[abitdeef]

I actually think the Whathifi star rating is accurate. I love the dap so far but, for the price, not having streaming options at all is probably worth minus one star. If this dap did tidal offline it would be untouchable, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t stream anything. And it has custom ports. Now, that’s not a killer for many of us but it’s a big feature gap in the current day and age. If it wasn’t for the A option being so much cheaper I would have tried another DAP to be honest.

I have no problem with the star rating, I have a problem with the negative slant on the sound which just doesn't hold water. Star ratings are really pretty useless anyways. If you've ever used Netflix or Amazon video you know that

 

[abitdeef]

I've only had time to put about 5-6 hours on mine but I smile at every track I play to hear all those glorious qualities this player has, and then I remember, IT GETS EVEN BETTER! I'm not going to speed up the process, it'll be like receiving a bonus - does a little on-screen messsge pop up and say CONGRATULATIONS you achieved 200 hours, here's an improvement in sound?[/QUOTE

Absolutely! Then a sexy beautiful woman pops out and pours you a glass of bubbly and asks what's next?

 

[abitdeef]

Ah the beautiful non reflective non fingerprint magnet matt screen

 

[Partlys4int]

Ah the beautiful non reflective non fingerprint magnet matt screen

Deeper colours too!

Having the ZX300 next to your other DAP, makes it even stand out more. Unlike many other players, the designers didn't try to make it look like a smartphone and that adds to its charm in my opinion.

 

[abitdeef]

Deeper colours too!

Having the ZX300 next to your other DAP, makes it even stand out more. Unlike many other players, the designers didn't try to make it look like a smartphone and that adds to its charm in my opinion.

Yep it's a horrible picture from my asus tablet, but the background behind Jeff Kashiwa is white like it's supposed to be on the zx300, but blue on the cayin

 

[haveblue]

Yep it's a horrible picture from my asus tablet, but the background behind Jeff Kashiwa is white like it's supposed to be on the zx300, but blue on the cayin

Which DAP do you like better, usability-wise and sound-wise?

 

[abitdeef]

Which DAP do you like better, usability-wise and sound-wise?

Um look a few posts back about what I think about the sound for more details, but on both those fronts the Sony wins. The little cayin is nice, but just can't compete. The Sony UI is simple and fast, the cayin UI is weird to me, why have storage info on the whole home page? And the screen on the cayin is harder to read and see even though it's slightly bigger, probably because it's way too cool ( blue) - whites looks light blue or gray. Plus at this point the Sony screen reacts faster to inputs.

And I have been running the n5ii in since I've received it for burn in purposes, but so far it still sounds a bit congested compared with the ZX300, like the layering, 3d positioning, space between instruments ( whatever you want to call it ) is much better on the Sony. Everything has more space to breath, and the stage both ways is bigger. Plus the tone is more natural ie real on the Sony, the cayin sounds nice and detailed but digital. And the Sony even with that tonal quality loses no detail retrieval at all, it sounds more detailed because of the space everything has and you can pick out that nuanced soft note even out of a busy part of a song easier and clearer because of the air betwixt things. Fleetwood Mac Rumours HD has many examples of that kind of stuff.

Ok didn't plan to say that much, but I am surprised how different they both sound and that's not even balanced. Forgive my long windedness.

 

[abitdeef]

Ha ha I got my re 800 today ( I was so excited) and my mee cable kit ( looks ok ) and guess what?? One of the fing re800 buds was completely dead! So my first hi fi man purchase and my last And they were the perfect size. So back they go and I'm trying the oriveti new primus or whatever so I can at least see if I can tolerate the fit and enjoy balanced.

If not then SE I will happily stay, and see if klipsch gets into balanced or suck up and try the new senn ie800.

Maybe hifiman should have spent more on quality control instead of a 24 k paint job and a mini suitcase.

 

[cosie]

Guys, please suggest, will it work fine with cans like fostex610?

 

[jonathane40]

How many hours of playback are you guys getting using the balanced output on low gain? I have been using it with the Sony XBA N3 with a balanced cable at low gain and it seems the player dies around after 8 hours of playback. Files are mostly ALAC and volume is around halfway on the balanced output.

I wonder if this is normal or not.

Thanks!

 

[ailean]

How many hours of playback are you guys getting using the balanced output on low gain? I have been using it with the Sony XBA N3 with a balanced cable at low gain and it seems the player dies around after 8 hours of playback. Files are mostly ALAC and volume is around halfway on the balanced output.

I wonder if this is normal or not.

Thanks!

That sounds really short, I'd expect at least 20 hours with IEMs, maybe less with meaty cans, high gain and max volume.
Mine is mostly CD FLAC files so not sure if ALAC are a challenge for the ZX300 to decode?

 

[Bepli]

That sounds really short, I'd expect at least 20 hours with IEMs, maybe less with meaty cans, high gain and max volume.
Mine is mostly CD FLAC files so not sure if ALAC are a challenge for the ZX300 to decode?

Using the Sony XBA-N3 on balanced, high gain and volume set to 30 (plenty loud for my taste) and with mixed Music from CD FLAC to hi-res +DSD and I got 18 hours on full charge. (No dsp settings enabled)

 

[Gosod]

How this player plays louder through the balance?

 

[Bepli]

How this player plays louder through the balance?

It puts out more voltage that way, it's very common on balanced devices

 

[superuser1]

Maximum Power Output (JEITA 16Ω/mW)

Headphone Out (Stereo mini-jack)
50mW+50mW (High Gain)
Headphone Out (Balanced standard-jack)
200mW+200mW (High Gain)