* deleted double post

This post has been edited by jonoave: Mar 24 2014, 01:34 AM

I've been listening to my F886 at work for a couple of days at work now (6-8 hours daily). In my initial review I mentioned that the sound quality was good, but I wasn't exactly blown away.

Well today as I was going back home I plugged in my headphone into my phone and I suddenly find the sound to be terribly monotonous (like comparing between a mono and stereo sound). I was a bit surprised since I think the sound quality from my phone was pretty ok, and I've been listening to it to and fro from work daily but today on the ride back only this realisation hit me. I find it very hard to listen too, the sound seems very small, constrained and not rich at all.

I wonder if this is my "brain" burn-in from listening to my F886 that I now find listening through my phone and laptop to have such poor sound quality. Now I guess I can sorta of understand the drive for audiophiles in the search for the next big things, as your current gear sounds "normal" to you and your previous gear sounds terrible to you.

Oh what have I gotten myself into..

p/s: The price of XBA-H1 has dropped to 73 euros (RM280+) and XBA-H3 is 239 euros (RM960+) which is slightly cheaper than Malaysia, which is RM499 and RM999 respectively. Strangely the XBA-H2 is not available in Germany - I saw another Malaysian poster commented that he is quite happy with his H2. Of course, sound quality is very subjective to personal taste.

Just got myself a Sony MDR-1RBTMK2 for 280 Aud =D Absolutely stocked by the quality produced through bluetooth.

Definitely will post up some photos and reviews later on.

Go all the way to H3! Haha. Dayum, tried last night. The hybrid is tasty and cheap! (Apart from Dunu-1k lah).
Btw, F886 has one big big advantage over many boutique DAP, ie. its interface is so much better and smoother.

Then you must try the ZX1.

woah those looks sleek! and hefty too how's the weight on those thing?
and pics and review is very much appreciated!

I've already planned that for long. ZX1 was on the to-try list before I settle with a main source player. AK was sweet, but its lagging interface was a deal killer. I have quite a lot of faith in Sony's UI after a few satisfied experience with its entry level DAP.

But the sound quality of the AK is far more superior than even that of the ZX1. Its just so much more resolving with much better tone and timbre. I would still put the AKs ahead of the ZX1. And by quite a margin.

When you mention AK, are you making reference to AK100, AK120 or AK240?

I am referring to the AK120 Titan. With or without thw modification by RWA. But with the RWA modification, it gets even better.

The only reason why I got the Sony MDR-1RBTMK2 over the MDR-1RNCMK2 is because of the wireless system a.k.a NFC. Trust me, both are going off on roughly the same price and I had a hard time deciding which to go for.

I tried the MDR-1RNCMK2 and I was not impressed with the quality of noise cancelling, partly because I have tried the Bose QC15 which is far superior in terms of audio and noise cancelling than the Sony's variant. My piece of advice for those who wants noise cancelling, try the Bose QC15 first before deciding.

Coming from only Sony XBA-40 as my earphone and Edifier E30 Spinnakers as my speakers, do take my review as a pinch of salt.

Initial impression of the NFC system is good, I was virtually on the headphone everywhere I went within the house and the audio is crystal clear, though there exist some jerks once within 2-3 minutes. It was also very easy to switch between bluetooth and NFC on the headphone. The earmuffs are comfortable and I don't feel tired wearing them all day long.

However, I still prefer my XBA-40's audio quality but I believe I need to let my headphone burn in more hours before I could judge further on that, which I will be post in the near future. Overall, for a bluetooth headset, I know the quality is top notch in my POV and it is hard to compare it with a wired headset.

First time spending on such expensive headsets =D


Looks cool and solid, wish it could have as much metal parts as the Sony MDR1RNCMK2


Again, I wished they come with hardcase like the Sony MDR1RNCMK2


The buttons are easily accessible but need some time to get use to it

Can't really judge on the weight but it feels slightly heavier than my Samsung S3. Without the wire, everything seems to be a breeze.

when you mentioned there exist jerks once within 2-3 minutes, what do u mean by it? like lagging audio noise? skipped tracks?

This post has been edited by pj_guitarist: Mar 31 2014, 10:54 PM

It's more like just a split second lag, that's all.

like normal lag without an audio presence?

Yes, its just a split second. I used it for like an hour today and it only happened once today. Another thing I faced today is it just jumped my track, though I can't say it's totally my head phone's fault as I might have touched my Samsung S3.

Other than that, I am loving the audio quality despite the minor issues =D NFC is too cool.

yeap as long as you're happy with it that all that matters, after a purchase I will always find fault with the item, guess it's human nature to do so after u spent ur hard earned money, before purchase=read review, try it from any frens who owned it, after purchase,=try to scrutinize every inch of it whether physically or intrinsically. human tendencies.

Hehe I get what you meant. =) If there is any other things that you want to know just ask okay?

On a side note, very tempted to get the Sony ZX1, it's releasing this May over here in Australia

zx1 is the shit!

congrats to you joining sony 1R family great choice for portable phone

the NC version need extra looooong burn in period. i got one and trust me it will never sound the same with new unit
regarding the metal cup, only battery side not both side. but yeah i do have the hard case

This post has been edited by ktek: Apr 2 2014, 09:55 AM