[Jotaro]

Idk, but that cat looks so punchable, is that wrong?

Idk

 

[abitdeef]

Idk

Lol I was joking

 

[auronthas]

To my ears using the DFC with an Android device with Tidal in UAPP sounds identical to using it with Tidal App on the iPhone SE.

Isn't DFC has changed A105 Sony sound signature ?

Or to preserve Sony sound signature, we should look for portable amplifier without DAC ?

Too bad Sony does not offer line out (analogue)... probably 3.5mm headphone output can ?

 

[psikey]

Isn't DFC has changed A105 Sony sound signature ?

Or to preserve Sony sound signature, we should look for portable amplifier without DAC ?

Too bad Sony does not offer line out (analogue)... probably 3.5mm headphone output can ?

Yes. I was comenting on sound of DFC out of iPhone vs out of Android/UAPP.

 

[auronthas]

Yes. I was comenting on sound of DFC out of iPhone vs out of Android/UAPP.

Yeah, I noticed that too. But I also notice you mentioned about A105 with DFC, do you prefer A105 or DFC's sound signature ?

So my Dragonfly Cobalt arrived today and tried it with my A105, iPhone SE 128GB and S10+

Well, I had the DFR previously and the DFC sounds so sweet I'm liking it as much as the A105 on early listening tests. It works perfectly with the A105 with UAPP player too. Drives demanding headphones too if A105 not enough.

 

[psikey]

Yeah, I noticed that too. But I also notice you mentioned about A105 with DFC, do you prefer A105 or DFC's sound signature ?

Not much in it. DFC bit more resolving and wider. Treble more sparkly but A105 bit warmer, cosy, lush, musical.

Will still be using A105 on its own as my portable DAP and the DFC for use with PC or if I need A105 to feed demanding headphones with the DFC.

For the money I paid I'd choose the A105 as you get much more for your cash.

For pure sound quality.... I can't choose at the moment

Have the Fiio BTR5 today to campare with (just sold my BTR3).

Work for today

 

[psikey]

Out of the box impression. Player itself is a bit larger than I expected and not pleased they used a plastic tray for the packaging and the clip holder looks like thin brittle plastic. Should have put a lanyard hole on the player itself.

Build of the BTR5 itself looks quality.

And to initial impressions on SQ over LDAC (Best quality) form my Sony A105

We really are at a point where you can drop the wire. Sounds fantastic over SE or balanced with my SE846's.

Much better than the BTR3 and holds a signal over BT even when I'm two rooms away with walls between me and the DAP. I couldn't reliably use the BTR3 because even having my body in the way interrupted the signal.

Keeping this, but trouble now I have three great sounding devices with the DFC, A105, BTR5.

White is Balance, Black is SE



Can only have the volume on 19 on the BTR5 with my SE846's (A105 BT is max).​

 

[fish1050]

"For the price of the A105 it has a significant lack of power, no USB DAC or bluetooth receiver capabilities despite costing more than their Chinese competition who offer, more power, and the features Sony has left out."

Sorry Mr, but I think Sony has concentrated on the sound quality - and thats why the NW-A105 lacks the features you mentioned. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to do that soon, so I just think it sounds surely better than the M9. I will use it with the Sennheiser IE800 in-ear, so there will be no amplifier issues.

Sound quality and sound signature preference are subjective and heavily influenced by the iems or headphones used. You may think the A105 sounds significantly better but others may not, it may sound different but better is very subjective. I find Sony's DAP's can sound thin sounding and slightly metallic with its Class D Digital amplifier. Headphones not DAP's make the biggest difference in what you hear. Most DAP's in the same price range sound very similar and I have demoed dozens of DAP's. I have owned and demoed Cowon, Sony, Shanling and Fiio DAP's, demoed Cayin Hifiman, and A&K. I would gladly trade tiny if any differences in sound quality for additional features I want and power which Sony is lacking over their direct competition in the same price range, or in my case significantly less for my M9. Easy to make the claim about Sony being better sounding if you haven't tried other DAP's.

I have read reviews on Sony DAP's including the A55 that indicate they sound flat and lifeless unless you turn on Clear Audio+. I for one prefer to listen to my music without augmenting the sound with additional processing. If the sound isn't great without additional processing then I won't buy the DAP and my M9 sounds amazing with my NAD Viso HP50's without any equalization applied which is all that matters to me. Finding the perfect headphones to use with an A105 is made more challenging due to lack of power. I sure as heck don't want to spend even more money to stack a cumbersome portable amp on an A105 to drive my headphones, not a practical portable solution.

 

[psikey]

I have read reviews on Sony DAP's including the A55 that indicate they sound flat and lifeless unless you turn on Clear Audio+. I for one prefer to listen to my music without augmenting the sound with additional processing. If the sound isn't great without additional processing then I won't buy the DAP and my M9 sounds amazing with my NAD Viso HP50's without any equalization applied which is all that matters to me.

Can't comment on the A55 but the Sony is opposite of flat & lifeless. Its very musical and lush/warm/rich but still with pristine clarity. I also don't use EQ or other tweaks on DAP's.

You are right on IEM's/Headphones and their synergy with the player. I'm currently listening back and forth between the A105, DFC wired & BTR5 (over LDAC) and all sound great. If I was on a tight budget the £76 I paid for the BTR5 straight out of my S10+ over LDAC sounds fabulous via balanced (or SE) and most convenient. Need phone that supports LDAC ideally.

BTR5 also has more driving power than the A105. The A105 will certainly not meet everyone's needs and at the £236 I paid is at the right price point (£350 too expensive IMO).

The DFC at full price of £269 is also a hard buy but at £150 I paid used is also great.

I will use the DFC as intended as feed out of my PC, use the A105 wired when indoors and A105 with BTR5 while out & about (or S10+ with BTR5 while out).

If I had to put my neck on the line now and say which is the best purely for sound quality (except DSD) and ability to drive most peoples IEM's/Headphones it has to be the DFC (when playing bit-perfect 24/96 or MQA tracks).

For sound quality, price & convenience for 95% of people choose the Fiio BTR5 fed from your phone over LDAC. Best BT audio I've ever heard, including the EarStudio ES100 adapter.

 

[fish1050]

Can't comment on the A55 but the Sony is opposite of flat & lifeless. Its very musical and lush/warm/rich but still with pristine clarity. I also don't use EQ or other tweaks on DAP's.

You are right on IEM's/Headphones and their synergy with the player. I'm currently listening back and forth between the A105, DFC wired & BTR5 (over LDAC) and all sound great. If I was on a tight budget the £76 I paid for the BTR5 straight out of my S10+ over LDAC sounds fabulous via balanced (or SE) and most convenient if your phone as LDAC.

BTR5 also has more driving power than the A105. The A105 will certainly not meet everyone's needs and at the £236 I paid is at the right price point (£350 too expensive IMO).

The DFC at full price of £269 is also a hard buy but at £150 I paid used is also great.

I will use the DFC as intended as feed out of my PC, use the A105 wired when indoors and A105 with BTR5 while out & about (or S10+ with BTR5 while out).

I am sure you are right about the A105 I am going by reviews on youtube and elsewhere since I can't demo the A55 or A105. Simply pointing out that just because the A105 costs more it won't by default sound better but maybe different. You are happy to add another device with the BTR5 that I don't want to have to carry. I carry alot of gear for work every day so portable for me is a DAP and headphones.

One thing that doesn't get mentioned with Sony DAP's is the fact all tracks require embedded standard jpg artwork. My M9 and Shanlilng M0 only requires I add cover art to each album folder. I really don't want to have to go through the hassle of embedding artwork into 8,500 songs.

If you are a diehard Sony DAP person and are willing to make sacrifices in terms of features, power and the extra hassle of embedding album artwork into all your tracks then I hope you are happy.

But there are some great alternative DAP's out there that sound very good and you don't have to make as many sacrifices if you own one. My practical nature won't allow me to spend more money to get a less capable DAP. For pure sound quality I have my home system to listen to

I have tried the M9 as a computer DAC, a bluetooth receiver with the Fiio Link feature on my smartphone and it works great for both functions. DLNA took some trial and error but that works now for me and the M9 supports Airplay though I don't have any apple devices to try it with.

How well do the additional features on the A105 work?

 

[psikey]

What additional features? I just want it to play online/offline Streaming services. No interest in using it for anything else. No interest in connecting it as a DAC though I realise some would.

Its all about best SQ from a small pocketable player and the Sony Sound Sig tunning.

As for Fiio, I've had a few now and I'm finding the BTR5 nicer than many of their regular DAP's with last one I had the M11.

Again, not sure why your so hung up about the A105 and in this thread when your obviously happy with the M9? Its as if your angry that you can't have chance to try one at a reasonable price in your country. Just enjoy what you have.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Clearaudio + on my 2015 ZX2 makes music sound worse off with overprocessing. It's adding fake surround to the music along with muddy sound.

However on my 2019 ZX507, especially on balanced connection. DSEE HX AI really does improve music listening. On live recorded music, you get to listen to microscopic details that you otherwise miss. It also recovers "missing" real soundstage that present in the music(as in it doesn't add soundstage to music that doesn't have soundstage to begin with).

The analogy is like a 60hz LCD screen (zx2) vs 240hz OLED screen(zx507)

 

[DONTGIVEUP]

Isn’t it amazing that because of digital MP3 (20+ year) technology the walkman is still standing.
I wonder what the next format will be after digital music. Anyways that’s another discussion.

What’s the verdict on the 2019 models? Hit or miss?

 

[fish1050]

What additional features? I just want it to play online/offline Streaming services. No interest in using it for anything else. No interest in connecting it as a DAC though I realise some would.

Its all about best SQ from a small pocketable player and the Sony Sound Sig tunning.

As for Fiio, I've had a few now and I'm finding the BTR5 nicer than many of their regular DAP's with last one I had the M11.

Again, not sure why your so hung up about the A105 and in this thread when your obviously happy with the M9? Its as if your angry that you can't have chance to try one at a reasonable price in your country. Just enjoy what you have.

Just asking about how well Sony's other features work. As you said I can't try one here so no way for me to know how the other functions work. Therefore I have to ask actual owners like yourself. I like to demo DAP's before buying them and I have to ask others for feedback since I can't. You guys keep gushing about the sound quality but know way for me to gauge that. Just because I am happy with my M9 doesn't mean I can't look at other DAP's like the Hiby R3 Pro for example. Maybe down the road I might get a chance to buy an A105 used or a demo model, never hurts to research. I mention other DAP's so people considering the A105 know there are alternatives out there that may be a better bang for the buck.

If you are happy and secure with your A105 then it shouldn't matter what I say about the M9 or any other DAP's for that matter.

 

[tredders]

I previously used to do my "serious" listening on my iPhone, with a Dragonfly Red, USB / Lightning adaptor, and wired Flare Pro2 HD IEMs. This was a really nice sounding package, but it wasn't particularly convenient to carry around. I do around 80 flights a year, and spend a lot of time in hotels, so was looking for a more convenient package. I also own a Fiio X5, but don't use it because (1) the UI is horrible, and (2) it's a pain to get HD music on it. I bought the A105 initially as a bit of a nostalgia trip, being of an age where I can remember the first Walkman tape models (still have my WM-4 in working condition!), and having owned various Sony portable Minidisc / CD / HD models over the years.

However, I've been blown away by the A105 for a number of reasons: -

1. Sound quality - subjective, but to my ears at least as good as the iPhone / DFR setup, in a far more convenient footprint.
2. Convenience / size - pocket sized
3. Ability to stream Tidal Hifi / Amazon HD
4. Ability to use microSD cards for offline listening (including local saving of Tidal MDQ files)
5. Ability to use wired and bluetooth headphones
6. Surprisingly useable sound enhancement modes

I see a lot of comments about battery life, but as long as any device I use lasts at least a day, I'm ok with that - I'll charge overnight. Having said that, I'm on my 3rd day of the same charge, so it's really not an issue for me. This device takes me back to feeling like I did when I got my first tape Walkman as a young kid - I now find that I have this with me all the time, and listen to far more music on the go than before, Sounds great with my new Master & Dynamic WM60s that I picked up for half price in the Cyber Monday sales, too.