[Hinomotocho]

I just got back from Japan where I got to achieve my audio related goals:
1. replacement for my beloved XBA-Z5 (awkward design that keep falling out) - Oriolus (original model) with PW Audio No5 4.4mm cable from e earphone (another goal of fulfilling my twisted copper cable fetish).
2. overheads with detachable cable - Denon D5200 with Orb slim 4.4mm cable from e earphone
3. case for ZX300 and iems - padded box from Tokyu Hands

*excuse the phone camera shots

 

[Audiophile2019]

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

Yeap, I got similar results yesterday.. Just eleven & a half (11.5) hours.. Can't ask for much actually since my battery has that "long life" 90% capping ON during recharging.. If recharged 100% full, presumably I should get 11% more, say ~13 hours.. But then again, using 4.4mm balanced cable, EQ with deep low-bass setting, DSEE-HX, higher than 128kbps bit rate, vinyl processor, DC phase linearizer, volume 80/120, etc if all these were OFF, probably can reach 30 hours as claimed.. Ha ha...

 

[CoryGillmore]

Wow the processing really drains this thing, eh? I've been listening for over 12 hours today on low gain balanced with volume anywhere from 85-94 and I'm still showing 3 bars in the battery meter. Direct source on though.

 

[se7en7]

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 dont have the zx300 anymore but i do miss it the battery with all settings processing on i was getting 6 hours on high gain vol 85.
I do miss the sound and the screen and ease of use but i dont miss the battery

 

[Audiophile2019]

I dont have the zx300 anymore but i do miss it the battery with all settings processing on i was getting 6 hours on high gain vol 85.
I do miss the sound and the screen and ease of use but i dont miss the battery

6 hours.. Wow! Thanks for sharing, bro.. What DAP do you use now?.. Is the battery much better?

 

[se7en7]

6 hours.. Wow! Thanks for sharing, bro.. What DAP do you use now?.. Is the battery much better?

Yes i think it was a defective battery i did use the battery 90% saver but still it wasnt the performance i was expecting battery wise.
Sound was excellent on 4.4 and 3.5.
Currently using an M6 for daily and M5s both of which have excellent battery life thus far. And very good sound.

The nail in coffin for zx300 was the last test hi gain off dsp on screen off vol 85-90 barely got 6 hours mix of flac mp3 and dsd.

 

[Malevolint]

I have an interesting update.

I had claimed that the zx300 sounded as good as the WM1A, for those that missed it.

Anyway, I did a blind test on my GF. I trust her ears just as much as mine, if not more. I was very nervous to put my thoughts to a true test because when I told her to listen to both Daps and tell me what she thought (not a blind test) she told me that the wm1a was better. I didn't think my hearing could be bad enough to not hear what was such an obvious difference to her.

Anyway, I proceeded with a 4 track test using my Andromeda S, switching back and forth whenever she asked.

Results: she picked out the ZX300 as sounding better 3/4 times.

 

[GreenBow]

I picked up my ZX300 today and it was on the last tiny bar of battery. I was going for a walk that's about 5-6 miles. I played two albums. When I got home I still had battery power.

It's a shame for someone if they got a faulty-short-life battery. By the way I was going to post this anyway, before I noticed a lot of other posts about battery power. The ZX300 is perfect to me. I know there are better sounding DAPs. However as yet I didn't more to balanced so still more to come. I still think SE on the ZX300 is good though. I love listening to it on the go. On top of that, the good battery life, and what's not to like.

 

[Hinomotocho]

I don't want to sound like a cracked record every time someone talks about battery life, but I seriously wonder if there was a bad batch of batteries.
My A15 and ZX100 lived up to their estimated battery life and over the 1-2 years I had them from new the battery life never noticeably dropped much, this is a big reason I like Sony daps.
I know the ZX300 is a different beast, but even with the previous 2 players I had high volume, no effects and 90% flac or hi-res files and the ZX300 from the first charge has dropped bars quickly. I've done battery tests in the past and although I can't recall the results it wasn't near what others were getting.

 

[JoshG1217]

With flac and everything enabled in the sound settings, I'm getting 10-15 hours using balanced output.

 

[kingdixon]

Well on my wm1a, the battery is behaving exactly as in the manual,

With a mix of flac and mp3:

no dsp, screen off i can reach 33 hours.
All dsp, battery care, screen off gave me around 13 hours

Iam sure if i add bluetooth , use screen, and listen to dsd, i might end up getting 4 hours

I think it is just how u use the device and how much every feature consumes, i did alot of tests to reach something like battery care takes 6 or 7 hours off, DSEE hx took alone 10 hours of the battery for me.

Also i noticed on the wm1a manual they dont differenciate between balanced and single, while on zx300 manual each has differenrt consumption.

I think for anyone who thinks he got a bad battery, he should do a test with no dsp, no battery care, screen off, no bluetooth, with mp3s or a mix between flacs and mp3s, and let it run flat, take note before and after of playing time, and see if you can get to the max battery mentioned in the manual.

 

[Ryokan]

I have an interesting update.

I had claimed that the zx300 sounded as good as the WM1A, for those that missed it.

Anyway, I did a blind test on my GF. I trust her ears just as much as mine, if not more. I was very nervous to put my thoughts to a true test because when I told her to listen to both Daps and tell me what she thought (not a blind test) she told me that the wm1a was better. I didn't think my hearing could be bad enough to not hear what was such an obvious difference to her.

Anyway, I proceeded with a 4 track test using my Andromeda S, switching back and forth whenever she asked.

Results: she picked out the ZX300 as sounding better 3/4 times.

And this is why I've lost interest in any DAP that costs over $800

 

[Leetransform25]

Does anyone know how many hours you can squeeze out if the ZX300 with all DSP settings enabled but at lower volumes? I know that enhancements can take a big toll on battery life but I was wondering if the differences would be less if playback was quieter, since I rarely turn up the volume past 50 (Usually around 20-45 I think).

 

[fokta]

hehehe... my short impression when demo ZX300

in summary:
(+) Power & Detail on 4.4 is top notch (compare my stack)
(+) Detail Rumble but less punch bass
(+) Smooth UI compare my current DAP
(+) Body finishing quality, undoubted SONY
(-) can't Streaming (my biggest turn off)
(-) unable to cue single flac file
(-) uncommon Port (not USB C etc...)
(-) too simple UI & no volume knob design
(?) Noise <- Gambling...

overall, Great DAP with well know brand, I love the build, good size, & finishing quality... QUITE the sweet spot in term sound quality and cost... if only can do Streaming apps (spotify), I will have no doubt to grap this....

 

[JoshG1217]

anyone know when paired with BT if the soudn quality setting is the same as 990 kbps in Android? I noticed the connection is far more stable, and am curious if it's equivalent.