[abitdeef]

Maybe i am misunderstanding you. By DAC i mean when you use the zx300 as a DAC from either a PC or a smartphone. If you use the zx300 as a digital transport to feed an external DAC, then the amp/dac S Master HX wont kick in.

Ah, my eyes have gone crossed. Lol Ok I get you but if you are listening out of PC as a dac the headphone outputs have no load on the and the output circuits to the headphone jacks are not getting 'burnt in' with dac use. The headphone outputs don't work when dac mode is on. I tried last night. The output is going through the digital out from the Sony proprietary dongle right? Sorry I can be thick sometimes.

My point was the counter doesn't work in dac mode because you don't have a load on the headphone output thus those paths won't get burnt in even if the master amp is engaged.

Lol forget it, I'm talking about something else. Your just talking about playing files from your pc and using the zx300 as the player basically. Mine headphone out didn't work because I didn't have the zx300 hooked up to anything. I'm thick sometimes I told you.

 

[abitdeef]

Playing an album I've heard many times through balanced and I would say the sound is more vibrant than se. This is after 200hrs. SE is very good and nothing to be sneezed at, it's just balanced gives a little more sparkle to the music.

And a bigger soundstage.

 

[abitdeef]

So not quantifiable, but subjective I agree with you, though - I prefer balanced, but I haven't seen any single quantifiable piece of evidence to prove it does anything except reduce noise over extreme distances and output more power.

Snr (loaded) 104db to 110db goes up, and stereo crosstalk (loaded) -83db to -109db goes up quite a bit from SE to balanced. So more power and a bit cleaner and greater stereo separation with balanced. Of course what is noticeable to me is the greater power which gives more headroom with less volume and the stereo separation ( soundstage ) is wider and has better imaging.

http://ohm-image.net/data/audio/rmaa-sony-zx300-24-bit

 

[abitdeef]

Snr (loaded) 104db to 110db goes up, and stereo crosstalk (loaded) -83db to -109db goes up quite a bit from SE to balanced. So more power and a bit cleaner and greater stereo separation with balanced. Of course what is noticeable to me is the greater power which gives more headroom with less volume and the stereo separation ( soundstage ) is wider and has better imaging.

http://ohm-image.net/data/audio/rmaa-sony-zx300-24-bit

However lol, measurements are helpful but your ears and brain are really what counts. If you read the headfonia review he mentions the excellent bass response of the zx300 and I agree wholeheartedly. But there is nothing in the measurements to really confirm this compared to any other dap, but it is noticeable especially if I switch daps.

Crap there I go quoting myself again, I swear I hit the edit tab sorry

 

[Ryokan]

And a bigger soundstage.

Yes with better placement of instruments.

 

[cthomas]

Nope all players don't have perfect gold but copperish gold

I thought some people were mentioning differences of the colour between 16 & 64GB models in this thread a while back?

 

[Bepli]

I thought some people were mentioning differences of the colour between 16 & 64GB models in this thread a while back?

Nope it was differences between photos on sony site and real life. In real life the outer ring of the ports are more copperish

 

[cthomas]

Nope it was differences between photos on sony site and real life. In real life the outer ring of the ports are more copperish

Ah ok, I must've misread it.

 

[Partlys4int]

@abitdeef So I see accessoryjack has the IE800s at 769 euros. When it reaches 600- and i believe it will- I will go for a blind buy.

 

[Bepli]

@abitdeef So I see accessoryjack has the IE800s at 769 euros. When it reaches 600- and i believe it will- I will go for a blind buy.

Dont, the cable is really crappy and not replacable. Its so freaking microphonic.

 

[denis1976]

Dont, the cable is really ****ty and not replacable. Its so freaking microphonic.

yes a litlle...but the sound is freaking awsome

 

[Bepli]

yes a litlle...but the sound is freaking awsome

A little ? its not usable even when moving barely. I had a pair for 2 weeks and returned it. Its really bad you would need to turn up the volume really high which is bad for your ears. also sound is just okay for the price

 

[denis1976]

Buy a clamp, use arround the neck or behind the ears...if after all that they don't became awsome , with a natural organic and very pleasant sound, buy a new source....but i think you have a great one

 

[denis1976]

Yes the sound is ok with the zx300, is great with the sp1000cu, source matters, and with this ones even matter more

 

[Bepli]

Buy a clamp, use arround the neck or behind the ears...if after all that they don't became awsome , with a natural organic and very pleasant sound, buy a new source....but i think you have a great one

Yes the sound is ok with the zx300, is great with the sp1000cu, source matters, and with this ones even matter more

I tested with multiple things even there desktop amp, the IE800s are just okay for the price and nothing special. The cable microphonics are bad and considering the price its a no go.