[Hellraiser86]

this is what i was looking for! Thank you so much! Really! You helped me a lot Only one last thing: Talking about imaging and detail ( in other words, the ability to hear the most possible from a hi-res music file ) do you think that these dacs are more or less on par or, maybe, one is superior to the other?

Glad to hear that I could help

I personally would go for the Sony in that case. The Ta scales a tiny bit better with higher quality files. I do not know why but if I trust my ears it is because of the soundstage which gives some elements more space to shine. But that is not a big jump from the RME. The biggest is really the personal taste.

Do you like the sound of your WM1A? I had it, too. The TA has a lot in comon soundwise (just everything better of course). The tonal balance is right between the 1A and the 1Z. So I guess you could like this sound more. But if you found the 1A somehow lacking (f.e. dynamics) maybe the RME is the better choice. On the other hand you could use the 1A as a transport with the beautiful sony dock to the ta and remote everything with the sony remote . Thats just the „SONY-THING“

 

[Hellraiser86]

Well, instead of giving a thoughtful response like Hellraiser86 did, which actually explained the differences in sound, you said something that was kind of not really true, and in any event wasn't particularly helpful.

I'm just calling it like I see it, the other person can make an informed decision will all the information at hand.

On top of that I've seen alot of crazy stuff from you. "No idea what any of those words mean." kind of sums up your knowledge about dacs IMO.

I would not be surprised if you've never owned a TA-ZH1ES or any of the dacs under discussion long enough to make an informed opinion about them, instead using non-sequiturs like "it's light years behind".

I can tell you that while I prefer the Hugo2's Dac unit to the TA-ZH1ES, it's still a very refined Dac that holds it's own. And Chord has some of the best Dacs in the industry. The RME Unit under discussion is also a top of the line dac.

If just the headphone out did not hiss that much with my Solaris
The TA is way more silent (to be fair both on unbalanced - the Sony hisses a tiny bit in balanced)

But generally I also prefer the Hugo2. It is like a child from RME and Sony

 

[tradyblix]

Another thing to mention while I'm here about the TA is that although it resamples all analog input (unfortunately) you can control how this is done (PCM at different rates, DSD, etc) and it sounds really really good (to me). Putting a Hugo2 as DAC and using the DA amp stage of the Tazzy is pretty sweet, even if it's not the cleanest signal chain ever. This way you can stay PCM through the DAC phase and sample the analog as DSD at the end. And combing another Dac's features with the TA is pretty interesting as well, lot's of control !

So you can probably rest easy should you want to experiment with standalone dacs later on.

 

[Hellraiser86]

Another thing to mention while I'm here about the TA is that although it resamples all analog input (unfortunately) you can control how this is done (PCM at different rates, DSD, etc) and it sounds really really good (to me). Putting a Hugo2 as DAC and using the DA amp stage of the Tazzy is pretty sweet, even if it's not the cleanest signal chain ever. This way you can stay PCM through the DAC phase and sample the analog as DSD at the end. And combing another Dac's features with the TA is pretty interesting as well, lot's of control !

So you can probably rest easy should you want to experiment with standalone dacs later on.

And here we are again. Just another thing I must try now

 

[tradyblix]

But generally I also prefer the Hugo2. It is like a child from RME and Sony

It takes a bit of geting used to, especially if you like a really warm amp. If I knew I was going to like it's DAC as much as I do, I might have gotten a Qutest instead.

But this way I can move it between rooms and either link it up or use it standalone.

 

[Hellraiser86]

It takes a bit of geting used to, especially if you like a really warm amp. If I knew I was going to like it's DAC as much as I do, I might have gotten a Qutest instead.

But this way I can move it between rooms and either link it up or use it standalone.

Exactly the same here . I am often away from home and the hugo is the perfect solution for having such a soundquality on the go (mostly in hotel or at my girls place - it is still to bulky for my mobile use where I now have the DF Cobalt).

 

[antoramp]

Glad to hear that I could help

I personally would go for the Sony in that case. The Ta scales a tiny bit better with higher quality files. I do not know why but if I trust my ears it is because of the soundstage which gives some elements more space to shine. But that is not a big jump from the RME. The biggest is really the personal taste.

Do you like the sound of your WM1A? I had it, too. The TA has a lot in comon soundwise (just everything better of course). The tonal balance is right between the 1A and the 1Z. So I guess you could like this sound more. But if you found the 1A somehow lacking (f.e. dynamics) maybe the RME is the better choice. On the other hand you could use the 1A as a transport with the beautiful sony dock to the ta and remote everything with the sony remote . Thats just the „SONY-THING“

Yes, I love the sound of the WM1A. I prefer laidback sound instead of analitical one. So I think I’ll go for the Sony Ta. Many thanks for your reply
My only question is... is Sony ready to release a new upgraded version of the TA or something like that? ( because I see that the TA now turned 3 years old... )

 

[nc8000]

Yes, I love the sound of the WM1A. I prefer laidback sound instead of analitical one. So I think I’ll go for the Sony Ta. Many thanks for your reply
My only question is... is Sony ready to release a new upgraded version of the TA or something like that? ( because I see that the TA now turned 3 years old... )

Nothing has been announced

 

[Sp12er3]

Yes, I love the sound of the WM1A. I prefer laidback sound instead of analitical one. So I think I’ll go for the Sony Ta. Many thanks for your reply
My only question is... is Sony ready to release a new upgraded version of the TA or something like that? ( because I see that the TA now turned 3 years old... )

Sony usually took their time for uodating flagship , esp on an ES model like the TA, the last time it was an ES Home Receiver in 2017.

 

[Audiofiend1]

would getting the Sony TA-ZH1ES be an upgrade over my Oppo HA-1?? I found a deal on one but if i got it then i will have to sell my HA-1 and i don't know much about the sony so any thoughts on what is a better amp/dac combo?

 

[antoramp]

Is there also a test of this Dac/Amp about the THD, THD+N, SINAD, SNR or something like that? Because I didn't find any of this measurements on the internet.... I'm seriously thinking of buying it but having also this kind of informations could be useful!
Many thanks

 

[purk]

would getting the Sony TA-ZH1ES be an upgrade over my Oppo HA-1?? I found a deal on one but if i got it then i will have to sell my HA-1 and i don't know much about the sony so any thoughts on what is a better amp/dac combo?

Yes, I would get ZH1ES over the HA-1. The HA-1 can be a little harsh from time with less depth in the soundstage department. The ZH1ES is one smooth sounding analog player. Just it is a little soft around the edge compared to some better amplifiers out there. Better amps also able to display greater sense of dynamics compared to ZH1ES.

 

[Audiofiend1]

Yes, I would get ZH1ES over the HA-1. The HA-1 can be a little harsh from time with less depth in the soundstage department. The ZH1ES is one smooth sounding analog player. Just it is a little soft around the edge compared to some better amplifiers out there. Better amps also able to display greater sense of dynamics compared to ZH1ES.

Does the ZH1ES get up there in the volume range though? i like to listen to my music loud and am concerned it might not have enough power to say drive a HE-6 comfortably?

 

[nc8000]

Does the ZH1ES get up there in the volume range though? i like to listen to my music loud and am concerned it might not have enough power to say drive a HE-6 comfortably?

It will be listenable but it won’t drive the HE-6 to their best

 

[Hellraiser86]

Does the ZH1ES get up there in the volume range though? i like to listen to my music loud and am concerned it might not have enough power to say drive a HE-6 comfortably?

Both DAC/AMPs are not the best solution for this task (I know the Oppo has more power but it isn’t enough for such a demanding can) If driving this headphone is your prior intention, then spend the money in a dedicated headphone amplifier like a Violectric HPA-V281 or something in that class (don’t know the price you can get the TA but in Germany it’s about the same price as the Violectric).