[imparanoic]

I want a new DAP for my on the go needs and was hoping to laverage LDAC for best quality BT at the office. I do currently use my iPhone and it sound good with the 1000x but I cannot wait to try LDAC for my FLAC collection.

Ldac sounds awesome ( tried my friend's 1000x) via my nw-zx100, absolutely no compression, the difference between regular bluetooth and ldac is really big especially when played on a dap

 

[castleofargh]

I want a new DAP for my on the go needs and was hoping to laverage LDAC for best quality BT at the office. I do currently use my iPhone and it sound good with the 1000x but I cannot wait to try LDAC for my FLAC collection.

ok, you have a LDAC compatible headphone already and want to use that codec. now I understand.

 

[fish1050]

Ldac sounds awesome ( tried my friend's 1000x) via my nw-zx100, absolutely no compression, the difference between regular bluetooth and ldac is really big especially when played on a dap

There is always compression over bluetooth regardless of the codec used. LDAC minimizes it the best but there is still compression. I have been using LDAC with my Sony A17 and Sony LDAC capable receiver for two years and I top out at 906 kbps transmission rate. Even with 16 bit flac for most of my files I still have several tracks that top 906 kbps vbr so there has to be compression. The bluetooth spec has an EDR option (Enhanced Data Rate) that is theoretically capable of 3 Mbps transmission rate. Currently it is only stable to 1 Mbps and Sony gets closest to this at max 990 kbps using the LDAC quality setting. I have not been able to reach that transmission rate with my A17 and Sony receiver topping out at 906 kbps. Perhaps once I upgrade to an A45 I can get closer to 990 kbps.

I typically use the LDAC Normal setting which tops out at 660 kbps but offers better range, and seems more stable and puts slightly less drain on the A17 battery.

 

[imparanoic]

There is always compression over bluetooth regardless of the codec used. LDAC minimizes it the best but there is still compression. I have been using LDAC with my Sony A17 and Sony LDAC capable receiver for two years and I top out at 906 kbps transmission rate. Even with 16 bit flac for most of my files I still have several tracks that top 906 kbps vbr so there has to be compression. The bluetooth spec has an EDR option (Enhanced Data Rate) that is theoretically capable of 3 Mbps transmission rate. Currently it is only stable to 1 Mbps and Sony gets closest to this at max 990 kbps using the LDAC quality setting. I have not been able to reach that transmission rate with my A17 and Sony receiver topping out at 906 kbps. Perhaps once I upgrade to an A45 I can get closer to 990 kbps.

I typically use the LDAC Normal setting which tops out at 660 kbps but offers better range, and seems more stable and puts slightly less drain on the A17 battery.

even at max 990mbps, that's 3 times as much data than regular bluetooth at 320kbps, thus, hence, why regular bluetooth " sounds" compressed and lifeless, while ldac the perceived compression is not noticeable or very minimal, in my ears, sounds very close to wired earphones/headphones (compared to k551 and xba-40)

surely, that's the best of both worlds, if you still want the ultimate wireless sound with very little compromise, then that's ldac

 

[fish1050]

even at max 990mbps, that's 3 times as much data than regular bluetooth at 320kbps, thus, hence, why regular bluetooth " sounds" compressed and lifeless, while ldac the perceived compression is not noticeable or very minimal, in my ears, sounds very close to wired earphones/headphones (compared to k551 and xba-40)

surely, that's the best of both worlds, if you still want the ultimate wireless sound with very little compromise, then that's ldac

I don't disagree I was simply pointing out that there is always some compression with bluetooth. But in all fairness I can't tell a difference using LDAC Normal setting at 660 kbps vs Quality at 906 kbps as I have use both extensively. So I think AptX-HD is very attractive as well since it will be supported on more bluetooth headphones and speakers than LDAC which is still limited to Sony headphones and speakers at this point. Yes 990 kbps is 3x that of 320 kbps mp3 but since mp3 is lossy compression any additional compression via bluetooth will degrade sound more vs streaming lossless 16 bit flac via bluetooth which is what most of my tracks are.

 

[GuyDebord]

This lag got fixed

how???

 

[DW10]

Oh well... there goes my Christmas!

 

[Twinster]

Expected availability January 16 on B&H ??? Why so much delay?

 

[STOKES THEOREM]

Expected availability January 16 on B&H ??? Why so much delay?

Welp, time to get a refund from my friends at B&H.
Does anyone here have a Japanese NW-A45 from the Amazon.co.jp store which they have successfully set to English using the tool from the Rockbox developers, or does the tool only work with the "tourist" version someone mentioned earlier?
Currently there is one or two people selling Japanese NW-A45s on Ebay, but they both look wild shady and questionable.

 

[WaffleIron]

So I'm currently considering getting a NW-A45, but from the little of what I've read, it doesn't seem to be a considerable upgrade to the 35? What are the differences between the 35 and the 45 other than colours? I've read something about bluetooth but I doubt i'll be using that.

 

[472925]

So I'm currently considering getting a NW-A45, but from the little of what I've read, it doesn't seem to be a considerable upgrade to the 35? What are the differences between the 35 and the 45 other than colours? I've read something about bluetooth but I doubt i'll be using that.

Usb-Dac function, new refreshed s-master amplifier, and Aptx audio compatibility is available with a firmware update after november 2017. Battery i think is the same. I own the Nw-a35 and for me to make a reasonable upgrade I would go for the new zx300.

 

[ebjarrell]

for me to make a reasonable upgrade I would go for the new zx300.

I own an antique, the NWZ-A847 so I'm due for an upgrade. I think I'm with you, will be going for the ZX300 next month.

 

[fish1050]

Expected availability January 16 on B&H ??? Why so much delay?

I suspect it is because the A35 has only been available in North America for a few months and there is alot of stock floating around. Some stores in Toronto for example only got A35 stock very recently and Sony needs to unload as much A35 stock as possible before releasing the A45. If both the A35 and A45 are available at the same time everyone would opt for the A45 unless there is a large price drop on the A35. Sony's profit margin on the A series is much smaller than the ZX and WM series so they won't want a huge price drop on the A35.

Also the Consumer Electronics Show takes place in January in Las Vegas and I would think Sony wants the unveiling of the A40 series and ZX300 at that show for North America.

 

[phower]

I want a new DAP for my on the go needs and was hoping to laverage LDAC for best quality BT at the office. I do currently use my iPhone and it sound good with the 1000x but I cannot wait to try LDAC for my FLAC collection.

Bitrate of 2 channel CD quality audio is around 1400kbps while the maximum bitrate supported by LDAC is 900 kbps only. Bluetooth audio codecs are designed with latency and power consumption(both encoding + decoding) in mind not sound quality.

If you want Bluetooth and high quality, then you should look for direct streaming of AAC/MP3 over BT. There are many BT headphones that support it. Of course your smartphone/DAP should support it too.

I don't want to sound rude but FLAC to BT is a ridiculous idea. High quality audio and vidoe compression takes time and CPU power to do well. And that can be achieved by compressing before hand with high quality encoders. Trying to do it in real time using a BT codec compromises audio quality.

Some of you people need to stop drinking the kool-aid.

 

[psikey]

To me if your really interested in Bluetooth audio then you don't really need a dedicated DAP. A Sony phone with LDAC is going to sound exactly the same as a Sony DAP to LDAC headphones. If your pursuing the best audio quality especially with high bitrate music its got to be wired.