+ Elizabeth
However, some of the other criticisms here strike me as being a bit overblown. For one thing, I donÂt get the big deal about not having a digital output. With this product I donÂt think Sony is trying to target people with superior standalone DACs. Why would anyone who doesnÂt want to use the HAP-Z1Âs 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 donÂt 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 donÂt 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 Âfailed r&d efforts as evidenced in the new hi-res line, I think itÂs 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 IÂve seen so far from actual users is mixed at best. But although I think the juryÂs still out on the success or failure of SonyÂs Âr&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.
