[Vitandus]

Wondering if I need to have my ZX300 replaced... connection issues are frustrating, and no exclusive mode with Tidal etc.

What’s your host? USB issues with the host are usually the culprit.

 

[Hinomotocho]

Regarding charging, right after full charge, it lasts for 7-8 hours with flacs volume 50-60 with sound all sound settings ON. Without sound settings - no need to charge for 2 days. But what funny is when I use DAC for my laptop or file transfer, it starts charging as usual. After it's finished full charging, if I take a gap may be 30 mins or play some songs of 10 -15mins, then if need to use DAC right again or file transfer, it starts charging again. But it will charge again for 1 hour or 2 . So why it never charges for fully 4-5 hours at once which is suggested officially by Sony, but it charges half 2 hours, although showing full charged!

Could it be that even though you are only using for a short time, when you reconnect it is trying to recharge that part of the battery you used, but as you are also using the battery for it's DAC function it takes a longer time to catch up - if that makes sense?

 

[Ty89m]

What’s your host? USB issues with the host are usually the culprit.

MacBook Pro, latest OS. It’ll keep switching between Walkman and Mac speakers until I stop music and fiddle with opening/closing Tidal, and plugging/unplugging ZX300. Finicky for sure. I’ll mess with USB port settings etc, and try via windows as well to see if problem can be replicated.

 

[Erfan Elahi]

Could it be that even though you are only using for a short time, when you reconnect it is trying to recharge that part of the battery you used, but as you are also using the battery for it's DAC function it takes a longer time to catch up - if that makes sense?

Yes, it does makes sense. Also DAC is consuming battery. Anyways, battery is working fine with me, charge is lasting enough as suggested by Sony. But I need to try drain the battery empty and charge it full. Let's see if it takes 4-5 hours to charge - again, as suggested by Sony. Normally I am charging when it shows only 1 bar...

 

[Hinomotocho]

Yes, it does makes sense. Also DAC is consuming battery. Anyways, battery is working fine with me, charge is lasting enough as suggested by Sony. But I need to try drain the battery empty and charge it full. Let's see if it takes 4-5 hours to charge - again, as suggested by Sony. Normally I am charging when it shows only 1 bar...

Apparently it is not good to completely drain lithium batteries as it can deplete their life span, and it is recommended to top up the charge more regularly.

 

[Vitandus]

MacBook Pro, latest OS. It’ll keep switching between Walkman and Mac speakers until I stop music and fiddle with opening/closing Tidal, and plugging/unplugging ZX300. Finicky for sure. I’ll mess with USB port settings etc, and try via windows as well to see if problem can be replicated

Which model? A couple have had USB issues - I was one of those impacted, and boy it was a PITA.

 

[Erfan Elahi]

Apparently it is not good to completely drain lithium batteries as it can deplete their life span, and it is recommended to top up the charge more regularly.

noted w thanks!

 

[Hinomotocho]

1 or 2 times is probably OK, I had to do a complete drain (until the icon doesn't flash) a couple of times on my old ZX100 when I had an issue with the battery indicator and it definitely didn't have any noticeable impact on the battery life.

 

[matique]

Which model? A couple have had USB issues - I was one of those impacted, and boy it was a PITA.

Was this a known issue? What was the solution. I also have random connect-disconnect using the zx300 as my usb dac with a 2017 Macbook Retina 15"

 

[rawrster]

I have a ZX300 coming in soon however a few questions

1) A 400gb card should work right? I have a 200gb I could use however it's nice to know if I want to use a 400gb one, it would work fine.
2) I've been looking at balanced cables for a bit and it looks like my options are slim for the right angled plugs. It looks like my main options would be the Sony cable or the Acoustune cable. There doesn't seem that much information on them and neither looks like they would be really flexible and lack memory of how the cable was stored. Also, is pentaconn the only right angled plug available? It looks like it's only available from Japan and it costs around $60 or so to ship so it's not a cheap plug.
3) I found a cheap adapter on amazon where I could purchase a 2.5mm balanced and use this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...id=1534477230&sr=8-22&keywords=balanced+4.4mm Any thoughts on something cheap like that?

 

[hemipowered007]

I have a ZX300 coming in soon however a few questions

1) A 400gb card should work right? I have a 200gb I could use however it's nice to know if I want to use a 400gb one, it would work fine.
2) I've been looking at balanced cables for a bit and it looks like my options are slim for the right angled plugs. It looks like my main options would be the Sony cable or the Acoustune cable. There doesn't seem that much information on them and neither looks like they would be really flexible and lack memory of how the cable was stored. Also, is pentaconn the only right angled plug available? It looks like it's only available from Japan and it costs around $60 or so to ship so it's not a cheap plug.
3) I found a cheap adapter on amazon where I could purchase a 2.5mm balanced and use this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...id=1534477230&sr=8-22&keywords=balanced+4.4mm Any thoughts on something cheap like that?

Pentaconn is the only well known right angled, but not the only one. It's not easy finding an aftermarket right angle on its own, but there are some. I have 2 aftermarket 4.4mm cable, both without right angle, and both are far shorter than the actual pentaconn. The pentaconn is very long, but easy to work with. The right angle appears to be the same length but with the cable entering on the side, and isn't readily available in the usa, for now at least.

 

[Signal2Noise]

I have a ZX300 coming in soon however a few questions

1) A 400gb card should work right? I have a 200gb I could use however it's nice to know if I want to use a 400gb one, it would work fine.
...
3) I found a cheap adapter on amazon where I could purchase a 2.5mm balanced and use this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...id=1534477230&sr=8-22&keywords=balanced+4.4mm Any thoughts on something cheap like that?

400GB will work fine. Just be aware if you power off and power on the ZX300 rather than use stand-by the DAP will rescan the library/libraries. So could take some time for a fully loaded 400GB.

I use 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapters from FiiO & Sukira. They work fine. With some 4.4mm connections a spacer might be needed to get a proper fit. It depends.

 

[superuser1]

 

[Hinomotocho]

I have a ZX300 coming in soon however a few questions

1) A 400gb card should work right? I have a 200gb I could use however it's nice to know if I want to use a 400gb one, it would work fine.
2) I've been looking at balanced cables for a bit and it looks like my options are slim for the right angled plugs. It looks like my main options would be the Sony cable or the Acoustune cable. There doesn't seem that much information on them and neither looks like they would be really flexible and lack memory of how the cable was stored. Also, is pentaconn the only right angled plug available? It looks like it's only available from Japan and it costs around $60 or so to ship so it's not a cheap plug.
3) I found a cheap adapter on amazon where I could purchase a 2.5mm balanced and use this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Hea...id=1534477230&sr=8-22&keywords=balanced+4.4mm Any thoughts on something cheap like that?

I've got the Sony balanced cable, which I find to be of good build and sound quality. I hear the Acoustune one is very good as well. Try Accessory Jack for the Sony one as their price and shipping is usually good. There is a cable and 3 adaptor set from Mee Audio which is priced well but from the reviews I read when I considered it, it seems to have quality issues.
The Sony cable is not that flexible but can coil up nicely for storage.

 

[superuser1]

If I'm not mistaken the cheapest Sony 4.4mm balanced cable is about $120ish.
If i am willing to pay that much id certainly pay a little bit higher and get a custom cable
from either the likes of PlusSound or Moon-audio etc. You would have the option to choose
right angled plugs IIRC.