Sony NW-WM1Z/WM1A DAPs

oh sweet, got a link?

nevermind, see it in the headfi thread, great news
hope it doesn't brick when sony updates the firmware though

 

did the switch, it's a simple region switch, didn't change anything with the firmware or factory reset, nothing was wiped.
difference between lo and hi gain doesn't seem that drastic through single ended output, i feel like it's only a 10-15volume units increase.

I just received a cabled with 4.4mm TRRRS termination this morning, the high gain on balanced output seems like a 25 unit increase, much more drastic than single ended.

Both cables I have are copper litz, the singled ended one is 4 wires 3.5mm TRRS, the 4.4mm is 8 wires. From the balanced output the background is darker (more silent) and I feel like the sound stage is slightly wilder. I've only had the time to listen to a few songs of a chris botti album and the balanced output definitely sounds better, I'm more immersed in the music. But I'm not sure how much of the sonic difference is due to a possibly better cable or going to fully balanced.

Going to have to find an adapter to see how well the wm1a will drive my utopias on high gain.

 

Having separate grounds alone helps a lot, a-la ZX2. That should be where the most drastic improvement came from.

 

The 1Z/1A ability to act as a DSD digital transport is also pretty awesome. My PHA-3 has never sounded better.

 

well the 3.5 TRRS cable was already taking advantage of of separate grounds, but going with the 4.4 balanced there's noticeable difference, wilder sound stage and better separation. Vocals may be slightly more centered and forward.

Got an adapter to use singled ended with Utopia, volume is not an issue even with lo gain but the sound is really thin and not very good at all. High gain makes it more listenable, but still a bit too thin and bright for my taste, I guess you'll have to go balanced to use headphones with it.

 

Guess time for the Balanced

 

Anyone know of a good place to source a 2.5mm TRRS AK male plug to 4.4mm balanced Sony male? So would be 2.5mm TRRS female with AK wiring pinouts on one side and 4.4mm TRRS male with Sony wiring on the other side. Cheers

 

that for your alo cdm? I was thinking about the same thing. I think plussound cables has the terminations, just you are gonna have to wait a long time >< or try surf cables as well

 

Yeah, was thinking about both the CDM and also most of my good IEM cables I have terminated in 2.5mm balanced. While it's not a super-sturdy format (have broken one tip off - so it was just ring-ring sleeve!) it's the most convenient and versatile in my experience for IEM cables. With a simple adapter I can use it 3.5mm TRS or 3.5mm TRRS or a 4-pin XLR. Most of those adapters I got from Norne, who do good work but it's not cheap and can take a while. Will talk to Norne as well as Plussound and Surf. Cheers

 

I think yy audio and beat have them.

 

Thanks!

Looks like Luna Shops as well: http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=5581

Cheers

 

if you are visiting hk, you may as well wait ... you could test cables in most shops

 

Good point. Thanks

 

Good deal on the Sony NW-WM1A on Amazon UK! Comes out to only a little over $800 in the US.

Details in the "Deals" thread - http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-deals-thread.87/page-47#post-110848

(didn't want to duplicate post)

 

Sorry for monopolizing the thread, but found out that Surf Cables also has 4.4mm cables/adapters/plugs on sale in the US.

https://www.surfcables.com/products...s-for-nw-wm1z-nw-wm1a-etc?variant=32848530819

Cheers

 

Nice find bro. I'm ordering tomorrow. Too tired and lazy now.

 

1A vs 1Z - first impressions. Cheers

http://www.head-fi.org/t/815841/new-sony-nw-wm1z-wm1a-flagship-hi-end-dap/7620#post_13182899

 

So i thought i'd post a second round of impressions on the WM1A, since people seem to question why I prefer the WM1A vs the ALO CDM/Geekout V2+ Inf stack.

I guess people who haven't read my initial impressions.....http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...rmerly-best-daps-2015.174/page-35#post-112316

The WM1A is actually quite impressive after 54 hours of burn-in, and I can't wait until i hit the 200hr mark. Its been playing continuously since I've gotten it and its still changing here and there.

So before the 20 hr mark, I was listening to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, and it was probably the most tired presentation of the album i've ever heard. There was no Prat, the voices were thin, the bass was thin, and the treble while tamed, still a bit sharp. I thought maybe high gain would help, so I turned it on. It actually made the sound more hefty, but with a heavy cost on air. Everything sounded extremely dry, grainy/hazy, and i felt claustrophic listening to the player. Also the impact of cymbals and kick drums, etc was very subdued on both settings were quite weak. Crescendos did not happen in large orchestral passages and it struggled for dynamic range.

For example in the track Get Lucky, You are hoping to hear that initial bass guitar line to punch and growl with immensive energy to get your toes tapping. It sounded very slow and tired, with a fuzziness and uncertainty that i never experienced. Perhaps the player still felt too tight to just let the music flow.

So when I compared this with the Geekout V2+ inf/ ALO CDM stack, it felt lifeless. The Geekout v2+ is very slightly aggressive and incisive, and with the mullard tubes in the ALO CDM, the bass was extremely punchy and tight, with forward mids, and a nice contrasted treble.

I was very disappointed with the WM1A, because i loved everyting about the player....it oozed quality, felt great in the hand, etc...but my first thought was....maybe I should have stuck to the ZX2.

So yesterday after about 34 hours, I decided to give another whirl. To my surprise, the sound was much more relaxed, airy and composed. There was more body to the sound, which gave a better sense of depth and heft to the sound. The treble siblance had tamed down, the mids were less forward. Driver grip and transient impact was coming back. I'm sure many ZX2 users know what i mean by this. On the ZX2, every cymbal hit, bass drum hit, it feels very visercal like you can almost feel the air move. My favorite is when the lowest octave bass lines come in on the ZX2, and you just love that high quality bass, that feels like oozing water droplets(subjective yes) that bloom. I still felt that the lowest octave of the WM1A was lacking in comparison, and while showing signs of the Sony house sound, it still felt the treble was still accentuated. I decided, lets see if high Gain changes anything.

The subbass was back, the sound was even fuller, impact and kick were stronger, and inner detailing was much easier to hear...an overall improvement.

And YES For all you doubters, who think this is all because of a volume increase...........it isn't because Sony automatically drops the sound volume to extremely low levels when engaging high gain mode to protect the user from an unexpected loud burst of sound.

I really had a wow moment so, I had to check to check back with the other stack.

VS the Geekout v2+ Inf, it was no contest. I'm not surprised because I felt for me the ZX2 had it beat quite handily already with the andromeda and my 1964 v6 stage iem. The geekout v2+ feels artificial and thin in comparison. It is a more leaner, analytical sound. The stage is much flatter, yet the soundstage is still smaller(less wide). The impact of the sound is much weaker, and overall feels small in scale. Details were presented more clean way, but didn't really seduce me. I never liked the Geekout v2+ for its microdynamics, as it is the sound of clean. Even with the FRM it decays and resolves too quickly to hear microshadings and details. Most apparent is in the drums, esp in transients. All hits sound pretty much the same and cymbals just go tizz tizz, missing the second part of the note.

Its like I say in music. Many performers and audience members focus on the note themselves. Many are caught up playing the right notes at the right time, which a clear incisive sound. However the most important aspect is what happens in between the notes. If you actually calculate the amount of time that is distributed in music, most of the time is spent in between the notes. How the artist can shape this space, giving the feeling of coming from and going to a note, is critical to actually hare what create the magic. I find pianists to be amazing in this regard because they are able to create an illusion of a long line, even when the piano is a percussive instrument where the notes alway crescs after impact, and decay. Depending the impact, timing, and pedaling, they can control the rate of decay and create an illusion of long melodic line.

I also find this to be useful in the creating a different illusion on the cello. Very often in building intense passages, it is very difficult to play Fortissimo in a high register and continue to grow louder and louder as the instrumnts do have a limit. However you can create the illusion by giving a very strong attack, decay very quickly, then give a crescendo in the sustain phase and cresc until release, giving the sound even at its end, a feeling of increasing. This ADSR model is used by recording engineers and producers everywhere.

I wrote the above, because it is how i listen to music and judge audio gear(how well it reproduces).

The GO V2+ has a decent attack, but its decay is nearly always the same(too fast), sustain is a bit sterile, and release is of course quick.

This is what makes it feel analytical and lifeless even in FRM mode for me.

The ALO as an amp(I won't include the dac, because GO V2+ hooked in on balanced input sounds much better(though not single ende) adds a bit of meat on the bones, and presents everything in a more contrasted way, like HDR. Also helps gives greater impact as well. For me the perfect analogy for the sound is when you seen some polished silver that looks very shiny.

When a bing the two on complete tracks/albums, the general sense of feeling i got was the WM1A was about even to the stack. Yes the presentations were different but both at a high level, both technically and musically.

For me, the Sony wins because I like a tonality is slightly more earthy and hefty. The soundstage width slightly smaller, but its the biggest i've heard from a DAP. The presentation feels more like I'm in a live hall compared to feeling like I'm in a studio with the stack. It is slighty less contrasty, but still very good. I love the strong bass impact and transient response(even stronger than the ALO). Also I find the dac to be much better in microshading and transient decay compared to other clean daps/dacs like the QP1R and the Geekout v2+, which makes it much more musical. A good example to explain is listening to Adele's He won't Go. The whole track is basically drums juxtaposed against the singer. I only heard on the sony, the variance on drum hits and different decays on the cymbals. Go V2+ and ALO lack in this regard and its hard to come back to once you've heard the inner nuance and detail.

On a final note, I prefered listening directly from the sony instead of amping it through ALO, because I felt the loss of details and nuances.

I believe in the s master digital amp technology and i feel it is something special. I guess i can be biased because my Eve studio monitors also use the same technology.

Anyways player is still burning in and I will update once it gets to the 200hr mark. For now the ALO stack is probably going to go on sale. Will order a 4.4mm cable and report on the differences in balanced mode.

And yes, it is a improvement over the ZX2.

Despite audio nirvana, I have to say it can't beat playing on the 2.2 million dollar Grofiller cello that has just been loaned to me. Why listen to music when you can make it yourself?

 

you probably shouldn't disclose the last line so publicly lol

 

I listened to the 1z player, albeit briefly, last night on my jh13 pro's. I was only able to go through about a 1/2 dozen of my test tracks. Not nearly enough time to form any strong opinion. But the reason that I decided to comment was that the 1z sounded way different than I expected. All I keep hearing on the HF thread was how lush and sweet the 1z sounds. Well, not to me. It's sounds, in fact, pretty damned neutral. Beautiful and refined. Very tight and textured bass...nothing bloomy to speak. A really nice sounding DAP but just very different than what I imagined.