[abitdeef]

I loved the matt screen on the zx300, the zx500 has the same power output as the zx300, I don't know why the charging time would be so long.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

I tried out the A105 and ZX500 today at a show - went mostly to test those two DAPs.

The A105’s output power is so anemic as to render it functionally useless. The volume limiter function in the UI was off, and it’s not the EU legal volume limit either (plenty of other gear, including Sony’s, go much louder). I used my R2 Aten for the audition, with sensitivity rated at 106 dB and 32 Ohm impedance. I plugged them in, thought it sounded okay though faint, and wanted to bring up detail with a bit more volume - I was aghast to find out it was already at 120/120.
I was very curious about this one, and bummed that Sony charges 350€ for an utter dud. My audition stopped there.

Alas, I was quite disappointed by the ZX500 too. The SE output is barely more powerful than the A105’s (50 mW instead of 35). Depending on the song I needed 112 to 120/120, but it’s (just about) enough for easy gear. Overall it sounds good. The bass hits with a nice punch, it’s not huge in quantity. The mids give a strange edge to some male vocals, or slightly smother them depending on pitch. Meanwhile female vocals sound lush. The highs are on the smooth side, not hugely expressive. Detail is decent. The general impression is of a rather reserved signature; pleasant. Probably good for vocals (female jazz singers specifically), with a nicely dynamic foundation in the lows, and unobtrusive treble.
It’s not tiny but meaningfully smaller than a smartphone, and very light, so in terms of format Sony hit the mark.

Sadly, “lightweight” is how I’d characterize the ZX500 in general. Such a design begs the question: why? I know it’s not good Head-fi etiquette to bash on gear inside of its thread, and I don’t want to piss on anyone’s parade. I detect some defensiveness already - for the record I do find the recharge time outrageous (in the days of quick charging having to plug a device overnight doesn’t fly) and can also confirm that at this early stage software operation on the ZX500 is indeed very slow - navigation is slower than on the A105!
There I was with my LG V30, also upgraded to Android 9, that happily drives full-size headphones while sounding somewhere between just as good and a bit better. Snappy too. I can stream Tidal using cellular data in addition to Wifi. It’s available for 300€ on Amazon. 350€ for the A105 is just a joke; it seems like the maximum price point where the ZX500 would seem like an interesting device. For 800€ to 900€ I can get an iBasso DX220, bigger and heavier indeed, but much more powerful, versatile, with more body to its sound and modular amping.

The balanced out will be the saving grace for some I imagine. It’s 4x more powerful than single-ended. And the pocketable format is rare and a boon.

 

[kova4a]

I tried out the A105 and ZX500 today at a show - went mostly to test those two DAPs.

The A105’s output power is so anemic as to render it functionally useless. The volume limiter function in the UI was off, and it’s not the EU legal volume limit either (plenty of other gear, including Sony’s, go much louder). I used my R2 Aten for the audition, with sensitivity rated at 106 dB and 32 Ohm impedance. I plugged them in, thought it sounded okay though faint, and wanted to bring up detail with a bit more volume - I was aghast to find out it was already at 120/120.
I was very curious about this one, and bummed that Sony charges 350€ for an utter dud. My audition stopped there.

Alas, I was quite disappointed by the ZX500 too. The SE output is barely more powerful than the A105’s (50 mW instead of 35). Depending on the song I needed 112 to 120/120, but it’s (just about) enough for easy gear. Overall it sounds good. The bass hits with a nice punch, it’s not huge in quantity. The mids give a strange edge to some male vocals, or slightly smother them depending on pitch. Meanwhile female vocals sound lush. The highs are on the smooth side, not hugely expressive. Detail is decent. The general impression is of a rather reserved signature; pleasant. Probably good for vocals (female jazz singers specifically), with a nicely dynamic foundation in the lows, and unobtrusive treble.
It’s not tiny but meaningfully smaller than a smartphone, and very light, so in terms of format Sony hit the mark.

Sadly, “lightweight” is how I’d characterize the ZX500 in general. Such a design begs the question: why? I know it’s not good Head-fi etiquette to bash on gear inside of its thread, and I don’t want to piss on anyone’s parade. I detect some defensiveness already - for the record I do find the recharge time outrageous (in the days of quick charging having to plug a device overnight doesn’t fly) and can also confirm that at this early stage software operation on the ZX500 is indeed very slow - navigation is slower than on the A105!
There I was with my LG V30, also upgraded to Android 9, that happily drives full-size headphones while sounding somewhere between just as good and a bit better. Snappy too. I can stream Tidal using cellular data in addition to Wifi. It’s available for 300€ on Amazon. 350€ for the A105 is just a joke; it seems like the maximum price point where the ZX500 would seem like an interesting device. For 800€ to 900€ I can get an iBasso DX220, bigger and heavier indeed, but much more powerful, versatile, with more body to its sound and modular amping.

The balanced out will be the saving grace for some I imagine. It’s 4x more powerful than single-ended. And the pocketable format is rare and a boon.

Interesting. Btw, if you auditioned them in EU there's most likely a volume limiter. It's unrelated to the option in the settings or the number the volume setting shows. At least this has been the case in the past - once you removed the limiter then the volume at around 100 equaled the previous 120 setting. The thing is that the volume limiter couldn't be removed on previous Android-based walkmans and we still have no information if this will be possible with the new models, so I personally wouldn't buy one in Europe.

 

[kova4a]

Oh, snap!!!! We are totally in the Chinese game. I don't know if someone else has reported this but there will be a Chinese zx505 like the zx300A - black and silver versions with 16GB. The price on jd is4200 yuan, which is like $590 (~530 euro). And yet again China has the lowest sony prices as even the zx507 will be about $ 700. Same goes for the nw-a105 with the 16GB version being $265 and the 64Gb one being about $400. As far as I know the new models will also be released in the beginning of November (the 2nd I think, can't remember).

Also, these seem to be the MSRP prices but in the last few years the street prices and even the price at joybuy have been lower, so don't be surprised if the zx505 pops at sub-$550 prices in the next few months.

 

[twd2003]

Stick it on charge overnight and it stops being a problem.

People who travel a lot might not have that luxury (many people use fast charging during layovers etc.)

 

[graphidz]

I tried out the A105 and ZX500 today at a show - went mostly to test those two DAPs.

The A105’s output power is so anemic as to render it functionally useless. The volume limiter function in the UI was off, and it’s not the EU legal volume limit either (plenty of other gear, including Sony’s, go much louder). I used my R2 Aten for the audition, with sensitivity rated at 106 dB and 32 Ohm impedance. I plugged them in, thought it sounded okay though faint, and wanted to bring up detail with a bit more volume - I was aghast to find out it was already at 120/120.
I was very curious about this one, and bummed that Sony charges 350€ for an utter dud. My audition stopped there.

Alas, I was quite disappointed by the ZX500 too. The SE output is barely more powerful than the A105’s (50 mW instead of 35). Depending on the song I needed 112 to 120/120, but it’s (just about) enough for easy gear. Overall it sounds good. The bass hits with a nice punch, it’s not huge in quantity. The mids give a strange edge to some male vocals, or slightly smother them depending on pitch. Meanwhile female vocals sound lush. The highs are on the smooth side, not hugely expressive. Detail is decent. The general impression is of a rather reserved signature; pleasant. Probably good for vocals (female jazz singers specifically), with a nicely dynamic foundation in the lows, and unobtrusive treble.
It’s not tiny but meaningfully smaller than a smartphone, and very light, so in terms of format Sony hit the mark.

Sadly, “lightweight” is how I’d characterize the ZX500 in general. Such a design begs the question: why? I know it’s not good Head-fi etiquette to bash on gear inside of its thread, and I don’t want to piss on anyone’s parade. I detect some defensiveness already - for the record I do find the recharge time outrageous (in the days of quick charging having to plug a device overnight doesn’t fly) and can also confirm that at this early stage software operation on the ZX500 is indeed very slow - navigation is slower than on the A105!
There I was with my LG V30, also upgraded to Android 9, that happily drives full-size headphones while sounding somewhere between just as good and a bit better. Snappy too. I can stream Tidal using cellular data in addition to Wifi. It’s available for 300€ on Amazon. 350€ for the A105 is just a joke; it seems like the maximum price point where the ZX500 would seem like an interesting device. For 800€ to 900€ I can get an iBasso DX220, bigger and heavier indeed, but much more powerful, versatile, with more body to its sound and modular amping.

The balanced out will be the saving grace for some I imagine. It’s 4x more powerful than single-ended. And the pocketable format is rare and a boon.

I wanted to say maybe it's because you Bluetooth streamed from your phone, which for some reason need the volume cranked up to hear anything. But then I remembered the new DAPs don't have Bluetooth dac function

As a comparison, what's the volume setting on other DAP that you have tried? As a reference for some

Regarding the charge time, 6.5hrs is pretty long. You could argue you can just charge it overnight but on some days not many have the luxury for that. Not to mention the battery life isn't as good as previous models where you can even charge once a week. So less playtime but longer charge time isn't a good thing.

I'll stay optimistic that 6.5hrs was tested at 2A/5V, which is pretty "low" by today's standard and can only go faster with faster charger and wait for a more comprehensive English review. Shouldn't be long now

 

[superuser1]

People who travel a lot might not have that luxury (many people use fast charging during layovers etc.)

Very good point indeed!

 

[monsieurfromag3]

I wanted to say maybe it's because you Bluetooth streamed from your phone, which for some reason need the volume cranked up to hear anything. But then I remembered the new DAPs don't have Bluetooth dac function

As a comparison, what's the volume setting on other DAP that you have tried? As a reference for some

Regarding the charge time, 6.5hrs is pretty long. You could argue you can just charge it overnight but on some days not many have the luxury for that. Not to mention the battery life isn't as good as previous models where you can even charge once a week. So less playtime but longer charge time isn't a good thing.

I'll stay optimistic that 6.5hrs was tested at 2A/5V, which is pretty "low" by today's standard and can only go faster with faster charger and wait for a more comprehensive English review. Shouldn't be long now

Indeed it was reading from the device, not through BT...

I couldn’t give you specific numbers for volume on other devices, it’s too dependent on the song and the gear, but I know I listen on the louder side of average. People who like to listen at low volume won’t feel the problem as much. And again, on the ZX500 there’s the balanced out which grants more headroom.

 

[xenoVa]

The non full panel touchscreen looks awkward. But the spesifications and the battery life are very promising and the price (around $850 ?) is exactly what I am looking looking for, the sweet spot. I will keep an eye on this.

Zero information about the CPU and RAM. It is possible learn these by installing the CPU-Z app on the dap.

 

[Vitaly2017]

I think it would of been a better fare test to trie the 4.4. Se is quiet low in mw output.
Comparing this to my 1z wich is 250mw output and zx500 200mw. I dont understand how such volume differences can be experienced.

Might be bad software? Or its a prototype unit hell dont know.

But even in se you should of have very loud volunes at 120/120 . Maybe it was too noisy around you and you couldnt have a good seal? It affected your perception? Just guessing

 

[psikey]

Oh, snap!!!! We are totally in the Chinese game. I don't know if someone else has reported this but there will be a Chinese zx505 like the zx300A - black and silver versions with 16GB. The price on jd is4200 yuan, which is like $590 (~530 euro). And yet again China has the lowest sony prices as even the zx507 will be about $ 700. Same goes for the nw-a105 with the 16GB version being $265 and the 64Gb one being about $400. As far as I know the new models will also be released in the beginning of November (the 2nd I think, can't remember).

Also, these seem to be the MSRP prices but in the last few years the street prices and even the price at joybuy have been lower, so don't be surprised if the zx505 pops at sub-$550 prices in the next few months.

China one won't have App Store or Tidal though will it?

 

[kova4a]

Not sure about tidal pre-installed, but yeah, probably will have to sideload the play store. I'll rather spend a minute installing an app rather than spending 300 euro more.

 

[xenoVa]

A scene from ZX500's video trailer. It has Google Play which should allow installing any app with ease.

 

[monsieurfromag3]

I think it would of been a better fare test to trie the 4.4. Se is quiet low in mw output.
Comparing this to my 1z wich is 250mw output and zx500 200mw. I dont understand how such volume differences can be experienced.

Might be bad software? Or its a prototype unit hell dont know.

But even in se you should of have very loud volunes at 120/120 . Maybe it was too noisy around you and you couldnt have a good seal? It affected your perception? Just guessing

Again though, SE is just 50 mW vs 200 for balanced, so the volume difference vs 250 balanced on your 1Z is not unexpected. I didn’t try the balanced as I have no 4.4-terminated cable, only 2.5. Imo SE should give a good baseline of an amp’s signature and quality. A good amp should account well for itself from the 3.5 jack. Balanced is icing on the cake, for enthusiasts. Heck, I’m an enthusiast yet even my desktop amp doesn’t sport a Pentaconn connector.
The show floor was noisy, but there is no scenario where the output could be construed as “loud”.

 

[abitdeef]

A scene from ZX500's video trailer. It has Google Play which should allow installing any app with ease.

Not in China.