Sony ZX300

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by Stuff Jones, Jun 21, 2018.

  1. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    I have only ever used the ZX300 as a DAP. Planning to use it as USB DAC with some headphones amps to drive the HD650. I am wondering how good it is in that role or would it be better to invest in something like a Modi 3? 3.5mm to RCA is not difficult, but the 4.4mm to RCA might be harder to build.
     
  2. Ice-man

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    If you can source a 4.4 mm cable and use the balanced out, I think that you'll be happy driving the hd650. There is plenty of volume and also some nice Sony finesse that has been missing with some of their products lately. Good pairing IMO.
     
  3. Poleepkwa

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    Probably have to build a cable or biy some adapter.
    I read that Torq suggested the ZX300 as a DAC is pretty good. So could be good to test if it needs an amp from balanced.
     
  4. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Any other thoughts on the ZX300 vs the ZX2? Am I taking a big hit on sound going to the 300 from the 2?
     
  5. Cellist88

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    Sorry @Merrick

    Been meaning to post the comparison of Sony Daps, but I've been pretty slammed recently, and rarely took the time to even listen to any gear. Barely checked SBAF.

    I cannot recommend using a ZX2 at this point in time because it is very dated in terms of android, no longer supports the latest version of tidal(this comment came from someone who bought the zx2 from me)

    The amp section is neither high-powered, nor self quiet, I don’t see which category it would be useful. If the Iem is sensitive, then its too hissy. If it Iem isn’t as sensitive, you don’t have hiss problems, yet you might not have enough driving power.....like certain Dynamic Driver IEMS.

    The ZX2 for me is was never perfect in any sound setting, even with all the tweaks. What I liked about it was the big bodied, thicker organic sound that was liquid, with a longer decay(though sometimes sounds dry sounding with all sound adjustments off).


    Moving onto the zx300:

    The zx300
    What makes me laugh a little bit is that the SE part sounds more like the zx2(albeit slightly inferior), and balanced sounds closer to the wm1a.

    The sound will lean more towards a modern dap sound(leaner sound). This means overall a less organic, liquid sound.....with less bass than the zx2, and more extended treble, with a bit more clarity. This lends itself to clearer imaging, more airiness, better transient edges, and makes the details easier to hear.

    While it is similar to the WM1A, the difference between the WM1A and the zx300 is a slight veil on the sound.

    I guess I could call it the difference from going to a utopia to an elex(mini utopia). Its like the Yggdrasil 1 compared to yggy2? The sound doesn’t have the best contrast sounding with more of a grey background, with a slight sharpening effect, making the sound slightly more digital.

    Its not as big as I make it out to be, but it definitely isn’t as clear and refined. Definitely a slightly stodgy and closed in sound. This also leads to feeling of a slight dynamicly compressed sound.


    What you might miss from the ZX2 is the bigger bodied organic sound, longer decay, and contrast of sound(sound is less flat, and more vivid), dynamic contrast......despite it being marred by almost 2x-3x the hiss. I seem to remember you don't care too much about hiss.

    What you get in return for the the Zx300 is great is its portability, much better driving power on both SE and Balanced, lower noise floor(less hiss), a better smooth fluid UI(lastest firmware update), Cleaner sound signature(Clearer leading edges(better clarity), Faster sound(less long decay), more extended airy treble(albeit slightly leaner sounding).

    Add in a far superior, working EQ, and some USB dac functionality(although not perfect with lag), and other bluetooth capabilities, I think the zx300 offers more than the outdated ZX2, and is easier to pair with a variety of gear.

    Also would like to clearly state...zx300 is a sony dap...meaning....as much as I talk about a modern, leaner sound......its always going to have the sony house sound with more heft, smoothness, and a darker sound than sabre dacs, or smartphones(like my note9).

    in terms of brightness: Zx2<zx300< WM1A

    No Sony dap is perfect, hence I did bounce between all 3 of them because I missed certain aspects of each of them.

    If you plan on using your dap with DD drivers like the JVC FD01, I would definitely recommend the zx300.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2018
  6. Poleepkwa

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    Nice writeup.
    How do you feel the SE compares to the balanced output on the ZX300? Slight improvement it was for me, but not really worth the hassle to go 4.4mm for all my IEMS.
     
  7. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Thank you! I am using the FD01, and I also have an HD580, which obviously the ZX2 can’t work with at all.

    JB has the silver 300a in stock so I ordered it, will compare the two DAPs and sell the one I don’t prefer. I’ll compare with the FD01 and the Andros.

    Unfortunately it won’t arrive for about a month but at that price I’m not complaining.
     
  8. Cellist88

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    I think the SE of the zx300 sounds warmer than the balanced side of the zx300....and closer to the zx100/zx2. I do like the richer, warmer tonality of the SE, I find the sound a bit smoothed over and not as focused and clear as the balanced side

    The balanced side is more precise, sharp and focused, which leads to better transients, more precise imaging, more resolution, and noticeable tightening of the bass.

    Its a hassle to probably reterminate all iems to 4.4, but I would try to use the balanced side as the engineering on the dap was focused on that side. Its a no brainer if you need more power for headphones.

    I also have to mention that both ports sound different on normal gain and high gain. On normal gain, the sound is more airy and wide, and has more treble. If you put on high gain, the width shrinks but you get more depth and the sound gains a bit more tactility and punchiness. With the increased mass of sound and thickness, the treble becomes less prominent so the sound is less airy. I switch between the two, but I prefer high gain as it is more organic and closer to the sony house sound.

    My friend who has the solaris prefers it on normal gain, so i guess its good to have options to tune the sound if you don't need the power.
     
  9. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Can anyone confirm/deny USB DAC mode functions as expected on Linux? I am considering switching back from OSX...
     
  10. lattugatartaruga

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    yessir, just tested this with my zx300a using vlc on raspbian (raspberry pi 3 model b)...flawless :)
     
  11. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Thanks.

    Also working in Arch. I tested up to PCM 24/192. Gapless playback and minimal lag on seeking etc but probably just enough to be noticeable with video.
     
  12. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Finally received my ZX300a from Joybuy, took them just shy of a month from payment to delivery. Luckily no customs problems or misdeliveries.

    I’m going to do more in depth listening and usage testing tomorrow. I spent most of the evening getting it updated and changing the language and loading music into it.

    First impressions:
    I love the feel of it. It’s light but not flimsy. It’s textured in a way that makes it feel more solid. The matte screen was an excellent choice.

    The UI is terrific. The ZX2 has a lot of the same touches but the ZX300 is smoother and more intuitive. It takes a lot of cues from Android but also makes it exceedingly easy to get to whatever you need without endlessly clicking back through menus. The swipe from the center design is well thought out. The only thing I wish is that I could customize some of the different screens. For example, the sound adjustment screen becomes useless when I listen in direct mode. I’d love to be able to sub that out for a toggles screen that would let me flip the gain for example without having to dig into the settings screen. I do love though that when I turn off the display and then it back on, it stays on the last screen I was looking at. Some DAPs default to the “now playing” screen and I lose my place and have to navigate back to what I wanted. The ZX300 just turns the display off and changes nothing.

    USB-DAC mode doesn’t work with my iPhone even with the “charge from other device” option turned off. The iPhone still says the Walkman is asking to draw too much power. The Bluetooth receiver on the other hand was easy to setup and easy to use. The sound on it was very nice as well, even with my phone only transmitting the AAC codec. This feature alone makes the ZX300 worth it to me. Now if only Apple would enter the modern age and offer aptX.

    Being able to select direct mode as a default of the player is definitely nicer than futzing around with force quitting Android services and apps. Nice of Sony to realize we don’t necessarily want them doing all that processing.

    First question right off the bat: I inserted a 90% full 256 gb microsd card. After I did so, it did it’s whole “building database” dance. However, after it finished (maybe three minutes), only the music I uploaded to the internal memory shows up. The system recognizes that the SD card is inserted but it lists no songs, artists, albums, or folders in it. Do I need to reformat my SD card? And if so what format does it need to be in? The “help guide” is absolutely unhelpful and just says it may need to be formatted to work with a Walkman.

    Or is this just something it does when a full card is inserted and it needs extra time to populate what’s on it? I’m going to let it sit overnight and see if anything comes up.

    Edit: Okay, a little searching in the Head-Fi ZX300 thread revealed the solution to me. I assumed the 300 read SD cards like the ZX2 did, just reading directly what was on the card the way I loaded it on there. But that’s not the case. At least for me, the 300 created two system files and a new folder entitled “MUSIC”. When I moved all the artist folders into the “MUSIC” folder, then the DAP rebuilt the database and recognized everything I had loaded in there. Crisis averted!
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2019
  13. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I was going to spend the day comparing the ZX300 to the ZX2 but frankly I haven’t been able to put the ZX300 down. Using the FD-01s, there’s no contest. The extra power of the ZX300 balanced in high gain makes a big difference for the tactility and power of dynamic drivers.

    I haven’t even tried the ZX300 with the Andromedas yet. I’m sure it sounds great but at this point I really prefer the sound of the JVCs.
     
  14. Ice-man

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    @Merrick You will likely want to reformat the card while in the player if you still aren't able to get the music loaded there to show up. That is what worked for me.
     
  15. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Thanks, but moving all the artist folders to the “MUSIC” folder that the ZX300 generated on the microsd card fixed the issue. I didn’t know it would only scan for files/folders within that “MUSIC” folder.
     
  16. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I’m doing some listening tests with the Andromedas between the ZX300 and ZX2. Now granted, this isn’t 1:1 because I’m having to use a different balanced cable for each DAP, and IIRC the 4.4mm cable I got has a higher impedance than my 3.5mm.

    That being said, even with the hiss on the ZX2, I still think it’s the better pairing for the Andros. With the sound adjustments force quit, the sound is incredibly well balanced, with a lot of depth and clarity. I’ve never noticed the hiss while music is playing, YMMV on that. The Andros sound less three dimensional and less extended with the ZX300. I realize that the 300 has more of the Sony house sound than the ZX2 with the sound adjustments forced off, so that’s also a factor.

    The whole time I was listening to the Andros with the ZX300, I was a little disengaged. That changed the moment I plugged them back into the ZX2.

    If someone wanted the absolute best pairing for the Andromedas, I’d still point them to the ZX2. The sound is almost lifelike.
     
  17. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    That's really good. I'm just avoiding the ZX2 since I need to stream. Not looking to do bluebooth. The more I'm using the loaner Solaris in my ears, the more I want to get a better DAP than the Fiio that own.
     
  18. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The only way to stream with a ZX300 is through Bluetooth. If you need to stream I don’t think Sony DAPs are going to fit the bill for you.
     
  19. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Yep, that's the problem. Unless I say screw up and big the biggest SD Card I can fine. Is it possible to stream with the ZX2?
     
  20. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    ZX2 is Android and has WiFi, so yes. However, it’s an older version of Android so not every streaming app will work on it. What do you use to stream?
     

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