Hands-on with the Sony 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.

A look under the hood

On display were the various components used by the NW-ZX2, mounted and labelled on acrylic boards, letting us really get an in-depth look at the inner workings of the ZX2. Of note was the redeveloped aluminum chassis with the addition of the gold-plated copper components. As you can see, the addition of gold-plating lowers contact resistance, allowing for powerful bass.

An inside look at the power line of the NW-ZX2 was also interesting, with the new layout allowing for the use of seven POSCAP OS-CON capacitors and the new larger capacity Li-ion battery and the double layered capacitor which ensures a steady supply of current so the player gives a firmer bass sound and clearer vocals.

All of this should theoretically add for a better performance overall, and so the only thing left was to try out the NW-ZX2 for ourselves. Sony had plenty of units lined up for our testing, all loaded up with HRA tracks and paired with several of the higher-end headphones like the Sony MDR1A, so we helped ourselves to a set and plugged in.

The NW-ZX2 feels pretty solid in the hands. It’s just about the same size as the iPhone 6, but is noticeably thicker to accommodate the large volume control buttons on the side. These buttons are aluminum machined and laser engraved for an elaborate finish, and are sunk into the side of the player so that you can physically feel their positions without looking at the player.

On the bottom of the player sits a large cylindrical jack section that holds the audio jack. This consists of a cylinder cut out of aluminum with a lid cut out of brass, and allows for an OFC cable to be connected to the audio jack in a minimum amount of space, which in turns allows for the transfer of electricity without attenuation.

How it plays

The interface of the NW-ZX2 itself is pretty simple, and should be familiar to Android users (or just smartphone users in general). Simply tap and swipe your way through the interface and you’ll be playing tracks in no time. There’s the usual choice of album artwork view during playback, and you can switch easily between album, folder and track view.

We started our audition of the NW-ZX2 with a recording of Cloverfoot Reel from Yo-Yo Ma’s Appalachian Journey album, and were duly impressed by the extension the player managed on the bass end. It did feel a little “digital” (that is to say, lean) on some parts, but overall there was good separation between instruments, and we felt it handled the high notes well, especially on the crescendo towards the end.

Moving on to Black Magic Woman by Santana, the NW-ZX2 again impressed with its excellent imaging and smooth handling of vocals. On this track we felt that the player managed a smoother, rounder bass especially towards the later parts of the song, but again the thing that stood out was the imaging. Listening to this track, you could clearly place the congo drums on the right going off against the full drum set on the left, while Santana’s guitar and Gregg Rolie’s vocals chime in, driving the piece to a maniac frenzy.

Finally, we put on Daft Punk’s Get Lucky to see how the NW-ZX2 something a little more modern. We must say we were quite impressed. The bass line was handled nicely, as were Pharrell Williams’ vocals. (Though for this particular track they really act more as another audio clip than anything else.)

As we happened to have some of the same tracks on our iPhone 6 we did a quick A-B comparison and found that there was a bit more clarity in the mids with the NW-ZX2, though the iPhone 6 gave a slightly warmer rendition of tracks. Overall though, we’d say the NW-ZX2 gave a pretty sweet performance that is as expected for a high-end media player.

We can safely say that tracks will sound better on the NW-ZX2 than on your regular smartphone, but whether there is enough of an improvement to convince you to purchase and carry a second device for quality audio (at thousand six hundred dollars no less) is something that we’re keen to find out. So what do you think? Are you more inclined to spend on a better set of headphones (or to purchase better quality tracks), or would you be willing to get a dedicated media player for the best experience possible? Let us know!

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