[Whitigir]

Crap it does! This is the wild, now I have to see where I saw both players listed? This is so strange!

You confused me as well....and I understand....it is on the PCB that states 1A/1Z

 

[awayeah]

@Morbideath do you have access to some moded firmwares that would work with ZX300?

 

[Whitigir]

I think it is plausible that the player self identify based on the last firmware. 1Z comes off the production line with 1Z tuning code and so does 1A.

user upgrade firmwares will be checked and compare with previous and identified/tuned accordingly

you can try using 3.0.1 and use 1Z tuning on 1A...try to see if unit is identified as 1Z now ? If it does, upgrade to 3.0.2 and see if it continues to identify itself as -Z

 

[Redcarmoose]

It really does! Lol!

Yes, just checked 3.01 on the 1A and 3.02 plus roll-back to 1.20 on the 1Z and they identify themselves always.

 

[Redcarmoose]

I think it is plausible that the player self identify based on the last firmware. 1Z comes off the production line with 1Z tuning code and so does 1A.

user upgrade firmwares will be checked and compare with previous and identified/tuned accordingly

you can try using 3.0.1 and use 1Z tuning on 1A...try to see if unit is identified as 1Z now ? If it does, upgrade to 3.0.2 and see if it continues to identify itself as -Z

How? What tuning software. The new downloads?

 

[Redcarmoose]

You confused me as well....and I understand....it is on the PCB that states 1A/1Z

Well both players are always listed on the software downloads...too.

 

[Whitigir]

How? What tuning software. The new downloads?

Yeah as Morbi stated out in here
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/modifying-wm1z-a.856213/post-15484604

 

[Redcarmoose]

Yeah as Morbi stated out in here
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/modifying-wm1z-a.856213/post-15484604

I may, but not at this moment.

 

[Whitigir]

By the way, firmware alternating sound performances is not non-senses, it is only when people don’t understand it. What if I tell you that Firmware on your car will be able to destroy your engine ? I was into Car modifications previously, and some people still don’t get that changing the exhaust or air filters, can mess up the engine responds, and effect the long term reliability. Whenever there are changes of air/gas ratio, the firmware have to be recalibrated....this is what people call “tuning”. Most of the time, Stock system can not manage all the variables, so after market such as AEM have to be in use.

i have seen people arguing that the stock system has 20% tolerances to account in the ambient changes of Air density between elevations and temperature....but what if you are into the limit of this tolerances, and then have to account into the Modifications of air-filters and exhaust ? Definitely something is going to give In the long term

firmware is the brain and central of the whole system. Hardware is only the skeletons. They go hands in hands, the stronger the skeletons, the better the whole system becomes

So, why firmwares can be different? One prime example I can say is that Digital filters!

 

[denis1976]

U may also try applying the Japanese tuning. It's subtle but might be more perceived with official FW.

please, from the list of firmwares what is the one with Japanese tuning?sorry I already find it, thanks

 

[Redcarmoose]

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.

“We don't know how exactly the codes work, as they remain an encrypted black box.”

 

[Morbideath]

You wrote in your post...
“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.”

That was what I was surprised at and wondering about?

Good catch, an example to clarify:
within the firmware there are two sets of codes marked with 1A and 1Z respectively. For example, 1A(abc) 1Z(def), initially no one knows what abc and def are for, but if we substitute 1A(def) 1Z(def) the tuning for 1A is changed, towards 1Z's. So we guess those are the tuning codes for each players, and they are different.
Later they found the codes of DMP-Z1(xyz), and after substitution, 1A(xyz) 1Z(xyz), both players enjoy a different sound, brought by the codes of Z1.

Now how does the firmware identifies? As i replied to Whitigir, the xml sheet stores lines of identification codes, for example, 1A(X) 1Z(Y). if u substract X and happen to own 1A, u won't be able to initiate the firmware. Also if u remove Y from the codes, firmware won't recognize your 1Z. They make us think the firmware identifies your device.
As for how it identifies the device with these codes? i don't know. it's a black box. Since we can't cheat the firmware to identify our device to be sth else, we can simply substitute and modify the tuning codes.
To put in a nutshell:
The original official FW has different sets of tuning, we modify them for a subjectively better sound, and the same time the tuning codes become unified. So you perceive the same change on both 1A and 1Z.

 

[Morbideath]

please, from the list of firmwares what is the one with Japanese tuning?sorry I already find it, thanks

No u misunderstood me. There isn't a specific Japanese FW. The Japanese tuning is already contained in every FW, and if u change region code to J and reinstall the FW, the Japanese tuning will activate.

 

[DONTGIVEUP]

Anyone know why WAV is not mentioned among Audio Formats in the specifications for these walkman?

 

[musicday]

Anyone know why WAV is not mentioned among Audio Formats in the specifications for these walkman?

And OGG Vorbis.