[Mimouille]

Guys let's be serious, of course there is no FM radio...this is a high end DAP, not a gadget from the 90s...why not ask for a barometer while you're at it.

 

[davidcotton]

   
 
Truth be told, I'm still off sick (been 18 months now), so I'm skint, but when I get back to work and get my finances back on track, I'm most interested in JH Audio Roxanne + a nice DAP.
 
What that DAP will turn out to be, I don't yet know. I really like this Sony, in many respects, but I am very wary about the meagre 15mw+15mw (@16Ω) power output, and none too happy about the deliberate lack of memory expansion (although 128gb is tolerable).
 
The Calyx DAP looks tasty but may fall short in some areas, which is unacceptable at $999, but we'll just have to wait and see what actually happens with that DAP. It's just vapourware at this stage, anyway.
 
The DX100 remains a favourite of mine, sound-wise, but it's a pig for battery life and lack of operation buttons.
 
The HM-901 apparently sounds excellent, but it, too, is a pig for battery life, and I'm not confident about it's product-engineering quality.
 
The AK100 does not appeal to me at all, and the AK120 disgusts me, from a pricing standpoint. I really resent the way iRiver have treated customers with such obvious contempt, in their marketing and pricing of this product line.
 
At this point in time, The X5 is looking like it may be the best compromise for me, but even that DAP is not yet proven, so it will be interesting to see what reviews it gets when it's released, early next year.

For me the sony's (either the 886 or the zx1) seem to hit the price point AND user interface (though that is an assumption, it can't be worse than some of the chinese release going by the threads).
 
Still the important thing is is to get well soon.

 

[AmberOzL]

   
 
Truth be told, I'm still off sick (been 18 months now), so I'm skint, but when I get back to work and get my finances back on track, I'm most interested in JH Audio Roxanne + a nice DAP.
 
What that DAP will turn out to be, I don't yet know. I really like this Sony, in many respects, but I am very wary about the meagre 15mw+15mw (@16Ω) power output, and none too happy about the deliberate lack of memory expansion (although 128gb is tolerable).
 
The Calyx DAP looks tasty but may fall short in some areas, which is unacceptable at $999, but we'll just have to wait and see what actually happens with that DAP. It's just vapourware at this stage, anyway.
 
The DX100 remains a favourite of mine, sound-wise, but it's a pig for battery life and lack of operation buttons.
 
The HM-901 apparently sounds excellent, but it, too, is a pig for battery life, and I'm not confident about it's product-engineering quality.
 
The AK100 does not appeal to me at all, and the AK120 disgusts me, from a pricing standpoint. I really resent the way iRiver have treated customers with such obvious contempt, in their marketing and pricing of this product line.
 
At this point in time, The X5 is looking like it may be the best compromise for me, but even that DAP is not yet proven, so it will be interesting to see what reviews it gets when it's released, early next year.

Well, didn't know you have been sick. First of all, I wish you health, that's the most important thing in the life.
 
We have the same feelings for AK1X0 products, couldn't be more correct.
 
As for HM901/DX100/R10 more of less the same things too. Even though R10 seems like the best of the worlds, that Only Japan thing is making me nervous, in case of any problem, I don't want to enter into a world of pain and send it back all the way to Japan.
 
Calyx, I am also interested even though, I don't fancy huge big screen in daps, I believe that will consume too much battery (a current problem of smartphones). However, I don't deny that it might give a nicer user experience. Also as Mim said, I am afraid of its power. A very slim product might suffer of from lack of power. We shall I guess, many things are not clear about that dap.
 
So we come to the main players, ZX1 (apparently it will be world wide available product, even though it will be released a bit late in Eu) and X5. I honestly can't find negative thing about ZX1 except it's power (well more storage would be welcome but sd card slot and Sony has never been together). I have a feeling like Sony wanted to keep the power section relatively weak which is OK for many casual listeners and for us, they want to sell PHA 2 to pair with it. That is a little bit annoying but again, we are not very sure about how weak or how strong the amp section. X5 on the other hand, covers pretty much everything. We saw the GUI video, everything moves and works pretty fast without a delay. I like it, I really do. I just hope that new coming 128 gb micro sd cards will be also compatible with the X5 and we can have that dream, 256 gb storage. Sound quality wise, I think they both target the high end level, so after that point, it comes to personal preferences.
 
There is not much left for getting answers to our questions, however something is a bit strange. You mentioned Roxanne? Seriously? I have a feeling like there is a huge hype about it and I honestly don't believe it will offer a higher resolution than, let's say SE5way or Hidition NT6/pros. Anyway Roxanne is not the subject of this thread so let's leave it here.

 

[Mython]

   
There is not much left for getting answers to our questions, however something is a bit strange. You mentioned Roxanne? Seriously? I have a feeling like there is a huge hype about it and I honestly don't believe it will offer a higher resolution than, let's say SE5way or Hidition NT6/pros. Anyway Roxanne is not the subject of this thread so let's leave it here.

 
 
OK, I'm acutely mindful that this is the NW-ZX1 thread, so I don't wish to risk diverting the thread off-topic, but just so I don't leave your question totally unanswered, I will briefly  respond:
 
 
* Many people rave about SE-5 but it was an unsatisfactory experience for me, and I've described the reasons why, in detail, in the dedicated SE-5 thread.
 
* NT6 Pro does remain on my shortlist (I had UM Miracle previously, which I very much liked, once it was driven by the DX100)
 
* I am not assuming that the Roxanne will sound good, hype or no hype. I'm just saying I'm interested in it. Even before it existed, I was told by many people that the FreqPhase version of the JH13 was worthwhile for me to explore as a potential replacement for the Miracle, so JH was already on my 'maybe' shortlist, anyway.
 
 
 
 
Coming back to the DAPs, I will continue to monitor this NW-ZX1 thread, in spite of my misgivings about power output, because I think it's a really, really nice DAP. If, by some miracle, the power output (and output impedance) do prove to be decent, in real-world use with low-impedance CIEMs, then I'll give it very serious consideration when my bank account is healthy enough to buy a new DAP

 

 

[prathan]

As I read the ZX1 Project member's voice,
Output is designed by various headphones not to match open full size.
So the output is low.

 

[Mython]

  As I read the ZX1 Project member's voice,
Output is designed by various headphones not to match open full size.
So the output is low.

 
 
Yes, I read that in the 5-page publicity article, too, but I choose to remain at least somewhat open-minded that the ZX1 'might ' perform OK, given that I am unfamiliar with how well (or poorly) Class D amplification stages interact with very reactive impedance loads, so they're an unknown quantity to me, in terms of how they interact with CIEMs.
 
Remember that some CIEMs have impedance curves which dip well below 16 ohms at certain frequencies, so it's not just fullsize headphones that require decent current delivery.
 
I'll watch and wait to see reviews of the ZX1 before I jump to any firm conclusions about the current delivery capability. And, of course, as I mentioned earlier, we don't yet know the output impedance of the amp stage, and that has a substantial influence upon how the ZX1 may interact with low-impedance CIEMs.
 
We won't have long to wait, before we find out...

 

[Cecala]

 
Well, didn't know you have been sick. First of all, I wish you health, that's the most important thing in the life.
 
We have the same feelings for AK1X0 products, couldn't be more correct.
 
As for HM901/DX100/R10 more of less the same things too. Even though R10 seems like the best of the worlds, that Only Japan thing is making me nervous, in case of any problem, I don't want to enter into a world of pain and send it back all the way to Japan.
 
Calyx, I am also interested even though, I don't fancy huge big screen in daps, I believe that will consume too much battery (a current problem of smartphones). However, I don't deny that it might give a nicer user experience. Also as Mim said, I am afraid of its power. A very slim product might suffer of from lack of power. We shall I guess, many things are not clear about that dap.
 
So we come to the main players, ZX1 (apparently it will be world wide available product, even though it will be released a bit late in Eu) and X5. I honestly can't find negative thing about ZX1 except it's power (well more storage would be welcome but sd card slot and Sony has never been together). I have a feeling like Sony wanted to keep the power section relatively weak which is OK for many casual listeners and for us, they want to sell PHA 2 to pair with it. That is a little bit annoying but again, we are not very sure about how weak or how strong the amp section. X5 on the other hand, covers pretty much everything. We saw the GUI video, everything moves and works pretty fast without a delay. I like it, I really do. I just hope that new coming 128 gb micro sd cards will be also compatible with the X5 and we can have that dream, 256 gb storage. Sound quality wise, I think they both target the high end level, so after that point, it comes to personal preferences.
 
There is not much left for getting answers to our questions, however something is a bit strange. You mentioned Roxanne? Seriously? I have a feeling like there is a huge hype about it and I honestly don't believe it will offer a higher resolution than, let's say SE5way or Hidition NT6/pros. Anyway Roxanne is not the subject of this thread so let's leave it here.

To my understanding these are quite some time off.

 

[AmberOzL]

  To my understanding these are quite some time off.

Estimated launch date? For example, less than 1 year or worse?

 

[Cecala]

 
Estimated launch date? For example, less than 1 year or worse?

There is nothing planned at all for the immediate future. The 128Gb SD cards have only recently been released. The Micro SD take far longer to catch up to their bigger brother.
Trying to squeeze all those chips inside a very small packet is difficult.

 

[Mython]

 
There is nothing planned at all for the immediate future. The 128Gb SD cards have only recently been released. The Micro SD take far longer to catch up to their bigger brother.
Trying to squeeze all those chips inside a very small packet is difficult.

 
 
Nah, they will have accomplished 128gb on MicroSD in a Sandisk lab long ago. They just haven't released it to market yet.
 
The issue is not so much one of 'squeezing it on to a small card' - the etched silicon is already inherently small. It's more an issue of
 
1) achieving reliable yield during mass-manufacturing
 
2) market forces / profiteering. They want to squeeze as much profit as possible from each capacity size before they release the next one. It keeps the market price and demand artificially high.
 
 
In the memory and CPU industry, the labs always have the product completed substantially before it ever gets to market. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the labs are already working on squeezing a couple of terrabytes onto a MicroSD card.

 

[YoengJyh]

 

[goodvibes]

We'll probably see a 128gb card within 6 mo. at $200+, with it dropping under $100 within a year.

 

[goody]

   
 
Nah, they will have accomplished 128gb on MicroSD in a Sandisk lab long ago. They just haven't released it to market yet.
 
The issue is not so much one of 'squeezing it on to a small card' - the etched silicon is already inherently small. It's more an issue of
 
1) achieving reliable yield during mass-manufacturing
 
2) market forces / profiteering. They want to squeeze as much profit as possible from each capacity size before they release the next one. It keeps the market price and demand artificially high.
 
 
In the memory and CPU industry, the labs always have the product completed substantially before it ever gets to market. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the labs are already working on squeezing a couple of terrabytes onto a MicroSD card.

Interesting !! somehow i am not surprised research and making as much money as possible go hand in hand 

 

[Mython]

  Interesting !! somehow i am not surprised research and making as much money as possible go hand in hand 

 
Yep, that's capitalism for ya!

 

[FooMojo]

Wow...  what a great thread read this was.
 
Went from the woes of Digitalfreak's experiences with the DX-50 to the hints and tidbit demos of the ZX-1.  While I feel for Digitalfreak and the horrid UI experiences he was having, the ZX-1 news makes me optimistic for digital players and HD audio in general in the coming months.
 
Welcome back Sony... big time !