[proedros]

Loving my zx2 , have been wanting to upgrade to wm1a but not in a hurry as i am still very satisfied with what zx2 brings to the table

and that battery....oh boy sony batteries are a marvel

 

[MH01]

Loving my zx2 , have been wanting to upgrade to wm1a but not in a hurry as i am still very satisfied with what zx2 brings to the table

and that battery....oh boy sony batteries are a marvel

The zx2 is a bargain at used prices and brilliant . My only problem is the sound limiter for EU, outside of IEM, it cannot drive anything lol. Gonna have a crack at removing it with the info from a previous post and report back

 

[lesale08]

I'm not a fan of leather case practicality and scratch protection wise so I bought a silicone case for cheap.

 

[equalspeace]

So I have the WM1A and it has been too cold/bright sounding for me. Bought the ZX2 based on reports of it having a warm sound, with laid back treble, but also excellent detail, and man does it not disappoint. Out of the box on standard 3.5 mm it sounds better than the WM1A to me on 3.5mm, granted I burned in the WM1A for about 50 hours. It has been persistently bright, while the ZX2 is the much smoother player of the two. I suspect Sony pandered to people complaining about lack of sparkle in the ZX2 when they designed the WM1A. For me too much treble is not good. It ruins the experience for me as I don't find treble adds to musicality of the sound. IMO the ZX2 is more comparable to the WM1Z. Both players share the copper sheilding, and a similiar sound signature from what I've heard about the WM1Z. WM1A is a different beast, a lesser one to me. It is neutral to bright, with no copper sheilding.

 

[Marvellous_DAP]

So I have the WM1A and it has been too cold/bright sounding for me. Bought the ZX2 based on reports of it having a warm sound, with laid back treble, but also excellent detail, and man does it not disappoint. Out of the box on standard 3.5 mm it sounds better than the WM1A to me on 3.5mm, granted I burned in the WM1A for about 50 hours. It has been persistently bright, while the ZX2 is the much smoother player of the two. I suspect Sony pandered to people complaining about lack of sparkle in the ZX2 when they designed the WM1A. For me too much treble is not good. It ruins the experience for me as I don't find treble adds to musicality of the sound. IMO the ZX2 is more comparable to the WM1Z. Both players share the copper sheilding, and a similiar sound signature from what I've heard about the WM1Z. WM1A is a different beast, a lesser one to me. It is neutral to bright, with no copper sheilding.

You are probably the first few that claim ZX2 is nicer sounding than the WM1A. I tend to agree with you though, based on my own audition and music preference!

 

[MH01]

So I have the WM1A and it has been too cold/bright sounding for me. Bought the ZX2 based on reports of it having a warm sound, with laid back treble, but also excellent detail, and man does it not disappoint. Out of the box on standard 3.5 mm it sounds better than the WM1A to me on 3.5mm, granted I burned in the WM1A for about 50 hours. It has been persistently bright, while the ZX2 is the much smoother player of the two. I suspect Sony pandered to people complaining about lack of sparkle in the ZX2 when they designed the WM1A. For me too much treble is not good. It ruins the experience for me as I don't find treble adds to musicality of the sound. IMO the ZX2 is more comparable to the WM1Z. Both players share the copper sheilding, and a similiar sound signature from what I've heard about the WM1Z. WM1A is a different beast, a lesser one to me. It is neutral to bright, with no copper sheilding.

My WM1z is burning in, so will compare it after that. There is no way I'm getting rid of my ZX2. Paired with the WM1z i got everything covered. The ZX2 is perfect for my streaming needs, and it's fun to listen too. AND,
Compared to the WM1z......it's light and portable....And feels great in hand, with a much better case lol. As for sounds, that will always be a personal preference , I cannot comment on the though from what I read, I prefer warm sounds so I would prefer the Zx2, truth be told for certain music/mood it will be better than the WM1z for me.

Though at the same time I prefer the MDR Z7 to its big brother, is more fun and for the price.....a no brainier to have in the stable. When I listen to the same songs the HD800 is far superior in many ways.....but music is about getting into the rhythm and fun, and personal preference.

At today's used prices, the ZX2 is a bargain!!! I'll compare it to the WM1z once I've finished burning it in at the end of the week.

Truth be told, I've given up chasing perfection in sound, now I just go with what my ears like and what looks good, same with cables, I've just got a Sony kimber cable cause it looks great with my Sony dabs and I'm done. And Sony is delivering for me.

 

[cfc7]

So I have the WM1A and it has been too cold/bright sounding for me. Bought the ZX2 based on reports of it having a warm sound, with laid back treble, but also excellent detail, and man does it not disappoint. Out of the box on standard 3.5 mm it sounds better than the WM1A to me on 3.5mm, granted I burned in the WM1A for about 50 hours. It has been persistently bright, while the ZX2 is the much smoother player of the two. I suspect Sony pandered to people complaining about lack of sparkle in the ZX2 when they designed the WM1A. For me too much treble is not good. It ruins the experience for me as I don't find treble adds to musicality of the sound. IMO the ZX2 is more comparable to the WM1Z. Both players share the copper sheilding, and a similiar sound signature from what I've heard about the WM1Z. WM1A is a different beast, a lesser one to me. It is neutral to bright, with no copper sheilding.

Same here. I ended up buying the ZX2 because it sounded better, at least with the IEMs I'm using.

 

[MH01]

All righty - these are the steps I took to root my ZX2 and tweak the system config to disable the volume cap. I don't guarantee this will work for you, and do it at your own risk - if you brick or damage your ZX2 it's not my fault! and the Chinese root tool will likely install some bloatware apps or who knows what other dodgy stuff it does

First select: Settings >> Security >> Unknown sources on your device.

Download the following apps from google play:
ES File Explorer (or other file explorer)

On your ZX2 download the APK from this URL: root.360.cn (mobile version download)

Go to your downloads folder and install the downloaded APK - accept security warnings. Open the rooting app and press the large center circular button (need to be connected to wifi).. the app will start trying to root your devices and display percentage - you might see security warnings from Android, just accept them and keep going - once it's done you might see a sad face, if so, try again by pressing the circular button.. eventually I managed to get successfull root (different icon to sad face), you're in business.. I had to attempt few times before it worked for me.

Once Rooted:

0. set root access in settings of ES File Explorer - root tool popup warning will come up > accept on left button i think (in Chinese)

1. you can access /configs/region.zip

2. copy paste region.zip back it up to your own folder just in case

3. unzip /configs/region.zip (you might need unzip app from playstore)

4. edit region.prop (you might need a text editor from play store):
ro.sony.volume_limit=0
ro.sony.walkman.euvollimit (add one more zero to the end of the integer value)

5. save it, zip it up and put it back like it was before /configs/region.zip but with the changed values

6. Restart your device and voila, louder by about 20-30%

7. Optional: uninstall root tool and bloatware

I can verify that this works.

Its a little quirky, so if people are struggling how to do this, I am happy to put together a detailed guide.

My ZX-2 went from being useless with MDR-7Z to being able to drive them at pull volume . Its sad how handicapped the EU model is

 

[Richter Di]

I can verify that this works.

Its a little quirky, so if people are struggling how to do this, I am happy to put together a detailed guide.

My ZX-2 went from being useless with MDR-7Z to being able to drive them at pull volume . Its sad how handicapped the EU model is

That would be great.

 

[Leviticus]

I can verify that this works.

Its a little quirky, so if people are struggling how to do this, I am happy to put together a detailed guide.

My ZX-2 went from being useless with MDR-7Z to being able to drive them at pull volume . Its sad how handicapped the EU model is

How much more powerful is the ZX2 uncapped?

 

[MH01]

How much more powerful is the ZX2 uncapped?

Hard to judge, I've seen 20-30% more on this thread. The stock Eu model is quite poor to be honest, was okay with my IEMs, though anything else it struggles with

 

[MH01]

That would be great.

Cool will put something together soon.

 

[riotgrrl]

Does anyone know where in the UK would repair a faulty headphone socket on a ZX2 please. Ideally Sony authorised.

I have Japanese model which is out of warranty.

Thanks.

 

[Whitigir]

I could never tolerate Z7 and zx2 at 100% for more than couple minutes lol....but 85% is great

 

[MH01]

I could never tolerate Z7 and zx2 at 100% for more than couple minutes lol....but 85% is great

ill have to try it at 85%, I was listening to DSD so that was quieter.