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Modifying WM1Z/A

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Mar 2, 2020 at 10:15 AM Post #301 of 3,042
They’re all made in Malaysia, my country!
 
Mar 2, 2020 at 11:17 AM Post #302 of 3,042
Whitigir said:
No, just stay in the J region that you used The Tool tricks

The software regions is accordingly to the sticker on the side of the player
807D5C65-553D-4A99-9101-6305A9EDD06C.jpeg
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Whats funny is I was in e, aus , je region according to my sticker and now I am U hehe )
 
Mar 2, 2020 at 11:36 AM Post #304 of 3,042
I’ve got an old MacBook Pro with El Capitan still on, based on my location I either have Mx or mx3 region on my wm1a. Went first with the dmp 1.02. Sound was outstanding though a bit shrill at areas. Went for ultimate 1.02... oh god... guys you’ve created a monster, this is simply amazing. I’m looking to make a windows partition so I can play around a bit more, I wish I could trust anyone here in Mexico City to make a couple of hardware changes into my player but so far my experience hasn’t been so good. Separation was better with the dmp but the bass quantity and soundstage I’m getting with the ultimate is outstanding, the Sony has conquered my n6II with e01. I think it’s a tight battle though. The class a on the n6II has to burn in further but maaaaaaaaaaan (I’m listening while writing this) karnivool sound awake is sounding epic... bass is massive, detailed and precise
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Edit, installing windows...
 
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Mar 2, 2020 at 8:21 PM Post #306 of 3,042
Just came across this thread from headfi Sony NW1A/1Z thread. Holy moly, my WM1A is a fresh new device after receiving "Japanese" certificate.

Many thanks for the guidance on few modded firmwares, successfully installed and tested three of them namely WM2Z 3.0.2, DMP-Z1 1.01 and DMP-Z1 1.0.2 in this sequence.

My preference is DMP-Z1 1.02 (like other review, the sound is smooth, long hour listening without fatigue LOL) then WM2Z 3.0.2 (quite close to DMP-Z1 1.0.2 with slight detail, I may switch to this firmware some times for critical listening again) and next DMP-Z1 1.0.1 (too much bass, as a result I can't really appreciate sub-bass to low midrange sound produced by music instruments especially classical music)

Unless Sony release new 4.0 firmware, the above mentioned modded firmware will stay for quite a while.

Edited: Listen with CA Andromeda Green & Sony EX800ST
 
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Mar 3, 2020 at 8:07 AM Post #310 of 3,042
simon740 said:
not new...but with my wm1a (J region) DMP-Z1 1.01, WM2Z, DMP portable Musical ( whitigir) are all on warmer side with good bass...

regards,
Simon
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Yes. But portable fun is the warmest of them all. The bass doesn’t get better than this.
 
Mar 3, 2020 at 10:45 AM Post #313 of 3,042
Morbideath said:
Last year some Chinese enthusiastic worked out a way to modify firmwares and change their sound. ATM I won't dive into disclosing the technical specifics since it may be illegal and ultra troublesome to write, but the results are something profound. I will first elaborate on some basic principles.

Firmwares do affect sound (nonsense... we all know that). The firmwares of 1A/1Z provided to download all over the world are universal and totally identical (identical MD5 value). But there are TWO SETS of tuning codes to tune 1A/1Z separately, stored WITHIN THE SAME FIRMWARE. The firmware file simply identifies whether your device is 1A or 1Z then it applies the proprietary tunings accordingly. It reads the identification codes stored within the firmware and your devices as references to preceed the installation.

Secondly, firmware file contains two parts: the first part with the basic system functionalities, for example, the random / repeat buttons shown in now playing, introduced in 2.0; the usb dac / bt receiver modes introduced in 3.0, etc; The second part is the tuning codes, which are scattered in various sections of the firmware. We don't know how exactly the codes work, as they remain an encrypted black box. But we can switch the "box" between 1A and 1Z to alter each other sound. Thirdly and most importantly, the firmware of DMP-Z1 & ZX300 are of similar structure with slight differences of the functionality part, for example, DMP doesn't even has a skip button in the UI while 1Z does of course. HOWEVER, the tuning codes of DMP can be applied to 1A / 1Z perfectly fine.

Incorporating DMP's tuning, both 1A / 1Z enjoy a much expanded sound with better extension on both ends. With the new assets at hand, theoretically speaking, tuning codes can be switched and combined to approximate the desired sound profiles of many other DAPs. Yet the process was HIDEOUS, since it's a shot in the dark for modders to blindly test the wild combinations with our own ears. Thx to our Chinese pioneer, Deck24, who relentlessly keep experimenting the tunings with months of trials and errors, finally there are some results to be shared to the public.
Disclosure: Since the discovery of firmware tuning, I have been working with "the Step-Father of Walkman"@Whitigir to create and share a series of modded firmwares "in conspiracy". Theoretically speaking, each of these firmwares is a clear upgrade to your Walkman, but remember that your hardware limitations will play the bigger roles that scales up with the firmware performances.
The following firmware mods will bring about the sound signatures of DMP Z1 fine tuned for the Walkman. There will be differences as DMP Z1 and Walkman are too different in hardware engineering, sizes and implementations. If you are not happy with what you hear, please use the stock firmware, as there has been no known risk of damaging or bricking the player.
Both 1A and 1Z are tuned exactly and the same. Four sound profiles were composed, tastefully and painstakingly. They are Mercury, Jupiter, Mars and Venus for you to choose from:


Among all these 4 profiles, we also divided each of them into 3 different Tiers for various levels of setups. You can choose freely for your own preference. So there are a whole combinations of 4x3=12 versions to choose from.

To put in a nutshell, these firmwares are all about SYNERGY with your hardware. The higher the Tier ranks, the better hardware will scale, and the higher output power (illusionary). T3 or Mercury may not fit the majority out there, although they are the most technically capable.
For better performances, please also change regional code into Japan.
Another Chinese fella accidentally found out that Japanese model of 1Z (not sure about 1A, but should also apply) sounds smoother than the Chinese model (region CN). With some research, he found that the Japanese model and other regions' model are applicable to different tuning codes, thus resulting in the difference of sound. Generally speaking, JP tuning has smoother timbre, better bass texture and a tad deeper/larger soundstage.

To obtain the Japanese tuning, simply run the Rockbox tool to change your region code to J. You can also find the Rockbox tool in the Win-exe sharing folder.
How to change region code to "J" using Rockbox tool

P.S. You DON'T need to factory reset to activate J tuning! Don't reset or you will lose your clocking hours. Just restarting will suffice.
After changing to J, please run ANY firmwares again for your device to apply to the J FW. Restarting your device, u will find a new certificate item showing up at the bottom of setting's page, proving your FW is now the Japanese version. At the same time, u lose the ability to change language to others, but keeping your current language (such as English). Because Japanese FW initially doesn't support multi-language selection.

Upgrade methods: first make sure your device is on official 3.02. The mods are all based on the official 3.02, keeping all its vested functionalities. If u upgrade from any other official versions the installation will fail, though no harm will incur at all. The upgrading speed is much faster than official upgrade since only the tuning parts are being written in. The process is perfectly safe for your device, and you can always run the other mod to substitute, or revert back to the official FWs anytime by running their exe.

Choose the correct version for your device model to install. All devices except JP model and EU model should choose Universal. Unfortunately I cannot compile and maintain Mac versions.

***
Welcome to the Dark Side!
***
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if you guys could lower gain a little bit if posible... I think guys with crappy gear like me could take more advantage of the difrences... between each FW release, just a little advise please let me know if they are diferent so I begin tetsing asssap!
 
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Mar 3, 2020 at 10:49 AM Post #314 of 3,042
Mar 3, 2020 at 10:49 AM Post #315 of 3,042
Midnstorms said:
So are this new frmwares diferent from what we have? if you guys could loweer the gain a little bit if posible... I think guys with crappy gear like me could take more advantage of the difrences... between each FW release just a little advise please let me know if they are diferent so i begin tetsing asssap!
Click to expand...
Please allow @Morbideath and @Whitigir some time to relax. They have been busting ass for a while and still have work to do
 
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