[shanecg32]

Anyone have a used nwz-a17 they are willing to part with? If so, let me know!

 

[cehowardNote3]

RockStar2005, I am still on board this train!! 

 
I don't know what kind of game Sony is playing with the MDR 1ABT, the MDR 1ABTs are out in the other countries..
 
I like to get my stuff local because that way I can try it, don't like it, or not satisfied, I can return, and most of the time ,it is instant and free return..
 
Don't want to go through any hassles with overseas vendors, and I don't think they would like returns having to travel 6000+ miles..
 
Also, I am locked on the A17,  but  I also was looking at the X5 and DX90. but going with the A17, and still might pick up a DX90 or the new X5II too.  At least I want the chance to have them at the same time, and do a a/b/c listen too.  I take reviews seriously, but my ears always have the last word.. 

 

[RockStar2005]

cehoward, 
 
Yeah Sony can be a little slow sometimes with getting their devices to the U.S. Don't know why. For me it's worth the wait though! They are the TRUE innovators of first class audio, video, smartphones (design and looks for all 3), etc. Sorry Samsung, sorry Apple. lol (Did you know Samsung and Apple use SONY camera sensors in their smartphone cameras? Fact. lol The demand is so high Sony may not be able to meet it.) 
 
Ok, first on the 1ABTs............ I just checked again and Amazon does have them in stock! The sellers are in Japan, but you're buying it THROUGH AMAZON, so a warranty IS available. 
 
The black one you could get by June 1st THE LATEST if you choose the seller "Newsbridge" (100% positive rating) and also expedited shipping for only $426 total (not bad at all). The silver one has expedited delivery available as well, and only costs a bit more ($437). Both look pretty sweet, but up to you. 
 
What they "like" is irrelevant. lol As long as they will accept it. They know that being an international seller means you will get international returns now and then. Don't worry about that. 
 
Since Amazon isn't the seller, returning the headphones (which I don't think you'll do lol) may be a challenge or maybe not. I always just choose the reason for return being "Description on website not accurate". Then just say something like that the battery didn't last as long as described on the website. Or that they weren't comfortable like the way the website described it. Then you should get free return shipping. It's easier when Amazon is the seller cuz they don't even read what you say lol, but the third party seller MIGHT (or might not). I REALLY don't think you're gonna return them anyway. I can't see any other wireless headphones beating the 1ABTs because they're at a big disadvantage not having LDAC, which brings me to your other topic............. lol
 
That's fine about the other players, but again, in order to take FULL advantage of LDAC, you will need both the headphones AND the player to be LDAC-compatible. Those other players aren't, but the A17 is (after update). Even if the other players maybe sound better, the odds are strong that the "difference" you hear will be lost anyway on those players not having the triple amount of bandwidth that LDAC offers. You saw what the guy in that 1ABT review said, with LDAC, the sound quality got better. 
 
If it were me, I'd get the 1ABTs now that you can on Amazon, expedited, and then by early June the latest you'll have the whole setup. Combine that with some Hi-Res content (if you need info on that and where is best to get it, let me know), and you'll be in for one great summer of music! lol
 
RockStar2005

 

[cehowardNote3]

  RockStar , I hear ya..

.
 
If  the 1ABT beat these Senn M2AEBT, yes, they will be keepers. On the low latency, I got a gizmo on my tv to allow me to listen to my tv through my bluetooth headphones.  Avantree Pro. This gizmo has LL too .

 

[RockStar2005]

Cool. 
 
Well let me know what you're gonna do and if you have any other questions. 
 
If you're talking wireless, they very likely will beat them b/c the Sennheisers won't have LDAC on their side. I went through 3 different headphones before ending up with my Sony 1As. The Sennheiser HD 598 headphones were my first. Sounded great......... but 1) was pretty tight and uncomfortable on my head  2) Needed an amp, where my 1As don't. Sony won again. lol
 
I got my parents a couple Sony (big surprise lol) infrared wireless headphones as well for their TV listening enjoyment. They're pretty nice. Great bass, comfort is pretty good too. Price is fair as well. 
 
What's LL? lol
 
RockStar2005

 

[cehowardNote3]

  Cool. 
 
Well let me know what you're gonna do and if you have any other questions. 
 
If you're talking wireless, they very likely will beat them b/c the Sennheisers won't have LDAC on their side. I went through 3 different headphones before ending up with my Sony 1As. The Sennheiser HD 598 headphones were my first. Sounded great......... but 1) was pretty tight and uncomfortable on my head  2) Needed an amp, where my 1As don't. Sony won again. lol
 
I got my parents a couple Sony (big surprise lol) infrared wireless headphones as well for their TV listening enjoyment. They're pretty nice. Great bass, comfort is pretty good too. Price is fair as well. 
 
What's LL? lol
 
RockStar2005

 "LL"=Low Latency
 
What is LDAC? lol.. I was thinking that aptx with low latency.
 
Not jumping subjects, but I was thinking the same thing for my TV..That little gizmo shoots aptx to my headphones, also aptx, but am I getting all my TV+Carrier can throw out in sound? My mind shifted over to DEDICATED headphones and transmitter. Like you just mentioned. That way, if my TV can do it, and the carrier is shooting 5.1, 7.1 + surround sound, then the dedicated headphones kind of headphones can do it. They won't work for anything else, but they will do the TV thing to the max.. Am I correct on that? If so, here comes another set of headphones..

 

[moodyda]

FWIW I think that the Sony mdr-1a and Fiio X3ii are a great match.  I am still in the process of finding something better than the Sony's, but I really like them.  I know that this is about the Sony A17 and all I can offer is that I ultimately went with the Fiio X3ii.  It even beat the highly lauded Ibasso DX90 on a direct A/B level matched comparison that I performed a week ago.  While there were some differences, it wasn't enough to spend the extra $200 for the DX.  Meanwhile the Sony A17 handily lost to the Ibasso DX90.  The Sony does not have enough power, though I did like some of the bells and whistles on it, plus its slim factor.  All in all you cannot go wrong with a Fiio X3ii.

 

[RockStar2005]

cehoward, 
 
Oh ok. 
 
Dude, you're killin' me here........... I've mentioned LDAC SEVERAL times throughout this post. lol Do yourself a favor and skim through it again to familiarize yourself with it. LDAC is the SINGLE BIGGEST REASON why I keep suggesting you get the 1ABTs to go along with your A17 Walkman. I can't for the life of me understand why you haven't bought them yet (though I AM happy you got the A17)?! You want the best in wireless, then pair your A17 Walkman with the 1ABTs playing Hi-Res content to hear some INCREDIBLE music (again, post here if you need more info on where to GET great Hi-Res content)!! I am almost certain you will not be able to beat the quality output of this combo. You just have to make sure your A17 Walkman is set to "LDAC (Sound Quality)" in Bluetooth mode (under Bluetooth Settings) to maximize LDAC's capability. I believe the 1ABTs will automatically switch to LDAC mode if the incoming signal is LDAC, but double-check the instructions first. 
 
I don't know much about aptx. Those wireless IR headphones are for my parents to watch TV with. I have no interest in that, but the ones I bought for them are very good, esp for that price. Use the link if interested. I have my own surround sound system at home for my living room. I use a Denon receiver, and the Energy Take Classic 5.1 speaker system. I absolutely LOVE my setup. Every blu-ray I have sounds incredible! Absolutely NO complaints!
 
RockStar2005

 

[RockStar2005]

hi moodyda, 
 
I purchased the iBasso DX50 and the FiiO X3 initially. I was told by numerous reviews that they were very much alike. I only opened the DX50............ it did not impress me. I thought it sounded NO BETTER than my Sony Xperia Z3 phone (my Z3 IS known for it's high level audio quality, for a phone anyway). So I returned both and tried the A17. The A17 however DID sound noticeably better than my Z3, which was no small feat. 
 
Now, you mentioned the X3ii.............. I am NOT familiar with this model. Sounds like it's an UPGRADED version fo the X3, so maybe it is as great as you say? But if you go through and read about LDAC in this thread, you'll see that when things go wireless, those devices that don't have LDAC will suffer. Even more expensive headphones can't compete. Sony created LDAC, and it sounds like a game changer with regards to wireless listening, which is what cehoward and I have been discussing for most of this thread. The 1ABTs have what it takes to beat out the competition. 
 
Regarding power, I listen to my Sony A17 Walkman on my 1A headphones, and I VERY RARELY have to go past 29 or 30 of 30. Usually I'm much lower than that, but for me, the volume never needs to be higher than what 29 or 30 give me. Regarding battery life, the Walkman itself can play like 30-50 hours on a single charge. 
 
RockStar2005

 

[moodyda]

  hi moodyda, 
 
I purchased the iBasso DX50 and the FiiO X3 initially. I was told by numerous reviews that they were very much alike. I only opened the DX50............ it did not impress me. I thought it sounded NO BETTER than my Sony Xperia Z3 phone (my Z3 IS known for it's high level audio quality, for a phone anyway). So I returned both and tried the A17. The A17 however DID sound noticeably better than my Z3, which was no small feet. 
 
Now, you mentioned the X3ii.............. I am NOT familiar with this model. Sounds like it's an UPGRADED version fo the X3, so maybe it is as great as you. But if you go through and read about LDAC in this thread, you'll see that when things go wireless, those devices that don't have LDAC will suffer. Even more expensive headphones can't compete. Sony created LDAC, and it sounds like a game changer with regards to wireless listening, which is what cehoward and I have been discussing for most of this thread. The 1ABTs have what it takes to beat out the competition. 
 
Regarding power, I listen to my Sony A17 Walkman on my 1A headphones, and I VERY RARELY have to go past 29 or 30 of 30. Usually I'm much lower than that, but for me, the volume never needs to be higher than what 29 or 30 give me. Regarding battery life, the Walkman itself can play like 30-50 hours. 
 
RockStar2005

My bad I only read bits and pieces of this thread and I am referring only to SQ via cables not bluetooth.  But I am seeing mdr-1a coming up and I am assuming that you are using wires unless you are referring to the Sony mdr 1a bluetooth version.  In this case the volume would depend solely on the capabilities of the headphones rather than the source.   

 

[RockStar2005]

moodyda, 
 
No problem. 
 
No I use the MDR-1A wired headphones, with my NWZ-A17 Walkman. I am suggesting that cehoward and really anyone who wants "PREMIUM wired-quality sound" from their wireless set up to get the A17 & and the 1ABTs (Bluetooth version of the 1As). But you have to follow my suggestions in this thread in order to get that (i.e. that both the player and headphones are LDAC-enabled). Again, THIS article shows that even more expensive headphones can't match what the MDR-1ABTs can do regarding wireless sound quality. Read it carefully, especially any section mentioning LDAC. And this is without using a player that has LDAC, so when both player and headphones have it, my theory (which cehoward has yet to prove lol) is that it will MATCH the wired-quality my non-wireless 1As achieve. 
 
 
RockStar2005

 

[RockStar2005]

I checked with Sony, and it looks like the built-in "DSEE HX" option into the 1ABTs cannot be disabled. (DSEE HX works in two ways to delivers natural, spacious sound. First, it restores the high frequency signals stripped by the audio compression process. Second, it can accurately expand audio signal bit-depth, in real-time, to near hi-resolution sound quality.)
 
I am not a big fan of DSEE HX on the A17 Walkman (though it is good on the Sony Xperia phones), so I am not sure how I feel about this. It may be fine for some people though. DSEE HX only kicks in if the tracks you're playing are mp3 or CD-Quality tracks, NOT Hi-Res, so that's a good thing. At least that's what I understood from it. 
 
Sony's response to me asking if the 1ABTs' DSEE HX option can be disabled or not: 
 

• Ceasar (C70M): ‎12‎:‎35‎:‎08‎ ‎PM
  I am sorry you cannot turn OFF the DSEE on the headphones.
  

 
 
If you're playing ONLY Hi-Res tracks, then this shouldn't be an issue. But if you're like me and downsample your tracks (or have mp3s), then it might be, or not? Each person's listening preferences are different. I guess you can just buy them and see what you think. 
 
I don't know why Sony doesn't let you disable DSEE HX on them. That was a bit disappointing to find out. I'm hoping down the line they give you an option to disable it, like they do on their players, i.e., my A17 Walkman. It has DSEE HX on there too, but you can switch it on or off. Makes a difference. 
 
 
RockStar2005

 

[RockStar2005]

Update: 
 
You don't need to use Sony Media Go to transfer the songs/albums to the Walkman anymore. I think initially I thought you did, but I think the reason why some album covers weren't displaying on the Walkman was b/c they didn't have the album cover info included perhaps? I guess you can use it for the INITIAL transfer of your music to the Walkman, but after that, just do the transfers manually. 
 
Recently I was having an issue where all of a sudden ONLY FLAC files (not ALAC or AAC) on new album purchases were displaying the album covers on the Walkman, not the other 2. Couldn't figure out why. Then I tried transferring them manually through Windows Explorer and they display just fine now!! 

 So happy I figured it out! Initially it was the opposite though. Weird. 
 
Keep Media Go ONLY for downloading and installing new updates for the Walkman (and initial install). You can check on there now and then, or just go here to see if any new updates exist. Currently, the version is 1.10. If you own the A17, bookmark that link. 
 
RockStar2005

 

[biketowork]

I purchased an NWZ-A17. I mostly like it with a few caveats. 1. It doesn't play the ogg vorbis format. Now I need to convert all the oggs in my music collection to mp3. 2. The max volume seems weaker that other mp3 players I have owned. 3. It is impossible to display the player and the card together in file explorer or the MediaGo program. Inexplicably, there's a setting where you have to tell the player first whether to connect to the system or sd card. It is impossible to view both simultaneously! I don't know what Sony was thinking, but it certainly makes no sense to me.
 
As for the sound of the player, through some average earphones, and playing a compressed audio file, the music sounds good. The lack of volume is noticeable, but I don't really need to harm my hearing either. I like the non-touch screen interface. Once I started to learn it, this system of buttons works better than a touch screen.
 
Does anyone know of a good program to convert oggs to mp3's? I've tried DBPowerAmp. What do people think of this program.

 

[Headmusic]

  I purchased an NWZ-A17. I mostly like it with a few caveats. 1. It doesn't play the ogg vorbis format. Now I need to convert all the oggs in my music collection to mp3. 2. The max volume seems weaker that other mp3 players I have owned. 3. It is impossible to display the player and the card together in file explorer or the MediaGo program. Inexplicably, there's a setting where you have to tell the player first whether to connect to the system or sd card. It is impossible to view both simultaneously! I don't know what Sony was thinking, but it certainly makes no sense to me.
 
As for the sound of the player, through some average earphones, and playing a compressed audio file, the music sounds good. The lack of volume is noticeable, but I don't really need to harm my hearing either. I like the non-touch screen interface. Once I started to learn it, this system of buttons works better than a touch screen.
 
Does anyone know of a good program to convert oggs to mp3's? I've tried DBPowerAmp. What do people think of this program.

I agree with you 100% with the built in amplification, it is a tad weak, I'm not sure how the other similar HD DAPs measure up, but I can vouch that the amp isn't much better than the PONO. I manily use my A15 on the train with Sennheiser MX460 buds and it works fine, I also have a Fiio E10 headphone amp and that powers the volume up fine. I bought the A15 as a cheap backup to my PONO, and to be quite honest the sound quality on the A15 is probaly about 5% lesser than the PONO, it is that insginificant and almost half the price! I don't bother with ogg, for me it's all FLAC or 320kb MP3..I just wish the A15/17 took DSD, ironic since it's Sony's own bloody HD format!!???!! My personal call is that with the Aussie $$$ getting weaker, go for the Sony A15, you get more bang for your buck with almost the same sound quality!