[Kozwoz]

I think it lacks power compared to other daps on the market. Can’t be used with anything apart from sensitive iems. The battery is small and the processor is borderline acceptable. Other than that I’m happy with the sound quality. Although smartphones that cost half as much much offer more functionality. As an overall package Sony could of delivered more here. They clearly held it back on purpose. It’s current line of smartphones and the ones from a year ago are much more powerful.

 

[rlw6534]

I think it lacks power compared to other daps on the market. Can’t be used with anything apart from sensitive iems. The battery is small and the processor is borderline acceptable. Other than that I’m happy with the sound quality. Although smartphones that cost half as much much offer more functionality. As an overall package Sony could of delivered more here. They clearly held it back on purpose. It’s current line of smartphones and the ones from a year ago are much more powerful.

At least the wifi and bluetooth work really well, something that can't be said for many other DAPS...

 

[MrWalkman]

and the processor is borderline acceptable

This was one of the experience-breakers on the A105, which uses the same SoC, seconded by the battery, though the battery thing is also caused by Android.

 

[VBlaster]

Tried other DAPs, but still went back to the ZX507. It just works. Smoothly. Others may have fancy specs and high power output, but there's always a glitch here, an incompatibility there.

The ZX507 battery is fine as I switch on airplane mode when playing music on my micro sdcard. When payed to the ier-m9, it's just amazing and works. Its sound is also just so enjoyable and listenable for hours.

 

[lizardos24]

why this zx500 thread looks barely alive??
is there new models in this market niche? fiio m15?

If the M15 sounds similar to the M11 Pro I wouldn't trade it for my ZX507 EU ever (using low impedance IEMs).

 

[Kozwoz]

The single ended even sounds under powered for my Shure 846 especially in the bass which is saying a lot. Sony might as well have just left the single ended out and focused on the balanced connection.

Although the 3.5mm to lightning adapter exhibits a collapsed soundstage it outputs a much lower impedance than the ZX507 and sounds more powerful - although not sure if on paper this is true. Certainly the ZX507 has more volume I think due to EU volume limits imposed on Apple devices however the adapter sounds better to my ears vs ZX507 single ended.

 

[sander93]

I think it lacks power compared to other daps on the market. Can’t be used with anything apart from sensitive iems. The battery is small and the processor is borderline acceptable. Other than that I’m happy with the sound quality. Although smartphones that cost half as much much offer more functionality. As an overall package Sony could of delivered more here. They clearly held it back on purpose. It’s current line of smartphones and the ones from a year ago are much more powerful.

battery on zx507 is smth mysterious. sometimes it's ok 6-7% per hour. (no upscaling)
sometimes not.
just an hour ago I tuned it on, and in 40 minutes 10% has gone.
why...? I went to the shop. came back and acc bat show me doubled consumption of battery...~14% / h
I left it for some time. 11% per h. and 5% gone in 10-15 minute of playback.
in 10 more minutes I notice that 68% changed to 69%. no playback, no charging.
it's not 1sst time of similar behavior.
fast charging: u disconnect on 80%. in 5-10minutes U see 82-83%
or one time I plugged charger on 2-3%, it dropped to 0%. and stayed 0% for 10-15 minutes while charging.

If the M15 sounds similar to the M11 Pro I wouldn't trade it for my ZX507 EU ever (using low impedance IEMs).

I r3ad that m15 is better than zx507 (but its also 1.5 time more expensive.
m11s are inferior and feature bright / cold sound signature.
I have not listen fiio personally.
the only fiio I use is adapter 4.4 female to 3.5 male. to use z5 with pc and smartphone

 

[Kozwoz]

battery on zx507 is smth mysterious. sometimes it's ok 6-7% per hour. (no upscaling)
sometimes not.
just an hour ago I tuned it on, and in 40 minutes 10% has gone.
why...? I went to the shop. came back and acc bat show me doubled consumption of battery...~14% / h
I left it for some time. 11% per h. and 5% gone in 10-15 minute of playback.
in 10 more minutes I notice that 68% changed to 69%. no playback, no charging.
it's not 1sst time of similar behavior.
fast charging: u disconnect on 80%. in 5-10minutes U see 82-83%
or one time I plugged charger on 2-3%, it dropped to 0%. and stayed 0% for 10-15 minutes while charging.

I r3ad that m15 is better than zx507 (but its also 1.5 time more expensive.
m11s are inferior and feature bright / cold sound signature.
I have not listen fiio personally.
the only fiio I use is adapter 4.4 female to 3.5 male. to use z5 with pc and smartphone

It’s because there’s so much going under the hood. Android is a resource hog. Why are we using a operating system made for smartphones which drains battery. Makes no sense.

Under some circumstances my battery only lasts 4 hours until it’s down to 20%.

 

[MrWalkman]

It’s because there’s so much going under the hood. Android is a resource hog. Why are we using a operating system made for smartphones which drains battery. Makes no sense.

For streaming, I guess.

I'm perfectly happy streaming from my smartphone via the BT Receiver function (using LDAC) to the WM1A (or to the A55 when I'm on the go).

 

[Kozwoz]

Running Spotify in offline mode having downloaded the tracks still drains the battery much quicker than playing tracks locally. It’s just poorly optimised. Objectively speaking.

 

[MrWalkman]

Running Spotify in offline mode having downloaded the tracks still drains the battery much quicker than playing racks locally. It’s just poorly optimised. Objectively speaking.

Hopefully a future WM1 successor will have a bigger battery and a much more capable SoC, as it seems it'll have Android too.

 

[sander93]

SoC

what is SoC?

 

[MrWalkman]

what is SoC?

System On a Chip - basically a CPU but with other modules on the same chip.

 

[Devodonaldson]

Running Spotify in offline mode having downloaded the tracks still drains the battery much quicker than playing tracks locally. It’s just poorly optimised. Objectively speaking.

It's typical, however nearly all Anxroid devices have much larger batteries. Phones have 3500mah to 5000mah batteries, so the draw from streaming apps offline doesn't put a huge dent in the battery. ZX507 battery is 1750mah, I believe, so THERE is the issue. 4hrs streaming out of such a small battery isn't bad at all. However, most people want more time so a larger battery would have been a benefit

 

[Kozwoz]

It’s just annoying because Sony could of easily implemented a more powerful chip given its price. I can only sumise that this was strategic to build up to another flagship but what people don’t understand is that the chip contributes to a comfortable listening experience. If the hardware can’t keep up you’re fighting a loosing battle. The ZX507 just about makes the cut imo.