[yakkosmurf]

I already have an upgraded WM cable to PHA-3.  One made from silver wire while another is silver/gold hybrid.  You will be surprised how much better the PHA3 can sound by upgrading this little cable.  

Where did you buy it?

 

[purk]

Is there much point in pairing the PHA-3 with 1A/1Z? Do you get more volume using it?

My PHA-3 with an upgraded WMport cable still capable of sounding slightly better with sweeter sound and more enveloping soundstage than my 1Z (300 hours) but for convenience sake...the 1Z is likely going to be my all-in-one go-to portable device.  With the 1Z, you have 500GB on board and all-day-long battery life in a greater form factor.  Of course, price is crazy on the 1Z so the PHA-3 is a much better bang for your buck especially in a used market.  Without the upgraded WMport digital cable, I actually prefer the 1Z over the PHA-3 due to a slightly richer sonic presentation on the 1Z.  The WMport cable that a friend of mine (he's a member here) made for me really bring out the best of the PHA3 for me.  Without it, I think the 1Z has slightly richer and sweeter sound.

 

[Whitigir]

My PHA-3 with an upgraded WMport cable still capable of sounding slightly better with sweeter sound and more enveloping soundstage than my 1Z (300 hours) but for convenience sake...the 1Z is likely going to be my all-in-one go-to portable device.  With the 1Z, you have 500GB on board and all-day-long battery life in a greater form factor.  Of course, price is crazy on the 1Z so the PHA-3 is a much better bang for your buck especially in a used market.  Without the upgraded WMport digital cable, I actually prefer the 1Z over the PHA-3 due to a slightly richer sonic presentation on the 1Z.  The WMport cable that a friend of mine (he's a member here) made for me really bring out the best of the PHA3 for me.  Without it, I think the 1Z has slightly richer and sweeter sound.

Definitely have to agree with this, and IMO, form factor and function, the 1Z wins

 

[cthomas]

My PHA-3 with an upgraded WMport cable still capable of sounding slightly better with sweeter sound and more enveloping soundstage than my 1Z (300 hours) but for convenience sake...the 1Z is likely going to be my all-in-one go-to portable device.  With the 1Z, you have 500GB on board and all-day-long battery life in a greater form factor.  Of course, price is crazy on the 1Z so the PHA-3 is a much better bang for your buck especially in a used market.  Without the upgraded WMport digital cable, I actually prefer the 1Z over the PHA-3 due to a slightly richer sonic presentation on the 1Z.  The WMport cable that a friend of mine (he's a member here) made for me really bring out the best of the PHA3 for me.  Without it, I think the 1Z has slightly richer and sweeter sound.

Good to know. I'm gonna get the 1A (eventually) to go with PHA-3.

 

[Sonyvores]

  Connection question. I recently updated my cellphone from a Xperia Z5 to an Xperia XZ.  The XZ has a USB-C port on it rather than micro-USB. I picked up a couple of adapters for my old cables from Anker, and they seem to be working fine for everything except connecting the XZ to the PHA3.  The XZ (which is running Nougat) doesn't recognize the PHA3 like the Z5 (running Marshmallow) does. Do I need another cable? Other thoughts?  I was thinking to use the Xperia XZ for streaming and picking up a WM1A Walkman for my music collection. But, if the XZ won't work, I might be looking at the ZX2 Walkman to do streaming.

For connecting the Xperia XZ to PHA-3, since Sony hasn't release a USB-C to DAC cable, you need to use the xperia cable that is given with the PHA-3 and add a micro USB to USB-C Adaptor... I know it's not the best, but for now it's the only way =).

 

[yakkosmurf]

For connecting the Xperia XZ to PHA-3, since Sony hasn't release a USB-C to DAC cable, you need to use the xperia cable that is given with the PHA-3 and add a micro USB to USB-C Adaptor... I know it's not the best, but for now it's the only way =).

That didn't work. I bought a USB-C to Micro USB cable and it's working fine. Adapter wouldn't work.

 

[Whitigir]

That didn't work. I bought a USB-C to Micro USB cable and it's working fine. Adapter wouldn't work.

Adapter on micro USB is usually OTG, which means it has resistors for ID inside. The USB C doesn't need that, hence it doesn't read . Yeah, any USB C will work just fine

 

[djhitman]

Unboxed my new PHA-3, today. Running Audirvana+ with DSD128 up-sampling and listening with Sony MDR-Z7 w/ balanced cables.
.

I have exact same setup with pha3, balanced mdrz7 running audirvana+ but can't get dsd files to play....or at least the dsd light to come on. Any suggestions?

 

[Krutsch]

I have exact same setup with pha3, balanced mdrz7 running audirvana+ but can't get dsd files to play....or at least the dsd light to come on. Any suggestions?

Try DoP 1.1, instead of dCS method or auto-detect. That's what I had to do.

 

[djhitman]

Try DoP 1.1, instead of dCS method or auto-detect. That's what I had to do.

Thanks I'll give that a try when I get home.

I've read that I should be using different adapter than stock to go from Walkman/source player(nwzx100 in my case) to Pha3. Is there a specific adapter that's recommended?

I've read to use the Sony WMC-NWH10, but that has a female USB output. Wouldn't I need a male USB output to connect to pha3

 

[Krutsch]

Thanks I'll give that a try when I get home.

I've read that I should be using different adapter than stock to go from Walkman/source player(nwzx100 in my case) to Pha3. Is there a specific adapter that's recommended?

I've read to use the Sony WMC-NWH10, but that has a female USB output. Wouldn't I need a male USB output to connect to pha3

Use the Walkman cable that should've come with your PHA-3.

 

[djhitman]

Use the Walkman cable that should've come with your PHA-3.

That's what I'm currently using but I've read in this thread that upgrading that cable makes a difference in sound.

 

[Whitigir]

That's what I'm currently using but I've read in this thread that upgrading that cable makes a difference in sound.

WMC-NWH10. This is recommended, you can buy upgraded USB cables to connect to this dongles. The only possible way to do a direct connection would be to modify the stock WMC-NWH10 with wires materials of choices. Yes, it does improve sound quality. You can also use the dock cradle as well

 

[djhitman]

WMC-NWH10. This is recommended, you can buy upgraded USB cables to connect to this dongles. The only possible way to do a direct connection would be to modify the stock WMC-NWH10 with wires materials of choices. Yes, it does improve sound quality. You can also use the dock cradle as well

thanks.  which upgraded USB cables do you recommend?

 

[Whitigir]

thanks.  which upgraded USB cables do you recommend?

I would go with Audio quest for a more affordable solution, unless you want much more expensive which doesn't make any senses compare to the pha-3 pricing itself.