[Dinche]

I don't think there are any benefits gained from getting a higher specced card - I believe the money spent on card size is of the most benefit.

Thanks. That's what I thought.

Regards

 

[Dinche]

ZX300 Initial impressions (single ended)

Almost 24hrs in single ended and I'm quite underwhelmed so far. I actually like its sound signature. Slightly on the warm side, good micro dynamics and air, but no matter what I throw at it, comes out flat and weak. I don't understand how my old ZX1 (with volume hack on) destroys this unit in terms of raw power. According to specs ZX1 has much lower power output?! My ZX 300 is set to region E with high-gain on single ended turned on. I have to turn volume way up over 60 to get it going. Is this normal? Should I be considering sending this back? I still haven't tried the balanced connection. Tested with IER-Z7 IEM's.

Regards

 

[candlejack]

ZX300 Initial impressions (single ended)

Almost 24hrs in single ended and I'm quite underwhelmed so far. I actually like its sound signature. Slightly on the warm side, good micro dynamics and air, but no matter what I throw at it, comes out flat and weak. I don't understand how my old ZX1 (with volume hack on) destroys this unit in terms of raw power. According to specs ZX1 has much lower power output?! My ZX 300 is set to region E with high-gain on single ended turned on. I have to turn volume way up over 60 to get it going. Is this normal? Should I be considering sending this back? I still haven't tried the balanced connection. Tested with IER-Z7 IEM's.

Regards

Don't the M7 have a Bal cable included? I haven't done a lot of testing on SE, but according to people on Head-Fi, the Bal sounds significantly better. Also, according to the spec sheet, the SE is rated at 50mW, while Bal is 250mW. Not sure what that really means, because from memory, the SE was not 5 times quieter than the Bal, but what I'm trying to say is give the Bal output a try and then report back.

 

[superuser1]

Also do you have the option to engage/ enable high gain?

 

[Dinche]

Don't the M7 have a Bal cable included? I haven't done a lot of testing on SE, but according to people on Head-Fi, the Bal sounds significantly better. Also, according to the spec sheet, the SE is rated at 50mW, while Bal is 250mW. Not sure what that really means, because from memory, the SE was not 5 times quieter than the Bal, but what I'm trying to say is give the Bal output a try and then report back.

Yes they do. I just wanted to kick it off with single ended in order to compare with my ZX1, which is single ended only. I will try balanced connection tomorrow and report back. Regards

 

[Dinche]

Also do you have the option to engage/ enable high gain?

Yes. I have it set to high gain.

 

[Lookout57]

Sony's need 200 hours of burn-in on each output to reach their full potential.

 

[ailean]

Yes they do. I just wanted to kick it off with single ended in order to compare with my ZX1, which is single ended only. I will try balanced connection tomorrow and report back. Regards

The sound does improve with burn-in, if you can leave it playing with headphones at reasonable volume overnight for a couple of days that should help. Balanced was a lot better for me, especially after burn-in of >100 hours (Sony recommands 200 hours per socket ).

I've not heard the ZX1 though so no idea of the differences.

 

[Dinche]

Sony's need 200 hours of burn-in on each output to reach their full potential.

The sound does improve with burn-in, if you can leave it playing with headphones at reasonable volume overnight for a couple of days that should help. Balanced was a lot better for me, especially after burn-in of >100 hours (Sony recommands 200 hours per socket ).

I've not heard the ZX1 though so no idea of the differences.

Yeah. I am aware of burn-in period. Switched to balanced last night, and it does improve the dynamics, right out of the box. While it's certainly not 5 x louder than SE, it does sound more authoritative. I will keep burning-in the balanced connection, and perhaps go back to SE later on. At this time, the impression is that Sony gimped SE on this one.

Regards

 

[candlejack]

At this time, the impression is that Sony gimped SE on this one.

Bal is not just a different jack, it's different/more complex electronics for the purpose of better sound. You might still be right about SE being gimped on purpose, but I guess they had to do it to fulfill the expectations they themselves promote about Bal being superior to SE (if you can't make Bal better, at least you can make SE worse).

 

[Dinche]

Bal is not just a different jack, it's different/more complex electronics for the purpose of better sound. You might still be right about SE being gimped on purpose, but I guess they had to do it to fulfill the expectations they themselves promote about Bal being superior to SE (if you can't make Bal better, at least you can make SE worse).

Hehe. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Sony is known for doing things like this. Way back in early 2000'snwhen they launched the SACD format. Their SACD/CD players had gimped CD sound to make SACD sound even better .

 

[forper]

you might be even more underwhelmed by the balanced. It requires more power of course but to me through IER-M7s it sings with high gain and at around 80/120 with most music. I'm in audio heaven at that point and can listen satisfied for hours with no fatigue or pain.

I don't know about the unbalanced gimping conspiracy theories but it sounds great to me, just not as smooth and rounded as balanced. The harshness of unbalanced gets to me after a while (Using MDR-EX700s) and I have to take a break.

 

[shady1991]

ZX300 Initial impressions (single ended)

Almost 24hrs in single ended and I'm quite underwhelmed so far. I actually like its sound signature. Slightly on the warm side, good micro dynamics and air, but no matter what I throw at it, comes out flat and weak. I don't understand how my old ZX1 (with volume hack on) destroys this unit in terms of raw power. According to specs ZX1 has much lower power output?! My ZX 300 is set to region E with high-gain on single ended turned on. I have to turn volume way up over 60 to get it going. Is this normal? Should I be considering sending this back? I still haven't tried the balanced connection. Tested with IER-Z7 IEM's.

Regards

Which firmware are you running on? Many might disagree here but difference between 2.02 and 2.01 is huge for me, try to switch in between and figure out which is best for you. Also, if you try it as a usb DAC, I wonder if you would have the same impression.

 

[GreenBow]

Yeah. I am aware of burn-in period. Switched to balanced last night, and it does improve the dynamics, right out of the box. While it's certainly not 5 x louder than SE, it does sound more authoritative. I will keep burning-in the balanced connection, and perhaps go back to SE later on. At this time, the impression is that Sony gimped SE on this one.

Regards

I keep reading that folk say the ZX300 is only average on the SE headphone output. However I never found it like that.

I generally use AKG N40, and they seem to pair well with everything. Right from my £50 iPod Shuffle, my pocketDAB radio, my ZX300, Chord Mojo, and Hugo 2. While I like the N40 on the SE on the ZX300, I sometimes wish for a bit more something but can't think what. However I also have the AKG N5005. When I use those SE on the ZX300 - wow, just wow. Good enough to forget about needing any upgrade.

Maybe if I go balanced with the N40, I might get closer to SE with N5005. I have a balanced cable, but I did not try it yet.

 

[Lurk650]

I keep reading that folk say the ZX300 is only average on the SE headphone output. However I never found it like that.

I generally use AKG N40, and they seem to pair well with everything. Right from my £50 iPod Shuffle, my pocketDAB radio, my ZX300, Chord Mojo, and Hugo 2. While I like the N40 on the SE on the ZX300, I sometimes wish for a bit more something but can't think what. However I also have the AKG N5005. When I use those SE on the ZX300 - wow, just wow. Good enough to forget about needing any upgrade.

Maybe if I go balanced with the N40, I might get closer to SE with N5005. I have a balanced cable, but I did not try it yet.

You don't run the N5005 balanced with the ZX300?! LOL.