Sony HAP-Z1ES Hi-Res Music Player RMAF 2013

The thing that I find most compelling about the CES report is not that the player made a positive impression on JA (after all, what doesn't make a positive impression on JA?) but rather that Sony chose for its room at CES to use this $2,000 player in conjunction with $27,000 speakers and Pass Labs amplification!

I have just ordered the CAPS v3 Carbon from Small Green Computers, so see Kr4's comments above (12-31-13).

IMO - This "concept" product(s) is worth checking out. For the most part, it's plug-n-play to build it yourself, or just get it built like me, for a fraction more of the DIY price. If you have any "tinkerer" in you, it may be worth taking a look.

This model is now at a number of dealers. I listened to it here in San Antonio and was quite impressed. I also brought 2 IPADS (1st & 3rd Gen), 1 laptop and 1 android device to the audition. I wanted to test the software and see if it would work well on all of those devices since the screen on the server is so small. I must report that ALL devices worked very well and the interface was much better and smoother than my Olive 4 music server. No problem moving files from the laptop and such. Based on my listening experience (all McIntosh system with B&W 802D speakers) I ordered the server. Expect it in a few days and will let you know what I find out as I use it at home.

Rg58, thanks for your impressions so far. Looking forward to your further observations particularly since I also have B&W speakers (804 Diamond with Musical Fidelity). On another forum I did read a somewhat negative comment about the transfer software because apparently only 100 folders can be transferred at a time. My concern about the software has more to do with how easy it will be to find specific albums once the transfer is complete, particularly classical albums. I'm not sure but I suspect there's no way to search based on composer which would be a limitation for anyone with a lot of classical music. Another aspect of the software that interests me is if there are any hassles involved in creating playlists. And one hardware question I have is whether or not the harddrive can be replaced by the user should it fail or would this require shipping the player off to a service center.

You will need to use a tablet or smartphone to make playlists.