Sony HAP-Z1ES in 2020?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by dchang81, May 22, 2020.

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  1. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    How has this player held up to today? I always was interested in one but never pulled the trigger. would mostly have my collection of FLAC files and use spotify on it. how important is the app to control it? My concern is 5-10 years down the road sony will stop supporting the app as is their MO, but if its ok with the sony remote im ok with that.
     
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  2. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
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  3. Monty12

    Monty12 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Burlington Ontario
    So the remote has very limited functions. The important buttons are there, but other than the app, the actual buttons on the unit itself will work just as good as the app. (And there are options in the menu that could only be accessed through buttons on the unit).

    For example the remote doesn't have a directional keypad....so you can't select a genre or artist with the remote alone.

    The jog wheel on the unit is super snappy and i can stroll through 800 albums in seconds.

    Cheers
     
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  4. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Cool thanks for the responses, hah that thread was basically the same title. My main concern was the unit being useless without the app which sounds like it's fine.
     
  5. Harp Of Glass

    Harp Of Glass Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    I have one. The app is essential for my needs. It comes in handy for several tasks including building playlists and storing favorites, etc. I usually leave the unit in shuffle mode so I tend to use it differently than other people.
     
  6. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    I have the HAP-S1 and I use it in a small office system.
    I love how it sounds and I imagine that the Z1ES would sound better.
    The app is very practical and easy to use, it is essential really to enjoy the player.
     
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  7. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Hmm. Would I be crazy to buy a cheap Android or apple device and never update it to make sure the Sony app is available? My phone crashed and some apps that were a few years old I can't redownload.
     
  8. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Only through the Google Play store. You can via other websites.
     
  9. Monty12

    Monty12 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Burlington Ontario
    These are very good points. I have never tried to make playlists or store favorites via the control on the unit.

    I'm too lazy to go downstairs right now to check, but that does sound accurate.
     
  10. Monty12

    Monty12 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Burlington Ontario
    No, that would not make you crazy. It would make you resourceful.

    I say, if all thats holding you back from this unit is an old 60$ cell phone then, and only then i would agree....that you would be crazy. Lol
     
  11. Harp Of Glass

    Harp Of Glass Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    The app (on my ipad) is also nice if I am sitting outside on my patio and a song comes on I don't want to hear I can skip it. Or if I need to pause the music I can do that too.
     
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  12. Drew769

    Drew769 Buyer of s*** I never knew I lacked

    Location:
    NJ
    I have one, and really like it. I have a lot of CDs and a decent collection of high resolution files. Storing them in this unit makes them so easy to access and enjoy. Without it, my thousands of CDs would be languishing in a box disorganized.

    it’s sounds good right from the unit, but I run mine through a Lampizator Amber 2.2. Sounds great.
     
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  13. Harp Of Glass

    Harp Of Glass Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    I have questions about hooking up an external DAC to the Sony. I don't know if it's worth trying but let's say I want to try my Cambridge Audio DAC Magic with the HAP-Z1ES. I'm assuming I'll need a USB cable with 3.0 connector on the Sony end and a B type connector on DAC Magic end.
    One of my questions is- I'm currently using the only USB port on the back of the Sony for a WD external hard drive. I do have a USB hub with 4 ports laying around the house somewhere. Can I hook the USB hub to the back of the Sony and then use one port for the external HD and another port for the DAC Magic? If this is possible, do I have to configure the Sony to recognize the external DAC or will the Sony recognize and utilize the external DAC automatically?
    Also, if I can get the external DAC to work will it be able to handle DSD recordings like the built in Sony DAC does?
    Some of these technical issues are above my pay grade. I tend to know the basics and the terminology but I can't figure out how to implement them.
    Thanks for any help.
     
  14. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Yea, I have a good amount of CDs that I have ripped. I like Spotify a lot, but when I hooked up my collection to my bluesound, there were so many artists I completely forgot about that I used to listen to all the time. Was the amber always $3500? I remember when it first came out thinking that I could maybe pick one up, but I don't think it was anywhere even close to that much?

    I don't have the Sony yet, but I dunno how much of an upgrade a Cambridge dacmagic would be, unless you really like the way it sounds.
     
  15. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    I haven’t read up on this piece in a while, but isn’t it similar to the Bluesound Vault? This would address the OP’s question about obsolescence.
     
  16. Drew769

    Drew769 Buyer of s*** I never knew I lacked

    Location:
    NJ
    The Amber 2 was a lot less. I think it was $2700, and I bought an early introductory special Amber 2.2 (which sonically is the same as the 3... has the upgraded digital engine) for $1800 shipped. They had advertised in a post on Audio Circle a “first three responders get a unit for $1800” special, and I jumped on it.
     
  17. Drew769

    Drew769 Buyer of s*** I never knew I lacked

    Location:
    NJ
    Similar in what it does, but the Sony is geared toward those people with a lot of CDs and files that wanted a complete component of high quality that would store, decode and play them back with no separate DAC. In fact, until around a year ago, you couldn’t even use an outboard DAC. The USB out was only set up for music transfers and outboard storage. They changed that in a software upgrade.
     
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  18. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    That's surprising all the updates they did for the unit especially coming from Sony. Me wanting the sonys is a bit of nostalgia too. Always wanted the ES cd changers and speakers back in the day but didn't have any money to buy anything.
     
  19. grx8

    grx8 Senior Member

    Location:
    Santiago, Chile
    It used to be at Magnolia, always with a MC275 and huge Martin Logan’s.
    Looks great, probably today I’ll get a Vault 2i instead.
     
  20. formu_la

    formu_la I'm not a robot

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Yes, you can use USB hub to output to an external DAC. Actually this function became available after one of firmware upgrades 1 or 2 years ago.
    I streamed to Marantz sacd player, but ended up just using analog outputs of Sony.
    Great machine overall. The app is perfect.
    Regarding your other questions- I think all goes automatically, no configuration needed (if I remember correctly )
     
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  21. LoveYourLife

    LoveYourLife Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Does anyone know if you can stop Gracenote overwriting the track and artist names and artwork in the HAP-Z1ES? I've just purchased one and worried it's going to mess up my all nicely cleaned up track information during transfer.
     
  22. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    in the settings / system settings menu you can turn off auto gracenote access to off.
    i have since stop using the HAP transfer application and just copy / paste the folders. easier to control. on your computer just use the "explore HAP" option if you want to try this.
     
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  23. LoveYourLife

    LoveYourLife Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Exactly the info I needed; thank you.
     
  24. LoveYourLife

    LoveYourLife Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    One last question please- when I 'cut & paste' into the folder, I presume it still upscales any non hi-res files?
     
  25. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    Oversampling and DSEE are playback settings that affect playback of the files. Nothing alters the original files during file transfer.
    Enjoy the HAP, the sound quality is excellent.
     
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