[Sonic Defender]

Removed, pointless conversation. My apology.

 

[Rob49]

^^^

All i can say is, i know what my own ears are telling me. There's a distinct difference between ZX2 TRRS ( & non TRRS. )

Placebo, may have not been the correct word to use ?....but i was just conveying there is a distinct difference between the two, for any doubters of what TRRS is capable of.

 

[kms108]

I've only listened to my zx2 on SE, although lower on power compare to others, it does have one of the best SQ if paired with the right iEM, I'm keeping mine, it's one of the best sounding DAP with good build, Sony has put everything behind the designing of it at its time, a truly classic at its best.

 

[bzxfire40]

Can someone chime in please. I will be testing a Sony PHA-3 this weekend. I currently own the ZX2, but I wanted to compare the two side by side. I will be using the PHA-3 with my Samsung S7 and the ZX2 alone. I've read on this forum people pairing the ZX2 with the PHA-3. What is the benefit of this? I thought that once you run a source to a DAC/AMP that the original source's DAC/AMP is bypassed. I'm a bit confused, does the source matter at all (in terms of audio quality) if you plan on running it thru another DAC/AMP ?

 

[Rob49]

I've only listened to my zx2 on SE, although lower on power compare to others, it does have one of the best SQ if paired with the right iEM, I'm keeping mine, it's one of the best sounding DAP with good build, Sony has put everything behind the designing of it at its time, a truly classic at its best.

I would seriously think of trying TRRS. In the more than two years of owning my ZX2, all i read on this thread repeatedly was go TRRS, i held off, till last week, but all i can say is, i wish i had bought a good quality TRRS cable before. It is an expense, but it's worth it, for what you can hear. For those that said, this is something else, they are right !

 

[Sonic Defender]

Can someone chime in please. I will be testing a Sony PHA-3 this weekend. I currently own the ZX2, but I wanted to compare the two side by side. I will be using the PHA-3 with my Samsung S7 and the ZX2 alone. I've read on this forum people pairing the ZX2 with the PHA-3. What is the benefit of this? I thought that once you run a source to a DAC/AMP that the original source's DAC/AMP is bypassed. I'm a bit confused, does the source matter at all (in terms of audio quality) if you plan on running it thru another DAC/AMP ?

Nope, if you are bypassing the source in terms of signal processing and sending all to the PHA3 anyway, it doesn't matter. That is unless for some reason the source device is technically flawed and in someway passing on corrupted/compromised data to the PHA3. I owned the PHA3 with a Sony DAP and I can't say I noticed any difference between using the Sony DAP as a source as compared with when I used say my phone as a source. As long as the digital out is uncompromised, it really shouldn't matter.

Now maybe the battery life and other aspects of the ZX2 user interface are an advantage, but that is subjective. As well, perhaps using a source that won't be getting incoming phone calls and texts is also a reason to use a DAP with the PHA3.

 

[Richter Di]

Thanks for your obsevations. They're useful, but i'd have to say, for someone that didn't try TRRS, with ZX2, it is trully remarkable ! It's definitely not a placebo effect, it's a very real difference & improvement. The ZX2, is another "beast" altogether, with TRRS.

Fully agree!

 

[Virtu Fortuna]

I personally think there aren't any equivalent DAPs to ZX2 in the market. I'm using it for almost 2,5 years, one was stolen in the process but I luckily found another one 2nd hand.

If you consider the battery life, build quality, no hissing WiFi unlike some competitor DAPs, wide and deep staging, stereo image and resolution etc.. there's still no other choice for me. I'm talking about the streaming DAPs of course. Otherwise the WM1A is the better sounding Sony DAP (which I also have), not to mention the "out of this world" WM1Z.

Sure, it's using an old Android version and it's pretty slow for today's standard but to me it's not a big deal as long as I can use the TIDAL app.

The only model I would consider is the İbasso DX200 but it doesn't have the battery life like the ZX2. All the other Android DAPs I've tested are either meh sounding or they have a hissing WiFi module, or software bugs.

 

[kms108]

I personally think there aren't any equivalent DAPs to ZX2 in the market. I'm using it for almost 2,5 years, one was stolen in the process but I luckily found another one 2nd hand.

If you consider the battery life, build quality, no hissing WiFi unlike some competitor DAPs, wide and deep staging, stereo image and resolution etc.. there's still no other choice for me. I'm talking about the streaming DAPs of course. Otherwise the WM1A is the better sounding Sony DAP (which I also have), not to mention the "out of this world" WM1Z.

Sure, it's using an old Android version and it's pretty slow for today's standard but to me it's not a big deal as long as I can use the TIDAL app.

The only model I would consider is the İbasso DX200 but it doesn't have the battery life like the ZX2. All the other Android DAPs I've tested are either meh sounding or they have a hissing WiFi module, or software bugs.

Thats probably why Sony kept the android 4.2.2, it's the most stable android available, i've also kept mine, and infact I've also had a new screen and battery put in when I visited Japan in December, the screen was my problem, had it shoved in my backpack with lots of stuff during my regular trip to china, too much pressure on the screen, which cause the glue to separate from the main glass and display, whiles it was on repair, i might as well change the battery, had mine for about 2.5 yrs as well. Now it's like 99.9% new, virtual no scratch or marks on the unit.

 

[psikey]

I've only listened to my zx2 on SE, although lower on power compare to others, it does have one of the best SQ if paired with the right iEM, I'm keeping mine, it's one of the best sounding DAP with good build, Sony has put everything behind the designing of it at its time, a truly classic at its best.

When I used a ZX2 with my SE846 I wasn't impressed plus had the background hiss. By comparison they sound awesome with the ZX300 and totally silent background.

 

[proedros]

unless you need the wifi/spotify/tidal thing , i don't see another reason for not upgrading to wm1a/zx300/wm1z

 

[imparanoic]

I personally think there aren't any equivalent DAPs to ZX2 in the market. I'm using it for almost 2,5 years, one was stolen in the process but I luckily found another one 2nd hand.

If you consider the battery life, build quality, no hissing WiFi unlike some competitor DAPs, wide and deep staging, stereo image and resolution etc.. there's still no other choice for me. I'm talking about the streaming DAPs of course. Otherwise the WM1A is the better sounding Sony DAP (which I also have), not to mention the "out of this world" WM1Z.

Sure, it's using an old Android version and it's pretty slow for today's standard but to me it's not a big deal as long as I can use the TIDAL app.

The only model I would consider is the İbasso DX200 but it doesn't have the battery life like the ZX2. All the other Android DAPs I've tested are either meh sounding or they have a hissing WiFi module, or software bugs.

Astell and Kern Kann or their high end A&ultima SP1000 should be close to nw-zx2, but A&K have quite bad battery life and only support the lower bitrate aptx hd, DX200 has it's advantages, still a bit buggy, but you can change the UI to much better one via the menu, but it does have awesome sound

 

[kms108]

But isn't the AK mentioned are priced alot higher than the ZX2

 

[imparanoic]

But isn't the AK mentioned are priced alot higher than the ZX2

AK Kann, US$999 NW-ZX2 was at US$900 at time of release, probably now at US$750 if you can find brand new

 

[proedros]

AK daps are the most overpriced daps around , aiming at people with too much money to burn

zx2 was shooting on ak240 level which cost like 2K

save your hard earned money