[Malevolint]

Woaaa, the WM1A is about as good as Zx300 ?

Sound quality wise, I feel that they are. I will leave room for error because I'm not incredibly experienced, but I believe that most people will find them incredibly close. For anyone that says there is a massive sound difference, I will challenge to do a blind test.

 

[Ryokan]

As for the battery life, at 128 kbps the WM1A place for 33 hours and the zx300 for 25. It's kind of funny that the difference between the two is the total time that some players last.

Just recently I kicked myself for insisting on Flac only rips, because some albums I have in 320kbps Mp3 sound as good, sometimes better if it's a good mastering. 128 though? they've sounded very grainy to me the few times I've listened to them, can't see the need to save that much space now micro cards are so big - Unless you're quoting specs?

I've shelved my 7 hr player, can't see me buying anything now that lasts less than 12, preferably 15 hours.

 

[Malevolint]

Just recently I kicked myself for insisting on Flac only rips, because some albums I have in 320kbps Mp3 sound as good, sometimes better if it's a good mastering. 128 though? they've sounded very grainy to me the few times I've listened to them, can't see the need to save that much space now micro cards are so big - Unless you're quoting specs?

I've shelved my 7 hr player, can't see me buying anything now that lasts less than 12, preferably 15 hours.

Yeah I don't have a lot of big audio files. I personally don't think I can tell the difference between 320 and lossless. I only used the 128 example to compare the batteries. I agree about it not sounding great.. most of the time at least. Sometimes a good recording can still sound decent, and someone's it's all you can find!

I shelved my old Fiio too. Between the meh ui and low battery, it's not really worth using anymore.

 

[ddmt]

Do you know for sure that the zx300 has an OI of 1.5 Ohm? I have looked for this information online and haven’t been able to find an actual answer. Also, is the OÍ of the zx300 the same on the SE and Balanced output? Does it change with high gain?

For sure? No, I got that number from the other audio forum. Seems correct though. No idea about the high gain.

 

[Qnapper]

Will I have a HiBy R6 (not for much longer) and have run tests on both and the Sony to me comes out on top every time. I know it cannot access the internet, I know the interface is basic, but then again I only want to listen to my music.......... Job done and at 60+ sounds great...........

 

[Qnapper]

If have loads of FLAC and really cannot tell the differance as long as the encoding is done right even on the balanced over ear headphones.
Qnapper

 

[Malevolint]

If have loads of FLAC and really cannot tell the differance as long as the encoding is done right even on the balanced over ear headphones.
Qnapper

We need to get us some golden ears, man!

I'm curious about the differences between the two DAPs. What makes Sony better to you?

 

[Rob49]

Just curious....are MQA Files worth a purchase & if so, what softwear allows you to transfer them to the ZX300 ?

 

[Qnapper]

We need to get us some golden ears, man!

I'm curious about the differences between the two DAPs. What makes Sony better to you?

Firstly the software Sony: simple no messing around - R6 to much going on (I know it's andriod) and HiBy software hard to navigate around.
Software update: Sony is straight forward - HiBy R6 well Ib will let you "Google" that one. I will be selling the R6 very soon.

 

[kms108]

Just curious....are MQA Files worth a purchase & if so, what softwear allows you to transfer them to the ZX300 ?

Same as any other files, through software or cut and paste.

 

[Audiophile2019]

regarding high gain and battery, with all eq on what would you say your playback time in hours go to? when you say it goes to crap i take it its not 20 hours.
i do all the above and get maybe 10 hours if lucky

Thanks for the comments.. I just had my ZX300 for 10 days now. So far never managed to get above 10 hours.. Today I'm trying to play back without much screen on (eg, spectrum analyzer, etc), fiddling with menu, setting change, etc - just leave it on, use physical side buttons for volume & skip/pause/rewind... BTW I'm not using Direct Source.. I'm using 4.4mm balanced port connected to wired mdr-1am2 headphones with some EQ setting, volume level ranging between 72-84, DSEE-HX on, vinyl processor set to "turntable resonance", DC phase linearizer on.. I'm just playing mp3 files, no FLAC or DSD.. Let see how far the battery can last...

 

[Rob49]

If you've purchased any albums, i assume they're no better than any other hi res music file, the main advantage they don't take up so much space. ( Will get round to having a look at the volume cap / rockbox, sometime this weekend, he says positively ! lol )

This is in response to @kms108 forgot to click quotes.

 

[kms108]

If you've purchased any albums, i assume they're no better than any other hi res music file, the main advantage they don't take up so much space. ( Will get round to having a look at the volume cap / rockbox, sometime this weekend, he says positively ! lol )

This is in response to @kms108 forgot to click quotes.

ok

 

[AlpacaApproach]

The 40th anniversary is definitely going to throw in something interesting into the mix. I am really hopeful.

Piggybacking on this, does anyone know how the release cycle for new Walkmans are for Sony? The ZX300 was released back in 2017 so a new one should be due this year?

 

[Shane D]

Thanks for the comments.. I just had my ZX300 for 10 days now. So far never managed to get above 10 hours.. Today I'm trying to play back without much screen on (eg, spectrum analyzer, etc), fiddling with menu, setting change, etc - just leave it on, use physical side buttons for volume & skip/pause/rewind... BTW I'm not using Direct Source.. I'm using 4.4mm balanced port connected to wired mdr-1am2 headphones with some EQ setting, volume level ranging between 72-84, DSEE-HX on, vinyl processor set to "turntable resonance", DC phase linearizer on.. I'm just playing mp3 files, no FLAC or DSD.. Let see how far the battery can last...

I get no more than 10 hours and usually less. That is balanced out with a mix of ALAC, AAC and MP3.

The SQ is worth it though.

I just went 11 hours SE (low gain) out to a headphone amp and it actually died. First time that ever happened. I usually get hours out of one bar.

Shane D