[Maxx134]

There are some really gullible people on the forums and if you want to act responsibly you should temper your discourse until you can quantify (with objective proof) some of these outlandish claims, like your equipment tier system.

Your are being very insulting and would sabotage the advantage he has with the firmwares, if he were to disclose it.
Sony would seal it up.
It's only a matter of time before they come up with a new firmware which would stop this progress we have had.

Forget about this debate you are trying to make.
If you don't believe then try it yourself.
He doesn't have to prove anything to you.
Go take that argument to the people who sell the mods service.

Edit**

 

[Queen6]

If Sony made Dmp I doubt they gonna stop there and they could easily build a new era of walkman with a 5 to 6 k price tag and as they have a name and people do know sony is good it will sell!
Wonder what are their next innovation for flagman walkman in the future... But as I was told at canjam nothing is planned for the next 2 years !!!

Sony will do, however I also believe that Sony wants to also make high quality audio as accessible as possible, if not ZX300, ZX500 & WM1A would not exist, as offering WM1Z and more run of the mill players would be a lot easier to deal with. Sony's not in a hurry to replace WM1A/Z and the worlds continuously changing as streaming is becoming ever more a factor. No doubt Sony will look at ZX500 sales and will also consider the purists who prefer localised music without the overheads of Android (myself included).

At the end of the day it's very much a game of diminishing returns, especially versus pricing that said if it makes you happy, it certainly isn't hurting anybody else. Audio is a very personal and subjective matter by default. For the next generation of WM1A/Z Sony will want to be able to illustrate a tangible advancement in audio quality while retaining their sound signature similar to the DMP. Pricing Sony may just maintain the status quo as WM1A/Z to me is more about a statement of excellence than turning coin...

Q-6

 

[candlejack]

Your are being very insulting and would sabotage the advantage he has with the firmwares, if he were to disclose it.
Sony would seal it up.
It's only a matter of time before they come up with a new firmware which would stop this progress we have had.

It is a bit insulting, I agree. I wish it weren't but that doesn't make it any less true.
But how would Sony "seal it up"? And why would they? If anything, this is increasing their sales.

Forget about this debate you are trying to make.
If you don't believe then try it yourself.
He doesn't have to prove anything to you.
Go tell that to the people who sell the mods service.

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...

You know, I followed the discussion for some time before I replied. I tied to tell myself that I shouldn't say anything because I have no dog in this fight.

It's true, I don't care one way or another if the modified firmwares have higher fidelity than the stock or not or if changing the cables lowers the noise floor. If anything, my life would be more interesting if this was true. So I don't mind these claims of SQ heaven. What I have a problem with is that these exaggerated claims are not supported by any objective proof. And why do I have a problem with that? I just feel it's lowering the quality of the forums, as abstract as it sounds.

 

[Queen6]

Your are being very insulting and would sabotage the advantage he has with the firmwares, if he were to disclose it.
Sony would seal it up.
It's only a matter of time before they come up with a new firmware which would stop this progress we have had.

Forget about this debate you are trying to make.
If you don't believe then try it yourself.
He doesn't have to prove anything to you.
Go tell that to the people who sell the mods service.

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...

Sometimes better to say nothing; on the whole I think only a minority of owners will consider hardware mods, nor are they going to rip apart their DAP's without conducting some research. Frankly it's all debatable and highly subjective, equally as an engineer I would never put anyone down for trying and thinking outside the box, as freedom of thought is what brings innovation.

Personally I've been there myself in a professional capacity, equally those paradigms are still in place. The Acid test with stock WM1A/Z and modified is for an unbiased listener to conduct blind A/B tests, even then the listener needs to be able to listen and note the subtleties and nuances if any. Excitement and exuberance should not be confused with significant change, as for objectivity totally wrong game until we're all issued the same ears

Q-6

 

[Maxx134]

It is a bit insulting, I agree. I wish it weren't but that doesn't make it any less true.
But how would Sony "seal it up"? And why would they? If anything, this is increasing their sales

I have to agree with you here.
The components being so sensitive to upgrades.

I do believe Sony intended their players to perform at a certain level, and reserve their best algorithms for their top end units.

A company's drive is sales, more than anything, and so I doubt they would allow the decline in sales of lower units, because of this.

. What I have a problem with is that these exaggerated claims are not supported by any objective proof. And why do I have a problem with that? I just feel it's lowering the quality of the forums, as abstract as sounds

I have to agree with you here again.
There has been much hoopla but the proof in data would probably be hard.
The sound-science forums would have a problem with this, and truthfully, because it is Sony proprietary firmware, I doubt it can be proven as easily as it can be "observed".

Thank you for clarifying your position, and apologies if any offense taken.


I had the Kmod 1z and compared it to stock and we could hear the difference on that alone it was cleaner with more nuance...

Technically speaking, the change of the output caps should be the most noticeable, in theory.

But the explanation of the power caps do make sense because it is such a different design, not using normal dac chip.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Hey folks need some help and suggestions....

I just spoke with Romi audio about wm1z mod.
And they change like 18 caps on the pcb.
Use a occ sensation pure silver cable. Not sure how many braids.

3 types of soldering wbt, wonder, slitech.

Did any one experience the full romi mod tuning as they offer 2 type normal and full.


In comparison k mod from music sanctuary is only cable swap mod and its all...

 

[ttt123]

Hey folks need some help and suggestions....

I just spoke with Romi audio about wm1z mod.
And they change like 18 caps on the pcb.
Use a occ sensation pure silver cable. Not sure how many braids.

3 types of soldering wbt, wonder, slitech.

Did any one experience the full romi mod tuning as they offer 2 type normal and full.


In comparison k mod from music sanctuary is only cable swap mod and its all...

PM'ed you with more info. I have a WM1Z done by Romi Audio in late 2017, with the full V4 Black Gate mod
Edit: V1 Nov 2017, updated to V4 Mar 2018

 

[slumberman]

Finally followed @Whitigir suggestions and guidance and upgraded wiring in my WM1A!

now burning in...

Can anyone link me to 3.01 Jupiter please, or to a comprehensive zip with the whole works?

Thanks!

 

[Whitigir]

I

PM'ed you with more info. I have a WM1Z done by Romi Audio in late 2017, with the full V4 Black Gate mod
Edit: V1 Nov 2017, updated to V4 Mar 2018

they should have a blog or something that people could google up easily LOL

 

[gearofwar]

Hey folks need some help and suggestions....

I just spoke with Romi audio about wm1z mod.
And they change like 18 caps on the pcb.
Use a occ sensation pure silver cable. Not sure how many braids.

3 types of soldering wbt, wonder, slitech.

Did any one experience the full romi mod tuning as they offer 2 type normal and full.


In comparison k mod from music sanctuary is only cable swap mod and its all...

The K mod doesn't only offer the cable swap. If you got this response directly from MS recently meaning they might have removed other modifications. The mastermind behind this mod has already left the company so whoever doing the mod is not the same person

 

[Vitaly2017]

The K mod doesn't only offer the cable swap. If you got this response directly from MS recently meaning they might have removed other modifications. The mastermind behind this mod has already left the company so whoever doing the mod is not the same person

Well they do change kimber cable to pw1960 16wires and single ended to 4 wires

Add tantalum caps ( 4 )
Battery swap 4.4 female swap
Can change battery wires and swap battery to new one.

Mitsubishi diamond solder....



Romi mod is this

-replace caps by blackgate

-replace female 4.4 connector to sony new

-using 8 wires sensation occ pure silver cable for the balanced and the unbalanced connectors.

-slitech solder, pure silver.

-replace battery to new original sony.

-replace battery wires to sensation.

-with copper shielding added on top of s master and caps....

 

[gerelmx1986]

PM'ed you with more info. I have a WM1Z done by Romi Audio in late 2017, with the full V4 Black Gate mod
Edit: V1 Nov 2017, updated to V4 Mar 2018

Do you know pricing?

 

[slumberman]

Do you know pricing?

I believe it’s around 1400 EUR.

 

[fjbruening]

OK, I've been skimming thru the 2300+ pages of this thread for several days, and have decided to take the plunge on getting a wm1a. Amazon will have it to me next week. Paying retail for tech 4 years old seems almost dumb, but given all the praise I figured I'd keep it for a long time...

It should be a huge step up from my phone playing tidal into a set of etymotic 4p.

My questions

1. Is there anything a new user should do, any blogs or threads or resources to check out?
2. I'm looking for a big step up in IEMs - I've been really happy with my CA comet; realizing sound is incredibly subjective, what's the consensus on CA Andromeda? I'll be using FLAC or better recordings, and listen to most types of music, Jazz, blues/funk, rock, a little EDM and metal. I'm not a bass head, but do like a good thump every now and then. I like a good amount of transparency, which the 4p's are known for... but i'm not looking for reference monitors.

Does Andromeda pair well with the 1A walkman? If not, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Francis

 

[gerelmx1986]

The K mod doesn't only offer the cable swap. If you got this response directly from MS recently meaning they might have removed other modifications. The mastermind behind this mod has already left the company so whoever doing the mod is not the same person

Seems like MS is the only modder to offer battery swap service. Don't know if Romi or fidelizer do this.

It would be a nice idea if American companies like PlusSound, The Source AV, moon Audio offered modding