[MrWalkman]

Maybe, this can explain the announced 40 hours playing time for the WM1ZMK2 ?

If the SoC is almost the same, then it should be about increased battery capacity.

The A105, for example, even if it has a quad core SoC and it runs Android, has the same battery as on the A35/45/55 players, which have a dual core SoC.

I'll try figuring out a bit later exactly what SoC these new players have.

 

[nc8000]

Wonder if Sony will still be supporting Android upgrades to these 4-5 years down the road or just abandonning them after 1-2 years eventually leaving them only being able to be used for local play back because the latest streaming apps can no longer be installed

 

[gLer]

Maybe, this can explain the announced 40 hours playing time for the WM1ZMK2 ?

Oh for sure: slower more energy efficient SoC + energy efficient DAC + low amplification power output.

People wrongly accuse Android of being a bettery hog but Android in DAPs is generally highly optimised and stripped down to basics.

It's all the power hungry hardware around it, plus high-res, high-refresh screens (also missing from the new Walkmans, btw), that consume all the power.

I suspect coming from a more modern, powerful Android DAP (not to mention smartphones), many will be disappointed with the UI speed and responsiveness of the new Walkmans. Tidal, for example, is very resource intensive, and even if you don't stream, try managing a 10,000+ track library on an underpowered Android device...

 

[gLer]

Wonder if Sony will still be supporting Android upgrades to these 4-5 years down the road or just abandonning them after 1-2 years eventually leaving them only being able to be used for local play back because the latest streaming apps can no longer be installed

Even so, with Android 11, mist streaming apps will still be happily working 5+ years from now. Even today the minimum requirement is Android 7 or lower. By the time your steaming apps stop working we'll have Mk3 players...

 

[mainguy]

Maybe, this can explain the announced 40 hours playing time for the WM1ZMK2 ?

I think a big part of it is Sony is in the smartphone business. Xperia 5 iii would easily last 50+ hours just playing audio. They can surely take the same battery technology and sources and just adapt it for the walkman.

While other DAP makers just don't have the pedigree. Astell & Kern is tiny compared to Sony, they dont have an entire smartphone arm to draw expertise from on battery efficiency etc. Hence AK make DAPs with 8 hour battery life in 2022, while Sony made DAPs with 20+ hour battery life in 2016. Even chord can't squeeze more than 10 hours on their portables....Sony really stands out in this regard and are poised to take the DAP market almost entirely from AK this generation imo.

 

[Radissimo]

@mainguy:.Sony really stands out in this regard and are poised to take the DAP market almost entirely from AK this generation imo.
This part must be a joke

 

[nc8000]

He's never been able to mod Android players or has anyone else to my knowledge.

A number of the newer Chinese Android players based on Snapdragon have been rooted and so open for sw modding on some level

 

[WAmadeusM]

Oh for sure: slower more energy efficient SoC + energy efficient DAC + low amplification power output.

People wrongly accuse Android of being a bettery hog but Android in DAPs is generally highly optimised and stripped down to basics.

It's all the power hungry hardware around it, plus high-res, high-refresh screens (also missing from the new Walkmans, btw), that consume all the power.

I suspect coming from a more modern, powerful Android DAP (not to mention smartphones), many will be disappointed with the UI speed and responsiveness of the new Walkmans. Tidal, for example, is very resource intensive, and even if you don't stream, try managing a 10,000+ track library on an underpowered Android device...

A very interesting point for me!

"high-refresh screens (also missing from the new Walkmans, btw)", -

now I'm personally very interested in this.

On the old and much missed and shut down WM1Z HF page I'd discussed Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) screen issues I have still with the Wm1Z screen.
@MrWalkman even looked under the software hood for me.

The Sony Z3 phone gave me terrible headaches too - and the iPHone 10 (11?) also changed its screen PWM and caused users real headache problems. Apple shifted the hardware refresh forward by 6 months because of it. A real misstep for them.

I've been in contact with the Walkman engineers too about this. I'm sure it's a low PWM rate is to reduce battery consumption for these screens.

I have to have the screen of my WM1Z set at 100% all the time to try and mitigate the PWM. And it does not get rid of the problem fully.

Hardwiring Sound?

The other thing of interest in this new version is how much difference the hardware upgrades will actually make to an already money no object 5 years ago player (Aware that NP audio will mod the Z for £700)

Because the WM1Z for me has only been musically satisfying using @MrWalkman mods as a WM1A. Because the software over egged the 'warmth' of the kimber et al and the hardware differences.

I wrote a review on the old WM1Z thread

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-nw-wm1z-wm1a.815841/post-15769389

a short version being...

Try 1z as 1a using @MrWalkman Chameleon. That refines the signature and dems the diff in Hardware. The stock 1z fw adds braces to the belt of the 1Z HW. Prob to justify cost. That's what i found when I did a 1A & 1Z side be side hardware review. The 1z is better tuned as a 1a. I found the ++ fw mods exciting and intriguing. But I found they introduce sound artifacts at 2khz and in some other places. But they are great to have. Bravo Mr Walkman.

 

[psikey]

A number of the newer Chinese Android players based on Snapdragon have been rooted and so open for sw modding on some level

I meant Sony players

 

[MrWalkman]

A number of the newer Chinese Android players based on Snapdragon have been rooted and so open for sw modding on some level

Those have been rooted because someone found a way of accessing some emergency mode, that with the right files, gives us the possibility of flashing a patched boot image.

The Sony Android DAPs have the fastboot mode, but without an existing boot image, like those that can be found in .zip firmware upgrade packages for DAPs like those from Ibasso or FiiO, there's nothing we can patch and then flash via fastboot. This is because Sony ships the .zip upgrade package encrypted as .UPG, and we can't unpack these UPG files yet - they're not the same as the UPG files for the non-Android Walkman players.

One way would be to compile our own boot image from source code, but it's a risky business, because there's no known emergency mode accesible on the Sony Android players, that would allow flashing stuff even if the player can't boot properly. If something goes wrong, you'd have to buy another player to try again with another boot image.

This is how I bricked the A105 that I have.

 

[Nostoi]

Sony really stands out in this regard and are poised to take the DAP market almost entirely from AK this generation imo.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[orcinus]

SoC seems to be the same as NW-ZX500 and A100
https://www.call-t.co.jp/tenchoblog/entry/033955.html

 

[psikey]

SoC seems to be the same as NW-ZX500 and A100
https://www.call-t.co.jp/tenchoblog/entry/033955.html

So Sound Quality aside, its an ZX507 with bigger battery/screen.

 

[TohmP]

I suppose EU/UK volume limit will be implemented ruining it for Europe like the ZX507. Would have to import again.

The Italian site shows the high gain option in the spec menu, with the same amount of power of other regions (250mW balanced), hoping that this isn't an error.

 

[Nostoi]

The Italian site shows the high gain option in the spec menu, with the same amount of power of other regions (250mW balanced), hoping that this isn't an error.

Output is the same, but the volume is capped nevertheless.