[gerelmx1986]

  even gerel has left us A10 cultists :O
shun him, never speak thy name!
(any links to a good comparison?)

my review http://www.head-fi.org/products/sony-walkman-nw-zx100-128gb/reviews/14396

 

[castleofargh]

  Hi, when you say 'gapless playback works' can some people confirm the file format they have tried to get this working? I have been battling with this device and can only achieve smooth transitions between files for FLAC format (which in my opinion is not supporting gapless playback.) Could someone try these test files on their A15 an let me know if they play without gaps. I want to know if my device is faulty please. I have created two test tone files, they are identical, and they should play one after another. These will appear on a device as the Artist "Test Tone" and the Album as the compression format.
 
Many thanks, Alec
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o0ca4yhxpvg5sev/Gapless%20Playback%20Experiment.zip?dl=0

"when you say 'gapless playback works'"   who's you? mp3 isn't gapless on the sony.
 
also no offense, but my mother told me not to get in a stranger's car, and not to download unknown zip files.

 

 

[alecjcook]

OK, sorry. All the test files are are two files consisting of a 3 second sine wave. They play flawlessly when played on after another on FLAC.
Where has the information that 'MP3's are not gapless on the sony' come from? I was under the illusion that this device supported gapless playback. Does it not? 

 

[Wertzius]

MP3 is not gapless, only flac.

Gesendet von meinem SGP621 mit Tapatalk

 

[gerelmx1986]

MP3 is not gapless, only flac.

Gesendet von meinem SGP621 mit Tapatalk

Only FLAC, Apple lossless, WAVE and AIFF are gapless

 

[gerelmx1986]

  OK, sorry. All the test files are are two files consisting of a 3 second sine wave. They play flawlessly when played on after another on FLAC.
Where has the information that 'MP3's are not gapless on the sony' come from? I was under the illusion that this device supported gapless playback. Does it not? 

sony has neverupported gapless with mp3, howeveih AAC there's possibilty but i think AAC impements a tag metadata with the block and time for the gap removal

 

[fish1050]

  I don't believe they would have touched the Eq in firmware, hell even my A15 sounds exactly like my A25, lol.

Firmware 1.20 was actually partially released to address using the A10 series with amplifiers so I was not suprised it changed the sound

 

[fish1050]

  Same here and I thought this change was only in my head 

  I actually like this change, makes my XBA-Z5 sound more "alive"

Yes the sound did change when I did the firmware update to 1.20 and I did like the changes. But it changed again when I did the firmware update to 1.21.  A day or so after I did the 1.21 upgrade I turned on my A17 and the brightness was like a smack in the face.  Almost like all the warmth had been sucked out and replaced with an edgy sibilant sound.
 
My unit was purchased back in November 2014 from the first batch sold in Canada.  So I can't see the changes being the result of my A17 burning in.  It should be pretty well burnt by now

Perhaps it is because it is from such an early batch that it is more susceptible to these changes.  I have never been an early adopter with most things I buy, I did this time and maybe I am paying for it now.
 
Anyway I did the firmware rollback to 1.10 and it went without a hitch.  First time I turned the A17 on after the downgrade it sounded god awful, it sounded like an old FM radio for lack of a better description.  So I reset it and when I turned it on again the brightness was there but the sibilance (smearing "S" sounds) were gone and after hours of testing has not returned.  Unfortunately the sound is just to bright and unnatural compared to how it use to sound.  Equeing 6.3Khz down helped a bit with the brightness but all my tracks have an edgy digital sound that I really don't like.  The bass sounds really good with lots of detail and punch but the mids and treble sound edgy.  I tried listening to some tracks from Adele 25 which I love and her voice was almost piercing on some tracks.  Even with my warm sounding P5 headphones and messing with the eq can't tame the sound.
 
I tested it with and without my E12A attached and there was no change.  I know my headphones are fine because I use them with my home stereo without any problems.
 
I paid for a second year of warranty on my A17 so I could try contacting Sony tech support but the unit isn't technically defective.  Everything works fine it just does not sound good to me.  If Sony still had their Sony stores in Canada I would take it in and maybe if someone heard it they would agree.  But just shipping to Sony for repair they will probably send it back saying nothing is broken. 
 
It's funny but ever since I bought my new Sony receiver I am now listening to music mostly streamed from my computer when at home.  I had started questioning the practicality of a relatively expensive rig for portable audio when riding the subway to work.  Maybe Sony is sending me a sign

..  I have been following the thread for the Fiio M3 and it sounds like a pretty good little DAP for the price.  I could pull out my trusty AKG-451's, stack the M3 with my E11K and go super portable.  Sell my A17, my E12A, maybe even my P5 S2's and use the money to buy a really nice pair of studio over-ear headphones from MASSDROP for my home system.
 
I know some would suggest I go for a new A25 but I can't afford another $300.00 DAP at Christmas time.  Especially with my A17 sitting on a shelf, I am just to anal about money for that scenario.  Having dealt with Sony customer service and repair in the past I am not holding my breath that they will be any help.

 

[alecjcook]

sony has neverupported gapless with mp3, howeveih AAC there's possibilty but i think AAC impements a tag metadata with the block and time for the gap removal

MP3s support metadata tags for gapless playback. I'm supprised the Sony device does not. Does anyone here know of any portable mp3 player that does support gapless?

 

[gerelmx1986]

 

sony has neverupported gapless with mp3, howeveih AAC there's possibilty but i think AAC impements a tag metadata with the block and time for the gap removal

MP3s support metadata tags for gapless playback. I'm supprised the Sony device does not. Does anyone here know of any portable mp3 player that does support gapless?

I used to listen to mp3 files but i got to hear the limits agains CD pure audio so i switched to FLAC since then, i tought sony wouldn't support gaples with FLAC but for my suprise they DO PLAY GAPLESS with FLAC
 
I wll test AAC tho i don't have the AAC converter at hand (nero AAC with dbpower amp software) to convert some flac to AAC and run the gapless test with lossy AACs

 

[ravdo]

 
Yes the sound did change when I did the firmware update to 1.20 and I did like the changes. But it changed again when I did the firmware update to 1.21.  A day or so after I did the 1.21 upgrade I turned on my A17 and the brightness was like a smack in the face.  Almost like all the warmth had been sucked out and replaced with an edgy sibilant sound.
 
My unit was purchased back in November 2014 from the first batch sold in Canada.  So I can't see the changes being the result of my A17 burning in.  It should be pretty well burnt by now

Perhaps it is because it is from such an early batch that it is more susceptible to these changes.  I have never been an early adopter with most things I buy, I did this time and maybe I am paying for it now.
 
Anyway I did the firmware rollback to 1.10 and it went without a hitch.  First time I turned the A17 on after the downgrade it sounded god awful, it sounded like an old FM radio for lack of a better description.  So I reset it and when I turned it on again the brightness was there but the sibilance (smearing "S" sounds) were gone and after hours of testing has not returned.  Unfortunately the sound is just to bright and unnatural compared to how it use to sound.  Equeing 6.3Khz down helped a bit with the brightness but all my tracks have an edgy digital sound that I really don't like.  The bass sounds really good with lots of detail and punch but the mids and treble sound edgy.  I tried listening to some tracks from Adele 25 which I love and her voice was almost piercing on some tracks.  Even with my warm sounding P5 headphones and messing with the eq can't tame the sound.
 
I tested it with and without my E12A attached and there was no change.  I know my headphones are fine because I use them with my home stereo without any problems.
 
I paid for a second year of warranty on my A17 so I could try contacting Sony tech support but the unit isn't technically defective.  Everything works fine it just does not sound good to me.  If Sony still had their Sony stores in Canada I would take it in and maybe if someone heard it they would agree.  But just shipping to Sony for repair they will probably send it back saying nothing is broken. 
 
It's funny but ever since I bought my new Sony receiver I am now listening to music mostly streamed from my computer when at home.  I had started questioning the practicality of a relatively expensive rig for portable audio when riding the subway to work.  Maybe Sony is sending me a sign

..  I have been following the thread for the Fiio M3 and it sounds like a pretty good little DAP for the price.  I could pull out my trusty AKG-451's, stack the M3 with my E11K and go super portable.  Sell my A17, my E12A, maybe even my P5 S2's and use the money to buy a really nice pair of studio over-ear headphones from MASSDROP for my home system.
 
I know some would suggest I go for a new A25 but I can't afford another $300.00 DAP at Christmas time.  Especially with my A17 sitting on a shelf, I am just to anal about money for that scenario.  Having dealt with Sony customer service and repair in the past I am not holding my breath that they will be any help.

 
Interesting....
On my A15, Firmware 1.21 sounds the same as 1.20

 

[alecjcook]

But FLAC doesn't need support for gapless playback. The phrase 'gapless playback' only exists becuase of the gaps introduced in files when compressed in a lossy format. If Sony claim that, because their device will play FLAC files one after another, their device therefor support gapless playback, they need to be ousted for lying!
You can view the gapless metadata for an MP3 with foobar2000, as you can for AAC. I don't think the A-15 reads or handles these tags (unless somehow my unit is defective)

 

[gerelmx1986]

But FLAC doesn't need support for gapless playback. The phrase 'gapless playback' only exists becuase of the gaps introduced in files when compressed in a lossy format. If Sony claim that, because their device will play FLAC files one after another, their device therefor support gapless playback, they need to be ousted for lying!
You can view the gapless metadata for an MP3 with foobar2000, as you can for AAC. I don't think the A-15 reads or handles these tags (unless somehow my unit is defective)

I tried mp3 files with y ZX100 walkman which has the same OS as the A17 (albeit stripped down version) and also does not play gapless classical music is fileld with pieces that often require gapless so i tested it with buxtehude La Capricciosa Harpsichord suite and gap after gap after gap whereas flac played a clean as possible silky fluidly smooth

 

[fish1050]

But FLAC doesn't need support for gapless playback. The phrase 'gapless playback' only exists becuase of the gaps introduced in files when compressed in a lossy format. If Sony claim that, because their device will play FLAC files one after another, their device therefor support gapless playback, they need to be ousted for lying!
You can view the gapless metadata for an MP3 with foobar2000, as you can for AAC. I don't think the A-15 reads or handles these tags (unless somehow my unit is defective)

Excellent point!!

 

[Mickice]

Still, the music is gapless tho xD Burn them at the steak for witchcraft.
MP3 is dead to me so, lol.