Sony NW-ZX300
Jun 4, 2018 at 6:36 AM Post #6,676 of 12,862
Thanks, do they have a website/sell internationally?
I considered the Kimber one but it is really expensive and I had read a few posts saying it wasn't worth the money. I've been considering a few other custom options.
I messaged them but they said they don’t do internationally shipping or so... But as I know there’re quite a lot aftermarket ones for the Z5, so hope you can find one soon :)
The Kimber kable is really thick, but flexible and soft, I'm not too liking it, it increases more bass than I need.
Can you specify about that bass increasing? Like the bass goes deeper or hits harder or else?
I actually quite fond of bass, and the bass through the Z5 now is about enough but doesn’t actually made me fall in love with.
And what about the mid, treble and soundstage,...?
Thanks :wink:
 
Jun 4, 2018 at 7:39 AM Post #6,677 of 12,862
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So Ive had this thing for a couple of months now, thought I'd finally share some thoughts and pretend people care about what I have to say :wink:

First and foremost this is a definitely what I would describe as a "beautiful" sounding dap. Musical, detailed, transparent, detailed, clear, textured. And did I mention detailed.

Im loving the ZX300A so far. I only have around 40 hours burn-in but I like to ease in to these things the way old man eases into a hot tub.

I feel like the ZX has given the SE846 a breath of new life in a way, revealing a little layer of sparkle that I feel the Shure sorely needed.

The detail can come at a cost though. Some tracks can come across extremely sibilant and ear piercing. Mostly just down to bad recordings but I'm hoping a bit more burn-in might help with some of the sibilance.

One other small gripe I have (which ive seen mentioned a lot) is the lack of bass. I find it really only affects certain tracks so not a huge issue. I'd imagine a less bass heavy IEM would really suffer with this player though.

I have noticed in some cases tracks that use effects in the low end (usually EDM) come across very differently (in a good way) to how I've heard them before. Almost like someone's remixed the bass line.

Aesthetically it feels and looks really nice. I still feel my ZX1 was the best looking dap but this thing blows that out of the water in performance. Also feels a lot tighter construction and more well made than I expected.

Well done Sorny!
 
Jun 4, 2018 at 7:44 AM Post #6,678 of 12,862


So Ive had this thing for a couple of months now, thought I'd finally share some thoughts and pretend people care about what I have to say :wink:

First and foremost this is a definitely what I would describe as a "beautiful" sounding dap. Musical, detailed, transparent, detailed, clear, textured. And did I mention detailed.

Im loving the ZX300A so far. I only have around 40 hours burn-in but I like to ease in to these things the way old man eases into a hot tub.

I feel like the ZX has given the SE846 a breath of new life in a way, revealing a little layer of sparkle that I feel the Shure sorely needed.

The detail can come at a cost though. Some tracks can come across extremely sibilant and ear piercing. Mostly just down to bad recordings but I'm hoping a bit more burn-in might help with some of the sibilance.

One other small gripe I have (which ive seen mentioned a lot) is the lack of bass. I find it really only affects certain tracks so not a huge issue. I'd imagine a less bass heavy IEM would really suffer with this player though.

I have noticed in some cases tracks that use effects in the low end (usually EDM) come across very differently (in a good way) to how I've heard them before. Almost like someone's remixed the bass line.

Aesthetically it feels and looks really nice. I still feel my ZX1 was the best looking dap but this thing blows that out of the water in performance. Also feels a lot tighter construction and more well made than I expected.

Well done Sorny!
The sharp and piercing high should be fixed with a proper burn-in. The zx300 sound signature changes vastly after the burn-in, and I love the way it becomes better and better the more you listen to it haha.
 
Jun 4, 2018 at 7:48 AM Post #6,679 of 12,862
The sharp and piercing high should be fixed with a proper burn-in. The zx300 sound signature changes vastly after the burn-in, and I love the way it becomes better and better the more you listen to it haha.

I expected so. Just doesn't feel quite warmed up yet.
 
Jun 4, 2018 at 8:19 AM Post #6,680 of 12,862


So Ive had this thing for a couple of months now, thought I'd finally share some thoughts and pretend people care about what I have to say :wink:

First and foremost this is a definitely what I would describe as a "beautiful" sounding dap. Musical, detailed, transparent, detailed, clear, textured. And did I mention detailed.

Im loving the ZX300A so far. I only have around 40 hours burn-in but I like to ease in to these things the way old man eases into a hot tub.

I feel like the ZX has given the SE846 a breath of new life in a way, revealing a little layer of sparkle that I feel the Shure sorely needed.

The detail can come at a cost though. Some tracks can come across extremely sibilant and ear piercing. Mostly just down to bad recordings but I'm hoping a bit more burn-in might help with some of the sibilance.

One other small gripe I have (which ive seen mentioned a lot) is the lack of bass. I find it really only affects certain tracks so not a huge issue. I'd imagine a less bass heavy IEM would really suffer with this player though.

I have noticed in some cases tracks that use effects in the low end (usually EDM) come across very differently (in a good way) to how I've heard them before. Almost like someone's remixed the bass line.

Aesthetically it feels and looks really nice. I still feel my ZX1 was the best looking dap but this thing blows that out of the water in performance. Also feels a lot tighter construction and more well made than I expected.

Well done Sorny!
How is the Acoustune cable, they were the first company to release a CIEM with a pentaconn plug, and also the first to release a ready made cable with right angle pentaconn plug, also very cheap.
 
Jun 4, 2018 at 8:24 AM Post #6,681 of 12,862
I messaged them but they said they don’t do internationally shipping or so... But as I know there’re quite a lot aftermarket ones for the Z5, so hope you can find one soon :)

Can you specify about that bass increasing? Like the bass goes deeper or hits harder or else?
I actually quite fond of bass, and the bass through the Z5 now is about enough but doesn’t actually made me fall in love with.
And what about the mid, treble and soundstage,...?
Thanks :wink:

Not really, not very good at describing these terms, all I know is they produce more bass than I need, but they are very clear. You can also consider the Acoustune that Cthomas has posted, they are really cheap.
 
Jun 5, 2018 at 4:26 AM Post #6,683 of 12,862
How is the Acoustune cable, they were the first company to release a CIEM with a pentaconn plug, and also the first to release a ready made cable with right angle pentaconn plug, also very cheap.

Yeah the OFC plug by itself is around half the price of the whole cable haha.

Definitely built like a tank this thing. Looks better in person but it has a translucent black shielding so you can see the OFC beneath... really digging the black/black look too :wink:

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Can't really compare the sound as it's my first upgrade cable. No static when twisting the plug or connectors so that's good enough for me lol. Also it's a really nice feeling cable which sounds weird to say. But it's kinda soft plastic they use.

Cons: Not really. Some microphonics but not that bad. Don't notice it when walking around at all.

A little stiff but again definitely fine with me considering it's much thicker than anything I've owned previously.

Kinda wish it had memory wire, due to the thickness it can be a slight issue when looping around the ear.

I think this cable will last due to how well it's made. Definitely recommend.
 
Jun 5, 2018 at 10:16 AM Post #6,684 of 12,862
Yep, it's a nice cheap cable, especially for those who want to start going into 4.4mm plug, they should offer availability for ear hook and without, but you can convert it, just use a wired or a bendable plastic and use those cable shink wrap, it should work, but as you said, the cable is a little thick and stiff.

Does the cable have a model number, the cable has been released along time, but it's not mentioned in their site.
 
Jun 5, 2018 at 10:56 PM Post #6,685 of 12,862
It's the Acoustune ARC03.

Yeah it was really between this and the Sony Kimber but I've seen some pretty shocking tear-apart pics of those.
 
Jun 6, 2018 at 5:53 AM Post #6,687 of 12,862
Cheap materials ?
Cheap does not mean cheap material, this is a japanese company, and their iem has always been good, this cable uses the pentaconn right angle plug which is the most expensive you can get, costing 10800 yen alone.

I have 3 of these plug reterminated and the quality are great.
 
Jun 6, 2018 at 7:35 AM Post #6,689 of 12,862
Cheap does not mean cheap material, this is a japanese company, and their iem has always been good, this cable uses the pentaconn right angle plug which is the most expensive you can get, costing 10800 yen alone.

I have 3 of these plug reterminated and the quality are great.

Yes, the entire cable has the same quality feel. I also have the Sony balanced PHA-3 cable (non-kimber) which cost me about the same price as the ARC03. I know which I'd prefer.

I would say the Acoustune is priced more than fairly. Pretty sure the case you get is real leather too. I think the Kimber is just overpriced for what you get, like a lot of upgrade cables.
 
Jun 6, 2018 at 7:49 AM Post #6,690 of 12,862
The Kimber? Just looked dodgy wiring underneath the black y-splitter.
I've seen the photo, but I won't consider it to be that bad, there is a reason for that, as the cable is consider really thick and once the Y splitter is sealed, even with force, the cable is really strong.

I actually have the MUC-M12SB1, I think I purchased it from Jaben Malaysia for about USD73 over a year ago, and I still have it.
The only bad thing about it, is the size of the 4.4 plug.

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