Been waiting for a good deal on the Z1R’s for a while now. Not the cheapest it has been but close enough for me to pull the trigger.
Sony IER-M9 Professional In Ear Headphones
Sony IER-M7 Professional In Ear Headphones
Been waiting for a good deal on the Z1R’s for a while now. Not the cheapest it has been but close enough for me to pull the trigger.
Sony IER-M9 Professional In Ear Headphones
Sony IER-M7 Professional In Ear Headphones
The mentioned items are headphones. The MP3 player is also $2000 off, now only $7999, down from $9999: https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/sony-sale-feb-202…
Ah, of course - only $1799 for an MP3 player? What was I thinking.
I'm a bit concerned about specs in the $8k model though. Does it have Bluetooth, or is that extra?
Can't call it high end with MP3.
They are Hi-Res audio player.
MP3 is high quality with sufficient bit-rate. But try telling that to audiophiles who think Nyquist–Shannon is a legal firm.
Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem has no direct relationship to the MP3 codec.
Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem establishes a sufficient condition for a sample rate that permits digital samples to capture all the information from analogue signals of finite bandwidths. If an analogue signal contains no frequencies higher than f Hz, then it is completely determined by a digital data stream with a sampling rate of at least 2f Hz.
MP3 is a lossy data compression scheme that encodes digital audio using approximations and the partial discarding of data based on psychoacoustic modelling.
Whether audiophiles with golden ears can/cannot distinguish high bit rate MP3 from uncompressed digital music has nothing to do with Nyquist–Shannon. Whether the original analogue signal can/cannot be reproduced from an uncompressed digital stream is answered by Nyquist–Shannon.
@alvian: Thanks for the recap :)
Price match on Sony Online and think later.
My amp died and i'm looking for 7.1 and 2 HDMI out, how does the Sony STR-DN1080 stack up? I can see it's been cheaper in the past (mianly import) but 2021 is a different beast.
It definitely the best sounding low-mid end receiver and is easy to use. Whilst it isn't designed to power high end speakers, it's good enough for mid or low end speakers. Codecs are slight out of date, but price more than makes up for what you get.
I have mission speakers, pair of towers http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/mission-796se-loudspeaker-h…
And basically a bunch of bookshelf speakers
Mission is fine, not a fussy tall speaker from the looks of it.
I think its a good AVR in its price bracket. I think your next step up would be denon x2700h. That's a big jump in price in comparison to Sony at the current price.
The discount for the MDR-Z1R is pretty good too!
Phony
Can someone tell me how these compare to iPhones as Digital Audio Players?
Ever feel like you have to turn up the volume to enjoy the impact of a song?
That's what these sound like at low volume.
the more you spend the better the sound. i'd recommend waiting until they're no longer on sale for the best listening experience or get an iphone 12 pro
Bingo
iPhone 12 Pro actually doesn't even have a DAC or amp, it's built into the Lightning to 3.5mm dongle so you'd be getting the same sound for $15.
nah just get a $400 lightning dongle
Digital audio players are typically equipped with better sound reproduction components (DAC, AMP, etc) and they are purpose driven products. However, mobile phones are more robust as digital transports. The applications and interface are general much better. As such these days, I would recommend a portable DAC/AMP to be paired with the phone. How big/powerful the portable DAC/AMP, would depend on whether you want a semi-portable or utlra-portable setup. For example a semi-portable setup can be iFi Audio micro iDSD Black Label (or one of the Fiios) and a ultra-portable setup can be Fiio BTR5 or Dragonfly Cobalt/Red/Black/.
To make it simple and non audiophile:
I can personally compare Sony NW-A55 ( https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/sony-sale-feb-202… or https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B07X3XD1BW/ref=ppx_yo_d… ) with iPhone. I've listened to music on both. NW-A55 has been at ~$210 via Amazon UK so the price is not that high in comparison to some other players.
There is more character and punch in the walkman. The music has more feeling to it on the walkman.
It's also good not to have something else (such as music playing) draining phone's battery through the day, so less phone charging.
If you use spotify, tidal or something else that is streaming then you need to get a player that supports streaming or that you can pair via bluetooth to the phone.
Can someone tell me how these compare to iPhones as Digital Audio Players?
Sure. The Sony is like a Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières, whereas the iPhone is more of a Domaine Maison Fatien Père & Fils – Volnay .
Hope that helps.
I have no idea what you said but you get my upvote
You thing that big fat heavy-looking gold plated cylinder spin knob volume dial is machined out of a solid copper?
well it's not
https://truth.bahamut.com.tw/s01/201912/95821cb317129131fed4…
Yes it's not, because that's a plastic dial to spin the actual copper knob inside the unit.
An analog trimpot? They really should get out of the horse-and-buggy era and use a digital rotary encoder. Less risk of introducing noise.
Just a heads-up that the beloved Sony WH-1000XM4 Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black/Silver) are priced at $378.
Looks like free shipping too, unless I'm mistaken.
The silliest 'bargain' I've ever seen. You'd be a real audiofool to buy one.
Just because you don't like hifi audio doesn't mean others can't. Z1R's are one of the best IEMs ever made. I don't care for DAPs or anything but expensive earphones genuinely sound better and I don't mind spending for something that will last me over a decade.
Might go listen to the z1r. I have always wanted to. I wonder if it will put my westone w60 to shame.
It may well do, even the m9 sounded better than the w60 in highs and mids, but there was no bass.
Anyone else off to addicted to audio to demo a pair?
In case anyone else is curious, it is an MP3 player.
They also have a $500 Walkman https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/sony-sale-feb-202…