[Miyazaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckster /img/forum/go_quote.gif my X1060 is sat its box all week .... sealed decided its going back to Amazon - I'll wait till the new S's series comes out - my Touch 2G doesn't sound that bad at all really I'm worried how much of an improvement over the Touch I'll get - and once opened I can't send it back

My short moments which the X probably does not justify my opinion very well but I do have a Touch 2G and I easily say that the X sounds much much better.

 

[techfreakazoid]

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Originally Posted by spuddler /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi,well have looked in this forum section,from time to time(since & before i joined up).Even thou i had just cheap stuff,& never really used it.When the E500/SE500 was the King ,nearly jumped in & bought,even thou i had nothing to go with it etc .Still like to hear/try the SE530's,like the FX500's,but sure i would like the SE530's as well(& a lot of the others,Westones etc). Sure S9 sound's good,& with the E500/Se530's.Excellent review,be nice if there was a few more(or at least opinion's),at least with different Headphones.Just like in HiFi,some things work better with other things,synergy etc. Loads of stuff mentioned on here i'd like to try etc,just ain't got the money,well maybe if i also didn't spend on other things. Buying CD's is addictive,at least now with the portable rig,it looks like a lot of the unlistened to,will be now Cheers BOB ps sure i will bite with something sooner or later,be it a player,or more likely headphones

I'm also intrigued with the FX500, but pulled the trigger on the SRH840. The Denon C710 looks interesting and may look at it in the future--need to space out the Christmas season.

The E500/SE530 does mids extremely well and is an excellent all-rounder IEM.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Acreo Aeneas /img/forum/go_quote.gif I enjoyed reading your comparison review Techfreakazoid. Lots of details, explanations, and examples. One thing I found with my S9 + SF3 is that the S9 (with my custom EQ settings) is able to deliver much richer bass through my SF3 than my old D2 could (same EQ levels) and I like how I can change the frequencies of each of the 5 bands and still be able to adjust for "wide", "normal", or "narrow". I'm not sure I like the hollowness of the VIVA and VIVA2 EQs. It just feels a bit flat and lacking, probably because my EQ is higher mids, strong highs, and stronger lows.

Thanks Acreo Aeneas. I'm not familiar with the SF3 sound signature, but feel free to share your User settings and I'll take a listen. What I like most about BBE ViVA is that it works universally well with a variety of genres, mix quality, and bitrates.

 

[techfreakazoid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by globiboulga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like a few people around here, I was questioning the value of upgrading to the S9 coming from a D2, and considering the X series just to be certain to have a 'different' sound. I also got tired of the very detailed, analytic sound of the D2 and wanted something a bit closer to what the X5 was... Eventually, the feature set of the S9, flac support, and the inclusion of gapless playback made it an easy decision. Still, I was a bit nervous about getting the same sound... I won't do a full comparison now, because I probably should be more thorough, but lets say in a nutshell, that I am more than happy with the S9. On flat EQ, they sound very similar, but the S9 has the edge 1) by delivering a fuller, increased level of bass and by sweetening highs so slightly they don't feel as tiring as they could on the D2 after a few minutes on some songs... Overall it feels like the S9 has a more consistent delivery of the full musical spectrum... While these differences are faint on flat EQ, they become obvious using the new BBE VIVA which does reinforce this rebalance of the sound compared to the D2... On regular use, I don't need to tweek the S9 as much as I did with the D2 to get the sound I like, which is a great bonus as sometimes those very tweaks can turn out to make some recordings or songs sound awful... Indeed, turning BBE VIVA on is about all I do on the S9, I don't tweak the EQ settings to the extent I did on the D2. Having listened to the X1050 in a SonyStyle, I can add that while I was impressed with the sound, it does indeed seems to be that Sony has decided to colour the sound for the users (mind you, a really nice coloration), while you still have to play with the S9 to find that sweet spot. Had Sony added flac support and gapless playback, I would probably have gotten the X1060 just to 'change' sound. But given the price, the gap bewteen the X1060 and S9 in terms of functionalities is too big to be ignored.

Thanks for sharing your D2 > S9 experience. The X sounds very good out of the box. Unless you're using very good noise-isolating phones, I find the Sony Style stores too loud for critical listening. Plus, the X has only a few tracks loaded and it's always best to use test tracks you're familiar with. Let's hope Sony listens to its users and prospective customers in releasing a firmware update with flac, gapless support, Opera browser, QWERTY text entry, etc.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckster /img/forum/go_quote.gif my X1060 is sat its box all week .... sealed decided its going back to Amazon - I'll wait till the new S's series comes out - my Touch 2G doesn't sound that bad at all really I'm worried how much of an improvement over the Touch I'll get - and once opened I can't send it back

Haha. Buyer's remorse? The touch 2G has decent SQ and if you're happy no need to open the box. But I'm guessing your curious nature in the first place will get the best of you.

 

[globiboulga]

The sony style I went to was actually pretty quiet...

Agreed about the choice of song put on the X1060, they did have the tendency to REALLY put forward some of the aspect of the sound (perhaps too much even)...

Gapless and FLAC would be all I need from Sony to jump ship. Added video codec support would be nice but I don't watch that many videos on the go (although, I say that and there I go having to fly back and forth for 2 months, which will allow me to catch up on some American Dad episodes!!)
Let's see what Sony brings to the party next, compared to Cowon, and at what price.

On the price side, I live in Australia where the X1060 is priced at Au$699 before shipping (US$588)... compare that to the S9 Au$439 shipping, screen protector and Power accessories included... The choice is pretty simple (although I did consider importing).

 

[techfreakazoid]

I feel the OLED screen is such a waste if video support is lacking. That's good info on Australian pricing. It sounds like you guys are getting royally hosed down under!

Is it transport costs or taxation contributing to the steep prices there?

 

[globiboulga]

I am still at a loss to really understand why prices are so inflated here. Transport makes no sense since you can actually import cheaper including shipping...

I suspect the chargeback models for marketing, local retail margins and plain fat greed do explain the difference... But then the ipod is priced relatively in line with the US... My view is that they went for the high end of the market (low volume high margins) and they price accordingly. Not sure it's the best strategy, when you have nothing else than hardware...

Sony claim they lose money in Australia. Either it's true and they're doing someting wrong, or it's not and I suspect they'll regret their strategy in a few years (for average Joe the iPod touch is WAY better than the X series).

 

[techfreakazoid]

The US typically gets the best prices due to economies of scale. Some of the UK/European prices are insane and factor in value taxes, it's no wonder people buy CE products when they travel. That being said, the Sony UK pricing on the X seems to be more in line with the competitive landscape.

 

[Booda]

decided its going back to Amazon - I'll wait till the new S's series comes out - my Touch 2G doesn't sound that bad at all really I'm worried how much of an improvement over the Touch I'll get - and once opened I can't send it back

I think it is not necessary to exchange the X 1000 with S's AND have to wait.

I assume the X 1000 is enough for you if you pair a good phone. IMHO, the differences between players is not that big, except there is a technology breakthrough.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

besides the fuze, all of those players have a large distorted soud curve, the iphone would have rollof (not that you would hear it with unamped shures.

Lets be clear shures you used are meant for amplification

Without amp ofcouse the players less balanced players would sound better. Their sound curves are augmented when adding headphones. Whereas the fuze is not.

dont get me wrong imo sony x is best player there. But you cant count out the fuze. best player for amp up there is the fuze.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

btw i think the sony had AMOLED

their marketing department may not have been that granular

ok just for you all - portable playes have two types of OLED passive and active, the type used for phones and mp3 is 99% active matrix or (AM) OLED

but for such a small screen it would have to be active matrix

which means the organic material saves your battery life as only certain parts of the screen are active when needed yes -

 

[Sparky191]

I'm curious how the Touch is rated better blind controls than the fuze considering the only buttons it has are for volume/power. I have a touch and its impossible to use blind, change tracks stop, start. Unless you the Apple remote, but it doesn't come with that.

 

[abitdeef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckster /img/forum/go_quote.gif my X1060 is sat its box all week .... sealed decided its going back to Amazon - I'll wait till the new S's series comes out - my Touch 2G doesn't sound that bad at all really I'm worried how much of an improvement over the Touch I'll get - and once opened I can't send it back

Did you get it from an amazon third party vendor? Because amazons return policy is 30 days, and you just have to have the packaging. I have returned many 'opened' daps to amazon for a full refund

 

[Buckster]

amazon uk

thought that the returns policy was they had to be sealed (which is fair enough to be honesT)

 

[abitdeef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckster /img/forum/go_quote.gif amazon uk thought that the returns policy was they had to be sealed (which is fair enough to be honesT)

I know a couple of people that have returned opened daps to amazon UK. BloodFlowerz (in the X thread) did and got a full refund after testing his X out

 

[techfreakazoid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa /img/forum/go_quote.gif besides the fuze, all of those players have a large distorted soud curve, the iphone would have rollof (not that you would hear it with unamped shures. Lets be clear shures you used are meant for amplification Without amp ofcouse the players less balanced players would sound better. Their sound curves are augmented when adding headphones. Whereas the fuze is not. dont get me wrong imo sony x is best player there. But you cant count out the fuze. best player for amp up there is the fuze.

All four players are well regarded on this forum; hence this thread's creation. That being said, they each have their strengths, weaknesses, and phone synergies. I wish the E500 played more nicely with the Fuze as that would have been my workout dap.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa /img/forum/go_quote.gif btw i think the sony had AMOLED their marketing department may not have been that granular ok just for you all - portable playes have two types of OLED passive and active, the type used for phones and mp3 is 99% active matrix or (AM) OLED but for such a small screen it would have to be active matrix which means the organic material saves your battery life as only certain parts of the screen are active when needed yes -

Possibly. I could not confirm as to whether the X's OLED is AM so had to go by the spec sheet. Regardless, it performs equally well against the S9's display when viewing images. As for watching videos, I prefer the deeper black levels on the S9. I can't wait until OLED HDTVs are economically introduced. Until then, the S9 will keep me entertained.

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Originally Posted by Sparky191 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm curious how the Touch is rated better blind controls than the fuze considering the only buttons it has are for volume/power. I have a touch and its impossible to use blind, change tracks stop, start. Unless you the Apple remote, but it doesn't come with that.

I hear you on the touch. It's frustrating to use it on the go without having to pull it out of your pocket. I gave it the nod over the Fuze based on the inclusion of the volume rocker. Also, the peripheral support/ecosystem does offer some interesting add-ons such as watch control.