[justsomesonyfan]

It surely is a matter of personal preference which dap is best but for me the Sony sound hits the right spot

yeah, guess you're right, but considering price to performance, battery life, and lack of upgraditis (or atleast not a bad case as normal daps which get updated every other day) I'd say it's the best option for a "one and done" if one is not looking to stream.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Is there a big difference between the 1A and the 1Z, considering Mr Walkman firmwares that greatly improve the sound of the 1A ? I don't know whether to keep the 1A or sell it and buy a 1Z. Is the change justified? Regarding the new M2s, I am NOT really interested since I don't stream music and also prefer the Sony fw plus Mr Walkman fw than Android OS. Thank you very much for your opinion. Greetings.

My travel is 1A and home rig is DNP-Z1

 

[gerelmx1986]

I am planning to let my WM1A be modded. But what cable does NP-Audio uses? I would like lavri Grand syrands for the jack

 

[justsomesonyfan]

I am planning to let my WM1A be modded. But what cable does NP-Audio uses? I would like lavri Grand syrands for the jack

that's a question you should ask him, and possibly make a custom request i'm sure that if the synergy is right he would go the distance with you

 

[ColdsnapBry]

What's the elivator pitch for the Mr Walkman custom firmware for Wm1a? I'm usually the type to keep things all stock and trust the Sony engineers. But I could be convinced. I mainly use the 3.5mm jack out of the Wm1a, so I can switch between Apple Dongle and this DAP easily without having to swap cables.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

What's the elivator pitch for the Mr Walkman custom firmware for Wm1a? I'm usually the type to keep things all stock and trust the Sony engineers. But I could be convinced. I mainly use the 3.5mm jack out of the Wm1a, so I can switch between Apple Dongle and this DAP easily without having to swap cables.

I'd say you should try the next 2 settings and see for yourself if you like it or prefer stock

(tuning), (region), (plus mode), (gain), (dac initialization)

Wm1z, mx3, v2, 1, 1

OR

Bright, mx3, v2, 1, 1

 

[Belbo]

getting a modded 1a in the mail must be one of the best audio moments ever haha

does the pairing with mdr z1r come close to the taz? can you please check out specific mrwalkman settings? i wonder how they pair with the modded 1a (bright, mx3, plus2, gain = 1, dac = 1)

I've a feeling no dap will be able to truly best the modded 1a until sony ends up making a walkman with the new GaN S master

What exactly is the GaN?

 

[nc8000]

What exactly is the GaN?

https://epc-co.com/epc/gallium-nitride/what-is-gan

 

[andnej]

What's the elivator pitch for the Mr Walkman custom firmware for Wm1a? I'm usually the type to keep things all stock and trust the Sony engineers. But I could be convinced. I mainly use the 3.5mm jack out of the Wm1a, so I can switch between Apple Dongle and this DAP easily without having to swap cables.

Stock is good, sound that is in your head, fast rhythm, warm, full bodied sound.

MrWalkman give an alternative to what is already good.
WM1Z, warmer, brighter
Bright, sparkly sound
Warm, tube sound
The neutral is more like balanced rather than flat, colder than warm, darker than bright, but it is still sound pleasing. I rarely played with this signature.

There is an alt dac option, that makes the sound cleaner (removing the intended distortion that makes the walkman sounded similar to vintage amplifier, sounded more like modern DAP. Other than WM1Z, it is recommended to turn this option on, another side effect of this option is the removal of upper mid bump. You know that WM1A and WM1Z has a different kind of brightness, WM1A added a bump on upper mid, specifically on the presence area, while WM1Z extended the treble (brilliance area). When you use the WM1Z sound, it is like getting both the upper mid and extended treble, don't get me wrong, it is still sound pleasing to my eat, just not on the other signature.

There is an option to raise or lower the gain, something that usually different between region, I always keep this option on
There is a V1 option which gave a different tuning but still kept the bluetooth receiver compatibility but worst battery consumption, and V2 which has a better battery optimization than the stock around 20% increment but sacrificing the bluetooth receiver implementation (it may crash a bit)

Easier region switching, to get a better tuning, and 2 additional custom region: J2 and J3. J2 is like J with better presence and brilliance but still tamed and polite, J3 is like all out but still polite. J2 vs J3 is like AKM vs ESS.

Combine all those combinations (pun intended) and you get many different sounds, for example: Bright + V2 + Alt DAC + J = SE 300, Bright + V2 + Alt DAC + J2 = AKM Sound (Better clarity than 4493, but less offending than 4499 EX)

 

[Belbo]

Stock is good, sound that is in your head, fast rhythm, warm, full bodied sound.

MrWalkman give an alternative to what is already good.
WM1Z, warmer, brighter
Bright, sparkly sound
Warm, tube sound
The neutral is more like balanced rather than flat, colder than warm, darker than bright, but it is still sound pleasing. I rarely played with this signature.

There is an alt dac option, that makes the sound cleaner (removing the intended distortion that makes the walkman sounded similar to vintage amplifier, sounded more like modern DAP. Other than WM1Z, it is recommended to turn this option on, another side effect of this option is the removal of upper mid bump. You know that WM1A and WM1Z has a different kind of brightness, WM1A added a bump on upper mid, specifically on the presence area, while WM1Z extended the treble (brilliance area). When you use the WM1Z sound, it is like getting both the upper mid and extended treble, don't get me wrong, it is still sound pleasing to my eat, just not on the other signature.

There is an option to raise or lower the gain, something that usually different between region, I always keep this option on
There is a V1 option which gave a different tuning but still kept the bluetooth receiver compatibility but worst battery consumption, and V2 which has a better battery optimization than the stock around 20% increment but sacrificing the bluetooth receiver implementation (it may crash a bit)

Easier region switching, to get a better tuning, and 2 additional custom region: J2 and J3. J2 is like J with better presence and brilliance but still tamed and polite, J3 is like all out but still polite. J2 vs J3 is like AKM vs ESS.

Combine all those combinations (pun intended) and you get many different sounds, for example: Bright + V2 + Alt DAC + J = SE 300, Bright + V2 + Alt DAC + J2 = AKM Sound (Better clarity than 4493, but less offending than 4499 EX)

Thanks that’s really useful!

 

[Belbo]

I have a Japanese unit: is it possible to change the language to English without changing the region?

 

[Lookout57]

I have a Japanese unit: is it possible to change the language to English without changing the region?

Yes with MrWalkman firmware.

 

[nc8000]

I have a Japanese unit: is it possible to change the language to English without changing the region?

You can use the rockbox nwdest tool to change the region which enables the Change language option, then change the language and finally change the region back to J which keeps your new language but removes the Change language option again. Or you can install the MrWalkman WalkmanOne custom fw

 

[Gamerlingual]

I have a Japanese unit: is it possible to change the language to English without changing the region?

I used Rockbox. Yup

 

[gerelmx1986]

Used deoxit to clean the jacks of my WM1A, including microSD slot