[Earbones]

I check in on this thread every once in a while… but it has been a very long while. Just so I don’t have to go over the 200 some-odd pages I’ve missed, can somebody give me the latest in terms of where functionality stands with the 507?

-Can MQA be streamed (Tidal) now? If so is that plug and play or do I need to toggle something?
-Any other hi-Rez formats streamed?
-Progress on using it as a USB DAC (which they have claimed on the specs since it was released)?

Any other notable new functionality?

Many thanks.

 

[ttt123]

Excuse me if these questions have already been answered, but can you skip using Sony's music centre software to transfer files and just copy them to a folder on the SD card instead?

Also, will the NW-ZX500 recognise album artwork if I've tagged the files in a program like foobar2000 for example?

Any information would be much appreciated.

Drag and drop is fine. All music must be in a folder called "Music" in the root/base directory. Artwork must not be progressive. Sony will not display artwork if it is in progressive format.
Progressive is where the artwork loads a low res file quickly, so you see it right away, and then the resolution will increase as it gets more data. The Sony walkman does not support progressive.

Check the tips and tricks thread by @gerelmx1986 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-tips-and-tricks.759006/

 

[rlw6534]

I check in on this thread every once in a while… but it has been a very long while. Just so I don’t have to go over the 200 some-odd pages I’ve missed, can somebody give me the latest in terms of where functionality stands with the 507?

-Can MQA be streamed (Tidal) now? If so is that plug and play or do I need to toggle something?
-Any other hi-Rez formats streamed?
-Progress on using it as a USB DAC (which they have claimed on the specs since it was released)?

Any other notable new functionality?

Many thanks.

Well, if you turn high-resolution streaming on the the settings, the 507 will stream at 192k. It's unclear if this is simply upsampling or potentially bitperfect (Amazon HD does indeed report the device capability as 192k). Likewise, MQA rendering for streaming is unknown, but I would assume not. Tidal may and UAPP should still perform the first MQA unfold. UAPP does now automatically detect and support the 507. USB DAC is still not available.

Perhaps others have more insight, but documented facts are scarce.

 

[PioneerPurist]

Drag and drop is fine. All music must be in a folder called "Music" in the root/base directory. Artwork must not be progressive. Sony will not display artwork if it is in progressive format.
Progressive is where the artwork loads a low res file quickly, so you see it right away, and then the resolution will increase as it gets more data. The Sony walkman does not support progressive.

Check the tips and tricks thread by @gerelmx1986 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-tips-and-tricks.759006/

Thank you for your response. I hope my jpegs are not progressive because my music collection is huge, I tagged them using foobar2000 mainly and they show up perfectly on my old Pioneer DAP.

EDIT: Just did a quick check and some are baseline and some are progressive, gonna have to do a mass convert or something then re-tag... That will be tiresome.

 

[myromeo]

Well, if you turn high-resolution streaming on the the settings, the 507 will stream at 192k. It's unclear if this is simply upsampling or potentially bitperfect (Amazon HD does indeed report the device capability as 192k). Likewise, MQA rendering for streaming is unknown, but I would assume not. Tidal may and UAPP should still perform the first MQA unfold. UAPP does now automatically detect and support the 507. USB DAC is still not available.

Perhaps others have more insight, but documented facts are scarce.

I believe with high res streaming on all tracks are upscalled to 32/192 so not bit perfect. Sounds great tho. MQA wise, tidal app does first unfold up to 24/96 and then that is upscalled to 32/192. Again not bit perfect and no hardware MQA unfolds.

I wish Sony would enable system wide bypass of android directly to the onboard DAC as used by Walkman app and UAPP as this does support bit perfect. It also sounds IMO slightly cleaner.

 

[rlw6534]

I believe with high res streaming on all tracks are upscalled to 32/192 so not bit perfect. Sounds great tho. MQA wise, tidal app does first unfold up to 24/96 and then that is upscalled to 32/192. Again not bit perfect and no hardware MQA unfolds.

I wish Sony would enable system wide bypass of android directly to the onboard DAC as used by Walkman app and UAPP as this does support bit perfect. It also sounds IMO slightly cleaner.

I wish Sony had some presence/activity on these forums so that we could get more definitive answers to these types of questions. My biggest complaint about my Sony DAPs is that I'm never quite sure what actual quality is being played (outside of the Walkman app). For example - is Tidal actually unfolding to 24/96 or is it limited to 24/48 that is then upscaled to 32/192... Not that I can tell with my older ears...

 

[myromeo]

I wish Sony had some presence/activity on these forums so that we could get more definitive answers to these types of questions. My biggest complaint about my Sony DAPs is that I'm never quite sure what actual quality is being played (outside of the Walkman app). For example - is Tidal actually unfolding to 24/96 or is it limited to 24/48 that is then upscaled to 32/192... Not that I can tell with my older ears...

If it’s any help it’s possible to see the actual bitrate being played via usb debugging and it appears to be up to 24/96 on tidal. I agree tho it would be good to be able to see the actual bitrate and frequency info real time, perhaps like so many other DAPs do

 

[Earbones]

Well, if you turn high-resolution streaming on the the settings, the 507 will stream at 192k. It's unclear if this is simply upsampling or potentially bitperfect (Amazon HD does indeed report the device capability as 192k). Likewise, MQA rendering for streaming is unknown, but I would assume not. Tidal may and UAPP should still perform the first MQA unfold. UAPP does now automatically detect and support the 507. USB DAC is still not available.

Perhaps others have more insight, but documented facts are scarce.

Thanks!

 

[Richard Wray]

If it’s any help it’s possible to see the actual bitrate being played via usb debugging and it appears to be up to 24/96 on tidal. I agree tho it would be good to be able to see the actual bitrate and frequency info real time, perhaps like so many other DAPs do

Are you able to do the same test on Apple Music for Lossless and Hi-res Lossless? Ifi recommend Coldplay X&Y as a test for their dacs.

 

[myromeo]

Are you able to do the same test on Apple Music for Lossless and Hi-res Lossless? Ifi recommend Coldplay X&Y as a test for their dacs.

Yes and with high res streaming Apple lossless and high res lossless plays upscalled to 32/192. Confirmed with standard lossless tracks and the album ‘ok human’ by weezer which is available as 24 bit 192khz.

edit - I’d recommend anyone has a listen to that weezer album, it’s superb. It was recorded entirely with analogue equipment and features a 38-piece orchestra, it sounds great!

 

[Richard Wray]

Yes and with high res streaming Apple lossless and high res lossless plays upscalled to 32/192. Confirmed with standard lossless tracks and the album ‘ok human’ by weezer which is available as 24 bit 192khz.

edit - I’d recommend anyone has a listen to that weezer album, it’s superb. It was recorded entirely with analogue equipment and features a 38-piece orchestra, it sounds great!

Thanks for the fast reply.

when you write ‘upscaled’ do you have any details on the source stream? Is it really 24/192?

Too bad spatial isn’t working.

 

[Earbones]

I’m having a hard time understanding why the 507 won’t support Apple spatial… and by extension, renewed confusion as to why it won’t support many higher Rez files streaming.

Because to be clear, the original explanation Sony gave for why those files couldn’t be streamed was that the 507 was essentially a player built on top of an Android phone, and as the phone aspect handled the streaming, they were essentially hamstrung by Androids capabilities.

…except many android phones can decode MQA just fine, but whatever… this one apparently couldn’t, explanation accepted.

However Apple was careful to implement Spatial in such a way that ALL phones can handle it… it’s essentially pass through- if you have the right headphones, it will work.

So basically, Sony can’t mess with the Android phone aspect of the player to allow all types of high-Rez streaming, but it can mess with the android aspect to detect and block Apple spatial?

Okay.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of the 507 and other Sony stuff, and I love the reliability of the OS compared to A&K and others, but man, they need to stop with the file policing. Seriously, it accomplishes literally nothing. Nobody who is dedicated to a streaming ecosystem is going to give that up and go with Sony downloads because the player is stingy with what it will stream. They’ll just suffer another device with a buggy OS and wide-open streaming compatibility.

 

[myromeo]

Thanks for the fast reply.

when you write ‘upscaled’ do you have any details on the source stream? Is it really 24/192?

Too bad spatial isn’t working.

Source stream is exactly as indicated in Apple Music so the player is indeed taking the high res track (24/96 for example) and ups calling to 32/192. If high res streaming is turned on every source file is upscalled to 24/192 unless your using the Walkman app or UAPP which both play bit perfect. UAPP MQA is only first unfold so plays up to 24/96.

 

[Richard Wray]

Source stream is exactly as indicated in Apple Music so the player is indeed taking the high res track (24/96 for example) and ups calling to 32/192. If high res streaming is turned on every source file is upscalled to 24/192 unless your using the Walkman app or UAPP which both play bit perfect. UAPP MQA is only first unfold so plays up to 24/96.

Cool analysis.
I’m assuming we can’t play the Apple Music streams through the Walkman App or UAPP?

 

[myromeo]

Cool analysis.
I’m assuming we can’t play the Apple Music streams through the Walkman App or UAPP?

Nope unfortunately not