[fish1050]

Well ok ap80 wasn't that great with BT either or cayin n3, m6 was good with bluetooth yes. But 'most' of the Chinese brands I've tried have had spotty bluetooth among other problems. I'm actually trying out a cayin n6ii because of the replaceable mother boards.

So I'm definitely not against Chinese brands. In fact if m11 and m13 weren't so long I'd have one of those

However I will say Sony is very Solid and the build is better than most. Also with the A105 they have a very 3d sound with everything having it's own space that I find intoxicating to listen too. The sound has a lot of depth and is different in presentation that all the others.

I have no doubt the A105 sounds great, kind of expect it at this price point. I can make alot of the same observations about the M9 with about 200 hours on it now. If you give any DAP enough time your brain will adjust to the sound signature. Another reason why I only own one DAP at a time. So the which sounds better or different argument eventually goes away once you settle on a DAP and get use to it's sound signature over time. If I keep listening to new DAP's all the time I will end up broke swapping out DAP's frequently. Are there better DAP's than the M9, absolutely, but at a $300 CDN price point the options thin out considerably. The A105 in Canada is competing at closer to the $500 price point so more in range with the Shanling M5S and Hiby R5 rather than the Fiio M9.

I want to compare the A55 to the M9 which might be a fairer comparison as the A55 will be around $300 CDN.

 

[abitdeef]

I have no doubt the A105 sounds great, kind of expect it at this price point. I can make alot of the same observations about the M9 with about 200 hours on it now. If you give any DAP enough time your brain will adjust to the sound signature. Another reason why I only own one DAP at a time. So the which sounds better or different argument eventually goes away once you settle on a DAP and get use to it's sound signature over time. If I keep listening to new DAP's all the time I will end up broke swapping out DAP's frequently. Are there better DAP's than the M9, absolutely, but at a $300 CDN price point the options thin out considerably. The A105 in Canada is competing at closer to the $500 price point so more in range with the Shanling M5S and Hiby R5 rather than the Fiio M9.

I want to compare the A55 to the M9 which might be a fairer comparison as the A55 will be around $300 CDN.

Well everything aside, the Sony definitely presents things differently and I like that. I like trying new daps and I'm lucky to have the income to have multiple daps if I want too.

Also I'm not sure you keep posting here about how good the m9 is for you. I only played about 260 dollars for mine so that would definitely put it m9 range. But I'm really happy with it, that's why I'm not singing it's accolades in say the m9 thread.

No need to. I don't care how it compares.

 

[Sp12er3]

The early battery life bugs&google craps really make it hard for new user to get a good experience from scratch.

 

[udo]

Now see this 40th anniversary walkman and compare to the modern 'walkman' with hires playback and such.
See the speed of the old one, see the `database creation` each time you power on the modern one.
Why didn't them Sony people notice this?
I will return the A55L for this.

 

[kova4a]

Now see this 40th anniversary walkman and compare to the modern 'walkman' with hires playback and such.
See the speed of the old one, see the `database creation` each time you power on the modern one.
Why didn't them Sony people notice this?
I will return the A55L for this.

If you're judging the boot up speed by the above video, don't because there is an obvious cut - the new walkmans take 20+ seconds also. At least with the old ones you don't have to turn them off as they can be in standby for more than 2 weeks.

I finally got to check out the a105 at the local Sony Center and I'm not impressed - it has a slightly cooler tonality and maybe very slightly tighter low end. It's only a small sidegrade, but by no means is it worth 150-200 euro more than the older models even if the battery life was as quoted and not 3 times less (I'm waiting for people to tell me that it needs at least 200 hours of burn-in)

 

[psikey]

So, lots of listening over Christmas/New year break with my new A105, Dragonfly Cobalt & BTR5. For critical listening at home I'm 95% Tidal these days and nothing sounds better with Tidal than my Dragonfly Cobalt playing MQA's & bitrate correctly (bit-perfect) via my old iPhone SE 128GB and SE846's or used with my PC with KEF LSX speakers.

For out and about my S10+/BTR5 with balanced connection to my SE846's using LDAC is sublime and highly convenient so I've made decision to move on the A105.

Have it listed on another forum I use but if anybody in UK (possibly EU) wants a mint red one imported from Japan with no EU volume cap then send me a PM. Mint and unmarked "As New". (assuming not already sold on the forum).

Have it listed for £275 with a 512GB Samsung EVO mSD.

 

[goody]

So, lots of listening over Christmas/New year break with my new A105, Dragonfly Cobalt & BTR5. For critical listening at home I'm 95% Tidal these days and nothing sounds better with Tidal than my Dragonfly Cobalt playing MQA's & bitrate correctly (bit-perfect) via my old iPhone SE 128GB and SE846's or used with my PC with KEF LSX speakers.

For out and about my S10+/BTR5 with balanced connection to my SE846's using LDAC is sublime and highly convenient so I've made decision to move on the A105.

Have it listed on another forum I use but if anybody in UK (possibly EU) wants a mint red one imported from Japan with no EU volume cap then send me a PM. Mint and unmarked "As New". (assuming not already sold on the forum).

Have it listed for £275 with a 512GB Samsung EVO mSD.

i sold mine as well it just became redundant really ... i have the BTR5 great piece of kit especially with my mobile phone ..i will stick with my A55 and BTR5 for now

 

[john galley]

iI had this Sony but the battery drain was comical 100% charged was down to 48% within 1 hour was using 4% of the battery life just powering up to Home Screen .. is this the exception or have others had issues with battery life or lack of .. asking because i am undecided whether to give a new one a try.

 

[ColdsnapBry]

What are my options for purchasing this online? I'm based out of New Zealand right now, I've got a few things I need shipped to me from Zenmarket, so I can get it from Amazon Japan for $290. A bit more than the FiiO m6 but Sony's brand got that history of me envying their tech haha.

https://zenmarket.jp/en/amazonproduct.aspx?itemCode=B07YYDSPP7

 

[psikey]

iI had this Sony but the battery drain was comical 100% charged was down to 48% within 1 hour was using 4% of the battery life just powering up to Home Screen .. is this the exception or have others had issues with battery life or lack of .. asking because i am undecided whether to give a new one a try.

With Android stuff turned off that you don't need for offline tracks in Tidal, Spotify or Amazon HD I'd get over 9hr playtime.

For my own flac files in the Sony Music app I'd get over 16hr.

For live streaming over wifi don't expect more than 5hr.

I always turned mine off after listening to music, not left in standby.

 

[ColdsnapBry]

Whew, read through this thread over a coffee. What a roller coaster ride, it had excitement, devotion, depression, and then abandonment.

Even after all the discussion I still think I might want this DAP over the FiiO M6. I had a Shanling M0 which I loved, but sadly went through the wash. One extra thing I wanted was audiobook support. My most immediate need right now that the Shanling M0 was good for is the gym. Second need would be listening to music with a closed back headphone while in bed. I also got rid of my smart phone last year (just have a text / call phone), so having the options of possibly checking my email or some chat apps I use in an emergency would be nice, although the chance of this will be very unlikely (though I've found after a year of not having a smart phone nothing is very urgent and it's nice to be disconnected). On the Sony DAP I'd probably just pin the music playing app to stay open and turn on airplane mode. One extra benefit would be having Google Drive setup to just look at a folder on my computer that would have my music on the go, once I come home pop on Wifi the Google Drive app on the Sony would auto sync it. Then there's the physical buttons which I really like, along with a hold button which is super nice.

I have a pair of Mr Speakers Aeon Flow and a Schiit Asgard 3 at home. So I don't really feel like I need another hifi setup. This small pairing seems like a good option to solve my immediate need of needing an audio setup for the gym. Then later I can start looking around for an easy to drive closed back headphone for my second needs. Just some random thoughts... I've got a package almost ready to go from Zenmarket to me and this setup is just a small $320ish addition..

 

[Berrieg]

I got mine 2 days ago. Fabulous device and just what I wanted: dap with android, so I can still play my Spotify tunes. Battery is a thing, but don't it as a phone. Wi-Fi mostly off and after listening wireless, put Bluetooth off. I disabled all apps that I don't use, so I have a clean player.

For wired: the sound settings make the music much better. The settings aren't available when using Bluetooth, but, it's an android player so I downloaded Poweramp Which has fantastic eq and sound customization options for better playback. I do have wired problems with my BW PX7, but after testing , it's specifically with these types of headphones, others work great. After going in standby mode, I have to reboot the DAP before I resume listening in wired mode because no sound comes through. I emailed BW with this problem and is a bit annoying. A demo PX7 unit in a store had the samen problem.

All in all satisfied with this DAP as a small device solemnly for my music so I don't have to switch to my smartphone. Quality eisen I feel this player has way better sound output.

 

[Sp12er3]

BTR 5 is interesting indeed, im planning to move up to that when my btr 3 croak, or just found a good deal for one

 

[john galley]

With Android stuff turned off that you don't need for offline tracks in Tidal, Spotify or Amazon HD I'd get over 9hr playtime.

For my own flac files in the Sony Music app I'd get over 16hr.

For live streaming over wifi don't expect more than 5hr.

I always turned mine off after listening to music, not left in standby.

That 52% loss of battery power from a 100% charge was for the majority of that time was with no apps or music running/playing ... 52% in 1hr 10 mins seems excessive.. i would doubt i would have got 2hrs of music playing from 100 % charge .. if that is the norm .. for me Sony need a increase in size to enable a bigger battery with a longer life once fully charged.

 

[nanaholic]

True but if this was the case then why doesn't Sony give the rating at 32 ohms? They give it balanced vs unbalanced so if power output was good at 32 ohms why not highlight that fact? The only reason not to give that figure is if it paints their DAP's in a less than flattering light. Speculation is pointless, only facts matter and Sony isn't forthcoming with facts that don't make their products look good at least to them.

The entire audio industry have no common standard and understanding when it comes to publishing output powers, so you trying to paint this as a Sony problem or issue is pointless. Take a look at how AK does it - they publish 1 output power with a NO LOAD condition, yet nearly every run-of-the-mill audio review takes that number as gospel and makes unsuitable power output comparisons against the competition which then colours their perception in the review. Fact is that output power being a no-linear relationship is not something people without technical knowledge can easily wrap their heads around, a few numbers can be easily blown out of proportion and spun the wrong way when used by people whom has no proper understanding of what it means.