[ttt123]

Backup your music first. It will take about 1hour plus to do the overwrite format. Your samsung has many write cycles left, doing one time formating and recopying files has negligible impact on your microsd card lifespan. I have noticed improvements to background noise floor across all my microsd cards that I did this. It's like completely dark soundstaging.

Yes, do the overwrite format and format with zx507 then recopy your music back in. I think this will take you a few hours to complete, so plan your playback downtime accordingly, maybe copy some music into your zx507 storage.

It may not be necessary do the overwrite format. If it is the low down file structure changes that make the difference, those changes are not related to the Overwrite option and a normal format without the Overwrite option should be enough. The Overwrite option is for data security, and should be necessary only if you need to do a secure erase of all data on the card.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

It may not be necessary do the overwrite format. If it is the low down file structure changes that make the difference, those changes are not related to the Overwrite option and a normal format without the Overwrite option should be enough. The Overwrite option is for data security, and should be necessary only if you need to do a secure erase of all data on the card.

I think it might be a good idea to allow the microsd controller to detect all the defective blocks(that could have happened during nand production) and mark them as unusable instead of encountering them during file writing. I am not sure if these microsd card manufacturers actually do defect scanning of each bit on the nand flash during production but I think it is unlikely for their commerical products, maybe only for their industrial grade products.

Something interesting, double formating recommendation as well

https://www.sounddevices.com/tag/mixpre-3-ii/page/4/
For best media performance, Sound Devices recommends occasionally performing a full reformat of an SD card per the “Overwrite Format” method from the SD Association. The Overwrite Format deletes file/directory entries by initializing file system parameters of the card (same as with Quick Format), and erases all data by overwriting the user data area completely. The Overwrite Format takes more time to complete than the Quick Format method. More information can be found on the SD Association’s website. Please note that all files stored on the card will be lost during the formatting process. After using the SD Memory Card Formatter, the card will still need to be formatted in the mixer-recorder.

 

[sander93]

Thank you for adding supporting information from another user on how different storage mediums do affect SQ. Every bit of information adds to the overall data that there are other people who have confirmed from their experiences that they hear a difference, and that there is a different point of view, that just might be valid.

Of course this, and much more, will not change the minds of people who are sure "bits are bits". Which I am fine with. This audio area is such a "rich" area when it comes to disagreements about what makes sense and what does not.

Over time, I have come to accept that there is, and always will be disagreements, and that it is up to each person to decide for themselves. Like many other things in life, and most social media, we just want to find a group of like minded individuals that we share experiences and discoveries with, and treat each other with respect. And on those things that we do not agree on, have a friendly discussion, and just put them aside, as things that we agree to disagree on. This would be the ideal kind of forum, as there is no need to enforce any universal belief with strong words and denigrations.

I have gone through my share of stubborn beliefs, so I am willing to overlook others going through the same thing, and try to stay away from a "king of the hill" mindset, where there is only one way to think, and all other opposing beliefs are relegated to the trash heap of unenlightened thoughts.

There is no absolute right and wrong. Only relative right and wrong. I am reminded of the line from the Dire Straits song about political beliefs/viewpoints, and how eventually, there is no right or wrong anymore, and how applicable it is to everything:
"Right becomes wrong, the left becomes the right"

Dire Straits - Ride Across The River
I'm a soldier of freedom in the army of man
Oh, we are the chosen, we're the partisan (alright)
Well the cause it is noble and the cause it is just
We are ready to pay with our lives if we must

Gonna ride across the river deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side

And I'm a soldier of fortune, I'm a dog of war
And we don't give a damn who the killing is for
It's the same old story with a different name
Death or glory, it's the killing game

Gonna ride across the river deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side

Oh, nothing gonna stop them as the day follows the night
Right becomes wrong, the left becomes the right
And they sing as they march with their flags unfurled
Today in the mountains, tomorrow the world

thanks for support.
I understand that someone agree; someone disagree.
personally I feel skeptic about this. I am not rejecting the idea of storage impact, same time I am not supporting them, as I m have not tested it personally, and eventually I have little stomach to do tests as I expect output effect to be from little to zero, overall negligible.

perhaps I will do reformatting of sd card when my sandisk card reader arrives. internal 2.0 is would be very slaw for almost 300gb of music.
please who did reformatting, feel free to share ur experience! maybe u will motivate me.

by the way, I have a huge library if Dire Straights on my zx507. from dsd to mp3 128. all sound fantastic.

 

[sander93]

Backup your music first. It will take about 1hour plus to do the overwrite format. Your samsung has many write cycles left, doing one time formating and recopying files has negligible impact on your microsd card lifespan. I have noticed improvements to background noise floor across all my microsd cards that I did this. It's like completely dark soundstaging.

Yes, do the overwrite format and format with zx507 then recopy your music back in. I think this will take you a few hours to complete, so plan your playback downtime accordingly, maybe copy some music into your zx507 storage.

and what does this reformatting overwrite tool particularly do to sd card?
how can I determine if my sd card needs this maintenance?

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

@sander93

Do you have other spare smaller microsd cards lying around? You can always test out this difference by using any microsd cards not just your samsung.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

and what does this reformatting overwrite tool particularly do to sd card?
how can I determine if my sd card needs this maintenance?

It low level formats the card's internal file system according to SD Association official standards. Overwrite option completely erases your microsd so that no old data is retained. Your microsd card don't need maintenance if it is just used for audio playback. Maintenance is necessary if the card is used for alot of writing in the case of audio recording or dashcam recordings.

But I think maybe it is good idea to give a one time overwrite format for the card if it has not been done before as to ensure any internal factory production defective blocks have already been identified and marked by the microsd controller. Although defective blocks can be identified in real time data writing, I think it just make sense to check up the data storage one time.

 

[Chainring]

Thank you for adding supporting information from another user on how different storage mediums do affect SQ. Every bit of information adds to the overall data that there are other people who have confirmed from their experiences that they hear a difference, and that there is a different point of view, that just might be valid.

Of course this, and much more, will not change the minds of people who are sure "bits are bits". Which I am fine with. This audio area is such a "rich" area when it comes to disagreements about what makes sense and what does not.

Over time, I have come to accept that there is, and always will be disagreements, and that it is up to each person to decide for themselves. Like many other things in life, and most social media, we just want to find a group of like minded individuals that we share experiences and discoveries with, and treat each other with respect. And on those things that we do not agree on, have a friendly discussion, and just put them aside, as things that we agree to disagree on. This would be the ideal kind of forum, as there is no need to enforce any universal belief with strong words and denigrations.

I have gone through my share of stubborn beliefs, so I am willing to overlook others going through the same thing, and try to stay away from a "king of the hill" mindset, where there is only one way to think, and all other opposing beliefs are relegated to the trash heap of unenlightened thoughts.

There is no absolute right and wrong. Only relative right and wrong. I am reminded of the line from the Dire Straits song about political beliefs/viewpoints, and how eventually, there is no right or wrong anymore, and how applicable it is to everything:
"Right becomes wrong, the left becomes the right"

Dire Straits - Ride Across The River
I'm a soldier of freedom in the army of man
Oh, we are the chosen, we're the partisan (alright)
Well the cause it is noble and the cause it is just
We are ready to pay with our lives if we must

Gonna ride across the river deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side

And I'm a soldier of fortune, I'm a dog of war
And we don't give a damn who the killing is for
It's the same old story with a different name
Death or glory, it's the killing game

Gonna ride across the river deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side

Oh, nothing gonna stop them as the day follows the night
Right becomes wrong, the left becomes the right
And they sing as they march with their flags unfurled
Today in the mountains, tomorrow the world

Oh boy, quotes lyrics about Guerilla warfare, then takes a shot...

Let's break this down.

1. The video is entirely in Russian and no word for word transcription; only a very, very brief summary from a 16 min video.
2. We don't know what testing methodology the person in the video used, if any. Again with that language barrier.
3. It would seem the device used (Aurender A100) caches everything to the internal SSD thus no opportunity to test cached vs. non-cached.
4. The person in the video is using different sources (Tidal vs. internal HDD vs. external HDD). Different mastering? Who knows. Why? Poorly conceived test. Did he download the Tidal source and use that on the two HDDs? More questions without answers.

I cannot take that video seriously, nor can I take it as proof of anything.

2 + 2 = 4, or is that relative? There does exist black and white. There does exist right and wrong. There are also gray areas. I'm willing to see all of those.

In the digital domain, bits are bits. Ones and zeroes. If they're not, you have corruption. You'd best have error correction for that corruption, else something breaks. There is no debate that music files stored on SD are digital. They're transferred off that card in digital format. How much and how fast we can measure. The electrical cost to do so, not likely to be measured unless someone wants to open their unit. Maybe an Android app has that capability?

To get the inherent bias of the human mind out of the equation, there has to be measurements when possible. Analog signal into a computer, record it with something like Rightmark Audio Analyzer. If there's a difference in sources, it'll show. If not, the mind is likely conjuring the results it wants to exist.

Look, I'm all for better audio. However, I'm not going to support claims that can be proven or disproved with simple and repeatable measurements. This is getting into the territory of, "I can hear the difference in my $3,000 audiophile grade power cord!" Never mind the aluminum wiring in the walls...

 

[sander93]

@sander93

Do you have other spare smaller microsd cards lying around? You can always test out this difference by using any microsd cards not just your samsung.

no, I bought only 1x 512 card for reasonable price $99 for china aliexpress. in Ukraine it was $200.
I acquired it specially for music storage purpose a year ago, and reserve it for a usage with DAP, which I was going to buy.

It low level formats the card's internal file system according to SD Association official standards. Overwrite option completely erases your microsd so that no old data is retained. Your microsd card don't need maintenance if it is just used for audio playback. Maintenance is necessary if the card is used for alot of writing in the case of audio recording or dashcam recordings.

But I think maybe it is good idea to give a one time overwrite format for the card if it has not been done before as to ensure any internal factory production defective blocks have already been identified and marked by the microsd controller. Although defective blocks can be identified in real time data writing, I think it just make sense to check up the data storage one time.

sd card was empty and never used, before I stared storage music on in.
based on ur words, formatting is not prescribed for my card.
do I understand u right?

 

[sander93]

Oh boy, quotes lyrics about Guerilla warfare, then takes a shot...

Let's break this down.

1. The video is entirely in Russian and no word for word transcription; only a very, very brief summary from a 16 min video.
2. We don't know what testing methodology the person in the video used, if any. Again with that language barrier.
3. It would seem the device used (Aurender A100) caches everything to the internal SSD thus no opportunity to test cached vs. non-cached.
4. The person in the video is using different sources (Tidal vs. internal HDD vs. external HDD). Different mastering? Who knows. Why? Poorly conceived test. Did he download the Tidal source and use that on the two HDDs? More questions without answers.

I cannot take that video seriously, nor can I take it as proof of anything.

2 + 2 = 4, or is that relative? There does exist black and white. There does exist right and wrong. There are also gray areas. I'm willing to see all of those.

In the digital domain, bits are bits. Ones and zeroes. If they're not, you have corruption. You'd best have error correction for that corruption, else something breaks. There is no debate that music files stored on SD are digital. They're transferred off that card in digital format. How much and how fast we can measure. The electrical cost to do so, not likely to be measured unless someone wants to open their unit. Maybe an Android app has that capability?

To get the inherent bias of the human mind out of the equation, there has to be measurements when possible. Analog signal into a computer, record it with something like Rightmark Audio Analyzer. If there's a difference in sources, it'll show. If not, the mind is likely conjuring the results it wants to exist.

Look, I'm all for better audio. However, I'm not going to support claims that can be proven or disproved with simple and repeatable measurements. This is getting into the territory of, "I can hear the difference in my $3,000 audiophile grade power cord!" Never mind the aluminum wiring in the walls...

I've comprehensively highlighted all relative information he said regarding the question.
He said that anything played on aurender is played from 120gb ssd buffer. nevermind the source storage. tidal, internal/ external hdd. prior to playing aurender re-writes files to the buffer.
thus, he concluded that heard-able difference of the sound is caused by the quality of re-writing.
I expected this conclusion / information will be debated.
there was no need to watch entire review in russian to get to this relative information, that I specially quoted and highlighted to the community.

 

[feverfive]

Geeeez....the SD card port on my old Macbook Pro must be terribly slow, or SD Card Formatter just doesn't run well on macOS. I am 1 hr 45 min into an Overwrite format of a 128GB Sandisk Ultra; only 24% of the way done.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

@ttt123

Just discover that even repeated reading of nand flash data can cause wearing off of the nand cells:

 

[domiji]

So today i received my new Sony ZX507 and want to give you some impressions

It wasn't brand new but it hadn't much playtime at all definitely under 150 hours of the sony recommended burn in).

What i have first noticed was the absolutely superb build quality of the Sony. If feels like a really TOTL DAP and is not far beyond the SP1000M (even the opposite). The OS feels fast and snappy enough altough some Android based functions are a bit laggy sometimes. But that doesn't really matter to me. Overall i would say that it is fine enough for a DAP.

After some hours of playing around with the Walkman the battery life is totally fine. Even with DSP on the battery life is way, way better than with the SP1000M. In apps like Tidal or Amazon Music HD battery drains still very fast. But this is maybe just a Android-DAP-based thing.

So how it sounds? Pretty "discreet" awesome :-D

It is a bit on the warmer side and has a lot of dynamic, punch and groove (musicality). Additionally the treble is sparklyvery well extended and the bass is very detailed. It is so much fun to listen to the Sony.

But what i miss the most is the narrow soundstage compared to the SP1000M. The SP1KM had that wonderful airyness and layered sound with a lot of authority. It sounds more like "high end" audio gear.

Overall i would say that if the ZX507 had a wider soundstage it could be my dap of choice but unless i may try the WM1Z

But the ZX507 is nearly the sweetspot for a lot of things. Price, size, batterylife, look & feel and of course the sound. Sound quality is exceptionally good and super fun to listen to. It only lacks a bit of soundstage and separation. That's all i really can "complain" about. Because of that it is also a more intimitate sound.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

@domiji

Are you running the latest firmware v2.02.01?
Have you switched on Hi-Res Streaming mode? This can improve soundstaging.

 

[domiji]

Latest firmware and tested all settings but as far as i love the Sony - in terms of soundstage it couldn't match the SP1000M.

 

[domiji]

I have a problem with Amazon Music HD - may some of the Sony experts could help me here
I've turned on HiRes Streaming and installed Amazon Music HD. If i play a HD or Ultra HD song the app shows that the device is only cabable of 24 Bit 48 KHz.

Is there maybe a fix for that? Thansk and many greetings