[RockStar2005]

Ted, 
 
No problem!
 
Umm........ usually the tracks already come with the album art. If not, one program I use on my desktop PC for that and for editing album metadata is mp3tag. I HIGHLY recommend it. Whenever I get a new Hi-Res album, since I'm downsampling them all and no longer would have the "HR" symbol showing up either if I ever did go back to Walkman, an easy way for me to always quickly know if they're Hi-Res or not on ANY player (even ones that DON'T show the file format on the play screen like Poweramp does) is that in the album field, I simply type in "(Hi-Res)" after the album title. You can do this in Media Go too really, even add album art. If you notice the album art isn't showing up on your A17, lemme know. Not sure if what I said is really of much help but again, when I buy them, they 99.9% of the time already have the album art included. 
 
Well when you say "SQ Settings", do you mean on the A17? Or elsewhere? If A17, then see recent posts for my suggested sound settings please. I use the same one for all formats. On my Poweramp app on my phone, I have different ones depending on the situation. Like one for Hi-Res listening on my headphones with my Companion One amp/DAC in the mix called Hi-Res, one called Car Hi-Res for same setup but in car........... another for when it's just my phone in the car (Rock 2), and then a couple Hi-Res albums I bought (U2's Achtung Baby and R.E.M.'s "Monster") were really bassy, which was kinda muddying up the guitar etc (but still sounded fantastic), so I have a modified one of my Hi-Res preset with the bass EQ bands lowered down. The first 2 are really my main ones, with Rock 2 being used when I don't feel like bringing my CO in the mix in the car. 
 
I find that on my Poweramp app that EQ presets are very helpful, but sometimes to get that really SWEET sound you have to do your own further adjusting. Fortunately I've done some research on that which has helped to further improve the sound. And fortunately for you Ted, the A17 sound setup is VERY easy. lol 

 

[rgr555]

i love how minimalist the A17 is...and its so functional for its size
 
but now I'm getting a bit obsessive that all my files aren't "HI-RES". A lot of the stuff I can't even find in Hi-Res such as the Radiohead discography or Coldplay........any ideas where to find these?
 
even though my ears cant tell the differences between FLAC and HI-RES I just want to have the best...!

 

[RockStar2005]

Ted, 
 
Umm.......did you buy them in Hi-Res? If yes, they should be there somewhere. You just have to look for them by searching under Artists or Albums. 
 
Well lol................that's the thing isn't it? I can't hear the difference either, and I've tried! And I've read about blind ABX tests further proving this....... the only reason Hi-Res releases sound better is as I'd mentioned b/c the studio engineers or producers take greater care and put more attention onto those releases than the mp3 and CD ones. You think I'd be downsampling my Hi-Res albums to CD-Quality FLAC if I wasn't ABSOLUTELY convinced of this??! LOL No WAY. Downsampling makes the files smaller for easier storage AND the smaller files use up less power to play than the Hi-Res originals do. 
 
So point is, you have the best if they are Hi-Res..........whether in 24/96 or 16/44.1. lol It's the truth, believe it. 

 

[BlackDog]

Hello Rockstar (and every Walkman fan out there).
I've recently switched from an Xperia Z3 to an HTC M9. Why I did it? I could give you some reasons but in the end it was complete stupidity for not checking Head Fi first. Now let me tell you, I loved the way my Z3 handled my tunes. I know you dont like DSEE, but I felt in love with it. My Mp3 music (I have music that I don't expect to find it in lossless) was so lively, punchy, meaty...etc. Such effect paired with the surround effect make it play like a dream. Of course, since all of this is software by Sony my HTC was a big let down in terms of sound (and baterry too. Everything else outperformed the Z3).
 
At this point, there is no turning back, and I must live with the HTC for about 1.5 years more. Fortunately, I just found about this piece of hardware that is everything the Z3 was in terms of audio (even more from your comments). So I wanted to ask you, would you buy this in my position? From what I read you have both the Walkman and the Z3, so I can presume its worth it. What would you do in my position? 
 
Thanks for all your hard work.
(Nice to see a fellow Led Zep fan!)

 

[rgr555]

  Ted, 
 
Umm.......did you buy them in Hi-Res? If yes, they should be there somewhere. You just have to look for them by searching under Artists or Albums. 
 
Well lol................that's the thing isn't it? I can't hear the difference either, and I've tried! And I've read about blind ABX tests further proving this....... the only reason Hi-Res releases sound better is as I'd mentioned b/c the studio engineers or producers take greater care and put more attention onto those releases than the mp3 and CD ones. You think I'd be downsampling my Hi-Res albums to CD-Quality FLAC if I wasn't ABSOLUTELY convinced of this??! LOL No WAY. Downsampling makes the files smaller for easier storage AND the smaller files use up less power to play than the Hi-Res originals do. 
 
So point is, you have the best if they are Hi-Res..........whether in 24/96 or 16/44.1. lol It's the truth, believe it. 

 
so FLAC files are good enough right? ^_~
In general, does music sound better using headphones or earphones? I really love these DUNU 1000 but may want to try something different like the P7. But I enjoy isolation.
 
btw, your posts are very helpful and informative you really contribute a lot to this thread and forum !

 

[RockStar2005]

Black Dog (awesome name! lol), 
 
Well I don't know many ppl who check Head-Fi for when they buy a smartphone, so it's not like it's something everyone does anyway. lol
 
I actually love BOTH phones. My sister has the M9, and I had the M8 last year actually. I only switched to the Z3 b/c as much as I love HTC I love Sony more, but both phones are very much equal when it comes to audio (including having the RIGHT IDEA when they put dual stereo speakers on the FRONT side of the phone (take note Sam-DUNG! lol)
 
Well let me say....... listening to music STRAIGHT from a smartphone is different than when you listen to it from an amp/DAC player like the A17 Walkman or when you have an amp/DAC like my Companion One hooked up to your phone. When I was JUST listening to music from my Z3 (which wasn't that long ago...... only months back), DSEE I think was more helpful than it was when I tried it on the A17 Walkman. I do believe I did leave it on, and yes even Surround Sound (Studio) too. (try listening to Zep's "That's The Way" from Zep III in Hi-Res with Surround Sound on with the Z3........wow! But on A17 SS makes it worse.) The reason why I suggest to keep that stuff off (esp ClearAudio+..... gaggg!) is b/c the Walkman does such a fantastic job naturally on its own that it doesn't need all that extra stuff that a smartphone would (it's called the difference b/t a $40 audio budget and 4-6 times that lol). The only minor change I suggested on the A17 was to bump the mid-range EQ band (2.5 kHz) up 2 notches. THAT'S IT! It makes the vocals sound better and more clear, and adds more weight to the drums, w/o sacrificing anything. On the Walkman, DSEE HX simply diminished the quality (to me anyway) of my music, so I simply felt it best to turn it off. So it's apples and oranges really. Remember, this thread was created by me to mainly focus on the A17, not the Z3. lol
 
I love both phones (well I had the M8, but M9 is very close) a lot. When I got the M8, BoomSound was great but then I found out if I rooted my phone, I could install a module (aka, MOD) to make it just like the Sprint Harman/Kardon version, which had the same hardware but different software, making it possible to put that software on my T-Mobile M8. It was kind of a hassle, but it was worth it. The H/K MOD really unleashed the music I had on there, and this was months before I even knew what Hi-Res or Head-Fi was! lol I think overall the Sony does sound a lil better than at least the M8 did even with H/K, but it's barely noticeable. Even the speakers I feel are pretty much equal, despite what many reviews say. I love both phones b/c they're simple to use but have SO many features and no archaic physical home button (yuck!) that just slows down my mojo. lol And both are arguably the best looking, though Samsung HAS really stepped up their game over the last year! The S5 was nice but a let down in various ways (plastic body, screen, etc). I should know....... I had it for like FOUR days last year and by Day 2 I couldn't WAIT to exchange it for the M8. lol But gee, I wonder where they got the idea for a metal body and glass on both sides?? (Ok ok, you can say Apple did it first, but who was using that style on their TVs first?? Yup........ Sony! Bravia baby!! lol) My TV is an '08 Bravia and it's clear to me it influenced the style of the Z series. 
 
The battery life................. both phones are great for that. But you have to enable Stamina Mode on the Z3, or Power Saver on the M9, to get that great battery life. A lot of ppl don't do it, but I know better. lol But you have to make sure to disable or uncheck the option in M9's Power Saver that says it will slow down CPU performance (you can do the same on Z3). You just want it to switch off data & Wi-Fi 15 min after the screen shuts off. That's the main reason why they help so much. The Z3 has a slight advantage b/c u can whitelist apps you don't want to shut down. No other phone I know of has that feature, not even new ones. But I wouldn't knock the battery life on your M9 until you follow my advice here. lol If the Z3 didn't exist, I can PROMISE you we'd have the same phone right now, b/c I would've prob upgraded to the M9, or at least for sure I would be getting the 02 (the next phone after M9 won't be M10, it'll be called the O2 lol) next Spring. 
 
You have to ask yourself Dog......... what do you want? And how much do you wanna spend? lol I LOVE the A17 Walkman, but you prob know from reading recent posts that I sold it a month or so ago in favor of a portable amp/DAC known as the Celsus Sound Companion One (CO). I just got tired of having a standalone player and putting all my songs on 2 devices (A17 and Z3 phone), and having to worry about memory capacities too. If you don't care about this or don't like putting music on your phone, then a standalone player might be better. But in the future I may go back to just having one player again. Though the CO's SQ is so highly rated that even devices or players like the $1200 Sony Walkman and the $1600 Astell & Kern AK 120 II are said to not be AS GOOD (I have the articles bookmarked lol) in terms of SQ as my CO. So for me to get a player that can compare to my current setup, I'd prob have to spend like $2000. lol So I dunno. We'll see. But yeah, I pair it with my Z3 and it basically disables the Z3's amp/DAC in favor of its own. Some really incredible technology. I got it on Amazon with interest-free financing for 12 mos. 
 
But see, that was still about $600. lol I didn't intend to go that high initially, but that Amazon deal made it more worthwhile. So if you think you'd rather have a standalone player, then yeah, get the A17! A somewhat pricier option would be the $495 Astell & Kern Jr. (See my post from last page about this.) Is it better than the A17? I don't know. The $600 ZX1 Walkman I've seen be rated not AS well as the A17 where it counts, so not sure. But maybe Jr. is better? I would suggest you research both the Jr. and the A17 (maybe a "vs" search too) and see what you find. 
 
If you'd rather just keep your M9 as your player (and future phones too), then you can go my route, but with different options. There's the CO of course, but there's also a VERY close second and very well-rated option that costs the same as the A17......... the Oppo HA-2. I've seen one review say it's slightly better than the A17 Walkman even, at least that's what the reviewer thought (that's a bold statement though! lol). As you can see, it has lots of cool features and uses the exact same DAC chip my CO has. Amazon sells it too for the same price. 
 
Again, these devices, when connected to your phone, would disable the phone's internal amp/DAC and use its own. If you have an Android app like Poweramp (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if playing from an Android phone), you can still control the EQ or EQ presets from Poweramp. Doing so from the Walkman/Music app doesn't work when connected b/c the CO and prob HA-2 too ignore them. But Poweramp it won't. 
 
So look over everything here and then let me know what route you wanna take and we can go from there. 
 
YW!
 
Zep Forever!! lol

 

[RockStar2005]

Ted, 
 
I think you mean "So are CD-QUALITY FLAC files good enough?" lol. YES............ if they were downsampled from a Hi-Res song to CDQ, then they will sound THE SAME. ALAC are great too. 
 
When I first got into this, I had $35 V-Moda earphones. lol A lot's changed over the last year though. lol At that time, everyone seemed to say you can't get the best sound on earphones, so even though I didn't like headphones I switched, making comfort a CLOSE second priority to SQ. Now, I've never tried a $400 or $800 pair of earphones, so maybe they do sound just as sweet as a great pair of headphones? That's up to you, not me. Those DUNU 1000s look pretty sweet and seem to be well-rated here on Head-Fi even. What I would suggest doing is getting a good pair of headphones and compare them to your DUNU 1000s. I would buy them from Amazon, making sure Amazon IS the direct seller. That makes them easier to return. You get like a month or so to return them if necessary. Just make sure when asked why you're returning them, you say something like "website description was wrong". They don't check those themselves, the system does. So just type some BS reason and you'll get shipping covered too. lol If you buy from a third party seller on there though, a person will check it, and you may end up having to pay for shipping. (F that lol) How do you think I got to try out the Sennheiser HD 598s, the Audio-Technica M50x's', and the AKG K550s?? Wasn't at the store, well not really. 
 
So which headphones do you buy? Well that depends on price I suppose. Last night I finally had a chance to pit my Sony MDR-1As against the B&W P7s. In terms of looks, BOTH are fantastic, with the P7s having a SLIGHT edge IMHO. But this is about SQ, not looks................. and even though they were virtually equal in every way, in the end, the 1As WON OUT! It came down to bass really. I don't love too much, but I do love some bass, and even though the P7s supplied that, they didn't have quite the same feel the 1As did. The 1As offered up a warmer and somewhat thicker bass sound, but also, the 1As had more "bass PUNCH" to them on the bass drum parts than the P7s. And the 1As handles this extra bit of bass with MUCH clarity and isolation. No muddy BS messing up the vocals or guitar. The bass was strong but kept well in its place where it belongs. I was kinda hoping the P7s would prevail only b/c I slightly favor their looks a bit more, but the 1As took the top spot once again! So I'm returning the P7s and that's that. If someone really loves a great sound but doesn't want much bass (some ppl do I guess), then the P7s would be for them. For me, the 1As are not goin' anywhere. lol Now I know more than ever that what I have is truly special. 

 
So, if you got $299, I HIGHLY SUGGEST getting the Sony MDR-1As. (available in Black and Silver. Both are sweet. I have the Black one myself) Compare them to your DUNUs, then let us know what you do. If $299 is too much, then I'm gonna suggest the headphones I had right before the 1As................the AKG K550s. They were about $200 when I bought them, but now only $176. (Don't buy the 551s linked on there b/c only difference is they come with an in-line remote in the cable, which you don't want anyway cuz I've been told they can distort the signal slightly. And it costs more.) I truly felt these very attractive headphones were equal to my 1As, but they needed an amp to be loud enough. If the 1As are too high in price, then get the K550s and try them out with your A17 (you did buy the A17 right? Can't remember now). If it can get loud enough with them, then you're good. If not, then get that $60 FiiO A3 (aka, E11K) portable amp I told u about which I also referenced in that post I just sent Black Dog. The K550s were very comfortable and premium looking too (even the box! like the 1As' box), so worth the price. Anything lower than that though I can't really recommend. MAYBE the $150 Sennheiser HD 598s (I paid $181 for mine).......... sounded great too, but I didn't feel they were very comfortable (some ppl I know DID though), so you can try them out as well and see how they feel & sound. The 598s also needed an amp I felt.
 
All of these headphones have received various rewards and lots of great reviews on both Amazon and by professional reviewers as well (look 'em up!). 
 
Let us know!
 
Note: The K550s' cable is NOT removeable, while the 1A's & 598's are. Very minor thing. You can buy a good case for any of these headphones on Amazon anyway for portability's sake, so this shouldn't really be an issue, but just thought I'd mention it. AKG is owned by Harman International (((scroll down)).......as in Harman Kardon, also a subsidiary of Harman lol) too. FYI. 
 
Well thanks man.........you're (all) very welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying your time in this thread too! I try b/c I know I wouldn't know as much as I do if everyone was tight-lipped with me when I was askin' questions. lol

 

[BlackDog]

@RockStar2005
Huge wall of text incoming. Aside from all the Z3 rant and other random comments, all of this is releated to the A17. I beg you pardon if I drifted away too much from the main topic, but I needed to explain all of what you see so you can have elements to answer my questions. I also apologize for my English which is far from perfect. It isn't my native language, but I try to do my best. Hope the ideas are well written.

 Well I don't know many ppl who check Head-Fi for when they buy a smartphone, so it's not like it's something everyone does anyway. lol

 
On this age, there are no chances of surviving in the society without a celphone. If it was't because of my work or my family, I would live only with a good portable DAP. However, when the first Iphone came out (on that times, I was solely commited to Apple and their Ipods), I assumed the world of portable DAPs was no more. Quoting Steve Jobs: "The Iphone is the best Ipod I've ever created". Therefore, I decided merging both things was the way to go, and the quest to obtain the smartphone with the best sound quality started. That led me to this site, unfortunately it was already too late, as hours before I decided to go with the HTC m9 instead of the Xperia Z3 (again). 
 

 I actually love BOTH phones. My sister has the M9, and I had the M8 last year actually. I only switched to the Z3 b/c as much as I love HTC I love Sony more, but both phones are very much equal when it comes to audio (including having the RIGHT IDEA when they put dual stereo speakers on the FRONT side of the phone (take note Sam-DUNG! lol)

 
Hands down to the speakers on the M9. Never in my life I've heard this quality in a celphone. I even dare to bet it runs circles around many Bluetooth speakers. 
 

 Well let me say....... listening to music STRAIGHT from a smartphone is different than when you listen to it from an amp/DAC player like the A17 Walkman or when you have an amp/DAC like my Companion One hooked up to your phone. When I was JUST listening to music from my Z3 (which wasn't that long ago...... only months back), DSEE I think was more helpful than it was when I tried it on the A17 Walkman. I do believe I did leave it on, and yes even Surround Sound (Studio) too. (try listening to Zep's "That's The Way" from Zep III in Hi-Res with Surround Sound on with the Z3........wow! But on A17 SS makes it worse.) The reason why I suggest to keep that stuff off (esp ClearAudio+..... gaggg!) is b/c the Walkman does such a fantastic job naturally on its own that it doesn't need all that extra stuff that a smartphone would (it's called the difference b/t a $40 audio budget and 4-6 times that lol). The only minor change I suggested on the A17 was to bump the mid-range EQ band (2.5 kHz) up 2 notches. THAT'S IT! It makes the vocals sound better and more clear, and adds more weight to the drums, w/o sacrificing anything. On the Walkman, DSEE HX simply diminished the quality (to me anyway) of my music, so I simply felt it best to turn it off. So it's apples and oranges really. Remember, this thread was created by me to mainly focus on the A17, not the Z3. lol

 
I was never fond of Clear Audio+ (it always boosted the treble and the bass way too much). Perhaps I left it on a few days, but as soon I'd ventured to do my own EQ and adding DSEE+SS (home theater setting) I felt in heaven. My mp3's were heard and enjoyed like never before. I have absolutly no idea how to explain it, but all this add-ons added something else to the music. It added volume, body, strenght, spark, ambience, a whole new dimension. Is the A17 capable of adding such things? Becuase in all honesty, I'm not precisely looking for a something that delivers clear audio. For that, the M9 does a fine job, but it's "boring" and sparkless. The music feels dead compared to the Z3 with all this settings (unless I am a complete idiot who doesn't know how to do a propper job with EQ+PowerAmp).
 
In conclusion. I am looking something that has that kind of sound signature. I am looking for a device that is the Z3 sound-wise. If the A17 can does such job without all the add-ons, then sign me in! By the way, why do I insist on the mp3 quality? Well, I have tons of music (videogame soundtracks, movie soundtracks...etc) that are mp3 and mp3 only. The losless versions are practicly non existant. Thatss why I would buy anything that would emulate those mp3 as close as losless (a job that the DSEE apparently does). 
 

I love both phones (well I had the M8, but M9 is very close) a lot. When I got the M8, BoomSound was great but then I found out if I rooted my phone, I could install a module (aka, MOD) to make it just like the Sprint Harman/Kardon version, which had the same hardware but different software, making it possible to put that software on my T-Mobile M8. It was kind of a hassle, but it was worth it. The H/K MOD really unleashed the music I had on there, and this was months before I even knew what Hi-Res or Head-Fi was! lol I think overall the Sony does sound a lil better than at least the M8 did even with H/K, but it's barely noticeable. Even the speakers I feel are pretty much equal, despite what many reviews say. I love both phones b/c they're simple to use but have SO many features and no archaic physical home button (yuck!) that just slows down my mojo. lol And both are arguably the best looking, though Samsung HAS really stepped up their game over the last year! The S5 was nice but a let down in various ways (plastic body, screen, etc). I should know....... I had it for like FOUR days last year and by Day 2 I couldn't WAIT to exchange it for the M8. lol But gee, I wonder where they got the idea for a metal body and glass on both sides?? (Ok ok, you can say Apple did it first, but who was using that style on their TVs first?? Yup........ Sony! Bravia baby!! lol) My TV is an '08 Bravia and it's clear to me it influenced the style of the Z series. 

 
Honestly, I can't tell what "BoomSound Dolby Audio" does other than boosting the volume. When I turn it on, everything gets louder but thats it. Anyway, I had no idea there was a Harman/Kardon version of the M8. I bet the sound is great, and the design is beyond any beauty. However, problem is I can't root my M9, or at least not yet. Reasons are time and guarantee. My recent experiences with the two Z3 I owned (more of that later) showed me that is best to stick with the guarantee terms as long as there is one. I know the M9 is a solid piece of machinery, but I'm still sceptical with technology now days. 
 
About the metal "body" with the glass rear...it's totally idiotic. At least the way Sony does it. It's not that I hate such desing (had an Iphone 4S for 3 years and never had an issue) but the Xperia Z's are plaggued with issues. It's very slippery, the squared shape is uncoftable for the hand, and it feels so fragile. It doesn't just feel, it is actually that fragile! Here is the story: I had my first Z3 no more than 3 months when the rear all of the sudden got cracked (not a single time, the phone slipped out of my hand or crashed with anything); I returned it to my carrier and after one week of inspection they decided they were going to give me a new unit of the same model, or any other phone within the price range; In love with the sound the Z3 delivers, I decided to give it another go with a new Z3 (not refubrished or anything), but after 3 months the audio jack stopped working (yes, the phone that was beign sold as an "audiophile" smartphone had the worst quality of jack I've ever experienced). In the end, I decided to quit Sony (as much as I loved sound) and get something with better build quality and similar audio specs (enter HTC M9). This is my story, however I have two friends whose Z3's stopped working one day. They just simply died without any reason whatsoever. Sure, there are people that had a flawless experience with their Z's but after this experiences, returning to the Z3 wasn't an option. What is the point of having tons of battery, water/dust proof and excellent sound if sooner rather than later, such device will die? 
 

 The battery life................. both phones are great for that. But you have to enable Stamina Mode on the Z3, or Power Saver on the M9, to get that great battery life. A lot of ppl don't do it, but I know better. lol But you have to make sure to disable or uncheck the option in M9's Power Saver that says it will slow down CPU performance (you can do the same on Z3). You just want it to switch off data & Wi-Fi 15 min after the screen shuts off. That's the main reason why they help so much. The Z3 has a slight advantage b/c u can whitelist apps you don't want to shut down. No other phone I know of has that feature, not even new ones. But I wouldn't knock the battery life on your M9 until you follow my advice here. lol If the Z3 didn't exist, I can PROMISE you we'd have the same phone right now, b/c I would've prob upgraded to the M9, or at least for sure I would be getting the 02 (the next phone after M9 won't be M10, it'll be called the O2 lol) next Spring. 

I have done all those things on my M9 and I still judge the battery of the device as poor. Of course, I just switched from a Z3 and judging the HTC battery from that standard is very harsh. Anyway, feels great that you consider the HTC M9 a choice if it wasn't for your Z3. I'm starting to believe I didn't took the wrong choice after all. 
 

 You have to ask yourself Dog......... what do you want?

 
That is kind of a trick question. Ideally, I would like the ultimate IPhone (android isn't doing it for me in the "smartphone" department). An iPhone with the best audio quality (at least the Z3 sound signature) and tons of memory. Due to reasons of the guarantee, I couldn't have chosen an Apple Product instead of the HTC M9, so for the time beign (until my contract expires in 1.5 years) the HTC M9 is more than enough for what a smartphone is. I cant' deny I feel frsutrated of loosing the one thing I care most on a smartphone....audio enjoyment. Since I'm not going to return to Sony until they get rid of their fragile glass design and my comeback to Apple seems far away (1.5 years), for the time beign I'm looking to replicate the sound enjoyment (notice I'm not talking about sound quality in here) that I had on my Z3. If the A17 does such job (as I said earlier, adding this spark and volume to my mp3's), then my problems and frustration will be solved. If the price to pay is the "hassle" of carrying two devices, then I'm in. In the end, this matter has it's pros and cons (like everything in life). Sure, I'll be carrying more (after all, you are carrying more than one device, namely your Z3 and your DAC), but I would save battery and memory on my M9.
 
Just to recapitulate, I am looking for a replacement of the Z3 in the audio department. The A17 belongs to the same brand and has the same gimmicks (hell, it even has the same marketing strategy), so It was natural for me to asumme it was perfect for the job. And thats the reason why I'm writing this huge pile of text. Now that you know my story, I can ask you: is the A17 the device I'm looking for? Should I just loose any hope and try to get a (used) Z3? For the time beign, any portable DAC is out of question. 
 
Rockstar2015. It's been great talking to you. All this text has allowed me to put my ideas straight and understand that choosing the M9 over the Z3 wasn't a mistake. I can't thank you enough for all your insight as it has been really terapeuthic. I expect to hear from you soon, hopefully with some insight about this whole dilemma. 
 
"Many dreams come true and some have silver linings".

 

[RockStar2005]

Black Dog, 
 
Ok, here we go lol.....................
 
Well you have to understand that even the BEST smartphone for audio (the Z3, IMHO lol) still can't compare to a higher quality amp/DAC player or device. I had one tech reviewer tell me that in his expert opinion, the Z3 had the BEST audio for a smartphone around (at least as of 9-10 mos ago) b/c Sony spends more money on audio than any other smartphone maker, even Apple (Sony spends about $40 he said). You're simply not gonna beat a more expensive player at that level. I did try out the $200 iBasso DX50 (now $219) against my Z3 as I'd mentioned before, and it sounded THE SAME. That doesn't mean all sub-$200 amp/DAC or DAPs will not do better (I can verify that the new China-made and well-rated "tiny & shiny" Cozoy Astrapi portable amp/DAC DOES improve the sound of my Z3 cuz I actually tried it out!), it just shows that some may not, but the A17 Walkman clearly did. It cut down on the hiss, made the bass stronger and warmer, gave the music more life, etc. The fact that a $130 amp/DAC like the Astrapi could outdo a now $219 DX50 says that it's all in the circuitry. If a device is maybe $2000 more than another one, it stands to reason that it's probably better, not always I guess. So that is why I HIGHLY recommend that you get the A17 Walkman since you've now clarified that you want a DAP and an amp/DAC to connect to your phone. But in either case, having a phone with great audio isn't really THAT important unless you're actually playing music from it directly w/o an amp/DAC involved. The M9 is DEFINITELY on the higher end of audio smartphones anyway, so you're fine there IMHO. 
 
I have noticed in some instances if I have the surround sound feature for my phone's speakers turned on and volume at full blast, some heavier rock music comes out slightly distorted, but when I turn that off it's fine. I don't think I had this issue with the M8, but honestly I can't remember now. So maybe the M9 is better in that respect? But keeping surround sound off for the speakers to me makes the Z3 & M8 equal. 
 
Yeah on the Z3 Dog, DSEE HX and Surround Sound have their place and do improve the SQ of music when enabled. But the A17 DOESN'T NEED ALL THAT. It NATURALLY (or natively) improves the sound quality without the need for all that stuff. And again, turning them on only diminishes SQ from what I remember. And the tremendous job it does to me outdoes anything the Z3 can do no matter what options you have enabled or disabled. So hopefully you're now clear on this. 
 
I too mostly have mp3s, but over the last year since getting wise to the Hi-Res thing have been slowly building up my Hi-Res library, and I don't regret doing so AT ALL! The Hi-Res tracks have breathed new life into albums I got somewhat tired of YEARS ago, and made me excited to listen to music again in a whole new way. Some sound better than others, but they pretty much all are improved. I mean the Zeppelin ones (Pono offers the cheapest prices, for the Zep ones at least).......... I couldn't recommend buying these more! Jimmy Page did a SPECTACULAR job remastering these. The drums have more weight to them (if you can believe that! lol), the separation of the instruments and vocals being improved, the removal of tape hiss, fills and background stuff being brought up to the forefront, etc. Even the Hi-Res releases by Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, etc etc....... they all sound amazing! If you REALLY wanna hear great music, look into buying these. See my previous post regarding online stores to purchase from and what dBpoweramp can do for you. 
 
I think BoomSound did improve the SQ a little, besides boosting the volume, but the H/K mod took it to the next level. Anyway, for the M9 I believe HTC got with Dolby not Harman/Kardon, so I doubt there are any new mods for the M9 in that respect. Still, I checked out my sister's M9 and tried its speakers out on a Hi-Res track I installed onto it (Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News"), and for smartphone speakers, when I enabled "Theater Mode" (aka Dolby's contribution to the M9), which also introduces surround sound, the quality significantly increased. I didn't try them out using headphones, but I'm sure it would've sounded really good too. So I DEFINITELY suggest keeping your M9 in Theater Mode at all times. 
 
Haha...........it's not idiotic, it's just awesome! What you NEED my friend is a CLEAR case as to not cover up the looks of the Z3, but keep you from damaging it. I think ALL people will expensive smartphones like these should use a case, a CLEAR case! I used one on the M8 and haven't stopped. And you shouldn't go cheap on the case either, but that doesn't mean the best ones are expensive. On my M8 I used a Spigen clear case. Both Spigen and Ringke make top of the line well-designed cases that are very well thought out, have custom port cutouts for easy connections, and protection where it counts (without the need for a screen protector, but you can buy one if you want.... I don't. lol). On my Z3 I use a Ringke case, but they're pretty much equal IMHO. The Ringke case had a cutout for the magnetic charging port which I actually use where the Spigen didn't, so I got the Ringke one. For the M9, my sister chose the silver/rose gold version of the M9 (which I also preferred over the gunmetal grey version of the M8 I had last year, though I had no choice, she did), and so I found for her this case which matched it perfectly. Do yourself a favor Dog, take a look at that link, and get yourself an ultra hybrid Spigen case ASAP!! If you got the silver/rose gold M9 like she did, then buy the UH Champagne Crystal ultra hybrid case she did. If you got the gunmetal grey one, then just get the clear ultra hybrid case. See the pics on the left side for specific info on their super awesome design. ALWAYS get ultra hybrid if buying Spigen, and ALWAYS buy from Amazon not the maker b/c they charge much less than the makers' sites do. Here is the Ringke case I bought for my Z3. If I didn't use magnetic charging though I would've got the Spigen one cuz the Ringke one has a removable dust cover over the audio port which I don't like. But both are WAY ahead on quality (and price) over the competitors' cases. Don't go another day w/o a case, just make sure it's a clear one. I think the problems you and your friends had probably more to do with NOT having a case than other factors. Seriously, get wise, buy a case from those links. 
 
Well I dunno man. If you think the battery life is poor, that's on you. The Z3's might be better, but I remember being pretty happy with my M8's battery life. I think anyone who has a feature like Power Saver but doesn't take advantage of it is missing out big time. Do you use Quick Charge 2.0 chargers though Dog?? They're pretty new but the M9 and Z3 (post-Lollipop anyway) are BOTH compatible with QC 2.0. It charges at TWICE the speed of regular USB and magnetic charging. No joke! That's like ALL I use now really, both at home and in car. At home I still use magnetic charging when not in a hurry, but I often use my QC 2.0 wall charger too. In the car it's great too, especially when using GPS on phone since that uses up a lot of battery power. The newer phones like these are more power-hungry than phones from even 2-3 years ago. My old charger from a few years ago was great but now it can't really keep up because of these higher power demands. Like I'd turn GPS on my Z3 while in my car with old charger plugged into it and the percentage never goes up......it just stays at the SAME PERCENTAGE! So here are more suggestions........... get the QC 2.0 home wall charger I have, and the QC 2.0 dual port car charger I have (cable not included, but you can buy a good one like the one I have here), or the single port version my sister has which does come with a cable. Throw away your current chargers and get these too..........you'll never look back. lol Well I'm glad I eased your worries a little. lol 
 
Again, it seems pretty clear you want just a DAP vs an amp/DAC device like I have, so to that I couldn't recommend the A17 Walkman more! I was saying though it wouldn't hurt to try out the somewhat pricier but POSSIBLY superior Astell & Kern AK Jr. as well? Then you could compare the two and post here so we all know what's what. But that's totally your call. Maybe the A17 IS better? Maybe not? If that's too much of a hassle for you or you don't want to go beyond $300, then again, YES, get the A17 and enjoy yourself!! In reality, you will be carrying 2 devices either way. Unless you're leaving your phone at home when you go out lol, you'll either have your M9 and a DAP like the A17, or your M9 and an amp/DAC like my CO. It's just that in the first scenario you won't be connecting them together. lol And for headphones, I think you know which ones I'm gonna recommend. lol But see the post above (right before yours) on that. And buy Hi-Res for best quality!! Even CDs will sound better than mp3s. 
 
Both players come with 64 GBs of internal memory, which is great! If you need more though, both also have micro sd card slots for expandable memory. I know the A17 can expand up to 200 GBs with a 200 GB card (though I have NO idea why anyone would need THAT much space lol), for a total of 264 GBs, at least you can expand it up to 264 GBs after you update it. The Jr. can go up to 192 GBs using a 128 GB card. I think the 128 GB is as far as I'D ever wanna go anyway. Either way, you will have MORE than enough space for all your music. For me, a 64 GB card would be plenty I think. I have one in my Z3 now actually. (ONLY buy SanDisk!!!)
 
Update: Dog, skim through this C|NET review of the Jr. According to them, it's not "$200 better" than the A17, but it IS better. Just skim the parts where the A17 is mentioned (both pages, esp Page 2). Good review. Also, I saw the full body of the Jr. is aluminum, where on the A17 only the front is aluminum (back is plastic). They rate the Jr. as best in-class player for under $500. 
 
You're very welcome man!! Let us know what you do, and how it all goes, ESPECIALLY if you decide to test the A17 against the AK Jr.! Whichever one you buy, get a case for it too (see that one post I referred you too earlier regarding the Jr. It has links for cases there for both devices.) 
 
"I live for my dream, and a pocket full of gollllld!!!!" lol

 

[RockStar2005]

Ted,

Forgot about 2 classic Sony headphones that are both well-rated, cost under $100 each, and have been around for decades....the MDR-7506 and the MDR-V6.

http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-mdrv6/

The above review also includes a comparison of the 2 headphones. Unlike the other headphones I've recently suggested, I've never actually tried these, but they come with much applause.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00001WRSJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1436948616&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=sony+v6+headphones&dpPl=1&dpID=41ADlzRP9hL&ref=plSrch

 

[rgr555]

Thank you! I just love how the silver/brown combination looks with the A17 in silver, haha.
 
Btw, can you tell the difference between 320 and Flac?

 

[RockStar2005]

Ted,
 
YW. Yeah haha........... even though I got black, the silver one DEF caught my eye. They both look equally premium IMO. 
 
I think I answered that question already in detail on the last page. Please reread the post again carefully. 
 
Those Sony ones I just added on (the cheaper ones) are really good, though the build quality they say is not AS good as the pricier ones, but not far off either. The 7506s are interesting in that they and the V6s have been around for some 25-30 years, and Sony sells like 10,000+ of the 7506s a month!! (you read that right, A MONTH!) They say that is why they are so cheap b/c Sony sells so many. You can replace the ear cups too when they get old (the rest I posted are the same, though not sure on the Sennheiser one). A lot of celebrities like Howard Stern and I think Dave Grohl from The Foo Fighters (who were just in town ((Wrigley Field, Chicago)) last night and my buddy went to go see them!) too use them in the studio. I would prob go with the V6 over them, b/c they have more bass, but not sure really unless I hear both. But they both are wildly popular, or else no way would Sony keep them around this long. But if you can afford the pricier ones I mentioned earlier, I would shoot for those. 
 
Did you buy the A17 or not? Never heard from you or if you did say it I missed it. And let us know what headphones you get and if you get/keep the A3 portable amp. Let me know if you have more questions, but I think I've covered EVERYTHING I could think of that matters already. 

 

[rgr555]

Thank you.
 
Yes I got my A17 and have loaded about 35 gigs of flac on there. I'm trying to add only flac files so its a bit annoying trying to find some missing albums! Also, I'm pretty set on the MDR 1A even though I like the B&W P7 design just to make a better match with the Sony player
 
Any recommendations on good hi-res flac albums?
 
Thomas Bergersen - Sun album sounds great
 
will be flying and traveling on Wednesday so been getting prepared......
 
Btw, I sort of like the Clear Audio+ option for music !

 

[RockStar2005]

Ted, 
 
YW! 
 
Oh ok great!! Well just keep at it I guess. 
 
I see. Well as you know from reading my review from a few days ago, I would have to recommend the 1As over the P7s, UNLESS you prefer a leaner bass sound. I def don't like too much bass, but I felt like the P7s, when compared to the 1As, fell a bit short in that dept. And the 1As handle the extra bass sound extremely well........ with tremendous isolation and much warmth. I really wished they were equal though, b/c yeah, then I would've gone with the P7s as I too SLIGHTLY preferred its looks over the 1As. And yeah, the P7s would've better matched my silver Companion One amp/DAC (like your A17), but anyway, whatever. My Z3 phone is black, so I guess it doesn't matter. lol If you get the 1As, there's ALWAYS the silver option too. Amazon only has the International Version as new ($240), which is EXACTLY the same as the U.S. version except no manual (or else it's only in Japanese, though you can find the English version online), and also NO guarantee or I think warranty? However, Amazon has a 2-YEAR warranty (right side, check that box) for only $10.97. Considering there's no guarantee, I'd recommend you get that too. There's no deductible with it, and even if you get it, you're STILL saving like $50. 
 
A slightly cheaper option that would be this new one from eBay. It does come with a standard Sony 1-year warranty. I'd prob just get that one, although you only have 2 weeks to return it for any reason plus you have to pay for shipping. So, 2 good options. Up to you. Since you haven't heard them yet, you may wanna just go the Amazon route. Or if you're sure you're gonna keep 'em, then buy the eBay ones for less. 
 
Remember to use the cable WITHOUT the in-line remote instead of the one with it for better SQ (or so they say lol). 
 
Never heard of him, but yeah sure......... I can recommend plenty. What kind of music do you like though? I listen to mainly rock. Outside of that I've bought Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" single in Hi-Res and it sounds fantastic (incredible bass and drums)! Also I got Norah Jones' first 3-4 albums (I have reviews on a few too on there), and they are superb too, though I bought them in DSD which is a slightly more expensive but better version of Hi-Res (you will need to use dBpoweramp to downsample/convert DSD to FLAC/ALAC as the A17 can't play DSD files natively. See that dBpoweramp post from before for more info on all that as you will need a plug-in to handle DSD.). I also bought Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in DSD which was worth every penny! Some say in reviews (mine is the first one) on that page that it sounds even better than the Hi-Res version! Not many albums get a DSD release, so much harder to find than regular Hi-Res. If spending over $89 on that 2nd site (Acoustic Sounds), use code "LABORDAY" to get 10% off. Also...........singles from Hozier (Church), Cat Stevens (Wild World), The Righteous Brothers (Feelin' and Soul), Linda Rondstadt (Loved), and Marvin Gaye (tracks 1 & 6). All sound fantastic! The Rondstadt track is actually an Everly Brothers cover, though I prefer her version over the original. 
 
Everything else I got in Hi-Res is basically rock, so if you like that, lemme know. That's like a whole other post on its own. lol 
 
Cool! Have a good trip then! 
 
Ok I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear you say that about ClearAudio+. lol 

 
 
Let us know what u get. 

 

[rgr555]

Thank you again! I am pretty set on the M1A in Silver/Brown. Thanks for providing the link.
 
I listen to everything. I like classical piano and I listen to melodic death metal a lot too...hip hop (drake)...Radiohead..Pumpkins..coldplay..stuff like that..and EDM stuff. It's just hard to find a lot of these classic albums in HI-RES
 
I prefer to "get" my music elsewhere :x 
I wish there was a site to "find" more FLAC files but I'm afraid this site doesn't promote those kind of links.
 
And yea. forget about ClearAudio+ I realize it sucks now ha ha