Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
The TA and WM1Z offer two totally different sounds. Where the 1Z has this strong V signature......back to back testing pushes the TA to sound almost sleepy with the last firmware update to the TA. Firmwares got slightly, ever so slightly more resolving as the TA went along, but really minimal compared to the firmware updates to the 1A and 1Z. IMOThanks for the reply.
I was just curious on how the processing/DAC section on the WM1Z compares with the TA-ZH1ES?
If there's negligible improvements then I'll stop searching for a used TA-ZH1ES to buy.
Still the sound is very different proving on some headphones the TA to be better, then with other headphones the 1Z may be better. Still it could be said that all this is subjective with the two being very different in the end. Also even with MrWalkman’s firmware the 1Z and 1A are still very different sounding too, being they have different case materials and different capacitors. Yet the firmware for the 1A made the device ultimately warmer in the end. The 1A has by nature a speedy bass and more midrange push, where the 1Z is more V shaped. What this means is the 1Z has a spatial display of treble (brightness) into a halo outside your head, and a more 3D and profoundly heavy bass sound in comparison to the 1A.
The TA could be said to ultimately have (to a point) the best resolution, at least it seems more resolving when I have the MDR-Z1R in place? The TA lower midrange spacial imaging seemingly offering up both a different character from the 1Z. I mean of course all three devices are going to be in many ways driving to the exact same part of town with there signature, yet after you spend years and years with them the differences are more known. I would go so far to probably look at the 1A as the odd man out, finding even though different, the 1Z and TA are closer to the same. Why? Midrange of course........where really the 1A is way faster in the bass department and even almost seems to have the widest soundstage. The TA has none of that 1Z treble energy, and could be looked at as even duller, or smoother, or something? But with the dock you can use the 1A or 1Z as a file server, or even just plug them into the side of the TA or the rear of the TA (with adapter) to utilize the TA only as a DAC/Amp and that seems almost to be the clearest as oppose to using a PC or MacBook with the TA. Still you can’t help but look at the TA as being reference material for Sony, as they did a lot with having zero size restrictions in place?
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