New Sony Walkman

[songswelove]

....but I do have a pair of HiFiMan HE-560 phones, and they are magnificent. Light, comfortable and they sound great - much better than the company's first gen of isodynamic phones. Great bass, silken highs; like a pair of Stax ESLs without the hassle of special connectors, dedicated amps (although those are a good idea) and expensive non-standard extension cords. However, They aren't the only makers of isodynamic phones with a great product, the Audeze line is very similar in overall presentation as are the Abyss headphones (these latter are eye-wateringly expensive at more than US$5K, however).

 

I believe you and am happy for you to own such a great headphone. I thought few companies make isodynamic headphones now. And, those >= 5K babies will make me cry hard more than just watery. ouch...

[gmgraves]

I believe you and am happy for you to own such a great headphone. I thought few companies make isodynamic headphones now. And, those >= 5K babies will make me cry hard more than just watery. ouch...

 

Isodynamic headphones have become very popular of late. Aside from HiFiMan, Audeze phones are isodynamic, Abyss phones are isodynamic as are the Oppo phones and one or two other brands.

 

Here is the latest from HiFiMan (just announced today, I believe):

 

[Boris75]

I don't think that's right. I don't believe that you have to buy music from the Pono Store.

 

+1, my Pono plays FLAC files that I purchased from HDTracks, Prostudiomasters, eClassical etc very well. There is no need to buy from the Pono store.

[Boris75]

What puts me off about the Pono is the form factor. I think a player shaped like an Italian chocolate bar is an awkward shape, especially for use as a portable player.

 

I initially felt I had made a mistake buying a Pono when I opened the box and discovered its form factor for real. This regret evaporated once I listened to the Pono. The sound quality more than justifies the volume it occupies. My impression is that the volume is need for heat dissipation.

[gmgraves]

I initially felt I had made a mistake buying a Pono when I opened the box and discovered its form factor for real. This regret evaporated once I listened to the Pono. The sound quality more than justifies the volume it occupies. My impression is that the volume is need for heat dissipation.

 

The Pono's size is not what puts me off, it's the shape that I find awkward for portable use. There are a lot of players that are physically large, like the A&K and the HiFiMan players, but their cigarette-pack-like form-factors make them convenient to carry, in spite of their bulk.

[alfe]

 

 

Don't Buy What Neil Young Is Selling

[pjuk]

Very nice looking design. I hope it is a great success.

 

The price is daunting, but if it can deliver into full size headphones

without the need for an extra amp (do not currently know if it will or won't)

then it may not be quite as high priced as it seems.

 

Looking forward to reviews.

i had one of the original sony walkmans for almost 5 years through my teens! i remember thinking the sound quality was so good! haha . but it certainly didn't cost 1,120 dollars!!! technology has come a long way since then!

aah memories!!

[songswelove]

closer images

This is the new Sony Walkman | The Verge

[songswelove]

closer images

This is the new Sony Walkman | The Verge

 

Ears on: Sony's new high resolution, high dollar Walkman

This Walkman will be available in the northern spring of this year, where it could be competing with the likes of Neil Young's Pono player, a device taking pre-orders now for a retail price that could be 65 percent lower and deliver the same sound quality.

 

interesting... got more interested in this walkman...

[mjm6]

I initially felt I had made a mistake buying a Pono when I opened the box and discovered its form factor for real. This regret evaporated once I listened to the Pono. The sound quality more than justifies the volume it occupies. My impression is that the volume is need for heat dissipation.

 

I think it was initially developed this way to accommodate larger capacitors, not for heat dissipation.

 

"We talked a lot about making the player thin, to snap onto the back of a phone so it could be carried as one unit. But that meant you’d need a different player design for each phone model, and we found that it was not possible to put some of the large audio components – required for the best performance – into a thin package. This led us to design the accessory in the shape of a triangular “Toblerone” shaped chocolate bar. It allowed us to use larger audio components and to separate them far enough apart to prevent electrical interference between the various subsystems. It also allowed us to use a large cylindrical battery that’s much more efficient than a flat battery."

 

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1003614822/ponomusic-where-your-soul-rediscovers-music?ref=nav_search

 

Look down in that page for a photo that shows the 'guts' of the device. You can see the larger components in there that would never fit in a device sized like an iPod or iPhone.

 

---Michael

[Mystic]

Couldnt agree more. The Pono was interesting as the price was okay but when I looked more closely at the specs and the need to get downloads from their exclusive store etc...I didnt like the fact that they tried to lock the customer in.

 

I prefer to spend my hard earned with companies that dont work with a closed system.

 

Sorry, but you are wrong. I have a pono and you don't have to buy downloads from their store. The pono player can play any format except dsd and my ripped CDs sound very good on it.

 

Where did you hear this?

[Boris75]

I have a pono and you don't have to buy downloads from their store. The pono player can play any format except dsd

 

+1. My Qobuz and HDtracks downloads play perfectly fine on my Pono.

[bmac78758]

I am in a similar boat trying to figure out which portable to buy. The thing I am convinced of, after much study, is that the main differences between players is how they handle the post DAC analog electronics. I mean, how can you say otherwise? Considering that every company that makes these players (Pono, Astell & Kern, iBasso, Fiio, etc.) pays about $5 (in quantity) for the actual DAC chip (whether it be from Cirrus Logic, Wolfson, Burr and Brown, Texas Instruments, ESS or whoever.) So if the main brain behind what you are selling cost you 5 bucks - or 10 in a dual DAC machine - how do you justify selling the rest of the hardware for $2500? Now I can (and certainly do) hear the difference between an iPod (which uses a Wolfson DAC by the way) and an X5 - so what is the tangible difference? It has to be the analog out, right?