Sony HAP-Z1ES Hi-Res Music Player RMAF 2013

Hi all,

To summarise these 3 products :-

1. The Sony HAP-Z1ES has a built-in dsd DAC but no digital output to an external DAC.

2. The Marantz NA11s1 has a dsd dac with digital outputs

3. The Bryston BDP-2 has no dac and does not do dsd

So, for the price, the Marantz seems to be a good value with its own dsd dac.

If you need dsd, the Bryston is out. If you already have a very good pcm only dac, the Marantz lets you have dsd and also allows you to output hi-rez pcm to your hi-rez dac.

So, the Sony is good if you need both a hi-rez pcm and dsd dac.

For me, i am looking for a dsd capable media player to connect via usb from my pc to coax into my hi-rez pcm only dac and use the analogue outputs of the player for dsd duty. The Marantz seems to fit the bill for me.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Jon, Helpful summary.

There are a number of other distinctions but, imho, a notable one is that the Sony has on-board storage and depends on a network only for downloads and Internet radio. It is also significantly less expensive than the other two.

+Kr4
Another distinction about the Sony that I find notable is its support for gapless playback. I am not positive, but I don't think the Marantz or the Bryston have that feature.

Has anyone confirmed whether there is a digital volume control on board the Sony?