[Whitigir]

The amazing things is that the stock firmware for my WM1A has a very hot coming Edges of textures on lower trebles. It has sibilant on female vocals and high string pitches.

The modified firmware took care of this, and the differences as described as previously.

I love the DMP Z1 1.0.2 version as it elevates the soundstage exactly where I wanted it, more width and depth, retaining this vertical axis. The overall sound signatures are closely resemble one another. Bass is more articulated with better textures, better controls, still deep and rumbling. Female vocals are so good now, vividly detailed!!! Same as high string and winds.... flutes ... addictive !!!! The high spectrum certainly becomes a lot more airy with all the improved textures, resolutions and precision’s.

Loving it!!!!

Now I am curious, could the stock firmware of WM1Z be ported without additional tweaking to Wm1A ? I would like to try and see if the WM1Z slightly take care of that low treble edges

one thing to note: if you are enjoying the Bass and sub bass on the Walkman currently, you will find the bass on the DMP Z1 1.0.2 to be boring. IMO, this is the bass done right as it is cleaner, better speed, controls, textures. So, please remember that my impressions will be different than your as my unit is very different than your, also preferences. But as far as my experiences goes, the Walkman has a less controlled bass VS the modified firmware one. The Ultimate as provided, or based on V1 of DMP Z1 and trying to combine 1A/Z will have this less controlling bass lines and performances

 

[Morbideath]

The amazing things is that the stock firmware for my WM1A has a very hot coming Edges of textures on lower trebles. It has sibilant on female vocals and high string pitches.

The modified firmware took care of this, and the differences as described as previously.

I love the DMP Z1 1.0.2 version as it elevates the soundstage exactly where I wanted it, more width and depth, retaining this vertical axis. The overall sound signatures are closely resemble one another. Bass is more articulated with better textures, better controls, still deep and rumbling. Female vocals are so good now, vividly detailed!!! Same as high string and winds.... flutes ... addictive !!!! The high spectrum certainly becomes a lot more airy with all the improved textures, resolutions and precision’s.

Loving it!!!!

Now I am curious, could the stock firmware of WM1Z be ported without additional tweaking to Wm1A ? I would like to try and see if the WM1Z slightly take care of that low treble edges

Could u pls share your impression over the 1A/1Z threads? People are freaking out there haha

 

[Whitigir]

Could u pls share your impression over the 1A/1Z threads? People are freaking out there haha

Done , I guess overtheee is more like a safe Haven. We report back when everything is safe LoL

 

[Morbideath]

Done , I guess overtheee is more like a safe Haven. We report back when everything is safe LoL

Thx man. I'll deliver my homework to u tomorrow.

 

[Whitigir]

Oh no! I have to say thank you for sharing this!!! I was....pulling out my hairs to try and look to improve these sections as described....all my technical knowledges were at it limit as nothing could be done anymore. I was thinking firmware, and I am horrible with program and coding LOL....

You shared this right at the time I needed it!! Thank you very much !!

 

[hshock76]

I see... MS has two prototypes using 24wires 1960s (I don't know how it translates to Awg but it's insanely thick). They refuse to mass produce 24wire mods since in one attempt it destroyed the MB of their stuff's 1Z.

I am holding on to 1 of the 2 1Z prototypes using 24 wires and my friend just got his hands on the 1A proto with the 24 wires mod. The performance of the 2 players are really close with the 1Z prob having a slight advantage in stage width according to my friend. I only managed a brief listen over the weekend and without doing a detailed A/B test, they sound identical to me. I'll give my thoughts when I manage a longer session.

Interestingly, I still use the stock 1Z for my main genre of intimate vocal (mainly deep throaty Lady singers) tracks and the modded player for all other genres; jazz, classical & pop.

Appreciate the posts and feedback from you and @Whitigir in this thread. Everything that is shared here basically more than justifies the investment in the 1Z and stretches its life span way beyond what the other TOTL players can offer. Great work guys and keep it up!

 

[Morbideath]

I am holding on to 1 of the 2 1Z prototypes using 24 wires and my friend just got his hands on the 1A proto with the 24 wires mod. The performance of the 2 players are really close with the 1Z prob having a slight advantage in stage width according to my friend. I only managed a brief listen over the weekend and without doing a detailed A/B test, they sound identical to me. I'll give my thoughts when I manage a longer session.

Interestingly, I still use the stock 1Z for my main genre of intimate vocal (mainly deep throaty Lady singers) tracks and the modded player for all other genres; jazz, classical & pop.

Appreciate the posts and feedback from you and @Whitigir in this thread. Everything that is shared here basically more than justifies the investment in the 1Z and stretches its life span way beyond what the other TOTL players can offer. Great work guys and keep it up!

Haha, MS gave me an offer for that 1A but i skipped… since i more craved for your 24wire 1Z. They described that 1A to be faster than 16wire 1Z, and a tad less depth than 1Z. the difference is very slight.

 

[Whitigir]

Haha, MS gave me an offer for that 1A but i skipped… since i more craved for your 24wire 1Z. They described that 1A to be faster than 16wire 1Z, and a tad less depth than 1Z. the difference is very slight.

If I am not mistaken, those differences sounds like the characteristics that Litz wires bring VS multi stranded non-litz. The 24 wires may be very thick and into probably 16-17Awg approximately. That is ways overkill and i understand why they are prototypes.

 

[Morbideath]

If I am not mistaken, those differences sounds like the characteristics that Litz wires bring VS multi stranded non-litz. The 24 wires may be very thick and into probably 16-17Awg approximately. That is ways overkill and i understand why they are prototypes.

Yes, They did "overkill" one motherboard. But im a sucker for their mods (i bought two mods 1z, the other one for my friend) and always craving for the extremes… which is why i instantly fell into FW mods later

 

[Whitigir]

So am I...totally a sucker for modifications. People will not understand the improvements that modifications can bring VS stock. Doesn’t matter how much the manufacturers are saying “limitless or no limits”, there are still limits....modifications is the real stretches beyond limitations...

 

[hshock76]

The reality is that there is no perfect DAP and everyone has their own preferences and expectations on what they want and need from their player.

The misconception from some folks is that pple who mod their players "think that they can do a better job" than the engineers who designed and developed the products. I do not think that any modders out there are trying to displace the original product designers or state that what they have is superior to the stock product. Rather, they provide customization to folks like me who love the base product but would want certain tweaks to meet their preferences and needs.

I love the stock 1Z but as I tested other TOTL players, I wanted more resolution and stage width. Instead of buying another player which does not meet all my needs, the next best option is take an existing player which satisfies 80-90% or what I need and tweak the last 10-20%. What can be more efficient and cost effective than that? That's where MS came into the picture and provided a solution to what I needed from the 1Z. Bimmers and mercs customers spend tons on options to customize their cars to their personal needs and I do not hear anyone complaining. Infact in almost all consumer industries I know of, customization is a huge want. No one is forcing anyone to accept the mods as superior changes, but in life, its always good to have options.

Hmm I think maybe the problem lies with the word "modfiying"; we should use "customization" instead!

 

[ttt123]

Hi all,
Last year some Chinese enthusiastic worked out the 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.

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, Z1 doesn't even has a skip button in the UI while 1Z does of course. HOWEVER, the tuning codes of Z1 can be applied to 1A / 1Z perfectly fine.

Incorporating Z1's tuning, both 1A / 1Z enjoy a much larger soundstage, more airy treble and harder deeper bass. The mids / vocal can be somewhat hollow and pushed back, but we can tackle with that using the tuning codes of 1Z (which has fuller mids). With the new assets at hand, theoretically speaking, tuning codes can be switched and combined to approximate the sound profiles of many other DAPs. Yet the process is hideous since it's a shot in the dark for us 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.

Now u get the basics of firmware modding. Here are some of the iconic firmwares I picked from hundreds of mods to share with you:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LTZTkoQu2V-pr6XfULjq_Qa0ukttg_R8

Disclaimer:
1. I'm just introducing you some interesting findings. Im not the author of these mods.
2. Firmwares, just like IEM pairing, are all about synergy. It depends heavily on your devices and your subjective taste. I merely introduce you with some novel dishes not served by official flavors. Whether u like it or not is completely each to their own.
3. The mods are no way better than official firmwares. They are just different. In my modest understanding, official one is more conservative that will fit more variety of gears, while mods are more progressive tunning. For u they can be hit or miss.

I host 9 firmwares within the folder, 4 are the popular offical ones downloaded from Sony's websites. About the 5 mods: DMP-Z1 1.01 is the official Z1 FW ported to 1A/1Z, with minimal tuning edits. 1.02 is also official FW ported. Many think 01 is warmer and smoother, while 02 is clearer and sharper. YMMV.

Ultimate is the wild attempt trying to combine best of the three worlds: the goodness of 1A, 1Z and Z1. This is a controversial mod since some may find it piercing due to the extreme details retrieval, others may find it bright, yet some will think it's too dark. It's all about synergy with your gears and the music you listen to.

WM2Z is a relatively modest mod without taking too many assets from DMP-Z1, so may sound more like a stock WM1Z but with different subtle tunings. Latoo Paw Gold Touch, as the name suggests, is trying to mimic the sound of LPGT. It does extremely well on some people's system.

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 other versions the process will fail.

Run the exe file in \Package folder and you are good to go. The upgrading speed is much faster than official upgrade since only the tuning parts are being modified. 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.

If anyone fails to run any exe files please let me know. They are supposed to work on either 1A and 1Z.

PART II:
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 the difference of sound. To achieve the Japanese tuning, simply run the Rockbox tool to change your region code to J. There are explicit tutorials in this thread about how to do it. 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 in Japanese. 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.

My assessments of the sounds are based on the following gears: MS Ultimate K-Mod WM1Z (1960s 16wire balanced, all battery wire and grounding wire from board to chassis switched to 1960s 2wire, two more AVX F95 capacitors, various additional shieldings to S-Master and battery), balanced output through Labkable Gold Titan 10wire, feeding a Custom Just Ear MH1 specifically tunned by Bandai San for me; another complement IEM is the Custom EE Legend X SE (i believe is not sold in US/EU market?) to unleash my bass-thirsty inner monster. I only listen to classical and metal music, so i strictly focus on instruments not vocal. I currently run the DMP-Z1 1.01 FW as I feel it has a very expansive soundstage, more treble sparkles and firmer but deeper bass. The bass quantity decreases to some extent so may not fit every genres out there.

Many thanks for these FW mods. I have a WM1Z modded by Romi Audio in SSP, HK. This is the limited V4 full mod with NOS Black Gate capacitors.
I tried the Ultimate FW first, and was quite happy with it. Better bass extension and speed. More airy and a more palpable stage. I had an initial feeling that the overall sound was a bit "bloomy", less controlled. Bass was stronger, with good impact. And the improved stage and airyness gave a more immersive feel to the music. After getting used to it a bit, I felt I could stick with this FW and enjoy it.

Then followed @Whitigir's impressions, and loaded DMP-Z1 1.02. Not as "fun" as Ultimate, but I see what he observed. It's more balanced and neutral, compared to Ultimate. I could see this as a base FW, with the Ultimate as an option for a more fun, immersive sound. Very nice to have these different options, which can cater to different system configurations. I can see how Ultimate could fit some IEMs, or maybe when you are in a a different mood.

 

[hshock76]

Haha, MS gave me an offer for that 1A but i skipped… since i more craved for your 24wire 1Z. They described that 1A to be faster than 16wire 1Z, and a tad less depth than 1Z. the difference is very slight.

The resolution on both players are pretty amazing. When I first listened to the 1Z last year, I was thinking who could actually listen to such high resolution. I only lasted half an hour before pain set in. BUT.... I could not get it out of my head and got a then to ship it to me for a longer audition couple mths later. Well we know what happened after that. My ears are much better trained now. Can’t wait to try the FWs tonight!

 

[Whitigir]

Pardon me but I think I understand the 24 wires from MS. It is total of 4 polarities which is going to be 24/4 to be 6x wires per polarity. With each wires going to be 26Awg. We are looking at 20-21Awg per polarity.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Thanks for the effort love my WM1A-DMPZ1 haha