Sony HAP-Z1ES

Difficult setup -- Sony should know better. Fantastic sound, well worth it.

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Not for Apple

Be careful buying this unit if you are going to pair it with an Apple product. I purchased this unit but quickly discovered it wasn't compatible with the newer Apple products. I was unable to transfer the music from a MAC, with direct copying of individual CDs there were many error messages that songs couldn't be copied, and the app only worked on certain iPads. I contacted Sony tech and they stated the unit is no longer compatible with Apple products and that I should buy a Windows laptop if I wanted to use the Unit.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

great unit.Love it.

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Not for high end audio streaming

I had one of these and ended up selling it mainly because as another reviewer mentioned, no high end audio options. Spotify is great for the car but, really if you are spending this kind of money and have a high end audio setup you can find better alternatives - I think even the Bluesound Node 2i would be a better choice to steam lossless audio. The unit is built very well and looks nice and I did like the convenience factor to store my CD's.

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This is a tough piece of equipment to review.

I've been wanting to escape the Apple ecosystem for a long time, but with 30 years of digital music and not infinite amounts of cash it has proven a tall order. The file transfer is really, really, really slow. For my library 500+/-GB = about 50,000 songs. The transfer was about 8-10 seconds per song. It took a few days to get everything uploaded. But known issue, so I can't legitimately subtract for that. The interface is clunky. I'd have returned it if not for the phone app (Android). The app isn't great either, but the unit would be almost unusable without it (unless you have the patience of a saint, and really do you know anyone like that?) The most irksome thing about the unit is if you want to transfer CD's directly via a disc drive, the disc drive must be externally powered. Good luck trying to find an externally powered disc drive today. Spotify, TuneIn, meh. Why did they even bother? The sound is pretty good. Surprisingly good even. And I've escaped the Apple overlords, at least in this case. At the $1499 sale price point ($500 off) it is a keeper. I think I will come to appreciate it more with use. Conclusion: It's a keeper.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

i'm very satisfied with my product.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Good product

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My Entire CD Collection At My Fingertips

I love three things about this Sony: The sound is exceptional, I can store and access all my CDs, I can control it through an app on my iphone. The streaming isn't a factor for me since we are in a rural area with limited internet. Finally, what I didn't like so much was the price, but it seems to be the best option currently available for the features I value. Oh, and it is amazingly heavy!

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Elyria

Sony will not allow you to use top tier music sources like Qobuz. Instead you have to lower your standards and play what virtually every reviewer says is a second rate streaming service, like Spotify. I went so far as to have my Crutchfield tech call Sony, who then called Japan and got an official answer to the question... Are you ever going to upgrade you music platforms to include top tier streaming services like Qobuz????!!! No!!!! Was Sony's official answer. We are done upgrading the HAPZ1ES player. No more upgrades are planned.... ever!!!!! Well, I have a small, $22,000.00. two channel, stereo system. And I don't intend to play second rate music on it. So I will have to sell my almost new (less than 50 hours of use) Sony HAPZ1ES player... and get pennies on the dollar. And to think that I used to be a huge Sony ES fan. Well, live and learn.

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great sound, poor set up

A great deal of what I write has already been written in reviews. The short story is: Solid sound, frustrating transfer, good android interface app for controlling the unit. Before you buy, research the reviews on more than one site. There are some helpful detailed instructions about how to effectively transfer your digital files. Set up and file transfer was frustrating. Operating the unit is relatively easy. The android control app works well, but is a bit touch sensitive. The sound is really good. If the computer transfer was less frustrating this would be a five star rating.

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Detroit

The Sony HAP-Z1ES provides great value for money spent. It has an excellent build quality, and it seems like it will last for years. It sounds much better than anything that I have heard in it's price range. It has a couple limitations. It does not sound as good as my CD player, but the CD player costs more than three times as much as the HAP-Z1ES. Second, it does not allow one to bypass the built in DAC (digital to analog converter). This will probably become more of an issue as new and better DACs are produced in the future.

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Incredible Sound. Frustrating Setup.

I actually bought the Sony HAP-Z1ES twice. The first time through Crutchfield. But when I got it, I could not get the file transfer to work, it kept dropping the signal, even when I was connected directly through ethernet. I had read that many people had the same exact issue. So I returned it. Then, while continuing my research I found that if any of the files you're transferring are corrupt it will stop the transfer process. I went to my FLAC files that I had tried transferring and found several corrupt folders where files weren't named, or misnamed, and realized it was my fault the files didn't copy correctly to the Sony player, not the player's. So I ordered it again from a different vendor (sorry Crutchfield, I was too embarrassed to reorder it from you). The sound of the Sony HAP-Z1ES is amazing, makes all of the FLAC files I copied from my CDs sound like they were remastered. However, the challenging process to copy all my files to the HAP-Z1ES was frustrating, but worth it. Why Sony only allows you to transfer files through wireless or a wired Ethernet network connection rather than just being able to connect a hard drive to the USB is beyond me. Tips: 1. Use a wired Ethernet connection rather than wireless for transfers. 2. Don't transfer more than 100 folders at a time. 3. Make sure the files you plan to transfer aren't corrupted in any way, missing metadata, etc. If they are, this will slow down or stop the transfer.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Amazing piece of equipment. It was so easy to connect, load, and then play my digital music collection through either my stereo system or via a BlueSound throughout the house.

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Exceptionally cool little unit

I'm really impressed with the quality of this unit. First of all, it's heavy. It's obviously built like a tank. Solid-feeling and the front display with only the few necessary buttons give it a nice classy look. The dIsplay is crisp and clear. Going through the menus to make music selections or changes is very quick. Really no lag time at all. Initial set-up to my WiFi network was simple and straight forward. I used the HAP program with my MacBook Pro to transfer all my iTunes music (8800 songs). Transfer time via fast WiFi was about 16.5 hours. I let it run all night with zero issues. Once the transfer process stops the unit then self obtains the Gracenote info which takes a little more time (hour or two). I'm using mine to either listen to music in my media room or to connect to my three Denon receivers in the house/garage/patio via Heos for whole house audio. All works flawlessly. Audio quality via the internal DAC is outstanding. I have lots of Mobile Fidelity gold and SACD's and they sound just as good (if not better) loaded on this player vs. playing direct through my CD player. Yes the unit is pricey but compared to many other music servers available this one is hard to beat for the cost. I listen exclusively to my own music files so not being able to stream from services other than Spotify and Tune-In didn't matter to me. Having all my music at one easily accessible location and the audio quality is a perfect match for my needs.

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Streamer, DAC and a Music Server with amazing sound quality

First time reviewing a product and I am glad it is for this Sony. It works flawlessly and sounds simply amazing. Though most online reviews were positive about the sound quality there were some complaints pertaining to the streaming capability, duration for loading of the songs and lack of digital outs. I found out most of these reviews were during the early product cycle since I did not find any of these issues. The unit streams Spotify, the usb port loads CD directly, plays music from a connected computer/udb drive and outputs digital signal so you can connect a usb dac. It also up-samples all of your non hi-res music and they sound amazing. I would say just do yourself a favor and stop wasting times on forums like I did. Go buy this while they still make it and Enjoy the music !!

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A Tank

I have now owned this for two years and moving up to a Lumin S1 that costs multiples. For the price I found the Sony an incredible unit - built like a tank, designed flawlessly and sounds amazing with highres content. I specifically wanted to say that the internal DAC is superb. It doesn't have a digital out which some people complain about, but to me the one box solution of high quality - for streaming, storage and DA conversion - without a dozen cables - was appealing. Your opinion may vary.

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Nice Music storage and organizer

This device is really nice. Its well built, solid construction. Very easy to download music with the Sony app. I really like the feature where it converts files to the highest resolution DSD. Highly recommended. Only hesitation I have is that there is no straight digital output so that you can use an external DAC. Therefore 4 stars instead of 5.

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Hi RES Music Source

I needed a way to access hundreds of CDs and Hi RES files quickly. This SONY was the perfect choice. I can find any album or song I want to hear in a few seconds. The sound quality is superb.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Easy to use. Without me realizing it the unit was picked up by other receivers in the house and I had my music in several rooms.

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It's like I have a new HiRes iTunes library!

Excellent sounding unit. Especially for your existing iTunes library. HiRes music sounds great as well. I'm hearing things I never heard before. Software is a little quirky, but still gets the job done.

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Great idea, good sound, terrible user interface / experience.

This sounded like just what I was looking for. But the copying of files to the device even when connected to gigabit ethernet is slow. Trying to choose music to play back either from the front panel or the app is painful. Don't pay this much to waste your time trying to choose music to play. The sound quality is very good for the price, but I have wasted hours setting this up and now I will be returning it. It is painful to use.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

This a awesome piece of equipment, I'm still learning how to do everything but I love it

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Originally purchased bluesound vault 2 found it really difficult to use, returned it for the Sony so glad I did much more user-friendly and better sound.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

This is my system which I have become very intimate with over the years,that anything I remove and replace with a piece of equipment or transmission line I notice,the Sony HAP-Z1ES is everything they say it is and does,but in my system it does not even come close to my Mac computer with iTunes and pure music as my audio engine.Again I can't stress enough that these findings are on my system and may not be the same on others.????best listening too all

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This beast sounds amazing- Difficult set-up!

Wow. This is a monster piece of equipment. (35lbs) 3 stars is generous. The sound is amazing. The set up is a long slow very slow process, moving over 20k tracks and it's only done 1/5 in 5 hours, this. Included 3-4 reboots as is freezes a lot or looses it's hard wired connection to my Mac. I need the room on my Mac for other projects. I'm an audiophile and do love it's amazing sound. It will allow you to add cd's to the hard drive but doesn't recognized the internal CD player on the Marantz receiver I have. Hopefully Sony will be releasing a firmware update that makes this monster more reliable... more usable at this price point you would think Sony would have nailed it, IMO they didn't...

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I'm all-in on HI-RES audio

First off, if you are interested in the product and maybe a bit of a geek, look at the Kal Rubinson's review in May 2014 Stereophile. Still there? if you are even a bigger geek then read John Atkinson's measurements at the end, which suggests there is good, solid engineering under the hood. (Thanks, Kal & John) Looking around the web there is pretty much a consensus that this thing has great sound (given its price range) and my experience is in complete agreement. Hi-Res audio files (96+/24 and DSD) sound really great. Much better than the Denon 2900 DVD player that i was previously using to decode Hi-Res disks. And "DSD remastering" feature makes many of your old CDs sound better than before. The iPhone app is really nice and allows all the standard search and selection functions and has something extra that categorizes music into bins (morning, hi-energy...) that is unexpectedly fun to use. The app to download to the HAP is very basic but works OK. I was pleasantly surprised that I could control my non-sony amp using their remote control. The HAP player has an IR repeater and a mode where you can train basic functions (on/off/volume/mute) using your amp's remote. So my typical use is to set up an album using the app then tweak volume or jump tracks using the remote. I am loving this thing so much that its hard to resist buying the companion amp!

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Nice but there are others less costly with more features

Fills a market niche but for a $1,000 less you can get the Vault2 from Bluesound that handles hi-res files plus rips CD's. Just another overpriced product from Sony......

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Great Media Player

A fantastic media player Sounds great

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Great sound

We have been very impressed with how much better our music sounds, both internet radio and our music library. Our extensive music collection is now in one place and we do not need to use our computers for music anymore. Pleasantly surprised with SensMe.

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Tips for added HapZ1es function & control

Great music server! High audio quality, easy to use, and works great with home network ! I have been enjoying this device for several months now and found a few tricks along the way. For years I have used Sony's X-App to rip CDs onto my PC which is in turn connected to my receiver. X-App was replaced by Sony's new Music Center for PC. I haven't downloaded that software from Sony yet, but I would expect it works well . I have a simple way to use the free Sony software for HapZ1es (called Hap Music Transfer). I have a folder on my PC into which I move all music files that I want in HapZ1es. When I rip more CDs or download high res files, I dump them into that folder. I have the Hap Music Transfer configured to only transfer music from that folder to the HapZ1es. A couple button presses and it goes. I have an older Sony S tablet from years ago. Another Sony App called HDD Audio Remote puts a GUI on the tablet so I can look through my music on the HapZ1es using text and/or pictures with many sorting options. It allows you much more control than the player's simple remote (which can control my Sony receiver's volume). I have a home WiFi network. In the PC's Network section, the HapZ1es can be found as an icon which brings up the player in a browser for even more power over finding albums or tracks. Saved it as a browser favorite. From anywhere in the house I can control my music with a tablet or a laptop. How convenient!

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

sound is fantastic, even for low quality mp3 recordings. transfer was straightforward using the HAP transfer program. I enjoy the sensme channels, it's a fun way just to randomize your entire collection. Biggest complaint is that the ios app does not seem to reliably connect; this may be more with my phone and wifi than the sony system, and i got an android phone which seems to work more reliably; it would be really nice if you could also control it remotely eg. through a computer, which has a stronger connection to the network. also (have had for 2 years) as it has aged, it has developed a number of horizontal lines across the screen on the device.. which isn't a big deal if the remote apps work, but which may become a problem if the screen eventually fails and there's no way to control it.

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Amazing Sound Quality

It is so easy to transfer your CDs. Easy to edit and load your song files from your computer. I can control it from my PC or my Ipad. The technical support is very well informed and will to do everything to help if you should have any problems.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

The Hap-Z1es really makes the accessibility of your cd collection at your fingertips from your iPad or phone. I strongly urge you to buy this from a company like Crutchfield because Sony has NO customer service unless waiting on hold for 2 hours is your idea of tech support. Crutchfield helped me through the set up process while not hard, had a few ambiguous steps since Sony does not provide a hard copy set up manual . I'm still uploading my cd's which I admit is a tedious process, ( I never really realized how big a collection I had) But its great to know I can listen to anything I want by the touch of a screen!

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Best Sony product in some time

I just got this from Crutchfield. Downloaded all my music and ripped a couple of CDs. I must say that this player is impressive. Potentially the best thing Sony invented after Trinitron and the Walkman. Awesome sound and convenience. Sad to see that they did not market this enough. Bye bye CD player.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Love it. Delivers a great music experience with an intuitive app and easy access to your digital music library. Sleek, elegant appearance as well. Also purchased the matching amplifier. Would highly recommend both units for those looking to centralize and simplify their digital music libraries.

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Spot on Sony

Fantastic product. Incredible sound and user interface app. Goodbye iTunes, goodbye. I would add a second USB so you can attach a CD drive and a second hard drive simultaneously, or a slot to add a second HD. I have it connected to my hardwire network and it works flawlessly with my computers, gracenotes and other audio sources. I'd add a second set of RCA outputs so I can feed the Sonos system and my local system simultaneously. No big problem I'll use adapters on the balanced outputs. These are very minor problems. I love this product - thank you Sony

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Great sound. The app is a little flakey but nice.

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Hi-Res = Real Deal!

I have been planning this purchase for a long time and I am not disappointed. I love the powerful sonics blasting out from my speakers - gives my library a new lease on life. So far, controls seem steady and intuitive, haven't noticed loss of wireless signal, a very common problem. I use the wireless to run the HDD Audio App from my iPad. I used a hardwired network connection to transfer the bulk of the music files I have, once I got used to the Hap music program it was a breeze, although, simply using windows explorer to drag and drop from my hard drive to the units Internal folder is a far better choice. Give the unit time to update, don't rush, it seems to handle all I can throw at it, just be patient. I use the Sony DN-1050 receiver and the Sony SS-CS3 floor standing speakers. Both receiver and speakers are rated for H-Res. I do see a new set of speakers in my future, unfortunately, the next model of Sony Hi-Res floor speakers are 10K, the next model up is 27K. This is not a typo. Maybe Crutchfield could recommend a set of speakers for me? If you are considering this purchase, do it, you'll love it! Make sure you have a quality receiver/amp and a good set of speakers to handle first.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

why did I wait so long! it's perfect

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

I've had this product a couple of months now and enjoy it. The only achilles heel is the HAP music transfer program,It's half backed(at best)and not very intuitive. Sony needs to step up their game and improve it.

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Lacking easy CD import capability

As noted, this component is exceptionally well built - except for the sleazy remote (which you really don't want to use anyway). I'd give it a 5 star rating except for the following concern. The USB input allows for the connection of an external CD drive to allow direct import of your CD without the need for a computer. However, Sony did not equip this port with enough power to use any USB-powered device - like a CD/DVD player/writer or external hard drive powered only by USB. So, I lugged out my Sony CD rewriteable drive with its own power supply. It works, but seems to skip over many tracks (apparently unable to read them even though the disc plays fine in all other CD players). Also, I was unable to import any CDR material to the server. Very strange if Sony decided to block this capability but allow complete library downloads from a computer.

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This is Great!

The sound is amazing- crystal clear and full of amazing detail (have played through a Peachtree and a Yamaha S801). Handles all kinds of files from mp3 to hi-def 24 bit. I have only a handful of mp3s, but they definitely sound better than played on an iPod or similar. The DAC is very good. As others have noted, it is slow to upload, but not all that bad as it runs everything through Gracenotes, even files that have already been named, etc. Nevertheless, this has worked amazingly well at identifying files that I would not expect to be recognizable, such as live concert recordings, etc. I love the ability to control it with your smart phone or iPad. Put it on shuffle and then sit outside-- if something comes on you want to skip, or you want to hear something-- just control with your phone. I'm in the process of downloading my entire cd collection-- and will then put them in the closet not to be used again!

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Superb Audio Player

I had been looking for a better solution for dealing with my collection of about 300 ripped CDs for a long time. Previously, I had been using my home theater receiver to stream from iTunes, but that was buggy and navigation was difficult and time-consuming. I heard good things about Sony's new line of audio players, so decided to jump in. Originally, I was thinking about the mid-range Sony HAP-S1, however, I eventually settled on the top-of-the-line HAP-Z1ES due to its larger built-in hard drive, dual mono DAC stages, and balanced XLR outputs. I also had no need of the S1's built-in 40-watt amp, since I was planning to just plug the player into my existing home theater system which already has amps that I like. The HAP-Z1ES was very easy to set up, with one exception. The front-panel controls were frozen at first. It started working after I plugged in the RCA cables to connect it temporarily. It seems like the unit does not behave when nothing is connected, and the manual did not mention this. Hopefully this can be fixed in a firmware update. Aside from that hiccup, it's been an absolute pleasure. It took several hours to transfer my ALAC library over the hardwired network using the Sony HAP software, and now the software watches my iTunes folder for new files to copy automatically. Playback from the internal drive is instantaneous and crystal-clear. The iOS app works perfectly as a remote, but using the front-panel controls to select music is also easy.

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The HAP-Z1ES Makes Me a HAP-E1

I bought the HAP-Z1ES along with a Sony TA-A1ES and a pair of Definitve Technology BP 10Bs. I will review the amp once I get the two speakers hooked up. For now I am listening to the system with a pair of small speakers and won't try to review the sound quality of the Sony player and amp. The HAP-Z1ES (player) is a very satisfying way to store and listen to your music. Once you have ripped your CDs and transferred the digital files with free software from Sony, the player organizes everything (sort of like iTunes) and you can review the resultant music meta data base and select music to be played with a free app from Sony. The app also lets you control the player and the amp like a remote control: on-off and volume. The app also lets you edit the data base. Although I have iTunes, I decided to keep music for the new player separate. So I bought BDpoweramp, ripped my music (again in many cases) and stored the files on a RAID 1 NAS, from which they are transferred to the player over Gigabit Ethernet. For the most part, ripping results in the expected meta data and attendant organization; but, I encountered some "ripping confusion" which I had to correct by editing the master files on the NAS using DBpoweramp, with some additional editing using the Sony app (HDD Audio). The editing can be tedious but it's doable and lasts forever. The player is a joy to use. Especially with HDD Audio on a tablet. Just sit there, access all your music, select what you want, and then listen. Buy!

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Best upgrade from a traditional DAC

This unit is not a Cheap plug and play type of setup like a traditional DAC player. You Do Not need to keep it close to a Laptop or Computer. The Sony HAP-Z1ES weighs 32 lbs alone and is close to my hefty amplifier weight.. This unit is a Audiophile grade that you can have the following hooked up to it a 2.0 speaker setup via XLR from your AMP to unit or Headphone AMP as well. Many people are getting confused on what this unit can do, and give it a bad rating because they assumed it would do streaming or basically act like a traditional DAC player which it does not, it is more like a DAC Server. Coming from a total of 5 different DAC players out there this by far the best sounding one I have heard with my current setup. My other DACs ranged from $500 to $3k and this one is right in the middle of price. The HAPmusic transfer software works as advertised, you can have it automatically send your songs over or do it manually which I do myself. There are some negative comments but will not effect the star rating because of how great this sounds. Using your phone with the Sony (HDD Audio Remote) you can try it under DEMO PLAYER and see how it navigates before you buy it. Very easy to find songs, albums and navigate through. You can make play lists very easily for party's.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Fantastic device. High quality feel, excellent internet tuner, and really remarkable sound with DSD files. Only hitch: though you can indeed attach an external hard drive to expand storage, drivers are installed which make it invisible if removed and plugged into a computer. So, it permanently becomes a dedicated drive (not a bad fate). Expensive gadget, but recommended without hesitation.

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Better than a Mytek 192 USB DAC!

I got the Sony HAP-Z1ES as a Christmas gift, and I did a head-to-head comparison with an excellent $1,500 DAC, the Mytek 192-DSD DAC. Both the Sony and the Mytek do Double-DSD and have excellent upsampling, so I was excited to try this test. WOW! The Sony was neck-and-neck with the Mytek with WAV , High Rez and DSD files... and was MUCH BETTER with CD or lower quality files! I tried the Mytek with all the latest streaming software... and found that solution to be much more cumbersome and error prone to the Sony HDD player. The iPhone and iPad app for the Sony also won hands down! I ran both through fully balanced AudioQuest Columbia or Colorado cables into my fully balanced BAT pre-amp and fully balanced amp. I have been spending the last few weeks RE-DISCOVERING my music collection -- buying DSD and other high rez files, plus ripping fill WAV files to my iTunes, all of which is copied to my Sony HAP-Z1ES very quickly by the Sony software!

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Great music archive and player

The Sony HAPZ1ES is the perfect solution for me. I already had a large digital music collection on the computer. The Sony transfer program worked flawlessly to transfer the files from computer to HAPZ1ES though it did take some time. The management program for ipad mini works well and the music sounds superb played back through my amplifier and speakers. The combination of the processing and the DAC in the Sony make music sound more enjoyable than that played back through my CD player. Internet radio sounds great also.

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Great music player!

While it is a bit expensive, the HAP-Z1ES is a fantastic addition to my home entertainment system. It did require some tweaking of various adjustments to get the sound just right, but everything sounds even better than CD's---including mp3's, which have been upconverted using the DSEE capability of the player. An important note- I tried to save a few $$$'s on the cables at first but quickly realized that they needed to be upgraded, so I went from Audioquest Towers to a pair of Big Surs (also Audioquest) and the difference is incredible---well worth the added cost.

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SONY HAP Z1ES

I read the very high praise from both Sterophile and The Absolute Sound - and I agree completely. The sonics on this stunning unit will make the universe of digital rival or surpass your best vinyl. And not just on hi-rez files, some of MP3's sound utterly amazing too. Not everything of course, but the best sounding recordings are a revelation to listen to. My equipment has never sounded better, I have been so happy listening that I put off replacing my 35 year old KEF's (104ab's), they are just sounding so good. I read one reviewer who can't get the VTuner working, I've had no problem. The Digital radio works very well. I would like SONY to add Pandora or Spotify and/or one of the hi rez sites to make the unit even more useful. But there are a great many hi rez (up to 320k) internet radio stations for jazz and classical as well as some fine sounding rock stations. Great unit, rejuvenated my audiophile tendencies and got me back to listening and enjoying music. Turning the unit on and picking selectins The software for my phone and ipad works well, is reasonably intuitive, maybe a bit slow when modifying data or deleting files. The folks who take care of my computers at home and office set my ripping software (JRiver thanks to Crutchfield recommending it to me) and I rip DIRECTLY TO THE SONY. If you can transfer the files after ripping to the hard disk - you can rip directly to the unit. Great time saver. Not sure why SONY doesn't include that in the possible direction

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Works for Some, but Not for Me

I have a pretty good stereo that streams music from my network. This device did not appreciably improve the sound. However, I liked the idea of storing thousands of my iTunes songs on it. The problem is it does not copy over your playlist, and the search engine on it is not that good. The other thing I didn't like is that you could not wake up from sleep mode through the mobile app. This meant you had to physically go where your unit was located to turn the music on. I do not have to do that with my stereo.

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

I recently upgraded to this model from the HAP-S1. The sound from the HAP-S1 was great. This component is even better. If a certain album was engineered especially well, the sound is stunning. This component really lets you hear the work and care that goes into studio recordings, and it's audible even in standard lossless files. (I leave the DSD remastering engine off, because my files are all standard lossless, and when applied, it comes across as virtual surround sound -- I can't justifying paying for DSD right now when 24-bit CD remasters sound spectacular.) This device has its quirks. I found with both this component and the more budget-friendly version that random files in Apple Lossless format inexplicably would not/ will not play unless converted to FLAC. The software either skips over them, or the player stalls. So to avoid that hiccup, I'm choosing FLAC format for problem and future files. The latest software update also randomly stripped a good portion of my album art (?), but some albums that the software split up (also in the HAP-S1) for no apparent reason are now easily fixable. A tradeoff, I suppose. Those things are negligible to me. Over the past couple of weeks I've been listening to albums that I've owned for 10-20 years, and some normally familiar songs take a minute to recognize. The difference in quality is that profound. I'm able to hear everything -- the precise skill of vocalists and band members, the acoustics ... It's just spectacular.

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Even Better Than Expected

This unit sounds fantastic listening through the TA-A1ES amp and Klipsch Reference RF-62 II speakers. It is easy to access all the player's settings from the main menu. You can transfer files via Windows Explorer instead of having to use the dedicated Windows application. The file transfers are slow (even over gigabit ethernet) but copying directly to the player via Windows Explorer is the faster method. To avoid any potential transfer issues I moved files over in chunks of 30-40 GB at a time. Updating meta-tags via Windows explorer automatically triggers the player database to update. This was especially helpful as the player categorizes files by the "Artist" tag instead of "Album Artist". Albums that span multiple discs are handled correctly if you specified the disc number in the applicable tag. If the database is updating when you turn off the player it will let you know and shut itself down when it finishes. There is a supposed 20,000 track limit but I have not seen any issues with approximately 24,000 tracks. All menus and tracks load quickly without issue. I use ALAC files with the album art and tags already embedded and have not come across any instances of Gracenote updating my files (changing titles, artwork, or tags). The "HDD Audio" mobile app is intuitive and easy to use although sometimes it will stop seeing the player if the device goes to sleep and is woke back up a few times in a short period. Then you have to close it and relaunch it.

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Very good product.

The only issue I have has is that I have been unable so far to delete duplicate songs from the device. Duplicates came from two iTunes libraries with common files. Other than that, it's been a breeze downloading music from online sources. I just created a sub file within " My Music" on my PC for each outlet (HD Tracks, SuperHiRez, Bliucoast Records, etc. and somehow the websites found those sub folders and automatically send stuff to the right sub folder. Simply id each such file in your HapZ transfer program and its downhill there on. Through Ethernet I transferred about 7000 iTunes tracks in around 6 hours.

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Now this is truly HI-FI

I just read another review for this item. I too have had it for only 3 weeks. I cannot possibly say anything negative about this fine instrument. I have played a lot of up-sampled digital music for some time using the most popular DVD Player around. The Sony beats it hands down! Now, if you purchase this unit, be warned - it takes a long time to transfer files. Why is it so "Slow"? The answer is that it is very busy looking up each song from gracenote in order to find information about each song. Then the unit does its thing on the file. So just to give some time perspective, I transferred some 3500 files, and it took a full 2 1/2 days! So what, it is truly worth the wait! A truly wonderful and beautifully built unit, just as a Sony ES piece should be!

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Sony HAP-Z1ES

Please note that the HAP-Z1ES does not come with an instruction manual, it needs to be downloaded from the internet. The unit has only two channels which does not utilize all the DSD multichannel SACD's in my collection.

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Very nice

I liked the Sony quite a bit, it works very well as does the Apple and Android apps that control it. File transfer took what seemed like a long time, but maybe that's due to my network? 630GB you 2 days to complete, but the good news is you can play what's available while it's transferring. The review below is incorrect, the unit does play gapless flawlessly. The reason I tried this player out is my PS Audio DAC is also a network player, but it does not have gapless playback at this time and I have some issues with the software that operates it. The Sony works without a hitch. The Sony sounds really good, but in my back and forth comparisons, the PS Audio DAC has much more detail and clarity. On the other hand it cost almost twice as much!

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Does NOT provide Gapless Playback

Despite claims to the contrary, this network player does not provide gap less playback. This is an especial annoyance on continuous classical recordings. I can cite two as documented examples--the CBS Stravinsky recordings of symphonies and ballet suites, and the CBS record of Lauren Mazells's Wagner Suite. I have to consider if this defect on an expensive product warrants a return.

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No V-tuner even though Sony says it does

While I like the unit overall, I am concerned with Sony and Vtuner. Vtuner happens to be one of the main reasons I bought the unit as I get tired of my collection and love the variety of music I can explore. Since Sept. 06, all you get on the unit is "cannot connect". I have called Sony numerous times about the problem and was first told it was a Vtuner problem. When I informed him it works fine on my Marantz he admitted that their server was having issues with Vtuners server and should be up an running any minute. That was September 6th and as I write this it is end of day September 15th Every time I call to get an update I get the run around. Shame as it could be a really good unit if only Sony would get their act together on this vital function.

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The future is here

This is my first foray into the realm of HiRez digital. I am not a computer geek, had no music files on my PC, had never downloaded music before. My main interest was to organize and collate over 2,000 cds scattered and out of control. The HAPZ1ES (I call it the "Z") is easy to set up and use, and not only is storing and organizing all of them, but in A-B comparisons with the CD ripped and downloaded to the hard drive, it sounds better too! I know this doesn't seem possible, but being self contained front to back it eliminates jitter, thus, a more sophisticated DAC, better digital clock. Better, better, better than any ordinary CD player. And we haven't even talked about the HiRez capability yet, or the digital radio part. This thing is the business. Highest possible recommendation.

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Network Software Issues

This unit does an excellent job of reproducing digital music files. However, the softwrae supplied to transfer files over the network sometimes can't find the unit. Additionally, the playlists are made and edited via a smart device app which is very kludgey. They should look to iTunes for a better implementation. The app occasionally loses its place.

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Outstanding digital audio component

After doing much research in trying to get in the "Audio digital age" I decided to buy this Sony "High Resolution digital music player" 3 weeks ago, found it to be an excellent product. Sound quality is superb even when listening to converted music from my Ipod .

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