Sony NWZ-ZX1 - 35th Walkman Anniversary model
Oct 26, 2013 at 9:23 AM Post #856 of 7,711
kkcc, without seeming to be contentious but I thought you said you had a listen to a demo F886?, you do appear to be back-tracking on your earlier estimation especially with all the IEM's you tried.

No-one will know what the ZX1 will sound like until it's released so assumptions are pretty much that.


Yup I am merely trying to get more info/comfort on my blind preorder of zx1 via the f886 demo. I am fully aware they are different beasts and should should (hopefully vastly) different, but at the same time they do share a lot of similarities and technologies.

I was expecting more from even the F886 based on previous F and Z which are nice DAPs and I thought they finally got serious with all these HD and audiophile push.

Must admit I have high hopes, but the new F didn't impress me. Hope the ZX1 will.
 
Oct 26, 2013 at 12:28 PM Post #858 of 7,711
Yup I am merely trying to get more info/comfort on my blind preorder of zx1 via the f886 demo. I am fully aware they are different beasts and should should (hopefully vastly) different, but at the same time they do share a lot of similarities and technologies.

I was expecting more from even the F886 based on previous F and Z which are nice DAPs and I thought they finally got serious with all these HD and audiophile push.

Must admit I have high hopes, but the new F didn't impress me. Hope the ZX1 will.

Is the new F a downgrade from the old F Walkman?  I love my old F807.
 
Oct 26, 2013 at 12:40 PM Post #859 of 7,711
Has anyone heard the new s series dap from sony? There goes my purchase of the F886 any other opinions on it ..................................... i might get the Z1070 instead if it sounds better ...i so want something that will beats my x series in sound
 
Oct 26, 2013 at 1:42 PM Post #860 of 7,711
I too am interested to hear how the F886 compares to the Z1060/70. Wondering which to buy for my UM Customs and Amperiors. Anyone?
 
Oct 26, 2013 at 8:39 PM Post #861 of 7,711
I too am interested to hear how the F886 compares to the Z1060/70. Wondering which to buy for my UM Customs and Amperiors. Anyone?

 You my friend, are about to endure on an endless journey into the path of 'which DAP would sound better with my....'. Every one who has these 'higher-end iems' are always searching for another dap.
 
IMO, companies who sell such iems should be releasing their own version of a 'DAP' that provide an end to our madness. That will never happen so I wish you luck!
 
Oct 26, 2013 at 11:55 PM Post #864 of 7,711
The F886 seems to pair best with low impedance multi-BA IEMs as the best sounding ones (compared to how these IEMs sound on other DAPs) are the jh13, tg334, and xba 4. It sounded worst with the ASG2, and not too good with 1plus2, er4s, re600, re400. They generally sounded veiled and flat, with mid centric sound and bass/treble rolled off. Not sure if this would hold true with the zx1.

With the jh13, both me and my friend thinks the f886 is on par with the dx50/ak100. Given the expected improvement zx1 has over the F880 series, it would seems earlier reports that zx1 would be somewhere between ak100 and ak120 should be our expectation. Though one may want to wait for more impression if planning to pair with higher impedance IEMs.

Wait, so that implies the DX50 and AK100 are also veiled, mid-centric, bass/treble rolled-off, and somehow "flat" all at the same time?
 
Oct 27, 2013 at 12:00 AM Post #865 of 7,711
  Wait, so that implies the DX50 and AK100 are also veiled, mid-centric, bass/treble rolled-off, and somehow "flat" all at the same time?

 
nah, He said that with the JH13, the F886 sound on par with the DX50, AK100. Before that he mentioned with higher impedance earphones the F886 are veiled and flat. So we can assume the DX50 has a better amp section.
 
Oct 27, 2013 at 5:47 AM Post #867 of 7,711
i think secretly we all wish the zx1 would sound as good as it looks.
and as good as it looks, we really wish it sounds as good as the ak120 or dare we dream .. dx100.
 
and with dx50 now around, the pressure to sound 3 times as good is even higher.
heck, even the dx100 looks overpriced next to dx50, price wise in comparison.
 
the dilemma.
 
am sure the zx1 will sound good, though am keeping my expectations real.
 
as good as sony walkman sounds, it's not gonna beat dx50 in price performance indicators. maybe not even in sound.
 
but it's a sony. it'll still sound great.
 
Oct 27, 2013 at 9:39 AM Post #868 of 7,711
   You my friend, are about to endure on an endless journey into the path of 'which DAP would sound better with my....'. Every one who has these 'higher-end iems' are always searching for another dap.
 
IMO, companies who sell such iems should be releasing their own version of a 'DAP' that provide an end to our madness. That will never happen so I wish you luck!

 
If you want to spend north of $2,000, you can always get the UM Pure Platform...Not a DAP, but close as a DAC/amp, if you want to only ever be able to use the one with your iems...
 
  i think secretly we all wish the zx1 would sound as good as it looks.
and as good as it looks, we really wish it sounds as good as the ak120 or dare we dream .. dx100.
 
and with dx50 now around, the pressure to sound 3 times as good is even higher.
heck, even the dx100 looks overpriced next to dx50, price wise in comparison.
 
the dilemma.
 
am sure the zx1 will sound good, though am keeping my expectations real.
 
as good as sony walkman sounds, it's not gonna beat dx50 in price performance indicators. maybe not even in sound.
 
but it's a sony. it'll still sound great.

 
God I hope it's close, I want something that sounds really good and plays my Google Music All Access. My phone does NOT, it really sounds terrible. And I don't like using anything external connected by wires. 
 
Oct 27, 2013 at 5:53 PM Post #869 of 7,711
  So from scouting around some Taiwanese forums, I saw two posts with slightly different takes on the ZX1. Considering the fact that my reading of Chinese characters is mediocre at best, and the obvious subjectivity involved in sound comparisons; the hackneyed saying 'take these with a grain of salt' goes without saying!
 
Dude #1: (seemingly not that impressed, and appears to prefer a warm sound signature)
 
** Finds the transfer rate of the F880 and the ZX1 to be very fast. Apparently he asked to transfer his own music, and ~150MB was transferred in less than 10         
    seconds.
** In his listening impressions using EX1000, CK100 PRO and AD1000, his ranking for sound quality is: "
ZX1 > Z1070 >>> F880".
** OK so his 'Chinese' is too technical for me here. What I gather is that, with the EX1000 and F880, he finds the treble to be brighter, with higher resolution, but  
feels that the sound is dry and has no taste/flavour.
** He also finds the bass to not be normal, with an emphasis on high-bass. (still EX1000 + F880)
** In switching from the F880, which he finds too mechanical with the EX1000, to the Z1070, he finds EX1000's charm to be back in the Z1070s with a warm yet  
delicate sound.
** He finds the interface of the ZX1 and F880 to be almost identical
** Only the ZX1 has DSEE HX options.
*** I don't suspect the sound in the demos to be drastically different to that in the end product, but I think it's worthwhile to note that, this guy claims that it was  
emphasized at the Sony Store, that the the demo versions of the 
ZX1  aren't the final product and that they're still uncertain on the final sound. ( I was fishing   for info on this aspect in an earlier post.)
**   I skipped over quite a bit of stuff, and with Uncle Google's help. His first impression is that the ZX1, and the Z1070 have a different sound signature than what he was expecting. With the EX1000, and relative to the Z1070, the soundfield is more  open on the ZX1. Vocals are just a tad less forward, it's brighter, and there is a higher resolution treble which takes on a dry characteristic, but it isn't as harsh as in the F880.
** He apparently finds the bass on the ZX1 to be slightly better than that of the Z1070. ZX1 has better separation and there is a better sense of speed. Consequently, there is better separation and as such clearer bass.
 
** Due to the frequency with which the Demo versions have been used, some of the physical buttons now have poor feedback, and perhaps indicate that Sony needs to have more reliable ones in the final product.
............................
 
Dude #2 (Seemingly more effusive, but with few qualifications, and perhaps not as critical) His impressions of the ZX1 were conducted using IE800, and FAD Heaven V.
 
** His sense is that of all the generations of walkmans produced, the ZX1 is the best in terms of sound quality.
** It is the most clear, and refined/delicate...Didn't matter what genre of music he played, the ZX1 presented them extremely well.
** He CLAIMS, that from a Sony Walkman fan's perspective, as well as someone looking for a High-Resolution DAP, there is no doubt that the ZX1 will offer a pleasing (satisfactory) sound quality.
** BUT...in comparison to the AK100 MKll which he carried to the audition, the soundstage, and refinement on that DAP is slightly ahead of the ZX1, particularly with regards to treble transparency and extension.
** Moreover, if scalability, and portability are to be considered, his sense is that currently, the AK100MK ll is clearly the better option.
** It makes sense to switch/upgrade from an AK100 to the Sony ZX1, but if you already own an AK100 MKll or AK120, then that isn't necessary.
** He feels that the ZX1 has achieved a sound quality that is on the level (same playing field) as that of the AK100MKll and AK120.
..........................
I am trying to provide the links which will have way more information than I provided above, but I suspect you'd need to login anyways...(AndAudio)...

Hi Honey Boy, Thanks for digging that up to keep us all hanging on other peoples impressions from listening to the ZX1,  pretty sure i had your old wooden fx500 from you about three years or so ago.  
 
Are you getting the ZX1 on release then Honey Boy?  
 
Oct 27, 2013 at 6:04 PM Post #870 of 7,711
I am finding it hard even with taking a hand full of salt around here at the moment from what few impressions there are from demo sessions on a in essence possibly a beta machine find it hard to believe that Sony will disappoint on the SQ for it's price bracket when it comes out as it cannot really afford to flop on it's first so called High end (high res) dap knowing what the competition has already been outputting in terms of SQ for the asking prices.  Although saying that it would not be the first time Sony have under achieved with a flash based Walkman, they are like a family with genetic defects where it skips a generation. Just hope the ZX1 has good genes carried from the Z family.  
 
It may be the first time I will be ready to let my X series fly the coup also, she has been good to me...
 
I feel the early Japan release may be to test the water for sales to maybe see if it is viable to market to other territories in 2nd Q of 2014.   
 
Just hoping they will pair well with the JH16pros in terms of signature pairing as I know it will drive them more than plenty by the specs.  
 

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