Sony ZX300

I successfully loaded an older version of Tidal on my ZX2 and stream constantly. The older Tidal UI sucks compared to that of my phone, but works.

 

Just Tidal. Then again due to the age of the DAP I might be better off just dealing with one of the newer DAPs. I really like to upgrade from my Fiio X5 3rd Gen DAP but it hits almost all my check points (dual sd card slots, streaming, etc).

 

Oddly, the first time I tried connecting my iPhone to the ZX300 using the CCL, it told me it was trying to draw too much power (even though the Sony was set to not draw power from the source in DAC mode). For some reason I decided to try it again tonight, and bizarrely, it worked! Streaming the new Sharon Van Etten from Qobuz in 24/44 to the ZX300 and it sounds good (or as good as a compressed, loud mastering can sound)!

 

I had the same issue with my iPhone -> WM1Z Tidal rig. The Lighting-to-USB adapter I have comes with an additional Lighting out for charging, but even that doesn't quite solve the "draw too much power" problem. I find it reacts better with Apple Music's playback, i.e. easier to get the signal through after a few trials... And from there I would switch to Tidal. Dunno if the same works for Qobuz though.

 

I think the key is to plug the cable into the iPhone first, then plug into the Sony with auto USB DAC turned off, then manually turn on DAC on the DAP.

 

You guys make sure that charging is disabled under USB DAC option when connecting to your phones?

 

Yes, both times I tried charging from source was disabled on the Sony, but for some reason the first time the iPhone still thought the DAP needed a charge.

 

Below are the steps I do every time I want to use ZX300 as a DAC with an iPhone. Works almost every time for me. Not sure if this also works with Android phones, but here goes:

1. Set your ZX300 to not drain the battery from sources, as you guys already know.
2. Turn on the DAC mode on your ZX300 before plugging it to your phone. This is crucial for me. Your phone might think ZX300 is still drawing power otherwise, even when there's no power draining happening.
3. Force close your music app of choice, then reopen it again after a while.
4. Sometimes there's no sound when the phone is set to silent mode. Make sure to flick the silence switch on the side of the iPhone if that's the case. Not sure why this is needed sometimes.
5. Profit. Maybe. 80% of the time.

Now the problem is that I keep forgetting to set it back to draining power from sources when I use it with a laptop/PC haha. DAC mode drains the battery pretty fast (lasting about 4 hours of constant use).

EDIT: fixed some stupid grammar mistakes

 

is the ZX300's USB-DAC capped at PCM 48kHz ... I can't seem to get it to negotiate at anything higher. I'm guessing Tidal HiFi / MQA streaming won't work then and DSD, MQA and hifi quality files and such only get decoded if they physically exist on the DAP itself? tia!

 

I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten it to 24/96 and 24/192 using Qobuz and local files on my phone. The USB DAC function does not unpack MQA, only locally loaded MQA files will fully unpack.

 

thank you Merrick I am a real nub on audio so I'm just testing things out as much as possible. The NVidia Shield connects at 192. I am reading that people use 3rd party apps such as Roon and USB Audio Pro for more output options. I guess I will keep testing...just thought I'd ask here to see if anyone had some XP with the DAC feature. Thanks again!

 

I want to make myself clear: If you want to buy MQA music files, go to Onkyo Music/7Digital. Then again, the real question is why?

 

right sir, I do not wish to purchase the media, I was just trying to make sure I could stream at the highest quality setting from my phone to the ZX300 via usb-dac function. USB Audio Player Pro appears to allow for this...now I have to figure out which streaming service to subscribe to...Tidal vs Qobuz vs etc. thank you all.

 

The burn in on this device is real. It’s getting better each time I listen to it.

 

I got a cheap Chinese 4.4mm balanced cable for my HD580 and tried it this morning. The last DAP I had with true balanced output was the Pono, and while I know many people used and loved Ponos balanced out to HD600s/HD650s, to me it never felt like it could truly drive them appropriately. Just not enough power. So I was skeptical that the Sony would really drive the 580s the way they need to be, especially since I just recently got a Lyr 3 which definitely drives the 580s well but even then requires the volume pot be at least at noon.

Well, color me surprised. I had to push the Sony past 100 on the volume meter but it does indeed drive the 580s really well in balanced mode. The sound is really tight and controlled, lots of clarity, and the drivers do wake up. I tried some of my more dynamic music files and found that at times those pushed the player to max volume, so it’s not perfect in every circumstance. If you listen to mainly rock/pop/jazz where the DR isn’t TOO extreme, you should be able to comfortably drive most full sized headphones on the ZX300 in balanced mode.

 

I’ve had the same experience with the Elex and ZX300 balanced, but did notice that DR seemed more compressed since it’s restricted to the very top of the volume range. Bass seemed a bit muted too (probably an impedance swing thing).

 

I did something similar and got MMCX Chifidapters for Clears and HD650M to plug into the 8-core OCC 4.4mm cable I recently acquired (mainly to use with EX1000). I only needed volume at around 50, but I tend to listen to louder and compressed rock/pop-ish stuff. Both sounded really good. HD650M took EQ surprisingly well with very little bloom from the subbass boost.



I got the ZX300 a few weeks ago and have been meaning to write something but haven't had the time. Will do so soon. Overall, I'm very happy with it, except for the need to buy new cables/adapters.

 

I just ordered one of these the other day and I'm stoked Just one thing though-- it's only people in Europe who were subject to the whole "volume cap" thing right? It won't be an issue for the player I just ordered in Canada?

 

From the IEM general discussion thread:

In general, the 4.4mm output sounds a bit more "dynamic" to me. The difference is less noticeable with Andros, and more so with EX1000. The 3.5mm output has enough power to drive the EX1000, but it sounds punchier out of the 4.4. As @deafdoorknob put it to me, the 2 outputs and H/L gain settings are more about tuning the sound sig rather than better or worse.

 

Can anyone comment on album art on the ZX300 with the latest firmware? I use Tag Editor for Mac and I've tagged my whole library (all the individual files) with jpgs of album art. As far as anyone knows will this work?