[Vitaly2017]

LOL... As crazy as it sounds, color matching my gear is critical to me... it to me is a form of showing respect to the great equipment I own.

I do know the HW mods and FW went inside the 1A but what this shows is that when HW and FW mods are done right on the walkman, it can even beat a dedicated Headphone AMP. I know it sounds crazy and if you were to tell me this 6 mths back I would never have believed it... But I am hearing this for myself the last 2 days doing extensive A/B; going through most of my IEMs and cables on both 1A and Tazzy and the results are always conclusive. The resolution on the 1A-EM is amazing and this is one of the main reasons I can't go back to the TA. I'm spoilt by the resolution and clarity on the 1A and there is no turning back now. The MDR on the other hand had never sounded this good... I was even contemplating selling it as it was underused (beaten by IER-Z1R) and now it's my fav pairing with the 1A. The SQ is very analogue in nature and vocals is ohh so sweet. Mids have been brought foward and I am hearing good bass which I found was one of its weakest point when I compared it with the IEM-Z1R. Treble is very well extended with no harshness and violins on Mozart's Divertimento D Major K136 and Vivaldi's four season sound wonderful. Stage is 3D holographic and extended equally in all axis and there is very good feel of height. It does all the genres I listen to well and I do listen to a wide range. Heck it sounds so good with Qobuz streamed from my laptop that I am rediscovering all the music I listen to during my college days..... Green Day; smashing pumpkins, Aerosmith, Luna Sea, Old, 80s-90s Mandarin/Cantonese etc..... now I can't even bear to remove the headphones for even a minute... only when I do my conference calls. This is the best thing to happen doing my 14 days self quarantine at home after returning from Singapore!

Hahaha are you secretly sending me some encode messages here?
So I can keep the Ms 1z hahaha you dont need it anymore! 1A-EM is winner

 

[hshock76]

Hahaha are you secretly sending me some encode messages here?
So I can keep the Ms 1z hahaha you dont need it anymore! 1A-EM is winner

I'm the winner since I own both units. haha.

In my opinion it's not fair to compare the MS 1Z and 1A-EM. The 1A is extensively modified while the MS 1Z mainly involves upgrade of all internal wires to 1960s. I still stand by my opinion that the MS-1Z is an impressive sounding player considering only wires were upgraded. Give your impressions on its performance for what it is worth after it reaches you.

Now I can't imagine what the performance of the 1Z-EM will be like with the additional improvements on top of the 1A-EM. Prob even more analogue sounding than the 1A.

 

[hshock76]

@Whitigir, correct me if I am wrong, but I think what I am hearing now on the 1A-EM and Custom FW is akin to bringing together the best of digital and analogue sound...

It has the resolution and dynamic range of digital technology while at the same time the warmth, texture, nuances, naturalness, musicality of an analogue recording.

My impression of an analogue sound is smooth and flowing with body but these characteristics are normally not associated with high resolution which may make a recording sound harsh, cold and technical. But what I am hearing now is really good resolution (The resolution on the IER is still ultimately higher vs the MDR but the MDR just sounds so natural), tons of details but at the same time, there is high musicality in the song which invokes emotions within me and makes me move with the music.

This is an amazing feeling. I know that there is never a true endgame and the finishing line is always moving forward; but this is making the finishing move the slowest ever and I believe I will be enjoying this set up for quite some time.... at least till I have the opportunity to audition the 1Z-EM!

 

[RobertP]

Can't say it any better. Totally agree with that.

Even 16bits FLAC with the right fw tune will sound almost like 24bits or maybe even DSD counterpart.

 

[hshock76]

TBH, I pay more attention to the quality of the recording vs the the file type of resolution. The 1A-EM makes 16/44 file sound so good I dun even notice that it's only CD quality. I'm glad I dun have super sensitive Tiger ears. I just wanna enjoy the music.

I am listening to Liam Gallagher's Acoustic Sessions album now and I'm not exaggerating when I say I have tears of joy in my heart.... The texture and realism of his voice and acoustic guitars and pianos thru the MDRs is ........... I'm at a loss of words of how to even describe it... Prob just one word - REAL......I'm being transported into the music and listening to him live. The album in 24/44 is very well recorded.

 

[Vitaly2017]

@hshock76

Your describing the music so well that I now wonder if my Romi 1z is to the task of a 1A-Em
You are really in heaven looks like is that nirvana I hear?

I would love to hear @Whitigir 1z-em and do side by side comparison with my Romi 1z.
As whitigir is using all the latest and greatest caps currently on market and those BG are kinda the old school caps but that still got some serious guts in them.


I believe 1z-em will be more quicker and rumbly maybe, tighterdynamics. Bg is more like a real analogue sound, musical romance hehe.
I am speculating this is not official

 

[Maxx134]

I thought I was always chasing this last 3-5%, but my last experiment did really tell me this number....so crazy LoL

That's what I did. Once I owned a 1a, I chased last 3-5% by getting the 1z.
Now modding it should give me end game potential.

If you have the inner plate with Bluetooth cutout ?

I plan to have a silver plate, with the Bluetooth cut out for space for caps.

My research also verifies what @Whitigir stated, that only the silver plate is effective, due to its conductivity.
The choice of silver for the balanced output area, at a close proximity over the inductors, is the best choice.

Also, I was almost fooled into getting a "Sterling silver" plate. That's actually less conductive than the silver used by @Whitigir link.

Further research also verifies/explains @Whitigir statements of copper shielding over the chips make more noise(!).
What happens is that the internal noise of chip is reflected back into itself, creating more noise.
Copper, being less conductive than silver, is actually a good reflecting metal, so it reflects noise generated back in.

So I will not be shielding any chips with copper.
As @Whitigir suggested, the absorbing TDK sheets are best for the chips.

Mundorf ECAPs are Electrolytic, albeit very high quality ones. They are not film as far as I understand them.

Also those ecaps in the picture, have an extra "Audio" designation printed on them, that the older units did not have.

going through most of my IEMs and cables on both 1A and Tazzy and the results are always conclusive. The resolution on the 1A-EM is amazing and this is one of the main reasons I can't go back to the TA

What is a "tazzy" & "TA"..?

This is an amazing feeling. I know that there is never a true endgame and the finishing line is always moving forward; but this is making the finishing move the slowest ever and I believe I will be enjoying this set up for quite some time.... at least till I have the opportunity to audition the 1Z-EM!

Actually, I think you are already at "end-game territory, and it doesn't matter what new stuff comes out.

I been lucky enough to checked out many end game desktop setups, and what they have is utter realism & beauty,
BUT...
they are all "side-steps"(!)
Once you reach end game, it's only a preference choice, and synergy choice for your particular likes, which may even change over time.
To me, a hardware modified Sony 1z is end game level.

Add the fact that Sony mastered the "organic" sound, and you will be hard pressed to find a desktop dac that can replace it.

 

[hshock76]

@hshock76

Your describing the music so well that I now wonder if my Romi 1z is to the task of a 1A-Em
You are really in heaven looks like is that nirvana I hear?

I would love to hear @Whitigir 1z-em and do side by side comparison with my Romi 1z.
As whitigir is using all the latest and greatest caps currently on market and those BG are kinda the old school caps but that still got some serious guts in them.


I believe 1z-em will be more quicker and rumbly maybe, tighterdynamics. Bg is more like a real analogue sound, musical romance hehe.
I am speculating this is not official

I am sure the Romi Z will sound great as well. Prob just different signature vs the 1A-EM.

I believe what I am hearing now has been achieved through the effective fusion of HW and FW mods and not solely due to the HW mods alone. @Whitigir had tuned this baby to sound as perfect as possible and what I like on both the MS-1Z and 1A-EM is that they still retain Sony's unique signature.

You can send me your Romi 1Z one day and I can compare it to the 1A-EM and give you my impressions!

 

[hshock76]

What is a "tazzy" & "TA"..?



Actually, I think you are already at "end-game territory, and it doesn't matter what new stuff comes out.

I been lucky enough to checked out many end game desktop setups, and what they have is utter realism & beauty,
BUT...
they are all "side-steps"(!)
Once you reach end game, it's only a preference choice, and synergy choice for your particular likes, which may even change over time.
To me, a hardware modified Sony 1z is end game level.

Add the fact that Sony mastered the "organic" sound, and you will be hard pressed to find a desktop dac that can replace it.

TA or Tazzy is the Sony TA-ZH1ES Amp.

And yes I believe I am near if not at the top of the pinnacle of portable audio. I am sure there are higher realms on desktop systems but from a portable standpoint, this is prob is as good as it gets.

 

[Whitigir]

@hshock76 you are correct. I tried aiming for both analog signatures and digital details with dynamic range and separations, fidelity from digital advantages as much as possible. That is by both firmware and hardware.

I am glad you are Extremely happy with your 1A-EM.

 

[slumberman]

TA or Tazzy is the Sony TA-ZH1ES Amp.

And yes I believe I am near if not at the top of the pinnacle of portable audio. I am sure there are higher realms on desktop systems but from a portable standpoint, this is prob is as good as it gets.
[/QUOTE

I can't wait to get my version of the WM1A-EM!!!!!
it's on its way back to me from @Nayparm who followed @Whitigir 's recipes...

 

[Vitaly2017]

TA or Tazzy is the Sony TA-ZH1ES Amp.

And yes I believe I am near if not at the top of the pinnacle of portable audio. I am sure there are higher realms on desktop systems but from a portable standpoint, this is prob is as good as it gets.

I believe 1z moded with parts replaced is as good as any desktop devices. Maybe 5% behind?

So as we always know there is no end game never cause in 5 years sony of course will release a new bog King in the realm of daps... I think I can live with that on mind that the 5% is okay I can take it hehe.

For now rest reassured we got a long time to go till something really bad ass surfaces

 

[Tanjiro]

@Whitigir, correct me if I am wrong, but I think what I am hearing now on the 1A-EM and Custom FW is akin to bringing together the best of digital and analogue sound...

It has the resolution and dynamic range of digital technology while at the same time the warmth, texture, nuances, naturalness, musicality of an analogue recording.

My impression of an analogue sound is smooth and flowing with body but these characteristics are normally not associated with high resolution which may make a recording sound harsh, cold and technical. But what I am hearing now is really good resolution (The resolution on the IER is still ultimately higher vs the MDR but the MDR just sounds so natural), tons of details but at the same time, there is high musicality in the song which invokes emotions within me and makes me move with the music.

This is an amazing feeling. I know that there is never a true endgame and the finishing line is always moving forward; but this is making the finishing move the slowest ever and I believe I will be enjoying this set up for quite some time.... at least till I have the opportunity to audition the 1Z-EM!

This is very tempting.. Really drives me want to have my 1A modded by @Whitigir after this pandemic.
Hi Whitgir, would there be any discount for your follower please? lol

 

[Vitaly2017]

I cant believe this, it has finally happened I am listening my wm1z/Romi it just came in !!!!!!!

He fixed it its working with absolutely 0 hiss!

Mine my I cant believe it I just set my 1z on put my iems up, turn up the first song from Aes Dana its some idm music with very deep bass. My goodness no words to describe, what a holy moment to heare my lovely 1z back in shape and running full throttle!!!
It was simply like a huge wave that submerged me under a huge ocean wave, I got rammed by such a huge amazing sound! THis is just mind blowing , this made me just realize once again 1z/moded is such a gem, rarity uniqueness, the most analogue flavor I ever experienced, the most beautiful sound flavorful delightful sound timbre.
I cant believe and neither realize I am in a complete stumbled shock right now! What I am hearing what is it ? The most unique and unexplored sound that only the chosen one can have access !!!

Viva Tiger Ears Viva Romi mod and all amazing mods! This is it I am lost in sound again

 

[Vitaly2017]

I am listening right now and I feel the power of all the felines regrouped all together !