What makes you so sure that it cannot drive all of your IEMs to your fullest satisfaction, is the output signal power so weak compared to other daps?
Yes, it
is weak compared to many other DAPs.
I am in Europe, I need to deal with kinda castrated headphone out signals.
I'm in Europe, and the volume cap annoys me, too. Brussels should not be forcing volume caps on consumer devices. I understand their intentions to protect consumers' hearing, but a default (and
user-removable) software setting would suffice, rather than treating consumers like juveniles incapable of choosing their own listening levels. One can still buy a car in Europe that will go more than double the speed limit, and that's an infinitely more dangerous proposition than a loud DAP.
.... honestly my Ipod Classic and my Sony NWZ-845 can play the EX-1000 and both my Ultrasone Signatures quite well. If I want more I amplify them with my Meier Audio Stepdance anyways.
Yes, but both of those are single
dynamic drivers.
They are entirely different to the reactive low-impedance loads often presented by multi-BA CIEMs. Whilst I acknowledge that the mass-market ventures
relatively rarely into BA territory, BA IEMs are becoming increasingly common, as demonstrated by Sony themselves, and there is Etymotic, Klipsch, UE Triple-fi 10, Shure etc. And the NW-ZX1 is not mass-market. It's seeking to straddle the gap between mass-market and audiophile, and anyone willing to drop 700 bucks on a DAP,
and to feed it with Hi-Rez audio files, has a substantially above-average likelihood of exploring above-average IEM / CIEM offerings,
many of which are increasingly based upon balanced armature designs.
But ever considered the possibly Sony isn't targeting for customers like yourselves who are seeking for more power?? There are those options by other makers that you've already mentioned. If anything, the ZX1 (and all other Sony walkmans) were made to push for their own current earphones/headphones instead - and they not high impedance h/e-phones.
Why is it that on Head-fi, so many members (even experienced ones like yourself) fail, time & again, to understand that high current delivery is
not only required for high-impedance cans?
Multi-BA CIEMs quite often have low impedance, with notable dips, at certain frequencies, to
very low impedance. This places greater demand upon current delivery.
Not everyone wants to whack on a set of high impedance headphones or walk around town with a big set of drivers over their ears or to carry a whole stack of gizmos in search of the sound which is perfect to the individual.
See above.
I think your underestimate the consumers here in Japan.
Really? I wonder who here is really the one underestimating consumers in Japan. Fitear (as just one example) is extremely popular in Japan. Their products are high-end and whilst I don't claim to know the exact impedance curves of their CIEMs, they are multi-BA designs, so there is a fair chance that they may be wired such that they present a relatively low impedance load to an amp stage.
No one is saying that 15mw
cannot drive a CIEM to a reasonable volume. But
volume isn't the issue.
The issue is being able to deliver sufficient current to accomplish appropriate excursion
at all frequencies, even those that coincide with scarily low impedance.
I also must say, outside of the business aspect, that I think it's rather selfish with the idea of keeping the so-called audiophile level products solely for the audiophile market & ignoring the consumer market.
What?
Please tell me what is selfish about expecting decent power output?
Decent power output in
no way excludes mass-market consumers. It caters for
all consumers, regardless of what IEMs/CIEMs they prefer.
My old D-777 discmans have moderate but adequate current delivery, and no consumer ever complained about them having too much. They drive UM's Miracle rather well, which some DAPs fail miserably with.
