[hshock76]

Only @hshock76 has it not me LoL
Poor tiger ears is not having Em

If there is a 1Z-EM; there will be a "2Z"-EM.

I believe the recipe for 1A-EM and 1Z-EM are in this thread somewhere and a trained electrical guy should be able to perform the mods. I can guarantee the effort is worth it and will exceed anyone's endgame goal for a portable DAP. I can understand that some will find my impressions pretty meaningless since prob only me and @Whitigir have listened to the players but I still feel I need to share what I'm hearing to motivate more 1Z owners to take this step to audio nirvana.

 

[Vitaly2017]

If you guys are curious to know how a tigers hiss's look this video at 00:19





So if no 1z-em then hizsssss haha just kidding LoL

 

[RobertP]

If there is a 1Z-EM; there will be a "2Z"-EM.

I believe the recipe for 1A-EM and 1Z-EM are in this thread somewhere and a trained electrical guy should be able to perform the mods. I can guarantee the effort is worth it and will exceed anyone's endgame goal for a portable DAP. I can understand that some will find my impressions pretty meaningless since prob only me and @Whitigir have listened to the players but I still feel I need to share what I'm hearing to motivate more 1Z owners to take this step to audio nirvana.

Oh yes, it's definitely worth it. Once you think you are in audio nirvana, you can stop listening or put your 1Z down.

Never thought that 60's songs are so musical. Ambiances and warmth are off the chart!

 

[524419]

If there is a 1Z-EM; there will be a "2Z"-EM.

I believe the recipe for 1A-EM and 1Z-EM are in this thread somewhere and a trained electrical guy should be able to perform the mods. I can guarantee the effort is worth it and will exceed anyone's endgame goal for a portable DAP. I can understand that some will find my impressions pretty meaningless since prob only me and @Whitigir have listened to the players but I still feel I need to share what I'm hearing to motivate more 1Z owners to take this step to audio nirvana.

Most people don't care. I put pics and impressions of my Modified RME DAC on it's thread. and not one single person inquired for details or more information. They are all juggling equipment, buying and selling everything like it's all going out of style.
The people that care or are adventurous enough to try are few and far between.
Oh well, doesn't matter, we all get to enjoy what we know.

 

[RobertP]

Most people don't care. I put pics and impressions of my Modified RME DAC on it's thread. and not one single person inquired for details or more information. They are all juggling equipment, buying and selling everything like it's all going out of style.
The people that care or are adventurous enough to try are few and far between.
Oh well, doesn't matter, we all get to enjoy what we know.

I fear that most people are just update sound tuned fw on thier 1A/Z and go no further.

 

[524419]

I fear that most people are just update sound tuned fw and go no further.

True. Their loss.
In a way, I guess I don't blame them. Hearing is believing..... Most people dismiss Cap upgrades as Audiophile nonsense.
And they have never heard a modded player, you only know what you know.

ADD: Going Forward I for one will never have a player. DAC, speaker, Amp without upgraded Capacitors. The difference in Sound Quality is just massive.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Most people don't care. I put pics and impressions of my Modified RME DAC on it's thread. and not one single person inquired for details or more information. They are all juggling equipment, buying and selling everything like it's all going out of style.
The people that care or are adventurous enough to try are few and far between.
Oh well, doesn't matter, we all get to enjoy what we know.

For me I upgraded 1z because I love 1z and found nothing better and wanted to up the lvl of quality. Maybe those folks in rmei arent satisfied with the device?

But yea moded stuff scares the crap out of the regular Joe's
LoL

 

[524419]

For me I upgraded 1z because I love 1z and found nothing better and wanted to up the lvl of quality. Maybe those folks in rmei arent satisfied with the device?

But yea moded stuff scares the crap out of the regular Joe's
LoL

Very possible. That would make sense.
when I upgrade from this DAC later this year, it's going to my Mom. I will be building her an Audiophile speaker system for her Birthday.
The 1A is my keeper Player for sure, it's not going anywhere

 

[hshock76]

I do not think that there is a need to fear or get affected if others do not jump on the modification bandwagon. I believe the main goal for most of you who spend the time and effort to modify HW and FW is to achieve a level of performance that meets your target of how you want the player to sound like rather than expect any sort of returns or getting the acknowledgement of pple out there. The 1Z is premium and high cost DAP after all and most owners will not want to perform any form of "open surgery" on it. Just blame Sony for making such a great sounding player even in stock form. It's not a loss for those who do not explore modifications (being able to own a 1Z is pretty big deal to me so def no loss even if it's just stock) but rather a big win for those of us who embrace the benefits of modifications. I look back at the impressions I have posted and every time I thought it was close to end game, some of you here kept shifting the goal line and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to hear what I am hearing since I myself have no technical skills to perform the mods. Maybe there will be a EM2 or ROMI BG++ mods going forward which will shift the goal line again. But that's the beauty of this hobby and I am always looking forward to explore new developments from folks here. Thank you.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

True. Their loss.
In a way, I guess I don't blame them. Hearing is believing..... Most people dismiss Cap upgrades as Audiophile nonsense.
And they have never heard a modded player, you only know what you know.

ADD: Going Forward I for one will never have a player. DAC, speaker, Amp without upgraded Capacitors. The difference in Sound Quality is just massive.

Well there's plenty out there who even dismiss the 200hour burn in recommendation...

 

[524419]

Well there's plenty out there who even dismiss the 200hour burn in recommendation...

I don't get it.
Makes me wonder if it's a hearing issue, memory issue? Or some people just don't believe anything until they see a study and 20 scientists in positions of authority to rubber stamp what they are experiencing 1st hand. Maybe a combination of all?
I can only speak for what I hear

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

I believe it has to do with this, a lack of it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_training

Although audiophiles are not necessarily musicans, some of us here have developed over time by listening to countless hours of music with all sorts of audio equipment, our own internal auditory memory/recognition system to easily pickup musical notes and tones that allow us to sense/process details in the music more than others. I hope you guys get what I meant here.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

This video probably explains what I meant better:

 

[524419]

I believe it has to do with this, a lack of it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_training

Although audiophiles are not necessarily musicans, some of us here have developed over time by listening to countless hours of music with all sorts of audio equipment, our own internal auditory memory/recognition system to easily pickup musical notes and tones that allow us to sense/process details in the music more than others. I hope you guys get what I meant here.

That actually makes a lot of sense to me.
The only thing that is still puzzling, is why so many reviewers and graph/science type audiophiles, that also listen to quite a bit of music, fail to spot these changes.
Is this a lack of natural ability? Or is something else at play?
ADD: They all claim Auditory memory has proven to be extremely short, and is not reliable. I don't find that to be true, if anything I find it to be quite the opposite. Maybe that there is a clue.

Another possibility might be that they are not paying attention to the music in the same way as some of us. Maybe what they are doing is just passive listening, somewhat like the lady in your 2nd video is describing.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

I think it's like racing drivers.

Some drivers are naturally talented. Born with the skills to drive.

Some drivers started lousy but overtime with conviction and training become top drivers.

Some drivers even after many years of driving still suck at it.