Sony HAP-Z1ES Music Server

Rob50 · « **Reply #420 on:** 1 Nov 2014, 09:43 am »

Quote from: Merko on 31 Oct 2014, 10:20 pm

I had the horizontal white line issue crop up several months ago. At the Sony ES Support tech's request, I sent my unit in to the Laredo service center. I waited over a month for their investigation into the issue. I never received an explanation as to the actual fault involved, but they decided to ship me a brand-new unit - which (thankfully) has operated perfectly since early August.

The funny thing is, that aside from this horizontal line appearing, my original unit never malfunctioned in any other way. At the time I contacted Sony support, they had not heard of any other cases of this anomaly. The issue mentioned in this thread is now the 2nd other Z1 unit I have read of with the "white line" - another was from a UK-based owner. I have to assume it is a fairly rare hardware problem.

Merko

Thanks for your reply. Even though it's annoying, I don't want the hassle of sending the unit back. I love the sound of these players, ( I rarely listen to music, in any other way / form now. ) but the problems I've had are a pain !
One day, I wouldn't be surprised if I had no choice but to send it back ? I've bought lots of Sony products over the years, and never really had a problem with any of them. Ironic, that one of the best products they've produced, has faults, bugs, e.t.c.

TomDac · « **Reply #421 on:** 19 Jan 2015, 03:08 pm »

Hey all... I'm intrigued by this piece of equipment and considering it as a replacement for my Squeezebox / external DAC.. I have 50,000 files in my collection, most of which are FLAC which I'm storing on a NAS and haven't made the jump to HiRez yet... still researching and learning all I can before I make any decisions... Thanks for all the posts.

TomDac · « **Reply #422 on:** 20 Jan 2015, 11:44 pm »

just read this on Sony's website:

smooth operation guaranteed up to 20,000 tracks

So what happens after 20K tracks??? non-smooth operation? Can anyone verify that it operates A-OK with more than 20K tracks loaded?

DEP14 · « **Reply #423 on:** 6 Mar 2015, 12:12 pm »

Looking for help if anyone can provide it.

My harddrive crashed and I had to replace it on my computer (not the HAP Z1) however as a result I've lost the transferred files log. When I go to sync, it clearly wants to re-transfer and ultimately leave duplicates of all my files.

i can of course clear the HD of the HAP Z1 but would prefer not to. Does anyone know if there is a way to re-create the transferred files log, or at least avoid the transfer software from trying to transfer everything?

Thanks.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #424 on:** 6 Mar 2015, 03:27 pm »

You can simply turn auto transfer off, or change the folder that it transfers from to a new empty folder that you'd only put files in that you want transferred.

rcspkramp · « **Reply #425 on:** 9 Apr 2015, 07:46 pm »

Does anyone know what op amps are used in this player?

uncouth · « **Reply #426 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 06:10 pm »

New firmware released today adds support for TuneIn Radio.

Name: Firmware update v14957R for HAP-S1 / HAP-Z1ES
Date released: 14-04-2015
Benefits and improvements:
Supports TuneIn internet radio service.
Note: If you are using HDD Audio Remote, you need to update the HDD Audio Remote too.

santacore · « **Reply #427 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 06:29 pm »

Any chance anyone has compared this Sony to a computer based system with Auralic Vega DAC?

DaveC113 · « **Reply #428 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 08:06 pm »

Quote from: santacore on 14 Apr 2015, 06:29 pm

Any chance anyone has compared this Sony to a computer based system with Auralic Vega DAC?

Yes... in my system, which is single ended, they are very comparable. The Sony had a more solid state sound but since then the firmware updates have made it sound more natural. I think the Sony is one of the best values for a digital source available.

santacore · « **Reply #429 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 10:11 pm »

Thanks for the input Dave!!! It's a tempting option, although with about 73,000 songs in my library, I'm not sure if it would work.

DEP14 · « **Reply #430 on:** 1 May 2015, 11:03 pm »

Does anyone know how to actually get a hold of Sony ES support via the phone? I've tried e-mail for 3 days now and it's like a monkey F-ing a football. Calling I get bounced around.

One of my unbalanced outputs quit working. The balanced works, so I am OK but wanted to at least talk to them about repair options.

Love the sound of this player though.

wormcycle · « **Reply #431 on:** 11 May 2015, 06:57 pm »

Yes I read the reviews on Amazon, good and bad and "bad" reviews did not really affected my decision to buy HATZ1ES. After two weeks of listening I would do it again. What I wanted was a great SQ at reasonable price, and the shortest path possible between the music store and DAC - no USB, no SPDIF, no related cables etc..What I liked the most was the focus on sound, with limited other features. Most of the complains, at least on Amazon were:
1. Internet radio not working - I did not care about this part but it is actually working great and now I like it a lot
2. transfer of existing music files - yes it is slow but it is one time shot, and all updates to your PC music store are processed quickly
3. The sync app and remote sync app is pretty basic but it works and the Android remote is great
4. SQ not being better than on Cambridge DAC - this one worried me a bit but the reviews of SQ were still very good. I have Cambridge DACMagic100 - it is not bad but it does not compare to Sony

Some things I do not like:
1. HDD is not SDD - the unit is pretty silent but from the short distance when music is not playing you can HHD just slightly. That can be eliminated by replacing HDD and you can read how on Computer Audiophiles - they had to compromise somewhere to deliver this price
2. I would still eliminate Internet streamer - it would make it simpler and cleaner and maybe they could build it with SDD

DEP14 · « **Reply #432 on:** 18 Dec 2015, 12:24 pm »

I'm wondering if there is a way to make suggestions to Sony on this player. I would love an ability to simply have a "random play" by artist and genre. Seems like it would be a simply enough firmware upgrade.

gbeard · « **Reply #433 on:** 18 Dec 2015, 01:05 pm »

I'm sure someone else will chime in here, but if you are using the HDD sony remote app, I think you may be able to go into the "Track" selection, change the type of playback to random and hit play?

Again, not sure...

(Sorry DEP14, I misread your question, but you may still be able to do it through the app?)

mfsoa · « **Reply #434 on:** 18 Dec 2015, 01:50 pm »

When people describe the SQ from the HAP, I'd love to know if they are describing the converted-to-DSD sound or if they have turned that off and are hearing the non-DSD output.

I'm guessing that some owners are not aware that all of their music is being converted to DSD (I'm not implying that this is a bad thing) and that they have the option to prevent this.

Any comments on DSD converted vs. native SQ?

-Mike

DaveC113 · « **Reply #435 on:** 18 Dec 2015, 03:05 pm »

I tried it and now just leave the DSD upsampling on all the time. It's not a huge difference imo....

paul79 · « **Reply #436 on:** 18 Dec 2015, 03:12 pm »

Agreed. The difference is very subtle. I leave it off.

gbeard · « **Reply #437 on:** 18 Dec 2015, 05:54 pm »

+2 that subtle is probably the best way to describe the DSD upsampling. That said, I enjoy it enough I leave mine on all the time too.

Ajglass · « **Reply #438 on:** 13 Jan 2016, 12:45 am »

My unit has developed the same problem. A factory reset did not cure it. I'll call Sony ES help.

Dj_AmTraX · « **Reply #439 on:** 13 Feb 2016, 03:51 pm »

I own two of these beauties.