minusflo

I understand this forum is for Teclast enthusiasts but I have bought and have been using for days now the new Sony NWZ-S616.

Hands down, to me this is the King of DAP amongst "anthingbutIpod" out there. It plays MP3, WMA, AAC and MP4 video. Although the screen is 1.8 inches only, the video is so sharp and smooth it is like watching DVD quality. No pixelation whatsoever. It also looks very elegant with all metal housing and the screen is real glass for superior scratch resistance. No more software limitation as it is easily syncronized using Windows Media Player for music transfer. You can also drap and drop.

Now for the best part, the superb audio. If you think Meizu M6 and Teclast T39 are good, this is far superior with IEMs, regular headphones/earphones and with headphone amplifiers. Sound can go deep but robust on the bass with no distortion and there are various 3d effects that really work.

Check them out. I bought them at Target for $120 plus tax for the 4 GB memory.

mutescream

Does it have provisions for adding codecs? I looked at the spec sheet and it does not appear to. It does not support lossless codecs like flac and ogg, which is a primary consideration for me. Those are just some of the reasons I am bothering to look at players such as Meizu and Teclast, as opposed to players that are more widely available and can be bought in stores, instead of mail order which is pretty much the case for the chinese players.

DaremoS

Sorry minusflo... I just don't believe in this artefacts sold in USA, looks nice, function nice, sound seems to be good, all players seems to sound good to his owner... is he who have paid for it!... even iPod owners believe this brick has good sound... but are just players nothing but that.

When we talk of a Teclast or Meizu or Onda we are taking of gadgets that user can customize, change its skin, enjoy with new functionalities, "firmware upgradeable" so to say. Of course beside the good sound they deliver... all use dedicated Digital Audio Codec to make them sound better as it is Wolfson

The only player I know can do such thing coming from USA is Cowon D2... being Korean have learned that a player that don't change... get bored his owner... and they have made a very customizable gadget.

Sony is surely a good player... not a enjoyable one.

__________________
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. - Albert the Spammer - Superintendent of the building where I live

minusflo

DaremoS - I have owned various DAPs and have used and played around with the settings extensively. I believe I have a very good understanding of what sounds good or not. Also being an active member of Headfi.org, I have spent quite a sum of money with my audio gear including various Sennheiser, Sony and AKG headphones. I am also a voracious reader when it comes to audio reviews. Anyways, I am just pointing out based on my own personal experience that Sony digital audio players have always sounded superior. I have been a collector since I started earning my own money of Sony Walkmans to Discmans, Minidiscmans and now NetWalkmans. In my opinion, in terms of sound quality, Sony is still the Gold standard. I also own Meizu M6, Teclast C280, Teclast T-39, I-river T30, various Creative MuVO and Samsung U-series and T8.

Not to say that Sony is the best in all areas of measure for an excellent DAP as I have complained a lot as well on their Sonicstage software that was really annoying in its digital rights management. However, I believe their latest iteration which is the NWZ-S616F is a product that evolved because Sony listened to consumers. For one, they dropped ATRAC support and bundled a software that converts your ATRAC collection to MP3. Next is the multimedia function on pictures and videos have really been thoroughly thought out.

Lastly, not to make this any longer, I am not a spokesperson for Sony but give them what they are due. They make superiorly engineered portable digital audio player, in terms of sound quality and they have been doing that for close to 30 years. Please find any other manufacturer that can boast of the same length of experience.

I also encourage you to visit Target and try out the NWZ-S616F. Check out the ease of using the features and how intuitive those are, I will most likely make a believer out of you.

Minusflo

DrPepper

Minusflo
I couldn't have said it better myself. My NW-S705F will always be my favorite player. My other Sony has outstanding SQ, both better than any other DAP I have listened to. I enjoy my C260 and I think the higher end Chinese DAPs, like Teclast, have a bright future.

DaremoS

Thanks for your CV ...

Anyway I believe you about Sony quality... but you know that as a consumer product (HiFi) there are lots of better sounding equipments... like it's Yamaha, Nakamichi, Bang & Olufsen, NAD and my own Onkyo... to mention most known... which is another range of HiFi equipments.
But in personal players I could agree that Sony have been among the leaders... until Chinese start the battle. If it weren't by their obsessive intention to rule the field.

One question... do this Sony player can be customizable in some way?

__________________
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. - Albert the Spammer - Superintendent of the building where I live

DrPepper

As far as I know, none of the Sony's are customizable. The lesson to be learned from Sony is that a hardware company should NOT also be a software company. All the various factions of Sony Entertainment (music, movies, TV, etc.) have put such strong restrictions on their players, MiniDisc, CD Discman, and DAPs, that they have prevented them from being even remotely competitive. The only factors that kept them in the market were the fantastic design and superior sound quality of their products. With the new leadership, they have seemed to realize this, and are making positive efforts. Whether this is enough,remains to be seen.

knob

True they should hand over the software to US the users, but they will never do that, and that will be their downfall.
The next generation of chinese chipsets will have embedded Linux OS, then WE will decide how we want our players.
Sony have a long line of failed formats, Betamax, Minidisc and who knows maybe Blueray will be next. All because they dont understand what we really want, even evil DRM is getting a rethink now

toneoner

[quote=knob;3476]
The next generation of chinese chipsets will have embedded Linux OS,/QUOTE]

yeah like the new action chipsets

minusflo

This is what I like about this forum. There is always a free flow of sensible opinions and ideas.

Actually, compared to the miserable software implementation of Teclast T-39, the Sony firmware was well thought out. I must say I love the video. One charge lasts at least 5 hours as I have watched 2 movies and it is still playing. Another thing that is true to Sony is the video quality, even with just 1.8-inch screen the video is clear and crisp with vibrant colors. It is like watching DVD and the angel of view is almost 180 degrees with no visible distortion. The video can also be rotated and when you turn off the unit, upon turning it on again you will start where you left off. Really nice.

Another thing I noticed is that all my Sennheiser headphones from PX-100, HD-497 to MX-450 sounded really amazing. Sennheiser seems to match their headphone sound signature with Sony CD and MP3 players. Anyone having the same observation?

I have not seen a website that diassembled this latest DAP from Sony NWZ-S616F. If anybody knows where please put a link. I am very interested in knowing if Sony is also following the trend of having a separate sound chip from the main processor. As far as I know Sony designs and makes their own DAC chip.

Minusflo