Sony HAP-Z1ES Hi-Res Music Player RMAF 2013

Tomcy6 - If I'm so arrogant please explain what turntables have you owned. Lets start there if you want.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on my newest acquisition: the Sony HAP-Z1ES music server. As many of you have said the remastering engine is why you pay 1k more than its little brother the HAP-S1/B which doesn't have the remastering option (or the larger hard drive). The build quality is at a much high level as well. I recently had all my SACDs ripped many of which I also have ripped at 16bit, 44.1 kHz and on vinyl. So I was able to compare the DSD version against the 44.1 kHz DSD remastered and the analog version. First, let me say........ vinyl is still king. Nothing beats a mechanical, analog playback system. Digital just don't sound as natural. But (and its a BIG but) the Sony HAP-Z1ES shows digital reproduction is getting very, very good! It isn't the DSD signals I am most impressed with but the DSD remastered signals!! At times I prefer the remastered version to the DSD version and other times I do not. The point is your 16 bit, 44.1 kHz ripped CDs have a new lease on life! Sony went "all-in" with this technology and it has paid-off.

The soundstage is more relaxed and much larger with the DSD remastering engaged. There is a more natural decay to the notes and the leading edge of the note is properly rendered. If you have ever compared a good quality, properly set-up analog system to most digital sources you know exactly what I'm trying to say. As to Sony' software, all I can say its very simple and effective. It took a long time to load all my music (direct LAN cable is recommended) but once loaded it was properly organized by genre, artist, album, and track. Gracenote is the online database used and its generally accurate. You can also create playlists so you can organize them manually by composer if you wish but I don't see any direct user control over how music is searched or cataloged.

If you want professional reviews The Absolute Sound and What-Hi Fi? have already published some. The output stage is almost the same as the XA-5400ES so there will be plenty of tweakers out there I'm sure.

Mistratil - the Remastering Engine in no way hurt the sound of ripped redbook CD playback. In almost all cases it made the soundstage wider and more natural sounding. Yes, it does make all sources sound much like its DSD recording. If you don't like the Remastering Engine then turn it off. Will you like it in your system? I don't know - "sound quality" is very subjective. There are many people who think digital surpassed analog playback years ago. I'm not in that camp. If you want some type of bottom line regarding "sound quality" and whether you should buy the HAP-Z1ES here it is: If you don't have an analog system then don't buy the HAP-Z1ES, put the $2K in something like a Pro-Ject RM-9.2 with Sumiko EVO III: sit-back, relax and realize its blowing the HAP-Z1ES out of the water when it comes to "sound quality."

Tomcy6 - I didn't mean to turn this thread into a digital v. analog debate (been there done that) but I respect your opinion and can agree digital now a days is very good. Now back to the HAP-Z1ES..........

Steve - No digital output, but fortunately it sounds very good as is and since its an all-in-one solution its very convenient. Not up to the standards of your equipment but in the past I've used a linear power supply with a Squeezebox Touch/Monarchy Audio DIP/Metrum Octave DAC with good results.

I would agree its probably using SSD since the boot times are extremely fast. I'm also impressed by the Sony interface/software and the use of GraceNotes. Its simple, accurate and stable. The whole system just gets out of the way and lets you enjoy your music.

It appears Modwright, Red Wine Audio and EVS are, at least, considering modding the HAP-Z1ES.

Dr. David Robinson - Editor-in-Chief, Positive Feedback Online:
"Quick first impressions, as promised: the Sony HAP Z1ES proved easy to set up. All networking, both wired (CAT6 gigabit) and wireless proved to be simple, and worked the first time on both sides. Its interface is pretty intuitive, and worked very well with the HDD Audio Remote app. I've tried this on both the supplied Sony Xperian pad and my own iPad 3...both IOS 7.1 and the Android system had no problems. Installation of the HAP Transfer app on my Windows 7 64-bit notebook computer upstairs was flawless, and connected with the wired interface immediately, once I shifted to the wired subnet. (For security reasons, I keep wired and wireless networks on two entirely different Network address spaces.) I used the Sony Transfer app to copy about 110 GB of DSD files to the 1 TB internal storage on the Z1ES. Then I shifted it back to the wireless network so that I could connect with the Xperian and iPad remote control apps. No problems at all...a really gratifying result, I must say.

My VERY preliminary listening impressions are quite positive. With only a few hours on the review sample, the sonic results have been quite positive. PCM is PCM, but sounds good on the Z1ES. I had the unit set to convert PCM to Double DSD (yes, that's what the Z1ES can do), so that is likely the reason for this result.

Most of my listening has been to DSD, naturally; there the sound is natural, detailed, totally balanced, with superior imaging and soundstaging. Frankly, I was hearing a quality of sound on the first day that was better than I expected. Nice!

Since the Z1ES converts to Double DSD, I decided to copy a Double DSD sample track to the review unit, to see if it would play it. I wasn't surprised, but I was gratified to see that the Z1ES handled my sample Double DSD track without a hitch. In fact, it sounded great!

So far, this has been an exceptional experience. Sony is onto something here...at $1,999, this is a relative steal in audiophile terms.

More to come at PFO, when I flesh this all out...."

Stereophile has now reviewed this unit, just FYI to anyone who may be following this thread.