silvercat59

I was having the same issue with timeouts when transfering files from my Mac to the Z1ES using the HAP software. I changed the timeout after no activity value to 60 minutes on the transfer settings tab of the HAP software. I believe the default setting was 5 minutes. No more timeout issues after the change. Also, I noticed the software can't find the Z1ES on the network when the player is busy processing new files. This may be why you couldn't find the player from the software.

I estimate that I have over 200 hours playing the HAPZ1ES. I haven't seen any break in recommendations from Sony, but I expect that's long enough. The interconnect upgrade made the biggest SQ impact.

I've now had my Sony HAPZ1ES for weeks. Time enough to break it in. I also upgraded the interconnects to Acoustic Zen silver reference with XLRs, and the interconnect upgrade made a big difference. Next i tried a Shunyata power cable from i moved over from another component. The Z1ES is keeping the Shunyata power cable. This player is really sounding great, even with ripped redbook CDs. I love this player. Highly recommended, and try quality cables. You won't be dissapointed. Also, somebody asked if i tried an external HDD yet, but I haven't yet. It's not short on disk space on the 1 TB internal drive.

I attached a picture of my new Sony player. It sits in my cabinet just below my Linn LP12 turntable that sits on top. I think it's symbolic the turntable is still on top. I love the Sony player but the vinyl still sounds better!

I received my Sony HAPZ1ES about two weeks ago. It took several weeks to receive it once ordered through amazon. I've been very pleased with the sound and ease of use. I replaced a Musical Fidelity DAC system (Mac Mini/MF M1DAC combination). I already own about a thousand hi-res FLAC files with various resolutions up to 192K. I copied them to the Sony player very easily using the HAP software and left them in native format. I does take a long time to copy them. I have the Sony player setup to upsample the files to DSD on playback. The Sony player can play every file I've thrown at it with ease and far better sound than the M1DAC system with the hi-res FLAC files. I didn't notice any real improvement playing back the CDs I ripped to FLAC when comparing the Sony and M1DAC. Then there is the DSD playback which is in a whole different league than the M1DAC. The Sony player comes with some sample DSD 2.8 files. I also purchased and downloaded a few new DSD files in the past week. The sound is really impressive. I did hear the Ayre QB-9 DSD at a local dealer recently before I bought the Sony player. The dealer was playing back ripped CDs that sounded good on the Ayre DAC. I didn't hear any DSD files played on the Ayre DAC. I chose the Sony player because of the price and so I could take the Mac Mini out of the mix. The Sony player is far easier to use as a transport for digital files than the Mac Mini (I was using Amarra with iTunes and JRiver for Mac). The HAP remote app for my iPad is excellent and puts the Apple Remote app to shame. I highly recommend the Sony player, especially if you want to playback DSD. It's a bargain at $2000.

Thanks for the advice on Amarra Mini. I was able to purchase it for $149 from Sonic Studio. Couldn't be more pleased with the sound. I also upgraded my toslink cable to a Wireworld supernova. Both upgrades were noticeable improvements. Steve

Will check out Amarra. Looks like they have a free trial. Also, I have an external Seagate USB 2.0 drive (500 GB).

I have to say my first experience with building a music server is gone pretty well. I'm really happy with the sound and it couldn't be easier to manage. With a lot of input from reading posts and reviews on this web site, I purchased the following: - used Mac Mini MC238LL/A - Musical Fidelity M1 DAC - Musical Fidelity V-Link - Wireworld Starlight USB cable - Belkin tosklink cable I have a ton of music in my iTunes library, and I'm thrilled to be able to get great sound for iTunes through my main stereo system. I also downloaded some flac music from HD Tracks and have tried Songbird to run the flac files. The sound is great using Songbird but I'm sure there are better players out there. Highly recommended music server solution, especially if this is your first attempt at setting one up. I'm sure the sound could be better yet. I'm a vinyl bigot with a Linn LP-12 in my system, and the music server sounds good but is not match to the vinyl. Maybe music server upgrades will be in my future.