[Buddhahacker]

Great information. Thanks for sharing. I've been avoiding BT due to dropouts I experienced with prior products and a concern with down converting.  I suppose as wireless becomes the new trend we will see more advancement in the technology.  

 

[Whitigir]

Thanks for the information,

So i searched a bit more into details,

And i read that the mdr-1abt uses s-master hx amp which i think is the same in the zx2 (if not a modified version, iam not sure)

Also the ldac feature which is supported by both zx2 and the headphone allow 3x transfer of data, meaning it can reach around 900 kbps of data against 300 kbps supported by normal protocol (meaning it should maintain 96khz/24bit without down converting to 44khz/16bit

Also it has a 3.5 connection if you wanna go wired.

sorry for the long post just wanted to share my findings.

if someone own it still i want to hear about the signature.

The S-Master HX is simply a class D circuitry. Every one and each class D heavily rely on their circuitry material quality, and from the ground up. Printed board, Capacitors, Resistors, clocks, soldering, shielding.....etc...etc.....just the basic parts. Therefore, modified or not, the superior sound quality is day and night. Take NW-A17 for example, it also utilize S-Master HX, and Nw-ZX1, it does not mean that they can be on the same quality of sound as ZX2 .

Beside, it does not make senses to put the same circuitry into a cheaper product, and on the same time being on the flagship products . ZX2 is superior in S-Master HX class period.

The connection on 1RBT only support 3.5 mm, and not the 3.5 TRRS balanced mode as found on the regular 1R.

It depends on what you want, if you already have a ZX2 like me...Japan version .....I already went with Z7, and no regret. Wired ? Yes, wireless will still have a long way to go. Why ? Take ZX2 for example, one of the lightest weight, put it atop of your headset....see what I am saying ? Lol.....how about try and put AK240 instead

Anyways. I am now blasting Z7 with ZX2 loud! Very loud! That I can not hear anything around me, and at the edge of my comfortable level.....that is 3 ticks away from 100%.

 

[kingdixon]

The S-Master HX is simply a class D circuitry. Every one and each class D heavily rely on their circuitry material quality, and from the ground up. Printed board, Capacitors, Resistors, clocks, soldering, shielding.....etc...etc.....just the basic parts. Therefore, modified or not, the superior sound quality is day and night. Take NW-A17 for example, it also utilize S-Master HX, and Nw-ZX1, it does not mean that they can be on the same quality of sound as ZX2 .

Beside, it does not make senses to put the same circuitry into a cheaper product, and on the same time being on the flagship products . ZX2 is superior in S-Master HX class period.

The connection on 1RBT only support 3.5 mm, and not the 3.5 TRRS balanced mode as found on the regular 1R.

It depends on what you want, if you already have a ZX2 like me...Japan version .....I already went with Z7, and no regret. Wired ? Yes, wireless will still have a long way to go. Why ? Take ZX2 for example, one of the lightest weight, put it atop of your headset....see what I am saying ? Lol.....how about try and put AK240 instead

Anyways. I am now blasting Z7 with ZX2 loud! Very loud! That I can not hear anything around me, and at the edge of my comfortable level.....that is 3 ticks away from 100%.

yup true.

I agree with what you say, at the end of the day using bluetooth you will have to sacrifice, but how much ?

I mean the marketing campaign done by sony, they had zx2 and mdr-1abt side by side as their new products with new technology, they even had them bundled i think..

so how would they go together ?

Its good to hear your enjoying the z7, i also at some point would like to know how the zx2 pairs with he-560 but i doubt it will drive them.

Nothing of these equipment are here in my country so no way to try them out, i have to do my homework !!

Thanks for the great info

 

[synnnn]

I use the 1RBTmk2, and I must say, bluetooth is infinitely better in the microphonics department 

  

 

[vilhelm44]

Has anyone tried the player with the Oppo PM-3s? Wondering if they pair well for sound and can be driven without an external amp?

 

[Duncan]

I do believe that there is a combination of hysteria on one side, and people who do not listen loudly on the other... I have an EU ZX2, and whilst not the most powerful device on the planet, it is adequate...

Those people that listen quietly will think any version is loud, and those that listen at higher volumes will think it lacks power compared to other devices, that isn't necessarily to do with geographic location, just that Sony are renowned for not having the most powerful amp stages...

Additional, those looking at the PHA3 need to consider carefully that the EU version has the suffix 'AC', it is mains only and NOT portable...

 

[Whitigir]

yup true.

I agree with what you say, at the end of the day using bluetooth you will have to sacrifice, but how much ?

I mean the marketing campaign done by sony, they had zx2 and mdr-1abt side by side as their new products with new technology, they even had them bundled i think..

so how would they go together ?

Its good to hear your enjoying the z7, i also at some point would like to know how the zx2 pairs with he-560 but i doubt it will drive them.

Nothing of these equipment are here in my country so no way to try them out, i have to do my homework !!

Thanks for the great info

Marketing ! Anyways, there is no point of using ZX2 to transport to 1RBT. Because that will skip the internal ZX2 amp, but only using it encoding LDAC. You can transport similar quality and or the same with Z3+ as it also support LDAC. In both cases, I am so sure that your sound you hear will be one and the same.....the S-Master inside your 1R-BT.

Now, move onto why 1R-BT ? While S-Master in this HP is not as good as ZX2, but could it be just as good as A16/17 ? I am not so sure. It could be, and like I said. If you are going to have smartphone that does LDAC and 1RBT, definitely a combo. But if you originally wanted to pair it with ZX2, you could, but it will rather be a degrade in term of audio quality instead of upgrade. You can not beat the light weight and the sound quality on 1RBt with any other Bt on the market .

 

[synnnn]

 But if you originally wanted to pair it with ZX2, you could, but it will rather be a degrade in term of audio quality instead of upgrade. 

 
no it can be an upgrade, just use the cable!
(means the bt/dac gear in the headphone will get bypassed)

 

[Whitigir]

no it can be an upgrade, just use the cable!
(means the bt/dac gear in the headphone will get bypassed)

The thing is that ZX2 support TRRS balanced, and the regular 1R does have balanced 3.5m while the 1Rbt does not...so...not exactly. I wish that was the case, then I would have purchased it instead. Then again, talking about wired upgrade, there are better HP

One can argue that ZX2 has pseudo balanced, or half baked. But to my ears it is definitely an improvement.

 

[synnnn]

Now back to cables, with bluetooth no need for balanced cables as theres no cables to generate noise/emi to start with

 

[Whitigir]

Well then back to the BT, is the built in amplifier as good as ZX2 ?

 

[synnnn]

i highly doubt it!

 

[Riona]

I'm using my NW-ZX2 with Oppo PM-3 and it's a great combination!
 
I also have the Oppo HA-2 portable amp but don't see any benefits using it except when with my T1.... Of course it still can't bring out the full potential of T1 compared to my tube setup.
 
 
Quote:

Has anyone tried the player with the Oppo PM-3s? Wondering if they pair well for sound and can be driven without an external amp?

 

[vilhelm44]

 

 
Thank you, that's really helpful. I think I will pick a pair up

 

[Duncan]

Well then back to the BT, is the built in amplifier as good as ZX2 ?

In a word, no...

Using LDAC (connecting the X99 speaker admittedly, but this rings true also when connecting to Hugo via regular bluetooth) you lose coherency, treble detail suffers, and the sound becomes a little 'blurry' when compared to a wired connection...

Don't get me wrong, LDAC has more potential than regular APT-X or otherwise, but - the technology still needs to mature before you can say that this is a viable option to carrying around a wired setup.