Recently participated in a nostalgic tour of the national brick bar, reminisced about some old antiques from the Sony WALKMAN era, anyway, I will share it with you!
WALKMAN is Sony's common name for personal portable music players, which originated in 1979 when Sony launched the first personal portable tape recorder TPS-L2, which was named WALKMAN at that time. The recent DPS-L2 portable player launched by Oriolus is a complete tribute to the classic work of Dafa.
Since then, Sony has been using the name WALKMAN, and extended to the later launch of MD, MP3 and other products, and even some headphones will carry the LOGO of WALKMAN.
This time, the NWZ-A844 (hereinafter referred to as A844), which was born 10 years later than MN-N707. The A844 belongs to the Sony A840 series, which is divided into 2 different versions, of which the A844 has built-in 8G storage space, and the same series also has a built-in 16G version.
The A844 is partly a successor to some of sony's technology from the previous year, in 2009, when it launched the X1000 for the 30th anniversary of the WALKMAN, including the digital amplifier technology S-Master, which has since been widely used in Sony's portable products, and the active noise cancellation technology based on the pickup microphone on the matching headphones, which was relatively avant-garde at the time.
Among them, S-Master is through a Cirrcus Logic custom chip to complete the PWM power amplification, as well as digital signal DSP processing and digital power amplifier output and other work. Pure digital amplifier technology theoretically has the advantages of low distortion, no phase difference in the full frequency band, large dynamics, etc., and it is easier to render and flavor the output tone, which is quite Sony in itself! But the theory is theory, in fact, sony players using S-Master technology have not been very popular with burning oil for a long time, which is also one of the keys to Sony's influence in the HIFI circle.
But the most intuitive benefit of S-Master technology itself is that both volume and heat generation are more friendly and more power-efficient than other machines that use Class A, Class B and AB hybrid amplification. So the A844 is not only small, but also as thin as a piece of paper — in contrast, the A844 is not much thicker than an MD platter. To know that the A844 itself has a 2.8-inch color screen, and built-in active noise cancellation function, and even if it is so thin, its original endurance can still reach 29 hours - many new generations of national bricks are still difficult to have such excellent endurance performance, which shows how "black" the technology of Dafa was!
A844 uses a physical interaction method, except for the volume control keys are on the side, the rest of the keys are concentrated under the front screen, and the navigation keys in the middle and the two circular buttons on the corners form a shape similar to the head of Mickey Mouse, so the A840 series is also called "Mickey Head". Sony as a faith, its home design and workmanship is indeed not picky, and to the hand to listen to this A844 is a collection of some old burn, so the appearance is still quite new, the function and button feel are still intact, it is very rare.
Along with the A844 came two very old Sony headphones, one of which was the MDR-EX300. However, I am not familiar with Sony's headphones in this period, but judging from the long and short lines and straight plugs, it is not like the retail version of ex300SP, but more like the A844 and the same period Z1050's plug MDR-EX0300.
The EX300 uses the vertical arrangement of the dynamic unit and the output of the side sound tube, which is common to Sony in the future, and even the dynamic unit layout of the XBA-Z5, which is still sold online, still uses the same design. In terms of positioning, whether it is EX300SL or EX0300, and even after sony L36h mobile phone plug EX300AP, it is used as a slightly higher than the entry-level mid-to-high-end plug, of which the ex300SL retail price at that time was about 300 yuan - a bit equivalent to the positioning of MDR-E838 that year.
As for another Dafa headset is MDR-EX082, a little earlier in time than EX300, it is also a very classic plug, A726, PSP have used this headset as a plug. Because of this, there is a WALKMAN logo on the back panel of the headset.
However, seeing this shape, I seriously doubt that the EX082 is not sony directly with a flat head plug to add a sound pipe magic to change into an in-ear earbud. However, this structural shape actually affects many of the later headphone models, including the Dayinko Titan5, which is very similar.
In addition, the old yaki that initiated the campaign also provided an additional Intime SORA blue LIGHT that was considered by many burnt oils to be the price of cabbage. SORA Bi has actually been on fire for several years, and there are several different versions, but with the exception of a few special models like the SORA Bi TI3, the overall price is very affordable. And it is comfortable to wear, the voice is good, and it is indeed worth having a home around.
As a contrast, it is inevitable to invite out the old classic that was offered on the altar, the MDR-E888SP. I started this one around 2000, and the price at that time was more than 300 yuan, but it was really not the same as the EX300 and EX082 in 2010, and now SORABi's more than 300. The E888 has been a stand-alone, high-end positioning headset from the beginning, and the early versions were all produced at Sony factories in Japan, which is actually the highest of these headphones in terms of positioning.
And the tuning of E888 is also unique, even in Dafa's own headphones, there are few similar to it, which may be related to the use of E888 at that time or belongs to the "black technology" bio-diaphragm technology. It is said that the model using bio-diaphragm in Sony headphones has a total of 5 large ears, and the only earbud is E888, and according to some old burners, only E888, R10, CD3000, CD1000 these 4 models are pure bio-diaphragms, while CD2000 and CD1700 are mixed with polyester fiber composite bio-diaphragms developed by HOECST-CELANESE. After that, the "bio-diaphragm" headphones from other brands are also similar to the latter's composite bio-diaphragm, or simply a gimmick.
After the introduction, the next step is the most popular listening session.
However, here to be divided into 2 parts, the first is to use A844 with these 4 headphones for the listening, which will be more original, but after all, the A844 era of music understanding, digital-to-analog conversion technology, power amplifier, power, etc. have its limitations, so I found another reference front end to compare...
It's Cyrus' Soundkey!
Although it is a small tail, the output level and power of Soundkey are not comparable to A844, and Soundkey's vocal tuning is quite good, and the style is also comparable to sony's tuning in that period, so it is used as a reference.
Let me start with my thoughts on the sound of the A844.
From the perspective of today's national bricks, A844's output level is actually quite low, not to mention the output power. Even though it seems to me to be fairly easy to push out (literally), the E888 paired with the A844 requires about 2/3 of the volume setting to get enough sound pressure. However, this is not surprising, because Sony has always believed that there is no need for high-impedance and low-sensitivity headphones in portable products, so it still does not blindly pursue high-level and high-power output like the national bricks. This can actually be seen in the fact that the EX300 and EX082 are even better fed than the E888.
In terms of sound style trends, the A844 is obviously not as heavy as the N707, even after turning on DSEE, VPT surround sound, stereo enhancement of various MSG patches, it is still not as heavy as the N707's taste in the default state. However, for people who are accustomed to listening to "digital sounds", the deliberate modification of the A844 is still quite obvious. A844 at that time in fact, I was already using the iPod touch4, if Apple gives people the feeling of boiling water, then A844 at least two spoonfuls of honey warm boiled water.
The A844 is generally dominated by mid-range and low-frequencies, highlighting the vocal singing part and the main part of instrumental performance, thus masking its shortcomings in the high-frequency part. DSEE could theoretically improve the high-frequency details of early low-bitrate lossy compressed audio files, but in practice it still sounded qualitatively different from even the relatively entry-level portable players of today. Therefore, Sony deliberately applied some smearing of high frequencies when tuning, weakening the rough feeling caused by insufficient detail, and further diluting the existence of high frequencies. So especially when listening to vocal pop tracks, my attention is more on the mid-range vocals that Sony wants me to focus on. Only when listening to pure instrumental music such as violin and piano will the shortcomings of A844 be revealed.
In contrast, the low frequency of the A844 I think is better than today's Dafa, although the sense of volume is not much, but the decoration is more appropriate, and the medium frequency plays a good atmosphere at the same time, but it will not appear too big. And the relatively fluffy and elastic low frequency also largely masks the lack of control due to the low output power, but the price is that the overall sound permeability is really not very good, and it always feels like a layer of yarn.
EX300 is a frequency response curve tilted at both ends, and the low frequency is slightly more headphones, it and the A844 combination is very compatible, but in my opinion can only be said to be decent, not much surprise. This is mainly because the feeling of the two combined is very similar to the one I used when I used the N707+E838, which is the typical Sony tuning style that is very plump in the mid-frequency and fluffy and a little exaggerated in the low frequency. The sound is stunning, but a few more listens will feel like eating a large piece of cream cake. Moreover, this set of groups is more selective for musical styles, it is more suitable for listening to Japanese and Hong Kong and Taiwan pop songs in the 80s and 90s of the last century, and the rendering of emotions will be quite rich, and it will cover up many recording flaws. So in the strict sense, using EX300+A844 is a very pure auditory flow, if it is a number of Mao party quality control, then surely this combination is completely unsuitable for you.
In contrast, the EX082's low frequency will appear more moderate, and the slightly brighter high frequency will make its quality appear higher than the EX300, and it will also have a slightly monitoring taste. However, in general, EX082 is still relatively japanese and dull, and the sound is not ostentatious, but it looks very smooth and oily. But in terms of detail analysis, it is still not strong, and compared with EX300, its matching with A844 is not so "stunning", which is relatively mediocre. The EX082 has slightly better sound resolution, so it is stronger than the EX300 in terms of longitudinal stereoscopicity. But whether it is EX082 or EX300, the vocals of the two when they are paired with the A844 are basically not face-to-face, but directly in the skull.
In contrast, the E888 at least in the sound field is the EX300 and EX082 pressed to the ground friction, of which there are flat plugs in the leakage of sound advantage, but even after adding a sponge sleeve or by pressing the way to eliminate the effect of sound leakage, E888 is still superior to the opponent in terms of vocal positioning, sound boundary and so on. And E888 presents a very unique elasticity, especially when listening to Shimaai's "Amazing Grace", when the middle harp is played, only E888 can deduce the feeling of continuous, like ripples of water spreading to the distance, and gradually bouncing back. In addition, in terms of detail presentation, E888 not only has a richer overtone, but its mid-frequency will carry some very fine grain, so it will increase the air sense of the overall timbre, especially when listening to some female oratorio songs, it will have an ethereal feeling.
As for SORA Bi, its sound is actually not nostalgic, especially compared to the 3 headphones above, SORA Bi will be more modern. Although SORAbi is also a vocal poison, its depiction of details will be clearer, which will obviously improve the sense of transparency, but because of this, it will not sound as hazy as in the past. If you talk about quality alone, SORA Bi can almost hang all opponents including E888, but the quality of headphones is never determined by light quality, and the more subjective factor of emotional atmosphere often affects our preferences.
So what if you use a similar tuning style, but with a significant increase in output levels and power? That's why I'll use Soundkey as a reference for A844 to add to the subjective hearing link.
In fact, these 4 headphones belong to the type of low-impedance high-sensitivity and easy to push, even if it is A844 to feed is not a difficult task. However, just as the so-called miracle is called, for EX300 and EX082, its positive improvement effect is still quite obvious. In contrast, the comparison between E888 and SORA bi is not much different, the former is because it is too sensitive to thrust and the state is not good, and it cannot eat more thrust, while the latter has little potential and cannot squeeze out.
Among them, the most obvious improvement is EX082, with Soundkey will feel that the detail analysis has improved in one ear, and the latter's warm sound style will neutralize the listening taste of EX082 to a certain extent, so that the listening sense and quality can complement each other. In addition, the vocals will be pushed away, and the sound field will be pulled apart more horizontally or vertically, making it appear more stretched. But even so, I don't think ex082 is enough to challenge E888 and SORAbi.
In contrast, the EX300 with Soundkey, although the vocals will also be turned on, is still relatively close to the face. And Soundkey itself is more low-frequency, which will make the EX300's next set more flooded, unless you are a rock or percussion die-hard, otherwise it is not easy to accept the sound of this combination.
The E888 uses Soundkey as a front end, which will further increase its sweetness and make its emotions more plump. However, as a price, it will lose some of its elasticity, I guess it is because of over-pushing. And E888 is indeed impatient, it is rumored that Dafa's own portable front end can open the maximum volume of the diaphragm, in exchange for Soundkey such a flood force can not stand it!
When I wrote the article, I suddenly remembered that if these headphones were paired with a warm, delicate Kaiyin N52, would there be a surprise? In addition, the original plan was to pull in the DN-E10 launched by Dayinko in 2005 for comparison, but because the time for touring is limited, we can only look forward to whether there will be a next opportunity!
In addition, to digress, these old antiques can hear is a kind of fate, can not hear and do not need to worry too much, there is no need to spend a high price to collect these discontinued, out-of-print products, not worth it ~ !