[Damz87]

The 360 reality audio feature only works with 360 reality audio tracks/files (from Tidal etc.)

It does not work with your regular music files in the Walkman app. I have tested it with my WF-1000xm3 and WH-1000xm4.

I’m sorry @Sonywalkmanuser but saying that it has an effect on regular music files is complete nonsense.

 

[MrWalkman]

The 360 reality audio feature only works with 360 reality audio tracks/files (from Tidal etc.)

It does not work with your regular music files in the Walkman app. I have tested it with my WF-1000xm3 and WH-1000xm4.

I’m sorry @Sonywalkmanuser but saying that it has an effect on regular music files is complete nonsense.

Indeed. All the info about this feature can be found at a click's distance.

https://www.sony.com/electronics/360-reality-audio
https://www.whathifi.com/advice/sony-360-reality-audio-everything-you-need-to-know

360RA songs are only available on those streaming services, and they are manually remastered for this format. In Tidal, the codec is actually called "MHA1", which comes from "MPEG-H".

You can find more technical info about MPEG-H here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-H_3D_Audio

What Tidal and the other streaming apps are acting are, is a rendering software for those MPEG-H files, rendering that info about each object and its placement in the 3D sphere. The 360RA ear profile thing comes in as a little adjustment to the rendering part, so this rendering is more accurate based on the shape of your ears.

This is why 360RA is not at all about converting normal media into 3D audio or anything like that.

 

[MrWalkman]

Here is some additional info about the workflow involving creating and playing 360 Reality Audio content, available at: https://www.sony.net/Products/360RA/licensing/

What is 360 Reality Audio?
360 Reality Audio starts a new music era and sets the next standard for music listening.

• 360 Reality Audio defines a new music ecosystem utilizing an object-based spatial audio technology based on MPEG-H 3D audio.
• 360 Reality Audio relies on an open format standard that extends across content creation, delivery & playback devices.
  • Creation tools to empower labels, mixing studios, producers and audio engineers
  • A Playback library optimized for music streaming on mobile applications
  • Open format for hardware makers and platformers
• 360 Reality Audio gives artists and creators a new way to express their creativity from individual instruments to audience with complete dynamic control of each and every sound within a 360 spherical sound field.

So again, a 360RA track must be mixed by an engineer into this format. There is no conversion from a standard track to 360RA audio that could enable any audio file to be played in this format.

 

[sander93]

360 reality is a branded name. dont confuse it with big soundstage.
u need to take a photo of ears and choose headphones, to make it work.
and it works only on some apps like tidal, etc.
otherwise, selecting headphone/earphones on headphone app has no effect on sound.

even though, I believe I noticed some improvement in instrument separation and details highlighting (particularly with xba z5) with FW 4.0.
or it's just due to overexcitement caused by a week pause in listening to music.

 

[MrWalkman]

360 reality is a branded name. dont confuse it with big soundstage.
u need to take a photo of ears and choose headphones, to make it work.
and it works only on some apps like tidal, etc.
otherwise, selecting headphone/earphones on headphone app has no effect on sound.

even though, I believe I noticed some improvement in instrument separation and details highlighting (particularly with xba z5) with FW 4.0.
or it's just due to overexcitement caused by a week pause in listening to music.

360RA can actually work without doing the ears thing by the way. Just go into Tidal, to "Explore", and then to the "360 Reality Audio" section, and there you will find songs remastered in 360 Reality Audio.

 

[Jogibaer]

I'm pretty happy with my ZX507, but what me really bothers is the delay when pressing the physical next/prev or play/pause button on the side of the device. It always happens when the screen is off. Sometimes the delay between pressing the button and the action is up to 10 seconds while hearing music. Am I the only one or do you guys still experience the same problem? I asked one time already, but I expected the updates to solve this issue, but they didn't. fw version 2.02.01

I would like to give you guys an update concerning my delay problem with the Walkman: After a lot of emails with the Sony Support since then, they said I should send it for a repair to a Service Center. So I did, but to Amazon which forwarded the Walkman to a repair service center (third-party, not original Sony).

1. Of course, the repair center couldn't comprehend the issue, did just a factory reset and sent it back. The issue was still present, no improvement at all.
2. I contacted Sony again, they escalated the case three times in a row and I had to tell everyone again the story and gave them a link to my video showing the issue:
3. Sony asked again to send the device to them, but directly to Sony not over Amazon.
4. Approximately one week after their last reply, the issue disappeared. I can't reproduce it even if I provoke it (big playlist and long playback before). There is sometimes just a very slight delay, but it's far away from the behavior I experienced before as shown in my video. I didn't change the firmware (3.xx) neither uninstalled/installed any updates nor changed any settings. I have not idea why it disappeared, but maybe an app update is responsible for the solution of the issue, because this is the only thing which could have changed something on my Walkman. I thanked Sony but also told them to focus more on software running on their products. They improved compared to the last decade, but there is still much room for improvement.
5. The newest firmware 4.xx also didn't change the "solved" problem, I would even say it got a little bit faster and more responsive.

Therefore, I've finally gotten happy with my ZX507 Walkman.

 

[MrWalkman]

I would like to give you guys an update concerning my delay problem with the Walkman: After a lot of emails with the Sony Support since then, they said I should send it for a repair to a Service Center. So I did, but to Amazon which forwarded the Walkman to a repair service center (third-party, not original Sony).

1. Of course, the repair center couldn't comprehend the issue, did just a factory reset and sent it back. The issue was still present, no improvement at all.
2. I contacted Sony again, they escalated the case three times in a row and I had to tell everyone again the story and gave them a link to my video showing the issue:
3. Sony asked again to send the device to them, but directly to Sony not over Amazon.
4. Approximately one week after their last reply, the issue disappeared. I can't reproduce it even if I provoke it (big playlist and long playback before). There is sometimes just a very slight delay, but it's far away from the behavior I experienced before as shown in my video. I didn't change the firmware (3.xx) neither uninstalled/installed any updates nor changed any settings. I have not idea why it disappeared, but maybe an app update is responsible for the solution of the issue, because this is the only thing which could have changed something on my Walkman. I thanked Sony but also told them to focus more on software running on their products. They improved compared to the last decade, but there is still much room for improvement.
5. The newest firmware 4.xx also didn't change the "solved" problem, I would even say it got a little bit faster and more responsive.

Therefore, I've finally gotten happy with my ZX507 Walkman.

Maybe they completely factory reinstalled everything on the player, like stuff that is not being updated via normal firmware updates.

 

[sander93]

360RA can actually work without doing the ears thing by the way. Just go into Tidal, to "Explore", and then to the "360 Reality Audio" section, and there you will find songs remastered in 360 Reality Audio.

is that free on tidal?

 

[bland125]

what do u mean "it holds like 3-4 full charges"

The USB power bank I linked holds 3 or 4 full ZX507 charges.

 

[MrWalkman]

is that free on tidal?

Nope, you need a subscription. In some countries you can get the first 30 days for free.

 

[Jogibaer]

Maybe they completely factory reinstalled everything on the player, like stuff that is not being updated via normal firmware updates.

You misunderstand, the issue persisted after the "repair". Nothing was changed. I had set up the Walkman after this and the problem/delay was still massive and present. The service center has done nothing although I had attached the emails of the Sony support to the package plus marked the description of the problem. They were too stupid to comprehend the problem.
-> The issue was solved by itself or by an update at home some weeks later.

 

[MrWalkman]

You misunderstand, the issue persisted after the "repair". Nothing was changed. I had set up the Walkman after this and the problem/delay was still massive and present. The service center has done nothing although I had attached the emails of the Sony support to the package plus marked the description of the problem. They were too stupid to comprehend the problem.
-> The issue was solved by itself or by an update at home some weeks later.

Ah, got it, my bad - I first understood that you actually sent the player to Sony, and they fixed the issue.

 

[sander93]

You misunderstand, the issue persisted after the "repair". Nothing was changed. I had set up the Walkman after this and the problem/delay was still massive and present. The service center has done nothing although I had attached the emails of the Sony support to the package plus marked the description of the problem. They were too stupid to comprehend the problem.
-> The issue was solved by itself or by an update at home some weeks later.

well! now it's ok?
no more delays and issues with fastforwarding?

 

[Jogibaer]

well! now it's ok?
no more delays and issues with fastforwarding?

Exactly, sometimes very slightly for about 400 ms maximum when fastforwarding, but also very rarely. I hope it persists like that or even improves, otherwise I will send it to Sony.

 

[DJ Core]

The 360 reality audio feature only works with 360 reality audio tracks/files (from Tidal etc.)

It does not work with your regular music files in the Walkman app. I have tested it with my WF-1000xm3 and WH-1000xm4.

I’m sorry @Sonywalkmanuser but saying that it has an effect on regular music files is complete nonsense.

The music says it all when you listen vs previous firmware. Just like Hi-Res streaming on or off has an effect on the Walkman App. The built-in 360 reality audio has an effect on the walkman app 100%. I'm not complaining though....my 2 cents.