purk

It can get way better with the SR009. Hope you can get your hand on the BHSE one day.

Unfortunately no. Like Apple, Sony does not support expansion slot. 128GB should be good for over 100 albums in hi-rez though. I own numbers of newer walkman(s) and the transfer rate is very respectable and near class 10 speed. Sound wise, I've found them to be just as good as those AK players in standard redbook playback but with much better UI and considerably cheaper. If you want to go amp-less with CIEMs, the Sony is tough to beat. The iPod line has slightly better UI, but my previous generation Sony DAPs (Sony NWZ-F807 & Z1070) are running neck to neck Justin's Pico DAC/Amp combo. My iPhone & iPod Touch just can't keep up sound wise. Their secret is the "S-master" digital amplifier module. I find "copy" and "paste" directly onto the player more convenient though.

Worst yet, they are coming out with the AK140 as a successor to the AK120. Price probably will be even higher. It is ridiculous how much people are paying for portable gears. I'm more interested in the new Sony NW-ZX1. Many users have reported an excellent sound quality on par with the AK120 for $400 less. The ZX-1 sports 128GB of internal memory and runs a Sony music apps on Andriod 4.1. I own a yesteryear model and I'm very happy with it so far. Here's the link to the Sony NW-ZX1 page in Japanese: http://www.sony.jp/walkman/lineup/zx1/

Happy birthday Tom! Have a great time with your gears!

It is a sad and very tragic news. I really like the guy and seem very down to earth. He was filming the F&F7 here in Atlanta just a month earlier. These guys were doing a good deeds raising money for a really good cause. Feel sad for his girl.

Happy Birthday as well.

The stock may have ran out but it should still be available from Senn Germany. I would check with Dwight Stevenson again. His number is (860)-434-9190 ext. 136. He is super helpful and a real pleasure to talk to.

I can help out as well. Normally they are backed order but should still be available. Let me know.

You can also buy them in larger quanity of 12 at discount. The local audio club here in Atlanta organized a group buy and I was in for one. $189 instead of $249.

Happy birthday as well. Late as usual.

Agree with you there. Nothing beat a custom fit for comfort. However, you can't share your phones with anyone else though with a custom fit. Maybe the wife will like to borrow yours from time to time. Mine doesn't care for my gears period...so...it doesn't matter.

Custom will always loose its value if you decide to sell it, at least half.. The deciding factor is the sound between a custom & universal fit. If they do sound identical, I'll probably go with the universal fit.

I doubt that. Many fanboys will keep it afloat.

Congrats Vickie.....no dog to speak off....just a 9 month-old little girl that keep both of us on edge.

Wow...love the RKV. Sold mine for $650 together with the Impedancer about 7 years ago. The RKV + K1000 was magical.

Sony is coming back to their own root. The ZX1 & new F-Series will have dedicate control button along side. The previous F-80X series do sound excellent to my ears and head & shoulder above my iPhone/iPod Touch 4th Gen. I used to have the iBasso DX-100 and the F807 that I have isn't far off it either.

Nanoha, That's the STR-DA9100ES, the successor of the DA9000ES. This particular example was only available in Japan. The main differences going from the 9000 to 9100 consist of addition of HDMI inputs, Dual i-links, and 32 bit processing (24 bit on 9000ES). The current crop of Sony receivers use conventional analog amplifier and are good but not great. The 9000ES & 7100ES (US released) were the last of Sony great receivers according to many.

The post concerning the quality of board & solder?

Doubt it will have a digital amp module. I have been following their digital amp modules (S-Master Pro) for a while now. It was originally introduced in the Sony STR-DA9000ES behemoth receiver with 200 watts per channel. Later the scaled down portable version was introduced in the Sony NWZ-X1060 series. The X walkman gained quite a followings as it sounds wonderful and considerably better than i-devices especially with CIEMs. The second iteration was featured in the next round of released for A86x, Z10x0, and F80x series. The ZX's digital amp module will be the third generation and it should sound even better.

Not sure if they will release the DSD support or not, but they should though given Sony's growing DSD music site. Given the amount of 24/96 & 24/192 that I have, I'll be okay without it. The ZX1 is said to have digital output as well though.

The ZX1 is likely a Japanese domestic product only. Still, we should be able to import it using PJ. The F886 (32GB) should be available in the USA though. If we are lucky the F887 (64GB) might make it here to the North American market as well.

http://www.slashgear.com/sony-walkman-nw-zx1-and-nw-f880-series-media-players-land-in-october-25299077/ I own the F807 which is a predecessor to the F880 and really love the sound with my JH13pro. I've been waiting for awhile now for such player. Hope to get one in December. I know that portable stuffs aren't too popular over here but this is an exciting news for sure.

I was really enjoying that thread. The markups on them got to be very substantial. Glad we have Justin. His BHSE is a work of art.

Has the kGSSHV vs. LL MK1 comparison thread at the other site been locked?

Glad he is gone. This way he is no longer a burden to the tax payer.