Sony - What were you thinking?

I think this piece was part and parcel of their major hi-res download strategy. I don't think this was a poorly conceived product. I think they knew exactly what they wanted to accomplish with its launch.

The question is -- did they guess right? Time will tell. Had they provided a digital in, I'd probably already own one. As it is, I will wait to see how the hi rez download market matures. It is just not there yet in my estimation.

Onhwy61: Clearly Sony does not have a clue as to what I want.
I want products that make my life EASIER!
I don't want to deal with computer babble or technical mish-mash.
I'm not trying to impress my geek friends with technical prowess or dazzle them with how many hoops I can jump through merely to listen to improved sound.
I thought Sony got this and was providing something to simplify the process.
-They didn't.

Dweller, My guess is that Sony miscalculated how many of us feel as you do. I don't have time to mess with building a computer system now. If I could use the HapZ1 in conjunction with a CD player, I would go ahead and get one. As it is, I already have an extensive music collection, and the HI res download market is immature and expensive. Do the math again sony!

Contact the CEO, Kazuo Hirai, and raise Hell! LOL

+ Elizabeth

However, some of the other criticisms here strike me as being a bit overblown. For one thing, I don’t get the big deal about not having a digital output. With this product I don’t think Sony is trying to target people with superior standalone DACs. Why would anyone who doesn’t want to use the HAP-Z1’s built-in DAC buy this product? It makes no sense to me to spend $2000 if all you are looking to get out of it is a single terabyte of storage in a well-built chassis along with some player software.

I also don’t see the argument that Sony dropped the ball by not building in the capability to digitize vinyl and tapes. The HAP-Z1 is a $2000 product. The NuWave Phono Converter -- which digitizes vinyl and tapes -- is a $1900 product. If Sony had included the ability to digitize vinyl in its product, then the HAP-Z1 would be a lot more than $2000. To put it another way, I don’t think this criticism makes any more sense than it would to hammer PS Audio for not including in its NuWave Phono Converter the storage/server/DAC/digital player capabilities of the Sony.

As for the claim of “failed r&d efforts as evidenced in the new hi-res line,” I think it’s still too early to tell. The HAP-Z1 has only been out for six weeks, and reviews have only started appearing in the last two. What little feedback I’ve seen so far from actual users is mixed at best. But although I think the jury’s still out on the success or failure of Sony’s “r&d” in hi-res, I think there is no question whatsoever that Sony's hi-res product launch has been and continues to be a marketing failure extraordinaire. The decision noted by Airegin to make the HAP-Z1 available in silver only is but one example of that failure.