[RubyRubyRuby]

You might end up with the volume flat out all the time on your iems and also find that other headphones are too quiet and underpowered. (A drag for the times you might want to use another set)

so the logic is - be covered for all types of headphones / iems & get the Japanese version.

PITA with post delay & customs. But just deal with it?

I got mine 2nd hand.

I had the UK version and sent it back.(twice!)

I appreciate your opinion on the U.K. spec.and your views after having owned and returned. With the Japan spec. and the the additional costing of importing, it appears to be a lot dearer than the Fiio m11 pro and the new A&K sr25, both of which can be acquired locally . I am biased towards Sony though . Any preferences on suitable vendors from Japan,who I am contact for a quote on costs?

 

[goody]

I appreciate your opinion on the U.K. spec.and your views after having owned and returned. With the Japan spec. and the the additional costing of importing, it appears to be a lot dearer than the Fiio m11 pro and the new A&K sr25, both of which can be acquired locally . I am biased towards Sony though . Any preferences on suitable vendors from Japan,who I am contact for a quote on costs?

i am in the uk and i got mine from acessory jack in hong kong send them a message when you order and you don't pay any custom duty

 

[erich6]

A few pages back there was discussion about bit-perfect and whether the latest firmware impacts this or not when selecting the high-resolution streaming function. I didn't see a clear answer to that question.

The benefit of "bit-perfect" streaming is the signal is transmitted directly to the DAC bypassing the OS mixer. The OS mixer is a low-quality resampler and that's why it is best to use "exclusive" modes that don't change the stream. That said, it is possible to do high-quality upsampling in an application and then stream the signal directly to the DAC. Roon and HQPlayer are good examples.

So, is the 507 upsampling with high-quality TIDAL streams and then bypassing the Android mixer? If so, the results should be good.

On the MQA question, I saw comparisons of spectrograms. What's important is to compare the difference in the spectrogram between a local MQA (played with the Sony app) and the same MQA streamed from TIDAL. If the TIDAL app is working right in the 507, you should get the first unfold and recover the signal content up to 48 kHz (96 kHz sampling). I suspect the 96 kHz signal is then upsampled like all other streams (that is not the same as the rendering that an MQA DAC may do although some would argue the rendering is just a "filtered" upsampling). To clarify, I expect the 507 to unfold but not render. Some where asking about "full decoding" and I believe that would include both the first unfold plus the rendering. That said, getting the first unfold is still decoding the MQA and I think you are getting most of the benefit from that anyway.

 

[Pro-Jules]

I don’t know why people bother with MQA.

what’s better about MQA than hi res files streamed from Amazon Music HD?

 

[psikey]

I don’t know why people bother with MQA.

what’s better about MQA than hi res files streamed from Amazon Music HD?

Take up less space for offline and less data streaming. Otherwise Amazon HD should be just as good and technical actually better if original master used (true lossless).

 

[Pro-Jules]

Thanks,

Amazon Music HD is cheaper too.

 

[larzy]

Here's my take on the european ZX507...

Having recently sold my WM1A, I was looking for a cheaper alternative, and first bought the FiiO M11... This was an okay player but I thought it was a bit bright in the sound somehow... Missing a bit of depth I would say.

I wanted the uncapped ZX507, but since Joyboy don't send to Denmark where I live, and the price for an import was too high, I took a change and bought an european version from Amazon Warehouse - in new condition for about 1/2 the price of a new one...

Listening balanced the volume is acceptable at the highest level (120). Would I like to go a bit higher - sure... But it's loud enough I guess.

Using bluetooth with the walkman with my Sony WH-1000XM3 the volume is way higher - the same with the WF-1000XM3. Not sure why?

I really like the sound quality and the overall tone and depth compared to the FiiO. I don't feel I miss a lot from my old WM1A, and although I'll probably run most songs from an SD card, I like the flexibility of having streaming services available. Even the sound running wireless with the WH-1000XM3 with LDAC is amazing!

And the build quality and weight is really nice - light and compact. As mentioned by others, the batterylife is on the low side. If I run the device in battery saver mode and airplane, I don't feel the need to deinstall and deactivate a bunch of services - this helps a bit on the battery life.

I have a few weeks to decide whether I'll keep it or send it back and see if I can cash in some extra to go for the uncapped version... I wish I was able to uncap it myself, like I have previously done with the WM1A and ZX300A. But I really like the sound and think I can live with the stupid volume limit.

 

[niotio910]

After upgrading to latest firmware, UAPP player no longer detects external DAC. It only plays through the android audio. Anyone has the same issue?

 

[niotio910]

Reinstalling resolves the issue

 

[niotio910]

After upgrading to latest firmware, UAPP player no longer detects external DAC. It only plays through the android audio. Anyone has the same issue?

Reinstalling the UAPP resolves the issue

 

[psikey]

Sod it! Exchange rate has improved to enable me to get an uncapped ZX507 from Amazon Japan for under £600 (£598) including fees/duties etc. so gone for it. (Was ~£650 last week). Its now cheaper than buying a UK one at £618.

I'm really impressed with the Hiby R3 Pro at £165 but do also want the Sony Sound Signature.

Was also agonising over black or silver but gone for Black (had silver ZX300).

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

If cost is issue, can consider the 16GB variant ZX505 which is not volume capped. It's mostly found in China.

But if you still want the 64GB zx507, accessory jack at Hong Kong is recommended by others here.

Disabling apps not just helps with battery, it helps the most with the fluidness of the interface. You may find it boots up faster too.

 

[psikey]

If cost is issue, can consider the 16GB variant ZX505 which is not volume capped. It's mostly found in China.

But if you still want the 64GB, accessory jack at Hong Kong is recommended by others here.

Disabling apps not just helps with battery, it helps the most with the fluidness of the interface. You may find it boots up faster too.

in UK can only get ZX505 from JoyBuy (without going Ali) and they have poor feedback and up to 2 month for delivery. Can also get caught with Duties/Fees which no issue getting from Amazon Japan as all included upfront.

Buying ZX507 from Accessoryjack today is at £598 too but then risk of fees/duties which would be an additional £100 if not lucky.

It not the actual cost (can afford) , its perception of value for money. With UK version being killed on volume coupled with low battery its a negative to consider. Also still would prefer bit-perfect but the new update is a step forward.

 

[psikey]

Here's my take on the european ZX507...

Having recently sold my WM1A, I was looking for a cheaper alternative, and first bought the FiiO M11... This was an okay player but I thought it was a bit bright in the sound somehow... Missing a bit of depth I would say.

I wanted the uncapped ZX507, but since Joyboy don't send to Denmark where I live, and the price for an import was too high, I took a change and bought an european version from Amazon Warehouse - in new condition for about 1/2 the price of a new one...

Listening balanced the volume is acceptable at the highest level (120). Would I like to go a bit higher - sure... But it's loud enough I guess.

Using bluetooth with the walkman with my Sony WH-1000XM3 the volume is way higher - the same with the WF-1000XM3. Not sure why?

I really like the sound quality and the overall tone and depth compared to the FiiO. I don't feel I miss a lot from my old WM1A, and although I'll probably run most songs from an SD card, I like the flexibility of having streaming services available. Even the sound running wireless with the WH-1000XM3 with LDAC is amazing!

And the build quality and weight is really nice - light and compact. As mentioned by others, the batterylife is on the low side. If I run the device in battery saver mode and airplane, I don't feel the need to deinstall and deactivate a bunch of services - this helps a bit on the battery life.

I have a few weeks to decide whether I'll keep it or send it back and see if I can cash in some extra to go for the uncapped version... I wish I was able to uncap it myself, like I have previously done with the WM1A and ZX300A. But I really like the sound and think I can live with the stupid volume limit.

No way I'd buy an EU/UK ZX507. As I've said before I had an import A105 and via 3.5mm I was at ~75/120 and loud with my sensitive SE846's. With the UK ZX507 I had to be at a minimum of 100/120 balanced! And no High Gain option at all. Its going to be useless with most headphones.

 

[larzy]

No way I'd buy an EU/UK ZX507. As I've said before I had an import A105 and via 3.5mm I was at ~75/120 and loud with my sensitive SE846's. With the UK ZX507 I had to be at a minimum of 100/120 balanced! And no High Gain option at all. Its going to be useless with most headphones.

Fair enough - I’m just giving my point of view, and as I write I have not made up my mind yet, if I’ll keep it or not.

And I’m surprised by how much higher the volume goes when using it with a pair of Bluetooth headphones as well as the quality of the sound.