In fact, I am not a "soup fan", but when I heard that Sony was going to release a new HiFi player, I subconsciously searched on the Internet, and I did not expect that it had been 6 years since the last time Sony officially released a HiFi player.
Sony officially released the NW-WM1A and NW-WM1Z in September 2016, which were affectionately called "black bricks" and "golden bricks" by enthusiasts at that time, and the price of gold bricks was close to 20,000 yuan, so that these two players quickly became the equipment that enthusiasts competed to listen to, and even once there was a "grand situation" that the prototype was not enough to listen.
And I am not deeply impressed by this player, mainly because in the few auditions, can only be described as "flat and stable", plus I still like a wider soundstage performance, can only say that the quality is in line with the pricing, but it is not my dish.
Therefore, when I heard that I could immediately hear this flagship "new black brick" released not long ago (in fact, the NW-WM1ZM2 released at the same time, after all, a bite can not be fat, I am ready to listen to the "cheap"), I am still more excited, I have heard some rumors before, saying that it will make some obvious improvements in the sound field.
After taking it out of Sony's very environmentally friendly recyclable packaging, the most obvious feeling is that this new black brick is a little larger than the previous generation. In addition to the screen from the previous generation of 4-inch screen to 5 inches, the button layout of the whole machine can also be more ergonomic. The previous generation of black brick fuselage is relatively short, coupled with the buttons are all concentrated on the right side, when adjusting the volume, the center of gravity will be moved down as a whole, the previous generation of black brick fuselage itself is heavy, it is easy to have the risk of falling.
And this generation of new black brick weight and the previous generation compared with the slightly reduced, it is said that the interior of the use of aluminum integrated cutting molding fuselage, and the use of aluminum alloy back cover, the volume becomes larger, the weight has a certain share, one-handed grip of the weight sense is not a generation obvious, one-handed operation problem is not big.
NW-WM1A and NW-WM1AM2 size comparison image from Sony's official website
The volume adjustment button, the front and back progress adjustment buttons and the opening key are all concentrated on the right side, the button is relatively large, the operation is relatively wide, and the left side is the TF card slot and the physical lock HOLD key, or it can play a role in the pants pocket to avoid accidental touch. The top of the fuselage is 4.4 balanced and 3.5 single port, and the bottom is the type-C interface (finally replaced).
Before sharing the sound quality performance in detail, it is necessary to talk about the upgrade of the new black brick on the "hardware", if the HiFi player wants to upgrade the material, the ultimate purpose is to improve the sound quality performance, such as the new black brick by upgrading to the polymer capacitor FT CAP3, with 8mm large solid polymer capacitor to improve the circuit noise filtering capacity and abundance power supply to enhance the transient performance, and the use of gold materials, gold lead-free solder to further reduce the interference in the signal transmission process.
Sony has also upgraded the hardware material in order to make the sound more "clean" Picture from Sony's official website
In addition, whether it is a new black brick or a new gold brick, it is separated by the digital and analog parts, and in the digital area circuit, the oxygen-free copper module is used to shield the noise acting on the component, so that the interference is minimized.
However, even if the noise impact is minimized through hardware practices, as long as the Android system is used, it is inevitable to go through the SRC process. Therefore, how to "avoid" the noise caused by SRC and the problem of sound quality deterioration has become a "problem" in the software tuning system in addition to hardware technology.
Sony engineers redesigned the signal path to circumvent the SRC in order to solve the problem of Android forcing audio to be limited to 48khz 16bit. In addition, not only can the walkman app built into the machine provide high-resolution music playback, but third-party music apps are also unlimited (just need to open high-resolution streaming in the settings menu).
It is recommended to turn on all three options when listening to songs
In the playback settings, I turned on the DSEE Ultimate, DC Phase Linearist, and DSD Mastering Reset options, and during the switching, I found that there were corresponding improvements in micro-dynamics, sound gloss, and listening.
Next, I chose to match the three headphones I often listen to on hand to make a detailed match.
The three headphones are the aura jasper, which mainly listens to some triplets and small compilation classes; HIFIMAN RE2000 mainly listens to classical; OPENAUDIO mercury mainly listens to human voices, the first two are dynamics, the last one is a multi-unit circle iron headphones, except for the organe jasper for 4.4 balance interface, the other two are 3.5 single-ended.
aune jasper, this headset is mainly biased towards small weaving, the sense of positioning of the instrument is very accurate, not kneaded into a ball. The low frequencies are in place and not procrastinating, and the high frequencies are not so bright and meandering, but on the whole, the sound quality is still good, and there is no obvious shortcoming. In Deng Ziqi's "Bubble", the overall style is slightly warmer, the sound base is thicker, the separation is relatively high, the positioning of the instrument is accurate, and it is not mixed together because of the sound mixing, the vocals are mellow, and the tooth sounds are almost inaudible.
In the audition of Eason Chan's "Long Time Gone", the vocals under this set of collocations are very close, the knot is clear, the sound field is not large, under this song, the vocals are very convex, basically the vocals are clearly presented in front of you, singing out that feeling of sadness, and the violin sound on the left side of the climax is melodious and gentle, echoing with the vocals.
Paired with THE HIFIMAN RE2000 is suitable for listening to omnivorous music. The lateral soundstage of the HIFIMAN RE2000 under this combination is relatively wide, compared to other headphones of the same type at this price point, it is also unparalleled; the overall tuning style is not bland, but a tuning style with a distinct dyeing taste, which is slightly rich. Low-frequency diving is not deep, but the texture is still OK; the overall soundstage is also good, more regular.
In terms of low frequency, HIFIMAN RE2000's diving is moderate, the sense of volume is acceptable, and the sense of low-frequency atmosphere that can be created is not outstanding; the vocal part of the mid-frequency is the highlight of this set of collocations, although the vocal clarity is very high, but there is no kind of knot like the frizz and tooth sound that is easy to bring after excessive clarity, and the vocals have a moist feeling, but they are not like the sponge that is over-moisture.
Listen to Julia Fischer-Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto "Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto In D, Op. 35 - 1. Allegro Moderato, the sound will be clearer and more transparent. The sound of the violin is melodious and gentle, the instrument positioning is very accurate, let me feel the most deeply or transient performance, this song, broadcast to the first 1/3 position, the violin sound continuous, fast playing, even did not stop and let the sound mixed together, high-frequency ductility is very good, gorgeous and not bright and harsh.
NW-WM1AM2 with OPENAUDIO mercury, the vocals are remarkable. When this set of combinations auditioned Yuan Yawei's song "Scatter and Scatter", the overall quality was acceptable, OPENAUDIO mercury was provided by the low frequency of the moving circle unit, diving deep enough, the low frequency of the sense of volume; the medium frequency vocal part, natural warmth, especially the processing of the vocals, the distance was moderate, there was the right distance; the ductility of the high frequency was not obviously interpreted, but the overall sense of transparency and ethereal feeling had a hand; the sound field was only relatively wide in the horizontal part, and the depth of the longitudinal part was not enough. The resolution of this set is good, and the overall sound trend is more balanced. Since OPENAUDIO mercury does not have obvious tri-frequency aspects of the weakness. When listening to NANA's "Lonely", this set of low-frequency diving is very deep, there is a feeling of dynamic circle, the low-frequency sense of volume is very sufficient; in terms of mid-frequency, the openAUDIO mercury vocal knot is slightly clearer, the vocals are more rounded, the sense of edge is less, the sound is less stained, and the naturalness is more; high frequency, because the OPENAUDIO mercury low frequency is too fierce, but the permeability is not weak, and the analysis of cymbal instruments is clearer, and the high frequencies are much brighter.
In the mid-range vocal part, the clarity of the portrait of the vocals is not as good as that of Sony's previous generation of black bricks; the permeability and extension of openAUDIO mercury in high frequencies is better, so that the sound as a whole is not so mushy; the horizontal sound field is obviously wider, and the longitudinal sound field is not so obvious.
If you really don't want to see such a "metaphysical" analysis, then I will summarize in one sentence: the so-called "old Sony" style can only be felt when the vinyl record processor is turned on, in addition, it is neutral and restrained, can show the headphone style, the sound field is horizontally wider than the previous generation of black bricks, but the vertical direction is much more convergent, the thrust is moderate, and the problem with most of the ear headphones is not big.
To sum up, Sony's new black brick in my boiling machine for almost 50 hours, has not been like the first listening to the "dry, hard" sense of listening, but will be moist, warmer, but still will not be like some domestic players due to tuning too warm and affect the performance of the matching headphones, and like DSEE Ultimate, DC phase linearist function opened, I think more like a "patch gain" for the "sound source", for the sound orientation after the pairing of headphones the impact is minimal, of course, if you want to get a stronger " Surround feeling", you can turn on the vinyl record processor option, which will make the sound "warm" to a certain extent.
In addition, the use of Android 11 operating system, you can freely install third-party APP and compared to the previous generation of visible endurance and standby improvement, which is compared to the previous generation of black brick can be obviously perceived progress.
However, the only thing to worry about at present is the final pricing of this new black brick, after all, in these 6 years, the high-end player in the HiFi field has basically been all domestic brands, and the pricing has also "soared" from 5,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan, and some of the top domestic players have reached 20,000 yuan.
In other words, the current HiFi market is not as "oligarchic" as it was 6 years ago, and if Sony wants to be a HiFi "bellwether" again, it is not only facing the "suo fan" group, but also facing the challenges brought about by the rise of domestic HiFi brands.