amazme1

Note to my earlier post. My unit came back without any changes, was re-setup with my network and the software is working now. Go figure.

It hasn't been returned and they haven't found a problem with the board in relation to the HDD Remote not connecting. They should have sent it to Sony. They failed to do that.

Story continued: So Abt Electronics picked up the unit and checked it out in their store. While in my condo they discovered a cable was attached to the wrong connector taking out the left channel. That was a surprise, because someone else would have to have done it since I had friends over two weeks before and the left channel was fine. So that left the wifi connectivity and while the tech couldn't connect his Samsung phone in my condo, the store had no connectivity problems. Since the IRR only works for Sony gear, if the connection problems remain, I will test another product to see if the software (HDD Remote) connection problems are Sony only and if so, I will sell the unit and buy something else. The software is critical to using a streaming box.

Can't control volume in HDD REMOTE APP.

I have my 330+ CDs backed up on a separate 1 TB hd sitting in my desk drawer. All CDs were originally transferred to the HAP-Z1ES and I never want to do it again. Repair of the box will cost several hundred dollars. Once it's repaired, if the iOS devices are still not connecting quickly, I will sell this box and buy something reliable. The music on the HAP-Z1ES cannot be transferred a different box. The IRR is the infrared which doesn't work with my amp. That's a downside if this unit. You have to use your remote on your amp.

Here's the my 18 month experience with the HAP-Z1ES. The first thing I noticed is the IRR is incompatible with most audio equipment. That was not a big deal. After 18 months of using it only a few hours a month, I noticed that both my mini iPad 2 and my iPhone 6 had problems connecting the HDD Audio Software. It required turning the unit on and off several times and then rescanning. And occasionally it popped into my OS devices. It was not an Apple problem. So here we are on February 20, 2016 and after turning it on today I notice the left channel was gone. I switched to my Ayre Universal CD player and both channels worked, so I knew for sure it was the HAP-Z1ES. I also checked the connections and then called ABT Electronics where I bought it and left a message with their customer audio service dept. There's one more thing all of you should know since I've seen a lot of discussion on the hard drive and some of you are replacing crashed drives with Seagate mechanical drives that are cheap, but have a high failure rate. I hope all your music is backed up, because the drive on the HAPZ1ES will fail at some point. If you are looking for a more reliable solution in an SSD, look at the Samsung 850 EVO 1TB with 5 Yr warranty or 850 EVO Pro 1TB with 10 year warranty. Both are lightening fast and use 3D VNAND chips. Youtube has video reviews.