; to get sound this good, and it is stunning with the right material, in a one-unit package is sufficient for me and fills my needs. It's just unfortunate to hear the same iem's handled with undeniably more authority, showing me that they are not amped to their potential. But this is the best unit for my needs likely, and I'd like to take it a little further, with the built in benefit of new CIEMS being that I'll have them hopefully for the next ten years.
 
So any thoughts on the BEST match that folks have found with the ZX2 in terms of CIEM's would be most appreciated. I'm already planning my trip to the audiologist to get my molds made. Though preferably under $2000.
 
Thanks.
 
Nathan

I shall chime in here, I own a pair of K10s which were paired for a month with my ZX2 before I sent it for mods. (They're in my avatar!) The synergy between the two is impeccable. Both have a slight warm tilt that leans towards musical, but still with great detailing and pinpoint staging. I've found that the K10s sound great on other DAPs too, but they are at their best on the ZX2.

 

[Natronious]

Thanks for the input (from several of you). A bit of confusion earlier; I do currently have a ZX2 with well over 300 hours on it now. It does indeed sound great with the ie800's, but those sound better when amped a bit better (as evidenced for me with the headroom microstack). Caruyn's description of the  Cayin N6 when paired with the ie800's is enough to make me want to pick one up (down the road), and why not, as I have the iem's already, and they deserve to have their match.
 
But I really have wanted an updated CIEM, and it sounds like the K10 will be just about right.
 
As for the Westones, it looks like they are the ES50's now, as they've replaced the ES5's, though essentially the same thing sound wise, and it looks the the flagship model. I will need to learn more about Westones to formulate an opinion, but they look very good, thanks for reporting on that (if I owned these iem's and not the ZX2, I'd love to know that they pair well together).
 
I'm not sure why the earlier poster would prefer the ZX1 with the K10's, and fascinating to hear him say that the K10's hold their own with the ZX1 compared to the ZX1 feeding the Hugo to the K10's. Or am I reading into his comment? No mention made for how the K10's suffer much without the Hugo when run straight out of ZX1. That post makes me curious indeed, as I haven't heard of the ZX1 being preferred in any way over the ZX2, including when used with the Hugo, as there was some doubt as to whether the digital signal would be any better from ZX2. But darn if the battery life wouldn't tip the scales somehow. At least only the Hugo would need a re-charge when out for longer sessions.
 
So yes, valuable feedback, as I want a new pair of killer CIEMS to last me 10 more years, and I want a Cayin N6, because I want to have a backup player that is half the price of the ZX2, but sounds even better with ie800's (it's not as if I'll ever sell those super glued little bad boys).  Caruyn has hit upon a remarkable pairing, it would seem!

 

[Wilderness]

I got my Sony ZX2 today.  I also got the Sony MDR-1A headphones, which are supremely comfortable; thank you, GrindedDown, for recommending them.
 
I spent the afternoon and evening transferring 93 Gigs of music from my Mac.  I used the ZX2's built in transfer app to drag and drop my playlist from iTunes.  That worked well, mostly (drag the playlist icon).  Around 20 albums transferred without cover art.  I wasted a lot of time with various apps to try to add cover art.  Then I found the art for all but three albums online and dragged and dropped the (renamed) photos onto my ZX2.  From there, it was easy to add the art to the songs.  Add the art to one song, and the ZX2 asks to transfer the art to all songs in the album.  I suppose that method would get tedious for people with hundreds of albums with missing cover art.
 
I haven't experienced any laggy behavior that a few others have noted.  I rejected all of the offers from Google to enable its services when I set up my ZX2 and I am leaving off WiFi; perhaps that helps.
 
I am delighted by the sound.  So much better than my iPhone and iPad, which sounded muffled in comparison to the ZX2 with headphones.  I have around 1,100 songs with probably one third each of high res, CD rips, and Apple 256 files.  Leaving off all of the sound enhancements seems to yield the best sound.
 
I haven't tried my ZX2 in my car yet.
 
To end on a funny note, I noticed that WhatHiFi has a story today that says Apple is now claiming its 256 files are indistinguishable from high res songs.  That must be the reason we spend so much time and money with DAPs, high res music, headphones, speakers, desktop DACs, alternative music players for desktop, etc. -- because none of it makes any difference! 

  I doubt that I will buy many songs from Apple for a few years until it wakes up and starts offering high res.  Until then, it's HD Tracks, Pono, and Onkyo, etc. music for me. 

 

[Duncan]

Loading up the new 128gb card I received this morning...

231gb of music, that'll keep me out of mischief for a while

 

[Leviticus]

Does anyone know how I can access the sound settings for .dsf files?  The ZX2 has some exclusive settings for DSD files and I just don't know where I can find them. 

 

[Duncan]

When the file is playing,go to the three dots,settings,top option

 

[Audio Reiner]

Has the ZX2 a line out and a digital out, both for use with extern amps or DACs?
Can I buy a dock for the ZX2 and if yes, which one?

 

[Zaroff]

Damn... Thanks for this thread, otherwise I'd be worried. It's going through its flat phase (not in the good sense)... Average bass, shouty, grainy highs with sibilance, the works. The AK120 even sounds better atm 

Can't wait for it to do its thing.

 

[kms108]

Has the ZX2 a line out and a digital out, both for use with extern amps or DACs?
Can I buy a dock for the ZX2 and if yes, which one?

The ZX2 has both line out and digital out, there are about 4 docks available, all the accessories can be seen in Japans web site.
 
 
update
 
the link
 
http://www.sony.jp/walkman/products/NW-ZX2/compatible.html#fragment-2807

 

[Gadget67]

Has the ZX2 a line out and a digital out, both for use with extern amps or DACs?

Can I buy a dock for the ZX2 and if yes, which one?

The ZX2 has both line out and digital out, there are about 4 docks available, all the accessories can be seen in Japans web site.


update

the link

http://www.sony.jp/walkman/products/NW-ZX2/compatible.html#fragment-2807

I own the BCR-NWH10 (the one that looks like a cube) and it is readily available on EBay from a variety of Japanese sellers. It works perfectly in conjunction with my Schitt Mjolnir/Gugnir stack but it did NOT work with my Wadia 121 or my Burson 160D so obviusly which DAC it will work with is a consideration. You can leave earphones connected via the wide slit on the side and the switch on the back allows going back and forth between a USB connection to a compatible DAC or your computer if you are uploading music files. Leaving it plugged in obviously continuously charges the device but it can be used if it is not plugged in. My Schitt combo is also connected to my main music set up (amp and speakers) so I also use the ZX2 as a music server when I want to listen that way.

Hope that helps.

 

[Audio Reiner]

I own the BCR-NWH10 (the one that looks like a cube) and it is readily available on EBay from a variety of Japanese sellers. It works perfectly in conjunction with my Schitt Mjolnir/Gugnir stack but it did NOT work with my Wadia 121 or my Burson 160D so obviusly which DAC it will work with is a consideration. You can leave earphones connected via the wide slit on the side and the switch on the back allows going back and forth between a USB connection to a compatible DAC or your computer if you are uploading music files. Leaving it plugged in obviously continuously charges the device but it can be used if it is not plugged in. My Schitt combo is also connected to my main music set up (amp and speakers) so I also use the ZX2 as a music server when I want to listen that way.

Hope that helps.

Yes, that helps very much! Thank you.

 

[mannp]

  I'm not sure why the earlier poster would prefer the ZX1 with the K10's, and fascinating to hear him say that the K10's hold their own with the ZX1 compared to the ZX1 feeding the Hugo to the K10's. Or am I reading into his comment? No mention made for how the K10's suffer much without the Hugo when run straight out of ZX1. That post makes me curious indeed, as I haven't heard of the ZX1 being preferred in any way over the ZX2, including when used with the Hugo, as there was some doubt as to whether the digital signal would be any better from ZX2. But darn if the battery life wouldn't tip the scales somehow. At least only the Hugo would need a re-charge when out for longer sessions.

 
Not prefer, just didn't hear an improvement in the short time I listened to the ZX2.
 
ZX1 with K10 sound great to my ears and I do listen to them that way when commuting to london, but when I go to friends / relatives in the car I take the Hugo and or course the sound is improved in a number of ways.
 
I am just saying if you dont have the Hugo then the ZX1 and K10's still sound wonderful.
 
I am not saying the ZX2 is not an improvement over the ZX1, but I prefer the design of the ZX1, its much lighter, while the killer issue still remains that the ZX2 uses too much battery when connected via its digital output port to the hugo, as      well as the port connectors being far too bulky.
 
So for me there isn't a reason to upgrade.
 
ZX100 with optical out I would be first in the queue to buy.
 
Hope that adds clarity and sorts your curiosity in my post.

 

[kms108]

 

 

Has the ZX2 a line out and a digital out, both for use with extern amps or DACs?

Can I buy a dock for the ZX2 and if yes, which one?

The ZX2 has both line out and digital out, there are about 4 docks available, all the accessories can be seen in Japans web site.


update

the link

http://www.sony.jp/walkman/products/NW-ZX2/compatible.html#fragment-2807

I own the BCR-NWH10 (the one that looks like a cube) and it is readily available on EBay from a variety of Japanese sellers. It works perfectly in conjunction with my Schitt Mjolnir/Gugnir stack but it did NOT work with my Wadia 121 or my Burson 160D so obviusly which DAC it will work with is a consideration. You can leave earphones connected via the wide slit on the side and the switch on the back allows going back and forth between a USB connection to a compatible DAC or your computer if you are uploading music files. Leaving it plugged in obviously continuously charges the device but it can be used if it is not plugged in. My Schitt combo is also connected to my main music set up (amp and speakers) so I also use the ZX2 as a music server when I want to listen that way.

Hope that helps.

I'm also going for one of those dock, I have no use for the connection to the DAC, as I'm only using it for the player, but since i'll be in japan from the 8 June, I might as well pick one up.

 

[Duncan]

They did skip ZX3 while jumping up to ZX100 instead. Just a wild guess here so let's see if that were implying relatively significant changes under the hood.

As a fellow head-fier mentioned to me earlier, as the one potential image we've seen looks a bit like the ZX1, could this not be a refresh of that player instead, so - we'd need to look out for a ZX200 as well?