[Sonywalkmanuser]

So just to make things clearer:

Tidal app loudness normalisation settings switched on = -18 LUFS software applied normalisation

Tidal app loudness normalisation settings off = integrated(normalised during MQA/FLAC encoding) -14 LUFS

This means when a music artist submits his original music master file to Tidal, at Tidal where they encode music master fies to be stored as FLAC or MQA for streaming, during the process, tidal already imposes a loudness limiter at their end, they do it through software algorithms which calculate the average loudness of the music and reduces those louder music that exceed this -14 LUFS limit. Meaning all files you listen on Tidal have already been subjected to a loudness limiter algorithm.

 

[rlw6534]

So just to make things clearer:

Tidal app loudness normalisation settings switched on = -18 LUFS software applied normalisation

Tidal app loudness normalisation settings off = integrated(normalised during MQA/FLAC encoding) -14 LUFS

This means when an music artist submits his original music master file to Tidal, at Tidal where they encode music master fies to be stored as FLAC or MQA for streaming, during the process, tidal already imposes a loudness limiter at their end, they do it through software algorithms which calculate the average loudness of the music and reduces those louder music that exceed this -14 LUFS limit.

So if the tracks are already normalized, why even have a setting in the app to make it 4 LUFS softer?

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

So if the tracks are already normalized, why even have a setting in the app to make it 4 LUFS softer?

The reason is written in this article:
https://www.grimmaudio.com/wp-conte...normalization-by-Music-Streaming-services.pdf

In cooperation with TIDAL we did a large survey on 4.2 million albums of their catalog. A proposal was developed to use album normalization where the loudest track of each album is normalized to -14 LUFS and the other tracks are aligned to the relative level they have in the album. These levels will then also be used when tracks are played in a randomly shuffled playlist with other albums’ tracks. This proposal was tested against track normalization in a shuffled playlist of 24 songs with 38 subjects. It turned out that 80% of the subjects preferred album normalization, even though the tracks were selected for an extreme difference in loudness, of up to 10 LU. Based upon this we could write the following recommendations.

I think it’s because they surveyed mainstream(non-audophile) people with low quality earbuds/Bluetooth junk(sorry if you are Bluetooth audiophile but a lot of Bluetooth buds are P.O.S.) and somehow this added loudness normalisation helped to “improve” the perceived sound quality of their crap gear.

This is what happens when big data is used wrongly to implement a change for the worse.

 

[maceto]

If enabled, upsamples to 32bit 176.4/192KHz for android apps
If disabled, limited to 16bit 48KHz Max for android apps

So essentially, everything from 44.1 to 96 is upsampled to 2 or 4 times like my Audirvana/Mojo2 when I play on my laptop. So for the Tidal app, which unfolds to 96 if is a MQA file, sony will upsample again if it's on and downsample if not turned on - correct?

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

So essentially, everything from 44.1 to 96 is upsampled to 2 or 4 times like my Audirvana/Mojo2 when I play on my laptop. So for the Tidal app, which unfolds to 96 if is a MQA file, sony will upsample again if it's on and downsample if not turned on - correct?

Yes. I believe this is the case. Additionally If you enable DSEE Ultimate, there will be additional AI dynamic range enhancement and other AI soundstage depth/height enhancement added into the upsample sound.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

https://music-loudness.com/projects/loudnessnormalization/

Audio Engineers deciding how loud your music can be… kinda reminds me of EU LAWS about headphone output levels.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Also, your comments don't change the fact that bitperfect, original sample rate streaming is not possible on the Sony DAPs, a feature I would like to see.

And, as always, if it doesn't matter to you, then that's cool..

Frankly I myself would also like to see android app bit perfect playback support on the Walkman. It allows the use of other android based offline players like musicbee and foobar2000.

What I meant is having bit perfect for streaming music isn’t going improve streaming audio due to the various sound quality and latency/bandwidth issues that most of these streaming platforms have. Sony’s upsampling and along with the AI algorithms actually mitigates some of these streaming audio quality issues.

It seems Sony still cannot implement a workaround like Chinese dap’s DTA function but the actual problem is with Google and their non-commitment to fixing and standardising the android audio layer.

So in summary: I am also a little bit disappointed and dissatisfied at the non-bit perfect issue but not because of non-bit perfect streaming audio playback.

 

[mt877]

Here's to hoping we get an acceptable battery life, the ZX500 disappointed a lot of users.

From Sony ZX707 features page (Google Japanese to English translated):

Improved battery life due to power saving​

By adopting a new platform, we have achieved power saving. In particular, power consumption during standby and power consumption when using music streaming services are greatly reduced. Continuous playback is possible for up to 25 hours (*1) when using the music playback app "W. Music" and up to 22 hours (*2) when using the music streaming service app (offline mode). We are pursuing battery performance that enables comfortable and long-time music playback as a dedicated music device.

*1 MP3 128kbps mode, when playing continuously with "W. Music" with wired connection and screen off. Depends on setting conditions
*2 MP3 128kbps mode, when playing continuously in offline mode with a music service app other than "W. Music" with a wired connection and the screen off. Varies depending on setting conditions

 

[mt877]

No expansion?

The pics of the board and player on the first page show mircoSD expansion port (board pic) microSD port cover (player pic).

 

[Ghisy]

If this can get 25 hours of playing time, I might be in! Probably next time I can go to Japan.

I still love my Plenue R2 though and wish Cowon would release a successor but I'm not holding my breath...

 

[mt877]

The ZX707 has USB DAC function, missing from the ZX507....

From the Sony ZX707 features page:

USB Audio compatible​

Connect to a USB DAC amplifier, etc.​

Digital connection with USB DAC amplifier etc. is possible. High sound quality is achieved by minimizing the jitter that occurs during USB transfer using the asynchronous method. In addition to PCM output, DSD RAW output is also possible. (PCM: up to 384kHz/32bit, DSD RAW: up to 11.2MHz/1bit).

USB-DAC function​

You can connect your computer (*) to your Walkman and enjoy high-resolution music on your computer. Supports not only PCM output but also DSD RAW output (PCM: max. 384kHz/32bit, DSD RAW: max. 11.2MHz/1bit). By applying sound processing such as DSEE Ultimate and equalizer in the Walkman settings, you can enjoy music with a balanced connection by taking advantage of high-quality sound parts.

* A separate driver must be installed when using the USB-DAC function. See here for installation . Applications compatible with the USB-DAC function recommended by the Walkman are as follows. Windows: Music Center for PC Mac: Hi-Res Audio Player for Mac

 

[mt877]

If this can get 25 hours of playing time, I might be in! Probably next time I can go to Japan.

I still love my Plenue R2 though and wish Cowon would release a successor but I'm not holding my breath...

25 hours with MP3 128kbps mode, when playing continuously with "W. Music" with wired connection and screen off. Depends on setting conditions

 

[mt877]

Hmm.... I was looking at the new NW-A300 head-fi thread and saw this:

36 hours of 44.1KHz FLAC, 32 hours 96 Kz FLAC for new NW-A300.

This makes me think Sony gave wrong battery spec for the ZX707 of 25 hours for MP3 128kbps? This is crap compared to new A300... I really hope they gave wrong info for ZX707.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Hmm.... I was looking at the new NW-A300 head-fi thread and saw this:

36 hours of 44.1KHz FLAC, 32 hours 96 Kz FLAC for new NW-A300.

This makes me think Sony gave wrong battery spec for the ZX707 of 25 hours for MP3 128kbps? This is crap compared to new A300... I really hope they gave wrong info for ZX707.

This is correct battery spec. The ZX707 runs on a more power hungry but faster running QCS4290 SOC as compared to the A300 which runs on a slower but more power efficient QCS2290.

https://www.hayaponlog.site/entry/2023/01/11/182515

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Also you will be interested in this article
https://www.sony.jp/feature/product...tm_source=001&s_pid=jp_/walkman/zx707_feature