Sony's new SA-Z1 Hi-Res Near Field Powered Speaker System

[DanGuitarMan]

Once I see this picture, I'm out...

 

[jhaider]

Same as Kef with their super tweeters on the Reference series before the current one.

That was a thing several British companies did when DVD-A and SACD, with the theoretical promise of UHF sound capture, came out. Tannoy put supertweeters on top of everything too. There were likely others.

Fortunately they all seem to have snapped out of it.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Uh, wow. Interesting set of choices there. At a quick glance the don't seem to use 'cardioid' in the lit, but that seems to be what they're going for with the woofer arrangement.

It's not cardioid; the woofers are wired arranged that way (and, unlike a cardioid speaker, in matching polarity) to cancel forces exerted on the cabinet by cone motion.

 

[andreasmaaan]

If anything, Sony hasn't gone far enough with their array before placing it coaxially. Add a pair of midwoofers per side and it could have made a compact Horbach-Keele array - now that is something that is long overdue on the market (only design out is the Lexicon SL-1). No need for a finicky coaxial configuration.

The patent is yet to expire on this, and I doubt Sony would want to pay for the licence given this product seems to be mostly about pandering to audiophiles' high-res fantasies...

 

[Da cynics]

I don't understand the physics of coaxial design.
https://www.pressreader.com/germany/stereoplay/20190111/281565176889611
Please explain the difference from this in detail and simply.

 

[Da cynics]

An interview with a engineer who is somewhat oddly enthusiastic (in Japanese)

https://www.sony.jp/feature/products/200528/

 

[Sp12er]

interested with this. tho it fees seem to take thiir time to be released, from its announcement to now its almost 1 year now and still very little info.
the price seems to ee indeed $8000, tho with that price the SA-Z1 does include a built in DAC and DA Hybrid Amplifier, so it's like a TA-ZH1ES included inside I guess? on both sides as it seems they sync the L/R while still in Digital.
Does that mean it's probably converting any analog input (XLR/RCA) into digital first? just like how the Tazzy does things?

On digital input tho, that side located direct single cable connection with a USB/WMport/Coaxial is what make me interested with it most, it looks so minimalist.

 

[TimVG]

"Walkman"

That's been a while.

 

[Wes]

the high price reminds me of the Porsche 959 - essentially a development vehicle that a few in the public could buy (they lost money on each one sold BTW)

all the performance and features were available in the "run of the mill" Porsche models 10 or so years later

I expect the same with this Sony speaker, and withhold comment on the SQ until I have heard it...

 

[Jimbob54]

The patent is yet to expire on this, and I doubt Sony would want to pay for the licence given this product seems to be mostly about pandering to audiophiles' high-res fantasies...

I think its more exploiting that pandering.

 

[Mike B]

Has anyone heard these? Are they the next Bose 901?

 

[Robin L]

Has anyone heard these? Are they the next Bose 901?

Jason Serinus at Stereophile has:
Sony SA-Z1 nearfield active speaker system | Stereophile.com
The frequency response looks dodgy:

As does JA's conclusion:

. . . Sony has an impressive pedigree in conventional loudspeaker design (footnote 3), so I was intrigued to see how a specialized design like the SA-Z1 would perform in the test lab.

My guess: if you like this sort of thing, you'll like this sort of thing. Not the next Bose 901. Looks more like the next AR LST, judging from the frequency response.

 

[John Atkinson]

Jason Serinus at Stereophile has:
Sony SA-Z1 nearfield active speaker system | Stereophile.com
The frequency response looks dodgy:
View attachment 115283

Note that as I say in the review, above 300Hz this is a free-space measurement. I explained why, saying "Sony's SA-Z1 system is intended to be placed on a desktop, with at least one room boundary close by. Given the arbitrary implications of this placement—How big is the desk? How far away are the walls?—I performed my usual freefield measurements..."

John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile