[Rob49]

One week with this amazing walkman. The sound quality is outstanding (+- 25 hours of use) with Shure SE535 and Baldur MKII cable.

192khz tracks from Eagles, Donna Summer or Madonna are great... but using ZX1 with 192khz songs from Roxy Music, Rod Steward, Norah Jones, The Clash or Marvin Gaye is another, unbelievable level.

ZX1 is an incredible, incredible player.

Please don't say that !! lol because I will have to buy one !! ( Even though, I have a F886. )

 

[Vect]

The way I see it... and the reason because I bought the PHA-2 is this: the F88x and the ZX1 are tremendous players by themselves, however, using an amp, the player is quite a bit irrelevant... as long as you can plug it on the amp.
 
Think about this scenario: Xperia Ultra , amazing 1080p screen but sound really lacks (there is hiss noise comming from the XBA-3, subtle, but noticeable whereas in the F886 there is none), then there is the F886... but sadly no real state screen (even though it looks nice). Then comes the PHA-2, that has all the goodies in SQ, but... it's just an amp. Now mix it with the Xperia Ultra, you just solved the lack on sound department (plus you can connect it to the PC... plus to the same walkman.... plus many more Android players), Also the Xperia Ultra has sdcard up to 64 GB, which is quite nice (and also has the walkman app and the same sound enhancements as its non-cellular brethen)
 
Another plus that I found is that... well, for those that play games, you can emulate PSP and NDS games on it... my goodness, that thing has almost the same power as my laptop, which can do the same.

 

[Audiowood]

 
my ZX1 returns this week... hoping to listen to a Hugo on Friday... there's a reason I never asked the Mrs.

 

 
Lol .. I tried that in the past, but I always ended up confessing to Mrs.. like a small boy who is guilty of spending all his lunch money on the latest toy.

 

[sup3r8]

Looking to get the Focal CMS 65 monitors..and was hoping to connect the ZX1 and hear it thru them.
So far Ive come across this  - System-S USB to 2x RCA Audio Cable for Sony Walkman NWZ.
 

Im looking to connect them to the RCA inputs on the rear of the monitors. Would this work ? Anything else I need to consider or add to the setup? 

 

[crushnburn46]

Is there anybody knows how the zx1 pair with portaphile 627?

 

[sicko]

  The way I see it... and the reason because I bought the PHA-2 is this: the F88x and the ZX1 are tremendous players by themselves, however, using an amp, the player is quite a bit irrelevant... as long as you can plug it on the amp.
 
Think about this scenario: Xperia Ultra , amazing 1080p screen but sound really lacks (there is hiss noise comming from the XBA-3, subtle, but noticeable whereas in the F886 there is none), then there is the F886... but sadly no real state screen (even though it looks nice). Then comes the PHA-2, that has all the goodies in SQ, but... it's just an amp. Now mix it with the Xperia Ultra, you just solved the lack on sound department (plus you can connect it to the PC... plus to the same walkman.... plus many more Android players), Also the Xperia Ultra has sdcard up to 64 GB, which is quite nice (and also has the walkman app and the same sound enhancements as its non-cellular brethen)
 
Another plus that I found is that... well, for those that play games, you can emulate PSP and NDS games on it... my goodness, that thing has almost the same power as my laptop, which can do the same.

These players are only serve their purpose as a standalone device paired with low impedance IEMs or CIEMs. If you're gonna go the DAC/amp route, then I suggest sticking with your high-end phone/tab.

 

[Vect]

  These players are only serve their purpose as a standalone device paired with low impedance IEMs or CIEMs. If you're gonna go the DAC/amp route, then I suggest sticking with your high-end phone/tab.

Honestly speaking, the F886 and the ZX1 are far more portable that the Xperia Ultra and PHA-2 Combo... so I will use the former for mobile operations whereas the other is mostly used in non-mobile ops

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

   
Lol .. I tried that in the past, but I always ended up confessing to Mrs.. like a small boy who is guilty of spending all his lunch money on the latest toy.

That really is fantastic to read - no irony or **ss taking intended from me. Some of us (many of us) are in the same 'club'. Is it the addiction that makes us behave like this? That was a lovely way of expressing it and I think we need a 'confessional' thread. We could start each exchange with . . . . My name's ******** (first names only) and I'm a Head-Fi Forum Member. . . . . . . .

 

[Vect]

 
That really is fantastic to read - no irony or **ss taking intended from me. Some of us (many of us) are in the same 'club'. Is it the addiction that makes us behave like this? That was a lovely way of expressing it and I think we need a 'confessional' thread. We could start each exchange with . . . . My name's ******** (first names only) and I'm a Head-Fi Forum Member. . . . . . . .

... I.... I had a friend that show me.... oh god, I remember it perfectly... it was shiny and silvery.... yes, yes it was... it said sony.... I took it.... then, then.... I can't precisely describe it... it's difficult for me... it sounded... it sounded... oh I'm having trouble saying this... but... it sounded.... beautiful.

 

[sesu]

Hello everyone.
 
i registered because of you all , in none of the german forums i could find people talking about the ZX1 but i am soooo interested in it. 
I just "started" with buying myself Denon stuff (720 CD and PMA). 
 
Right now i am listening "on the go" to music on my iPhone 5 with Westone 2 or with the Sony MDR-10R/B..but i want more so I'm thinking about buying the ZX1, even tough it is pretty expensive for a student like me, but you can preorder it now on the sony page and i am getting weaker everyday
 
But i have some questions, if they have been asked, i am sorry i read the first 130 pages and the last 5..
 
Did someone use the Westone 2 or the Sony MDR-10R/B on the ZX1? 
In which case should I buy the Sony PHA-2?
 
Aaaaaand, well that should be it..i have my beyerdynamic dt 770 and an AKG 701 for listening on my Denon player but i think the ZX1 will  be to weak for those headphones without an PHA-2?
 
​Thank you all so much, it was fun to read all those pages about that walkman ^_^! 

 

[Lidster]

I've just been checking out the Xperia z2 and am seriously considering it for my new phone. So, the question I have is this........the z2 looks like it plays high res audio but I have found no details about any of the dac/amp components. I am wondering if the quality will be approaching then zx1 and f886/7? Does anyone have an insight on this? Was the Xperia z1 phone any good for audio?

I really fancy the zx1 but don't want to spend all that money if I can get the Xperia z2 to get close to its quality (plus I can add 64GB micro SD to give a total of 80GB - not as good as 128GB clearly but it's a step above the 32gb of the f886/7).

 

[mikaelberg]

The Xperia Z2, like all Xperias so far, won't have the significant S-Master amp section, so it won't approach the quality of the ZX1 or F886. S-Master was initially rumoured to be included in the Xperia Z1, though I read that Sony had troubles with keeping heat levels if they were to include that. But maybe in the future, there will be a phone with the S-Master HX.

 

[sicko]

I've just been checking out the Xperia z2 and am seriously considering it for my new phone. So, the question I have is this........the z2 looks like it plays high res audio but I have found no details about any of the dac/amp components. I am wondering if the quality will be approaching then zx1 and f886/7? Does anyone have an insight on this? Was the Xperia z1 phone any good for audio?

I really fancy the zx1 but don't want to spend all that money if I can get the Xperia z2 to get close to its quality (plus I can add 64GB micro SD to give a total of 80GB - not as good as 128GB clearly but it's a step above the 32gb of the f886/7).

Like mikael said, the Z2 won't have the power of the Walkman. Sony need to keep both their divisions running if the want to continue scooping money. To rival the ZX1 in driving ability, it goes without saying; you need to have the curves of the ZX1.

 

[Artstar]

So far Ive come across this  - System-S USB to 2x RCA Audio Cable for Sony Walkman NWZ.
Im looking to connect them to the RCA inputs on the rear of the monitors. Would this work ? Anything else I need to consider or add to the setup? 

I'd consider the genuine Sony WMC-NWV10 cable which sports a USB plug as well, allowing you to obtain a line level output and charge your battery at the same time. That means even more playback time.




"If it sounds good to you, that's all that matters. " - Artstar

 

[nanaholic]

I would also like to add that the UI of this unit is A LOT better than other audiophile DAPs that I've played with, but also not quite as good as iOS. I don't agree with the view that a DAP should only really need to play an album from start to finish - any music listener would know that's not really how people rock ever since we had the ability to mix our own cassette tapes, and even more obvious now that statistics are showing that people are buying single tracks instead of entire albums. So the ability to instantly search and create playlists on the fly, swap between songs/albums/artists - all in an effortless and intuitive way without refering to manuals and digging through hidden menu selections - is key to an enjoyable listening experience - go read the creating teams interview on Sony Japan's website if you can read Japanese, they actually emphasis that the UI is part of the entire package of their new music strategy - it's no longer just about providing quality hardware but also providing the hi-res contents (they are adding a lot of hi-res music on their mora music platform) as well as a stress-free UI/UX for their software as the entire package for enjoying music (looks like Sony FINALLY learnt the lesson on why and how Apple killed them on the portable music market). I would say Sony got an A- here in their UI for this Walkman and it's quite refreshing to see a high-end DAP having such a fluid and intuitive UI that doesn't make you want to pull your hairs out unlike others such as iRivers AK series.

Now if they only make it possible to edit playlists transferred from the PC and have better two-way syncing with their Media Go software platform, then this would be a very well rounded music platform which I could stand behind in full support.