Hands-on with the Sony NW-ZX2 high resolution audio player

The making of Sony's NW-ZX2 high resolution audio player

Introduction

It seems like Sony’s been leading the charge for High Resolution Audio (HRA) for a while now, with a range of headphones specifically targeted at HRA, and the launch of the portable players like the Sony NWZ-ZX1 and the Sony Walkman NWZ-A15 Digital Music Player.

We first covered the launch announcement of the NW-ZX2 here, and the specifications of this high-res audio player alone certainly raised some eyebrows, as did the recommended retail price of S$1,599. After all, with most people relying mainly on their mobile phones for their mobile audio needs, and competing companies like Fiio coming in with cheap, barebones High Resolution Audio players like the Fiio X1 that retails for a mere S$159, you have to wonder what exactly the NW-ZX2 does better, and by how much?

Thus you can certainly imagine that when Sony offered a chance to meet with Mr Katsumasa Yoshioka, one of the design leaders for the NW-ZX2 and get a hands-on with the new NW-ZX2 at the same time, we were more than eager for the chance to find out more about this premium product. After all, who better to hear from about the inner workings of a product than the Engineer who worked on it?

The inside word

According to Mr Yoshioka, the aim for the NW-ZX2 was to be a successor to the NWZ-ZX1, with the addition of a microSD slot to allow for easy storage management on the users’ part, as well as for a large battery and better sound quality. So, the team looked at the various aspects of the NWZ-ZX1 to see where they could make improvements, eventually deciding to modify the chassis, improve the battery to lower the impedance and to improve the audio components used.

Mr Yoshioka notes that the main difference between Digital amps and Analog ones is that digital amps are more responsive and have better clarity, which makes them suitable for HRA. Where they lose out though, is that they can tend to be a little harsh compared to Analog amps, which generally have a soft and warm sound, with a good signal-to-noise ratio and low distortion. Hence, the team stuck with the same S-Master IC used in the NWZ-ZX1, and instead worked to improve on the peripheral analog parts used in the NW-ZX2. That’s important to note as there is no dedicated DAC in the NW-ZX2 – all the conversion is done through the S-Master HX.

Instead of just using aluminum as in the NWZ-ZX1, a copper panel with gold plating was included in the NW-ZX2, allowing it to enjoy the balanced sound of aluminum with the warmer sound of copper. Thicker wires were also used to lower the impedance of the circuit overall, allowing a stronger current to be sent through the circuit.

The NW-ZX2 has seven capacitors around the S-master AMP as opposed to four in the NWZ-ZX1, and separate ground cables were implemented in the headphone jack, reducing the contact resistance by half, thus improving the stereo separation overall.

Perhaps just as importantly, a two crystal system has been implemented in the NW-ZX2, one at 48kHz and another at 44.1kHz. This means the NW-ZX2 can handle sources in multiples of 48 (49/96/192) and those in multiples of 44.1 (44.1/88.2/176.4kHZ, CD, DSD) with proper synchronization; switching to the appropriate clock source as necessary.

Read on as we cover what else is under the hood and how it performed on the following page.