[Vitaly2017]

This is something strange that I encountered. It seems Bluetooth sound quality is affected by source. This is unusual because technically the source is not responsible for Digital to analog conversion and amplification.

LG V20 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 sounds flat and boring
Sony Xperia 1 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 sounds more crispier and bassier
Sony NW-ZX2 via LDAC sounds even more rich with wider soundstage
Sony NW-ZX507 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 makes the bass on the headphone physically vibrate the cups. It's the most lively sounding of the sources.

Anyone else have encountered this or could explain why this is happening?

Yes it is , my self I run into this situation...
Lg v30 ldac to wm1z flater neutral.
Galaxy s9 more bassy and fun.

Even you can change eq on s9 and use its features to change sound!
Yes weirdo why it all happens but,
If you want pure android sound need a dap and trash the phones...

Quiet interesting that xm3 rumbles that much with zx507 musta be fun


I would buy zx507 but unfortunately I am sure it will never beat wm1z sq even if I use ldac from phone

 

[xenoVa]

This is something strange that I encountered. It seems Bluetooth sound quality is affected by source. This is unusual because technically the source is not responsible for Digital to analog conversion and amplification.

LG V20 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 sounds flat and boring
Sony Xperia 1 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 sounds more crispier and bassier
Sony NW-ZX2 via LDAC sounds even more rich with wider soundstage
Sony NW-ZX507 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 makes the bass on the headphone physically vibrate the cups. It's the most lively sounding of the sources.

Anyone else have encountered this or could explain why this is happening?

Normally there shouldn't be a difference. I guess your devices have EQ or other sound settings like DSEE HX on.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

All sources were compared with the Youtube Music App which doesn't have app based EQ.

Bass Heavy Song used for comparsion:

LG V20 doesn't have any kind of system EQ.
NW-ZX2 and ZX507 doesn't allow for DSEEHX or any kind of EQ or DSP on Bluetooth connections.
The only exception is Xperia 1 which has Dolby Atmos(which has EQ), but I have turned Atmos off.

With the kind of rumble I get from the combo of ZX507 + WH1000XM3.... I wonder what kind of RUMBLE if ZX507 is pair with this monster:

https://www.sony.com/electronics/headband-headphones/wh-xb900n


Don't think zx507 will be able to match wm1z, but I feel zx507 sounds really good as a portable dap for streaming music.

 

[Vitaly2017]

All sources were compared with the Youtube Music App which doesn't have app based EQ.

Bass Heavy Song used for comparsion:

LG V20 doesn't have any kind of system EQ.
NW-ZX2 and ZX507 doesn't allow for DSEEHX or any kind of EQ or DSP on Bluetooth connections.
The only exception is Xperia 1 which has Dolby Atmos(which has EQ), but I have turned Atmos off.

With the kind of rumble I get from the combo of ZX507 + WH1000XM3.... I wonder what kind of RUMBLE if ZX507 is pair with this monster:

https://www.sony.com/electronics/headband-headphones/wh-xb900n


Don't think zx507 will be able to match wm1z, but I feel zx507 sounds really good as a portable dap for streaming music.

Ooh yeaa your head going to explode like a watermelon LoL
More bass please

Zx507 has dmps caps which are probably insane good in sq
Sony daps are really highly quality I like them alot.

Btw on my wm1z even in bluetooth dac mode I can do eq and dseehx and all the features its not blocled...

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Just a FYI:

Hidden deep inside ZX507 settings, you can adjust bluetooth connection quality:

Settings > Connected Devices > Connection Preferences > Bluetooth > Wireless Playback Quality >

LDAC Sound Quality Pref.
LDAC Connection Pref. (This is default)
Aptx HD
AptX
AAC
SBC Sound Quality Pref.
SBC Connection Pref.


For WH1000xm3, I find that AptX HD loses out to LDAC SQ mode. AptX HD has some kind of glaring bright upper mids to my ears, as compared to the more natural sounding LDAC(Wired still sounds better in high frequency).

 

[xenoVa]

All sources were compared with the Youtube Music App which doesn't have app based EQ.

LG V20 doesn't have any kind of system EQ.
NW-ZX2 and ZX507 doesn't allow for DSEEHX or any kind of EQ or DSP on Bluetooth connections.
The only exception is Xperia 1 which has Dolby Atmos(which has EQ), but I have turned Atmos off.

With the kind of rumble I get from the combo of ZX507 + WH1000XM3.... If wonder what kind of RUMBLE if ZX507 is pair with this

My theory: Since LDAC is Sony's property codec, LDAC transmission between Sony devices (in this case the XM3 and the ZX507) is the better than the LDAC transmission between other brands' devices thanks to the best software and hardware implementation of Sony.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

7min Mark for slideshow on zx507. Video is in cantonese.

 

[bancanus]

Just got mine. Still checking everything out but it looks so small next to the SE100. Shout to @brokengundam for the FromJapan rec. Ordered on the 20th and received it today on the 26th. If you catch them during one of their 10% Rakuten promos (like today) you can get the DAP and case for around $800 USD.

Can you please compare the sq between SE100 and ZX507? I’m thinking of getting one of them, but not sure the difference in sq. thanks in advance!

 

[nanaholic]

This is something strange that I encountered. It seems Bluetooth sound quality is affected by source. This is unusual because technically the source is not responsible for Digital to analog conversion and amplification.

LG V20 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 sounds flat and boring
Sony Xperia 1 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 sounds more crispier and bassier
Sony NW-ZX2 via LDAC sounds even more rich with wider soundstage
Sony NW-ZX507 via LDAC to WH1000xm3 makes the bass on the headphone physically vibrate the cups. It's the most lively sounding of the sources.

Anyone else have encountered this or could explain why this is happening?

Actually the source is responsible - as BT audio profiles actually requires the source file be decoded and then re-encoded into the target codec (in this case LDAC - so the entire chain is source file > analog decode on the system > resulted analog form fed into LDAC encoder > encoded data stream transmitted over BT > decode on headphone > sound) before being transmitted, which means depending on how the codecs are configured on the source it can technically affect the quality of the decoding/encoding process and thus the final quality of the result. Since Sony developed LDAC they would have the latest version of the codec as well as the knowledge to configure the LDAC build on their device better than LG does, which may be the reason for the different results.

It's also discovered before that different Android phones defaults to different encoding bitrates for LDAC - so at least that part is definitely controllable by the maker, and that you probably have to make sure you are matching the mode which LDAC is used on your source for a more accurate result (eg all are set to "priority for sound quality" to ensure it is using the full 990kbps encoding parameter)
https://www.soundguys.com/ultimate-guide-to-bluetooth-headphones-20019/

On a tangent this is why AAC on Apple devices actually do sound better than Android ones - because it is measured before that Apple's implementation of the AAC codec on iOS is better than the one on Android, which itself has different implementations between Android vendors.
https://www.soundguys.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-bluetooth-headphones-aac-20296/

 

[musicday]

Can you please compare the sq between SE100 and ZX507? I’m thinking of getting one of them, but not sure the difference in sq. thanks in advance!

I like your avatar image very much. iRiver IMP-550 Slim X , 13.7 mm MP3 CD player with FM tuner

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Using the WF1000xm3 true wireless(only AAC or SBC supported) to compare iPhone 8 AAC to ZX507 AAC. Noise cancellation switched off.

I find that Apple AAC codec although sound smooth and clear (almost like DSD), is lacking on sparkles and micro details. There's also some kind of veil on the higher frequencies as well

ZX507 AAC is able to sound as holographic as Iphone while having more sparkles and more extension in the high frequencies and sounds more dynamic for sure. ZX507 AAC definitely sounds better than iPhone 8 AAC to my ears.

I am guessing that the cheaper A100 walkman should sound pretty close to zx507 for bluetooth since they run the same Android OS.

 

[bancanus]

I like your avatar image very much. iRiver IMP-550 Slim X , 5.5 mm MP3 CD player with FM tuner

You have sharp eyes it’s amazing that you know the features of my dream CD player. You made my day! Nice avatar of IFP mp3 player, too! Cheers.

 

[INGRAMLI]

Not meant to hijack the thread, but I hope Sony is not missing the focus by devoting too much effort in "network walkman"....for a couple of reasons,

1. Battery life - The endurance impact of using android is big

2. Wi-Fi availability - either rely on your phone, or places with Wi-Fi hot spot, not a cool idea for traveling on plane, or overseas journey with limited access to internet, not being able to listen when you want is not fun...

3. Interference - Wi-Fi connection is essentially an antenna, drawing electrical noise to the playback circuit, while I believe Sony have some of the best engineers in their R&D department, there will be more distortion (impact to SQ) inherently.

4. Cost & price - Going android and network playback means more cost in hardware (faster CPU, more RAM and Wi-Fi chip, etc.), which translate into higher price, for those who don't use (need) the function, it is a waste.

I try to avoid being (too) subjective, but I just feel the idea of "network walkman" is simply too early for the high end DAP market. 5 or 10 years later? May be. However, for now, I wish Sony can focus on their core business (where their strength is) by bringing out DAPs setting new standard to the high end DAP market (in term of SQ and playback duration), true successors to my beloved WM1A/WM1Z (Yes, I own both of them).

 

[FredFBe]

Hi everyone,

I've got my new black NW-ZX507 yesterday (EU version).

Regarding the battery charging time: despite what Sony claims (6.5 hours for a full charge), with my "Qualcomm Quick Charge 3" certified phone charger, my ZX507 goes up to 100% in around 1.5 hour (from +/- 20% remaining). Firmware version 1.01.

So quick charge is (unofficially ?) supported.

 

[musicday]

You have sharp eyes it’s amazing that you know the features of my dream CD player. You made my day! Nice avatar of IFP mp3 player, too! Cheers.

Mine is IFP 390T 256 mb (Intelligent Flash Player)