My Review: Sony NWZ-A828K

james.miller · 29 May 2008 at 22:49

ok here we go

benjo plz. said:
stop pimping veggie
They're not 90s and they're not 85's. They don't have the same SQ.

Really? that would explain the different model numbers then. now, could you tell us the difference between all 3 please benjo? they are very very close in sound quality. i have tried the 85's and i owned the 90's. like i said, the ex90's do not warrant the price when these earphones already come with the player. what exactly are you arguing with

Have you tried the 530s? Personally I like the UE 10's better.

yes but thats not really relevant is it?

benjo plz. · 29 May 2008 at 23:07

james.miller said:
they are very very close. i have tried the 85's and i owned the 90's. like i said, the ex90's do not warrant the price when these earphones already come with the player. what exactly are you arguing with

point is that the 82's are not the 90s, don't sound like the 90s and only just about look like them.

james.miller said:
yes and i couldnt care less lol

neither could I, but I don't think you've tried either.

james.miller said:
could you tell us the difference between all 3 please benjo.

Ex90s probably the best phones for under £70 (maybe bar MylarThree i's)
Ex85s are 90s with less chrome effect paint.

Ex82s are cheaper with nasty sibilance and are rather fatiguing on the ears.

james.miller · 29 May 2008 at 23:11

Benjo read my posts again please.

i said the ex90's are pointless when the player comes with the ex082's.

ive owne the 082's and 90's, and tried the 85's.....they are all very similar. its not night and day as you seem to infer. now since you cant tell me what the differences are, ill tell you.

* they all use the same drivers (so this isnt actually a difference)
* the ex082 are the bundled version of the ex85's. they are the same thing except.....the ex082's have the W walkman logo pressed into the plastic
* the ex90 are alloy-housed and use matched drivers. any other difference in the ex90's like the wadding in the tube and so on are small, and most people take that out anyway.

Ex82s are cheaper with nasty sibilance and are rather fatiguing on the ears.

oh please

Ex85s are 90s with less chrome effect paint.

less chrome effect paint? they are plastic, identical to the ex082. the ex90's are metal. what do you mean by 'less chrome effect'

Vegetarian · 30 May 2008 at 10:52

I own both the ex90 and ex82 - they sound very similar, but the ex90 sounds a bit better. However if you cling film mod them both - they sound almost the same... so my conclusion is the slight sonic differances between the two are down to the ex90 having smaller vents.

james.miller · 30 May 2008 at 11:02

Vegetarian said:
I own both the ex90 and ex82 - they sound very similar, but the ex90 sounds a bit better. However if you cling film mod them both - they sound almost the same... so my conclusion is the slight sonic differances between the two are down to the ex90 having smaller vents.

Vegetarian · 31 May 2008 at 00:03

Hey james.miller, we agree on something for once hehe

Sad news - just had my EX90's stollen

I still perfer them over the EX82's as I liked single cord over the 82's double.

Oh well got my Westone UM2's to fall back on

james.miller · 31 May 2008 at 00:27

you too? i had mine stolen along with my cowan D2. id love another pair but.....cant justify the cost now lol

Vegetarian · 31 May 2008 at 16:36

I got mine for £55 from a high street shop - still too expensive

At least I have the pair that came free with my 818 and UM2's

ps3ud0 · 31 May 2008 at 18:54

What comes free with the 818s is it the same as the phones with the 828s?

ps3ud0 :cool:

james.miller · 31 May 2008 at 18:55

Kaiju · 29 Mar 2009 at 04:47

Recently purchase a NWZ-A729 and love the sound quality to bits.

Just wondering, what settings you guys use?

I went into the firmware menu (nice menu!) and set bass to -0.0 and treble to -7.5.

DAC settings (firmware menu)
Press "Back", then activate "Hold" switch. Now press "Option" and hold down
while entering the following w/the direction pad:
up, up, down, down, right, left, up , down, up ,down, right, play/pause

These are my EQ settings.

Clear Bass: +1-+3 depending on music and whether I want pronounced bass or full on boom! I currently use Philips SHE 9850 earphones which are warm and full of bass.

Equalizer: +0, +1, +2, +3, +3
DSEE ON, Clear Stereo: ON and Normalizer: ON

The equalizer is set with the treble maxed simply cuz I like the highs of the music I listen too, mostly heavy stuff. All my music has a bit rate between 256kbps-320kbps.

Try it out with heavy metal and let me know what you think.

I find the DSEE makes the music more vibrant (much like X-Fi's crystaliser) and the clear stereo makes things, well, clearer. The normalizer lowers the volume which annoys me when i'm listening to heavy music as it's like a bitchy house mate or neighbour telling me to turn it down, but sometimes it just sounds nicer.