smilealittlebit
Head-Fier
It won't power anything but IEMs.
SONY NW-ZX500
But a Japanese import would have enough volume for HD650?
Tsiklon
Head-Fier
It struggles with insensitive headphones, T50RP and Dan Clark Aeon can be maxed out, though it’ll leave you wanting more.
But things like Campfire Cascade can be driven ok with it.
Kozwoz
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
- Posts
- 599
- Likes
- 402
I use my uncapped ZX507 with Audeze LCD2C and it does a great job in balanced and lots of volume to spare if you want go deaf. Drives them well and punches ridiculously hard in the bass with a bit of EQ.
Last edited:
I want to add that in SE (3.5mm unbalanced output) 50mW is not enough to drive audeze lcd 2 C even loud enough. lcd xc sounds not great, although loud enough.
however, audeze lcd mx4 are driven very well by 3.5mm output.
I wish I could try them with 4.4 cable...
mx4 is a killer (not like pu*in). if only they did not weigh a ton... perhaps best headphones I've ever plugged in my zx507... which can be well driven by sony.
I want to try sony mdr Z1R / ier z1r, audeze models with 4.4 senn he 1
by the way, is there any new about new FW? when will usb DAC option be introduced?
minzink
Head-Fier
yes, you are right. Still no high gain. But with Sony Mdr1mk2 it is not an issue for me.
goody
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2009
- Posts
- 1,560
- Likes
- 409
Hi guys so what is the consensus the latest firmware does not change the sound right ?..how do we set up the headphone app ?
Last edited:
musicisthekey
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2011
- Posts
- 217
- Likes
- 50
I'd advise against updating to V4.02. With the new firmware, sound signature is dull and not very engaging. Bass became flat and sounds like one note. There is less sparkle in treble as well. I'm disappointed.
Also, I'd like to add is that, if you don't care about balanced, NW-A100 offers a much better listening experience. In comparison, ZX500 sounds harsh and less airy but has more bass.
Also, I'd like to add is that, if you don't care about balanced, NW-A100 offers a much better listening experience. In comparison, ZX500 sounds harsh and less airy but has more bass.
Last edited:
DJ Core
500+ Head-Fier
The sound changes according to the selected headphone or IEM profile in the headphone App. I find the sound to be very mature, clean, and has more air vs previous firmware. bass is very dynamic depending on the song and IEM/headphone power requirements. For example, paired with Sennheiser IE300, I feel deep sub-bass going down into the 30-20Hz range. What sony did was clean up the previous bass bloat.
Kozwoz
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
- Posts
- 599
- Likes
- 402
Are you referring to the headphone app specifically or the firmware? The general consensus is that the latest firmware sounds spectacular especially in terms what Sony have done with imaging, soundstage and layering. My Shure 846 sound incredible out of single ended...
How do you pair something like the Sennheiser IE300 in the headphone app if it's not in the list of Sony supported headphones? As far as I can tell only Sony headphones are supported for spatial audio in the Headphone App?
n00b
500+ Head-Fier
Couple of questions from a new owner.. first one is more topical to the current conversation. Does the ZX507 (and I guess A50 also) make the Sony wireless products wf-1000mx, wh-1000mx) more 'worth it' since I already have a small Sony DAP rotation? I got MDR-1AM2s and I think they have a ton of synergy with the ZX507: a fun musical sound with a slight brightness to pair well with the 507's rich laid back kind of sound, 4.4mm cable included, and easy to drive for the ZX507. I'm curious about some functionality I'm leaving on the table like LDAC and the headphone app and wanted to play around with those. The rumored WF-1000mx4 and the limited edition white wh-1000mx4 have me interested.
Next, what might cause the ZX507 to just.. stop playing? I was in the middle of going through some bookmarks and when one song ended in the middle of the bookmarks (not even on shuffle) with plenty of songs left in queue, it just paused/didn't start playing the next track until I manually started it. I've only had that behavior once
Next, what might cause the ZX507 to just.. stop playing? I was in the middle of going through some bookmarks and when one song ended in the middle of the bookmarks (not even on shuffle) with plenty of songs left in queue, it just paused/didn't start playing the next track until I manually started it. I've only had that behavior once
DJ Core
500+ Head-Fier
I have 4 headphone profiles...i mainly use the IER M9 profile with the IE300 and UM Mest...it's my favorite sound sig.
Kozwoz
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
- Posts
- 599
- Likes
- 402
I used to get the stopping / starting for no apparent reason in an earlier firmware when I played music in Spotify. I wiped the player a few times and it stopped doing this. Although I never experienced random stopping and starting in the Sony music app.
sarnhelen
100+ Head-Fier
My internal Music Storage shows up as empty, and 'no music files found' is reported for the internal in the Sony music app. No files show in the music folder, but when I try to add files I know I have in the internal storage it tells me they are already present. If I add a file it then shows in the external file manager, but still doesn't get recognised by the dap. Any advice other than factory reset?
Kozwoz
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
- Posts
- 599
- Likes
- 402
As it stands at the moment is there a way to implement system wide EQ outside of the Sony Music Settings App? It has to be system wide so it affects the Sony Music Player App which I would argue still provides the best sound - I don't think it's really a competition... compared to the way streaming apps sound on the player which is not to say they sound bad in anyway.
If you care about EQ hope you can read on otherwise please discard this post...
I personally find the current EQ awfully lacking in terms of how it sounds and functions. I think it's poorly implemented and I don't think it's particularly accurate sounding in the way it behaves - it doesn't sound clean to me using a variety of high end iems and headphones. I also don't think it sounds linear. To me it sounds like Sony is controlling the Q factor internally irrespective of the bell curve you create by cutting or boosting between frequency to frequency band. Cutting or boosting sounds to me too narrow and defined in the high frequencies and too broad in the bass. Boosting sub bass is not accurate because it directly affects the mid bass and it ends up sounding too muddy and thick because the Q factor is too broad IMO and so its not a good direct representation of what it's doing to the music.
I think the less you use EQ on ZX507 the better the player sounds and I'm not an audio purist by any means... I really do appreciate the sound in Direct Mode and deep down believe thats prob how Sony intended the player to sound with it's core characteristics. But I like to use EQ to fundamentally change how my headphones behave and sound rather than use it purely for corrective purposes or small changes. The fact the bands are pre set and you can only boost or cut by 10db makes it severely limiting. Would really like to be able to control pre-gain - this essentially allows you to control the dynamics with a broader brush and you can do some amazing things by compensating with volume output. You can make headphones essentialy hit in a different way at the expense of some dynamic range and some accuracy true to the signal. At the moment Sony handles pre gain internally and the player automatically controls dynamics based on what the EQ input is - it probably aims to preserve dynamics as best it thinks it can. A bit of pre gain allowance would also allow you to run the player closer to full output where it actually runs and sounds best and most authoritative and in control. This would allow you to control output power to your headphones. The player outputs in a different way and thereby sounds different closer to its maximum whether people accept it or not as something they hear or recognise consciously. I understand the player risks clipping with pre-gain but I believe this is for the user to control and they should be ultimately responsible to reap the rewards or face the consequences of it's misuse.
Not sure if what I'm what I'm describing goes against the way Sony has implemented the way sound is reproduced in this player but would love a more mature EQ for a player that is equally mature sounding, especially with this firmware. For the record I love this player and how it sounds but would just like some more functionality and user control. I find more and more now that EQ is being limited and held back in high end players as a ethos rather than something they simply can't implement as changing the dynamics too much (which is essentially what you're doing) is a step too far but would argue for more user control as some of us are more than capable to dial in what we want out of it.
Apologies this is so ungrammatical and most likely unnecessarily deep but hope I've made some sense.
If you care about EQ hope you can read on otherwise please discard this post...
I personally find the current EQ awfully lacking in terms of how it sounds and functions. I think it's poorly implemented and I don't think it's particularly accurate sounding in the way it behaves - it doesn't sound clean to me using a variety of high end iems and headphones. I also don't think it sounds linear. To me it sounds like Sony is controlling the Q factor internally irrespective of the bell curve you create by cutting or boosting between frequency to frequency band. Cutting or boosting sounds to me too narrow and defined in the high frequencies and too broad in the bass. Boosting sub bass is not accurate because it directly affects the mid bass and it ends up sounding too muddy and thick because the Q factor is too broad IMO and so its not a good direct representation of what it's doing to the music.
I think the less you use EQ on ZX507 the better the player sounds and I'm not an audio purist by any means... I really do appreciate the sound in Direct Mode and deep down believe thats prob how Sony intended the player to sound with it's core characteristics. But I like to use EQ to fundamentally change how my headphones behave and sound rather than use it purely for corrective purposes or small changes. The fact the bands are pre set and you can only boost or cut by 10db makes it severely limiting. Would really like to be able to control pre-gain - this essentially allows you to control the dynamics with a broader brush and you can do some amazing things by compensating with volume output. You can make headphones essentialy hit in a different way at the expense of some dynamic range and some accuracy true to the signal. At the moment Sony handles pre gain internally and the player automatically controls dynamics based on what the EQ input is - it probably aims to preserve dynamics as best it thinks it can. A bit of pre gain allowance would also allow you to run the player closer to full output where it actually runs and sounds best and most authoritative and in control. This would allow you to control output power to your headphones. The player outputs in a different way and thereby sounds different closer to its maximum whether people accept it or not as something they hear or recognise consciously. I understand the player risks clipping with pre-gain but I believe this is for the user to control and they should be ultimately responsible to reap the rewards or face the consequences of it's misuse.
Not sure if what I'm what I'm describing goes against the way Sony has implemented the way sound is reproduced in this player but would love a more mature EQ for a player that is equally mature sounding, especially with this firmware. For the record I love this player and how it sounds but would just like some more functionality and user control. I find more and more now that EQ is being limited and held back in high end players as a ethos rather than something they simply can't implement as changing the dynamics too much (which is essentially what you're doing) is a step too far but would argue for more user control as some of us are more than capable to dial in what we want out of it.
Apologies this is so ungrammatical and most likely unnecessarily deep but hope I've made some sense.
Last edited:
Users who are viewing this thread
