[EDN80]

 
Unless, of course, you're from Europe where we have harmonised voltages/frequencies.

 
About to pull the trigger and order a unit from amazon.uk.
 

 
Lucky!!!
 

I would love to tell you this...but in order to pull off this Trio, I had to let go oh my 900

 

Wasn't that one of your favorites? Must have been quite the sacrifice and the new items must be worth it!

 

[Whitigir]

Lucky!!!


:eek:


Wasn't that one of your favorites? Must have been quite the sacrifice and the new items must be worth it!

Actually since I love warmth and bass strong headphones ....Z1R is almost perfect to my needs

 

[Leviticus]

Actually since I love warmth and bass strong headphones

....Z1R is almost perfect to my needs

You sold your TH-900? Damn, I always liked that we have exactly the same gear. But I guess the TH900 will sound great with the ZH1ES as the amplifier is said to be musical-sounding with emphasis on every detail.
 
By the way, I recently asked you about the cable I need to connect the cradle to the amplifier, you said I need a TypA-TypB USB cable.
Are you familiar with Audioquest's TypA-TypB cables and maybe own one? (http://www.audioquest.com/usb-digital-audio/carbon)

 

[Whitigir]

You sold your TH-900? Damn, I always liked that we have exactly the same gear. But I guess the TH900 will sound great with the ZH1ES as the amplifier is said to be musical-sounding with emphasis on every detail.

By the way, I recently asked you about the cable I need to connect the cradle to the amplifier, you said I need a TypA-TypB USB cable.
Are you familiar with Audioquest's TypA-TypB cables and maybe own one? (http://www.audioquest.com/usb-digital-audio/carbon)

I am afraid I never used them to answer you this one either. I had always been using my DIY version

 

[Zarniwoop76]

Hya, received the TA-ZH1ES Amp today. I am using a ZX2 walkman as the source and currently using it with a pair of Shure 846's. (my MDR Z1R arrives on thursday). Sounds awesome to my ears. Sorry I'm not an audiophile so my descriptions might be rubbish - but there is clarity but no harshness and very powerful bass through the Shure's on certain tracks (like 'Gosh' by Jamie XX). Can anybody give me a brief (or long!) summary of what the 'DSD remastering' and 'DSEE HX' functions are supposed to do - and whether (in their opinion) it is better to just switch them off? I am playing some High Res Files but mainly using CD quality 16 bit files streamed from Quboz through the ZX2.
 
Feel free to buzz me with any questions.

 

[XERO1]

Sony sure seems to have knocked it outta the park with the entire Signature Series lineup.  Can't wait to see what new goodies they have to show at CES next week!

 

 

[purk]

  Sony sure seems to have knocked it outta the park with the entire Signature Series lineup.  Can wait to see what new goodies they have to show at CES next week!

The TA-ZH1ES is the star of the show IMO.  As good as the NW-WM1Z, it will always be overpriced based on the sound quality.  The Z1R does sound very nice to my ears but I still prefer the HD800s at this point in time.  

 

[XERO1]

  The TA-ZH1ES is the star of the show IMO.  

​That's really saying something since the Z1R's are getting rave reviews from just about everyone who has heard them.
 
I plan on making a trip over to TheSourceAV to hear them both in the near future.

 

[warrior1975]

Actually since I love warmth and bass strong headphones ....Z1R is almost perfect to my needs

Can you compare the Th900s to the z1r when you have time? Thanks bro.

 

[starblue]

I just got mine today and fired it up few mins back with my MDR Z1R in unbalanced mode. Man oh man, trust me, I am not speaking of new purchase love. This amp is very different than Sony PHA-3, Pioneer XPA-700, Woo Audio WA 6Se and DAP's like DP-X1. EXTREMELY revealing but warm. More impressions to come later...!

Congratulations on your new toy, I am sure there is a break in period for this DAC/AMP, what source are you feeding it with. I have a ZX2 connected to my old Burson HA-160. How do you like the Sony cans, let us know how they sound in balanced mode with this new AMP/DAC.

Hi mate, let me try to answer your questions
- straight of the box the amp sounded very nice but i am also burning in at the moment. Lets see if the sound characteristic changes
- i have mostly flac and some DSD files. Audirvana on iMac to ZH1ES via USB cable
- i do like the Z1R very much. Its quite warm but equally resolving. I am not sure which one of my recent purchases I like better, Z1R or Pioneer SE Master 1. I haven't tried the latter with ZH1ES yet. Both will stay in my stable though

In general, I had very little time with this Amp yesterday. Initially I started it in basic mode with both DSEE HX and DSD upscaling turned off as I wanted to observe sonic differences progressively. Even with both turned off and with Z1R plugged in unbalanced, the amp/headphone combo sounded extremely nice.

Now it might be just my sonic perception and it may not be correct or change with time (burn in) but I found that turning off ON DSD upscaling of DSEE engine adds a bit of brightness to the sound. The addition was very subtle but unless my ears were betraying me completely, it was there. To reiterate it was very very subtle. Mind you I have very sensitive ears when it comes to brightness.

If above is true and doesnt change with time then likes of ZH1ES + Fostex TH900 will turn out to be an interesting combo to watch. I have the TH900 in balanced mode and will test it out this weekend. From experience, while I enjoy the TH900, it can show its brightness spikes with some recordings due to which they are not my 'go to' headphones. Same for LCD XC which deviated from the typical dark Audeze home signature that I love, keen to see if ZH1ES can mellow it down.

Will post observations as I progress.

EDIT - I noticed a big typo in my post above which I have corrected now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[purk]

 
​That's really saying something since the Z1R's are getting rave reviews from just about everyone who has heard them.
 
I plan on making a trip over to TheSourceAV to hear them both in the near future.

Don't forget to leave your credit cards at home.  You will find ways to buy it after you hearing and looking at it.    Highly recommended buying from Jason @ TheSource AV.  

 

[starblue]

Now it might be just my sonic perception and it may not be correct or change with time (burn in) but I found that turning off ON DSD upscaling of DSEE engine adds a bit of brightness to the sound. The addition was very subtle but unless my ears were betraying me completely, it was there. To reiterate it was very very subtle. Mind you I have very sensitive ears when it comes to brightness.

 

I take this back. Mine has been burned in about 24 hours now. Listening to same setup today with some known bright tracks I cant find any noticeable brightness jump when switching on DSEE HK and/or DSD upscaling. If at all, the highs sound a bit more controlled from yesterday. Paired with Z1R, this amp pumps in tons of bass!
 
I will test out with TH900 nonetheless.

 

[highfidelity69]

Hya, received the TA-ZH1ES Amp today. I am using a ZX2 walkman as the source and currently using it with a pair of Shure 846's. (my MDR Z1R arrives on thursday). Sounds awesome to my ears. Sorry I'm not an audiophile so my descriptions might be rubbish - but there is clarity but no harshness and very powerful bass through the Shure's on certain tracks (like 'Gosh' by Jamie XX). Can anybody give me a brief (or long!) summary of what the 'DSD remastering' and 'DSEE HX' functions are supposed to do - and whether (in their opinion) it is better to just switch them off? I am playing some High Res Files but mainly using CD quality 16 bit files streamed from Quboz through the ZX2.

Feel free to buzz me with any questions.

go to hdtracks and download some FLAC and DSD files, it will make your CD files sound like MP3's

 

[Zarniwoop76]

go to hdtracks and download some FLAC and DSD files, it will make your CD files sound like MP3's

 
Thanks. Just downloaded 24bit FLACs of Nick Caves Skeleton Tree and Leonard Cohens latest (and last) album.
 
Quick question (and please excuse my ignorance). On the display at the top of the unit the Input is showing as PCM44.1KHZ / 24bit (as you'd expect), but the output on the display shows PCM352.8KHz/32bit.
 
I've switched off any DSD or DSEE HX scaling etc. Not sure why the output is showing as above? Any ideas? I've connected my Phone via USB to the DAC using the USB Audio Player Pro App on my Samsung. Quality is great by the way as it bypasses the circuitry in the phone itself. 

 

[Whitigir]

Nah, smartphone is a lousy source of digital transport. Don't believe all that by-pass myths from smartphone. Why don't you plug in a HDD directly and have the TA do all the job then ? Lol...see my points ?