[Amber Rain]

Wiring mod has been done by some people with very positive results and posted here. Not direct iem cable solder but same concept and they know what they're doing. In theory getting rid of any "adapter" which includes the jack and socket should produce improved sound. In practice people have done it with more stationary devices like speakers, again with very positive results. I've also used various adapters and never had I encountered zero sound degrade. I've even gotten two of the same cables but one with interchangeable. I was really hoping there won't be any audible difference, but there was

I'm not doing it myself but someone very experienced with modding. It will be reversible as long as I find a spare 4.4 socket which is a separate board by itself.

But yes, I'm nuts sounds fun though, may provide valuable info, and prevent me digging multiple deep holes down the rabbit hole. Maybe this would be the one jackpot.

And if it's not the jackpot, welp I'm stuck with it but that's good since this would prevent me from any further DAP and cable switching haha


I've tried a portable amp yesterday and despite whatever setting combination I've tried overall it didn't sound any better than just directly connecting to the DAP. Though I don't think it's top of the line amp. I could see use with external amp if dac/amp doesn't have enough to properly power a headphones but is it really needed for IEMs?

DAP, cable, IEM, etc switching is big part of this hobby. Personal problem is I can get obsessed (as shown with my mad curiosity and desire to do this mod lol) but direct cable mod will give me peace and a prison where I could no longer swap and prevent me from endless search. I mean I could just buy another DAP and cable but I can settle with the result and accept it as my end game.

Hmm what if the result is actually not negligible then we post the result so now we'd have even more people in pursuit of ultimate sound getting into this mad mod dilemma... or perhaps @Whitigir knows this already and is saving us

Don't get me wrong, I wish you all the best. Glad you are trusting someone experienced/competent in these matters, but it seems like a huge risk compared to the potential pay off.

I can see you've considered stacking / using an Amp etc which seems more sensible to me. I don't think I'd ever be in a position to risk damaging my 2A.

 

[ttt123]

Wiring mod has been done by some people with very positive results and posted here. Not direct iem cable solder but same concept and they know what they're doing. In theory getting rid of any "adapter" which includes the jack and socket should produce improved sound. In practice people have done it with more stationary devices like speakers, again with very positive results. I've also used various adapters and never had I encountered zero sound degrade. I've even gotten two of the same cables but one with interchangeable. I was really hoping there won't be any audible difference, but there was

I'm not doing it myself but someone very experienced with modding. It will be reversible as long as I find a spare 4.4 socket which is a separate board by itself.

But yes, I'm nuts sounds fun though, may provide valuable info, and prevent me digging multiple deep holes down the rabbit hole. Maybe this would be the one jackpot.

And if it's not the jackpot, welp I'm stuck with it but that's good since this would prevent me from any further DAP and cable switching haha

.......

I do not advocate for this either, due to concerns with it being inflexible and inconvenient. I am for mods as having a great payback in general, and have done a wiring mod on mine.

To add some further thoughts on this:
- Yes, it is an extreme rabbit hole, to wire directly to an IEM. As a step in pursuit of a simpler/purer signal chain, it is a logical step. Though not many people would consider doing this.

Is it that extreme? Well, yes and no.

- External Amps - consider the price of some of the TOTL AMPS, and you will see that the price can buy a WM1ZM2. So would spending the money on a TOTL AMP be considered extreme? Apparently not, as many have multiple AMPS, each costing multi$K
- Cables - the cost can easily be in the multi $K range, and people have MANY cables! Again, a TOTL cable can be more than the cost of a WM1ZM2! So is this extreme/crazy? It depends...If you are far down the rabbit hole, it looks perfectly sane. Well, you kind of know that it is not, but you are able to convince yourself that there are perfectly good reasons to justify the cost.
- IEMs - no need to talk about the prices of these....

So, @Noobzilla, you are not crazy, as there are many many people who are in an even bigger rabbit hole. Your rabbit hole is actually kind of conservative, relatively speaking.
Though please don't take this as encouragement. Just that there is crazy, and then there is CRAZY. But if the itch is strong, what is one to do?

In a relatively more sane scenario, I went through a similar internal struggle, before I got wiring mods done to the WM1Z. And then later did my own on the ZX507, and later the WM1AM2. I bought the parts, but could not get started. The itch built up, until I finally decided to do it one day.

Is a wiring mod considered extreme?
- Many people think so, as the thought of opening up a DAP and making changes to it just does not seem right. You could damage it. Definitely will void any warranty. Why did the manufacturer not build it in, if it is so important? etc., etc.,
In general, most people have an aversion to doing physical changes to equipment. Luckily for me, my work got me used to modifying things all the time, to make them work. So changes are easier to consider, though still not painless.
- I look at the cost of the wiring mod (minimal) and the gains from it. And that it will benefit everything downstream. And that it removes a bottleneck. If the bottleneck is not removed, the expensive IEM cables/IEMs added downstream are all choked by the bottleneck. Going by the philosophy espoused by Linn that the Source is everything, then improvements to the source DAP have a big payback. (If the source is compromised, then everything downstream is compromised.)

So with these considerations, a mod to a DAP seems the cheapest, and most sane thing to do, and not at all a crazy, illogical action.
So thus I have convinced myself that I am the most sane (or at least less crazy), among all the crazies.

But do other people agree/think the same? Probably not.

 

[Noobzilla]

@ttt123 thanks for info and thoughts. The itch is very strong. I've been considering getting an SP3000 and calling it a day also but the devil will likely come knocking and say "sp3000 mod direct cable mod.." though thats way outside my risk tolerance. I havent checked its internals but it's probably a bad candidate for such mod.

Next step of crazy is direct solder of IEM cable and IEM... dont worry @Whitigir I'm not gonna make you do that lol!

 

[Echo42987]

Just orderd mine. Should be showing up today. Beyond excited. Going to love having a different source to carry around. Enjoyed reading this thread for a lot of info.

 

[boodi]

Welcome to the club!

What did you buy it is the 1am2?

 

[Echo42987]

Welcome to the club!

What did you buy it is the 1am2?

Yep, WM1AM2. Should be showing up any minute! Ordered a couple Black Dragon cables to go along with it.

 

[boodi]

And what iems if I may ask ?( or heapdhones )

 

[Echo42987]

And what iems if I may ask ?( or heapdhones )

I think the first one I'll try should be the Sony IER-Z1R. I think it's fitting

 

[maceto]

Has anyone tried a 1.5 TB SD card or higher on their NW-WM1ZM2? I have a 1 Tb now and want to add more music - why I am asking

 

[ShoeGame21]

Has anyone tried a 1.5 TB SD card or higher on their NW-WM1ZM2? I have a 1 Tb now and want to add more music - why I am asking

I’ll know in a couple days

 

[kumar402]

Has anyone tried a 1.5 TB SD card or higher on their NW-WM1ZM2? I have a 1 Tb now and want to add more music - why I am asking

As per manual it can support upto 2 TB so no reason why 1.5TB wouldn’t work.

 

[maceto]

As per manual it can support upto 2 TB so no reason why 1.5TB wouldn’t work.

Sorry I googled and saw 1tb - probably outdated then. Cool

 

[Visceral]

Unsettling experience with my WM1ZM2 this evening. Jamming, all is well until music abruptly stops, screen goes black and nothing. 1ZM2 is non responsive to initial powering on. Plug in, red light displays, still won’t turn on. Wait a bit, hold power button for 8-10 seconds and she finally boots. Battery was over 70%, so that wasn’t my issue. Anyone ever experience this?

 

[andrewski]

Unsettling experience with my WM1ZM2 this evening. Jamming, all is well until music abruptly stops, screen goes black and nothing. 1ZM2 is non responsive to initial powering on. Plug in, red light displays, still won’t turn on. Wait a bit, hold power button for 8-10 seconds and she finally boots. Battery was over 70%, so that wasn’t my issue. Anyone ever experience this?

Not me, thank goodness.

Glad it's working again.

 

[ozz007]

Not me, thank goodness.

Glad it's working again.

Of you debloat your dap. Its a possibility that something didn't like.

Mine did just a reboot and I had to wipe the device cause Android could not start.