equalspeace
Headphoneus Supremus
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I don’t believe it will continue to sound better once the zx300 has 250 or so hours on it
Sony NW-ZX300
I don’t believe it will continue to sound better once the zx300 has 250 or so hours on it
robulation
100+ Head-Fier
I’m really surprised by that... my zx300 sounded really great from the box, yes it was probably getting a bit more detailed and tighter after 100hrs or so, but THAT much different?...!?!??
I thought it was only the plastic capacitors that actually ‘required’ (according to Sony’s website) the burn-in because of the way they function... and pretty sure the A-35 doesn’t have that spec of ‘caps’, so burn-in would most likely be ears getting used to things.
geisterfaust
New Head-Fier
Looks like I'll be joining the pack early December with a Sony ZX300A...
Will update soon! I guess it's time to sell my iPod Classic with the Tarkan iFlash.
Will update soon! I guess it's time to sell my iPod Classic with the Tarkan iFlash.
Partlys4int
500+ Head-Fier
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After 100hrs I remember there was not much difference. My ZX300 really started to shine after 300hrs.
You'll have to let that baby play overnight, or your ZX300 will be old before you'll have the best of its capabilities
robulation
100+ Head-Fier
After 100hrs I remember there was not much difference. My ZX300 really started to shine after 300hrs.
You'll have to let that baby play overnight, or your ZX300 will be old before you'll have the best of its capabilities
Oh yeah, I’m currently at about 900hrs, so mine’s definitely burned in. I swapped to Balanced and that made a huge difference in terms of everything I could hear as that burned in. I was more making comment about the A35 needing no burn in purely because it has different innards.
equalspeace
Headphoneus Supremus
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The implementation of the specs on the A-35 is actually quite good. It sounds a bit better than it should
Hey guys,
I've had my ZX300 for a year, to the date now. Remember reading 500 odd pages before making my decision (a late thanks to all those who contributed). Purchased it from Singapore (Sony), and regret not getting a 4.4 balanced pair of earphones (if only to kill my curiosity)
Build Quality
I found the build quality on this, top notch. Only my 2nd dedicated player after an IPod classic 160gb which wasn't too bad.
Sound
Music quality is great from the 3.5mm, although I yearn to see what the 4.4mm fuss is all about (teetering between the Solaris, IER M9 & the XBA Z5. If only I had the opportunity to try 'em...)
I have tried it with the following phones, all purchased before the ZX300, a real mixed bag so take what you will:
With Sennheiser IE Momentums: Good energy and details. A l'il harsh sometimes. Fidelitous bass, if you will, which at times leaves you yearning for that thump, even after EQing. Good recordings shine, often leaving me with, "do i really need an upgrade; iem or balanced?"
With Sennheiser PXC550: Bought these for travel and I love them to bits.
-Wired: Sounds good but not a fan. It always feels like the processor on the PXC cups is fighting against the ZX300. Volume needs to be cranked on both.
-Bluetooth: Really good. I didn't think, the ZX300 transmitting sound via bluetooth would be any different from my android. It is! To put it under an umbrella, this rings true when I try it with my Bose Soundsport, Revolve Plus and Soundlink Micro as well.
I had the following for a couple of weeks:
Shure SE535: These are really comfortable. They're more expensive than my IE Momentums but I just didnt prefer them.
Shure SE846: These are amazing once you get the right fit. Couldn't believe that bass is BA. Good details. Comfortable. Not fatiguing at all.
Pioneer SE 5: OMG! I'm in love with these. If I wasnt keen on getting IEMs, this would be a no brainer. Not for bass heads, but man do they make recordings shine. I needed to crank up the volume to 100 with high gain to make them sing. 3 5mm ofcourse.
ZX300 as a USB DAC: Connected this to watch a few movies. Needs to be synced for audio. Background score sounded better.
Battery: You'll get close to the manual specified hours if you keep it playing continuously without operating the screen or staggering the playing hours.
I remember getting 21 hours or so when I tested it on continuous playback.
Staggered and with screen usage, lower your expectations.
As an example: With battery charged to 90%, using it for 30 mins daily, sleep setting: 1hour on and low screen usage I got about 8 hours. That's not too bad considering you could go a week without charge.
I've also tried all of the above headphones with the A&K Futura. I love the ZX300 and I wouldn't trade it, but man the Futura is a sexy piece. It's a different sound signature and has more power out of the SE. I thought it provided better seperation of instruments and had more energy.
But like I said, I love the battery life and the form factor of the ZX300. I wouldn't trade it, but I'm not closed off to buying a bigger, better player when I have the disposable income.
Firmware 2.02
The Sony website states:
Improves the transition between tracks when played back via Bluetooth
Knowing how companies have known to slow down devices and mess with battery life through updates, I delayed updating to this firmware. Especially considering the pending launch of ZX500.
Now that I have, I don't remember being bothered by the transition between tracks over bluetooth to begin with.
P.S: Did this improvement require a 113mb file?
I've had my ZX300 for a year, to the date now. Remember reading 500 odd pages before making my decision (a late thanks to all those who contributed). Purchased it from Singapore (Sony), and regret not getting a 4.4 balanced pair of earphones (if only to kill my curiosity)
Build Quality
I found the build quality on this, top notch. Only my 2nd dedicated player after an IPod classic 160gb which wasn't too bad.
Sound
Music quality is great from the 3.5mm, although I yearn to see what the 4.4mm fuss is all about (teetering between the Solaris, IER M9 & the XBA Z5. If only I had the opportunity to try 'em...)
I have tried it with the following phones, all purchased before the ZX300, a real mixed bag so take what you will:
With Sennheiser IE Momentums: Good energy and details. A l'il harsh sometimes. Fidelitous bass, if you will, which at times leaves you yearning for that thump, even after EQing. Good recordings shine, often leaving me with, "do i really need an upgrade; iem or balanced?"
With Sennheiser PXC550: Bought these for travel and I love them to bits.
-Wired: Sounds good but not a fan. It always feels like the processor on the PXC cups is fighting against the ZX300. Volume needs to be cranked on both.
-Bluetooth: Really good. I didn't think, the ZX300 transmitting sound via bluetooth would be any different from my android. It is! To put it under an umbrella, this rings true when I try it with my Bose Soundsport, Revolve Plus and Soundlink Micro as well.
I had the following for a couple of weeks:
Shure SE535: These are really comfortable. They're more expensive than my IE Momentums but I just didnt prefer them.
Shure SE846: These are amazing once you get the right fit. Couldn't believe that bass is BA. Good details. Comfortable. Not fatiguing at all.
Pioneer SE 5: OMG! I'm in love with these. If I wasnt keen on getting IEMs, this would be a no brainer. Not for bass heads, but man do they make recordings shine. I needed to crank up the volume to 100 with high gain to make them sing. 3 5mm ofcourse.
ZX300 as a USB DAC: Connected this to watch a few movies. Needs to be synced for audio. Background score sounded better.
Battery: You'll get close to the manual specified hours if you keep it playing continuously without operating the screen or staggering the playing hours.
I remember getting 21 hours or so when I tested it on continuous playback.
Staggered and with screen usage, lower your expectations.
As an example: With battery charged to 90%, using it for 30 mins daily, sleep setting: 1hour on and low screen usage I got about 8 hours. That's not too bad considering you could go a week without charge.
I've also tried all of the above headphones with the A&K Futura. I love the ZX300 and I wouldn't trade it, but man the Futura is a sexy piece. It's a different sound signature and has more power out of the SE. I thought it provided better seperation of instruments and had more energy.
But like I said, I love the battery life and the form factor of the ZX300. I wouldn't trade it, but I'm not closed off to buying a bigger, better player when I have the disposable income.
Firmware 2.02
The Sony website states:
Improves the transition between tracks when played back via Bluetooth
Knowing how companies have known to slow down devices and mess with battery life through updates, I delayed updating to this firmware. Especially considering the pending launch of ZX500.
Now that I have, I don't remember being bothered by the transition between tracks over bluetooth to begin with.
P.S: Did this improvement require a 113mb file?
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CoryGillmore
Headphoneus Supremus
Is there any reason NOT to upgrade the FW from 2.01 to 2.02? No controversies here like with the WM1A, right?
shady1991
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I went back to 2.01 after having 2.02 for a month. The sound changes quite significantly, 01 has dry sound with textured bass which has more quantity as well, 02 has wider soundstage with less bass and more in your face treble. It is matter of taste, I do not think any version sounds better or worse but I went back to 2.01 for its non-fatiguing sound.
I bought mine (new) just over a year ago. It came with 1.07 installed, and I installed 2.0 as soon as it was available. I recently installed 2.02...I haven't seen any reference to 2.01 as a downloadable option (maybe it was rolled out with new NW-SX300 units?). I haven't noticed any differences in audio tone since upgrading to 2.02 (it does cure the track gapping issue when using Bluetooth).
2.02 doesn't cure a "Save Sound Settings" issue (it just doesn't work because the incorrect sub-menu is called up when you try to "save". I described the issue to Sony Support, and they advised me to reset the device, and to email them again If I needed more help. I emailed them a reply to say I had already tried resetting the device without it making any difference (why would it?) - that was a month ago. I never tried to use the function prior to installing 2.02 - if you do have an SW.ZX300 on 2.01, does the Save Sound Settings function work correctly? Not much I can do because as I understand it you can't roll-back to earlier firmware versions...
Tai1or Made
Head-Fier
I'm on 2.01 and my EQ settings save.
RSC08
100+ Head-Fier
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Same here but I'm on 2.02. Zero issues either saving or loading EQ settings.
You can roll back FW settings for ZX300, same as for the WM!x. Just upgrade/downgrade with the FW file you want. Same procedure. Sony upgrade software does not check whether you are downgrading or not. It allows you to load any FW version that you want. Check online and you will find the various FW versions. Or people on the forum can provide.
Can you point me at a download location for earlier firmware versions? The Sony site only has the latest version available (2.02), and I'm not sure whether 2.01 was ever available for download (do you know what the release date was?). Sony information on the website also states "After updating, the firmware cannot be reverted to an earlier version", but if you've successfully downgraded and I can find 2.01 I'll give it a shot...
PM me and I will give you a link to my uhub sharing site. The 2 earlier FW are over 200mb. I also just tried downgrading to FW 2.01, and no problems. Same warnings as for the WM1x, but no problems with using any FW you want. ( I had to figure out how to use uhub, as it was upgraded, and I forgot how to use it )
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