[MrWalkman]

He was clearly telling that the WM1A with the Z+ firmware could get "extra tuning" with the chameleon .. and with only the Z+ it sounded more coarse and raw and unrefined..

No idea what that was, but installing CHAMELEON after WM1A/Z+ will just replace the WM1A/Z+ mod, it will not be added on top or anything.

 

[aceedburn]

He was clearly telling that the WM1A with the Z+ firmware could get "extra tuning" with the chameleon .. and with only the Z+ it sounded more coarse and raw and unrefined..

As with my europeen firmware I never got any improvement with all modded firmware these last months, I am not sure I have a way to make the sound of my WM1A less coarse and raw and ore refined while keeping ypur Z+ firmware

Chameleon will overwrite WM1A/z+ and vice versa. There will never be tunings overlaying with another. One overwrites the other. That’s how it was meant to be.

 

[Ghostsounds]

With the 1a upgraded to WM1A/Z+ , and then also loaded the "1a to 1z"(chameleon) tuning, the Tonality of both players was surprisingly very, very similar(!).

Hi, on your 1a did you switch to 1z or stayed on 1a using the switcher for this element of your test? Thanks.
BTW really interesting and thanks for sharing!

 

[newworld666]

Chameleon will overwrite WM1A/z+ and vice versa. There will never be tunings overlaying with another. One overwrites the other. That’s how it was meant to be.

It's what I understood from yesterday, I was just surprised with his edit
Edit**
It should be noted that the 1a needed the extra tuning of "chameleon"(1a to 1z) in order to elevate the player to the 1z level of refinement.
Without it on only "WM1A/Z+" , it sounded more coarse and raw and unrefined..

So, as I tried a lot of firmware tuning before MrWalkman's one .. none of them changed anything I could ear on my European WM1A ..
So maybe for other countries, it's worth to try ..
So I imagine for European WM1A => no choice than keep Z+ in 1Z selection

 

[Nayparm]

Yes that's a good point.
I would say those parts affect a %3-5 difference in resolve, but the character of how the resolve is performed itself is different, and that type of difference actually describe & correlates to caps difference.


Lol
I doubt that!

Lol, I already tried 4 x Panasonic Oscons on the balanced out of a 1Z and the FT on a 1A while I was testing different cap combos, I couldn't tell any difference, i'm sure there is but not that I could hear unlike when testing with some of the other larger caps.

 

[RYCeT]

I'm confused now. Currently my 1A is on WM1A/Z+

I did it by installing WM1A/Z+. Change it to 1Z. Install WM1A/Z+ again. Is this wrong?

Do I need to install WM1A chameleon, change it to 1Z and install WM1A/Z+ after that?

 

[captblaze]

I'm confused now. Currently my 1A is on WM1A/Z+

I did it by installing WM1A/Z+. Change it to 1Z. Install WM1A/Z+ again. Is this wrong?

Do I need to install WM1A chameleon, change it to 1Z and install WM1A/Z+ after that?

Chameleon and WM1A/Z+ are different. Chameleon is stock sound that you can switch between A/Z where as WM1A/Z+ is a tuned version

 

[RYCeT]

Chameleon and WM1A/Z+ are different. Chameleon is stock sound that you can switch between A/Z where as WM1A/Z+ is a tuned version

I understand that. However, some seems to indicate in order to switch 1A to 1Z, we need to use the chameleon instead of the WM1A/Z+. Is this correct?

 

[captblaze]

I understand that. However, some seems to indicate in order to switch 1A to 1Z, we need to use the chameleon instead of the WM1A/Z+. Is this correct?

they are separate and independent... you want stock sound.. Chameleon, you want some tweaks then WM1A/Z+ is your choice

 

[MrWalkman]

I understand that. However, some seems to indicate in order to switch 1A to 1Z, we need to use the chameleon instead of the WM1A/Z+. Is this correct?

No, it's not correct. CHAMELEON is a totally separate firmware mod.

Please read the main post for indications, link in my signature (WM1 Mods).

Installing CHAMELEON over WM1A/Z+ will just completely replace WM1A/Z+, exactly like installing official 3.01 over official 3.02 for example.


Edit: added a clarification text in the main post.

2. CHAMELEON
Stock sound, with the possibility to switch the model between 1A and 1Z.

CHAMELEON is a totally separate and independent firmware mod. Installing CHAMELEON after you
installed WM1A/Z+, will just replace WM1A/Z+. They do not work together or anything like that.

 

[WAmadeusM]

REVIEW: WM1 'Brothers - hardware comparison review using @MrWalkman mods.....curiouser and curiouser....

Hello WM1'istas....

this is a late to the party....but better late than never...review of the W1A & WM1Zs - hardware - featuring @MrWalkman Chamelon & WM1ZA mods.
Salutations also to @Whitigir for all the reviews of Sony Signature HWs - both pristine and hot-rodded.

The real comparison here is between the hardware - as Chamelon allows direct FW comparison playing out on respective WM1 HWs. Both burned in over 300hrs.

Baseline equipment:
headphones: MDR Z1R with Sony Kimber. [also ACS T1 3BA iems] HD 600s [1997 vintage]
Test music: strange for a classical nerd like me ...

Peter Gabriel Solsbury Hill; [mult panning effects, multi instruments, vocal. This really tests how @MrWalkman WM1AZ+ impacts/improves or otherwise the sound field Vs WM stocks)

Carly Simon - Why? [bass placement, depth, impact and vocal layering combined in one space]

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - We Played Some Open Chords [strings, piano placement, timbre and decay]

All music on the internal memory.
All 44.1 16bit Redbook direct - no DPS. I have lots of HR/DSD but I want to see how the players sing with the industry baseline HiRes - ie anything above destructive compression (Mp3 /AAC etc).

I work in audio production - and though north of 40 - sound is my passion and business - and I'm lucky enough to have protected my critical hearing (so far) [....all of those HW reviews demanding ever-increasing headphone output ie A&Ks seems one of the most ironically self-destructive wish lists imaginable to me....anyways.....)

So - I have a WM1A. And I'm in the very lucky position to be able to own a WM1Z - but I'm in the cooling-off online purchase period on the WM1Z.

And in this period - as if by magic - @MrWalkman has created the possibility of directly comparing the WM1 'brothers'

Results:
W1A performing as W1Z - You can tell how the low bass freq has been lifted in this Z stock - lifts also in the 2kz range too. This definitely adds body to the W1A stock sound. But it does not give the low/mid freq presence of the W1Z in stock. So this is the hardware impact. Internal K cables, caps, and even the copper body. Ironically, as my investigations have led me...the W1Z stock FM may not actually suit these (1000s in cost) base hardware differences.

W1Z as W1A - Now this is where I think the real, quantifiable, benefits have the greatest impact.

Reviews of WM1Z with Z1R Sony Kimber (which is Sony's Sig promo position) have said they don't work well together ..."warmth" + "warmth". WM1s Z1Rs And after this testing - I have to agree. You are losing "sparkle" detail (especially in opera - where voices off stage or recessed in placement, can almost disappear in a pea-soup warm veil- eg in HiRes 96 khz 24bit version of classic Decca 1959 recording of Benjamin Britten's opera, Peter Grimes. An absolute stereo era gold standard for recording production).

There is something going on with the 5khz 'presence' range here, and the top end too, which is being reinforced by the equipment itself. I've heard this described as the 1Zs 'euphonic' tuning, or 'analogue' sound. When you make an LP you have to compress the lowest bass, and highest top end to allow the machine to be able to cut the vinyl groove - this info is 'put back' to more/less degrees in amplification. Avoiding the Digital /Vinyl rabbit hole, all I will say is the W1Zs tuning overdoes the 'warmth' levels when adding to the existing hardware benefits of its low-end / presence freq response etc....which you can now clearly tell are there when comparing the WM1s.

Thinking about it - I think what might have happened was the Sony Sig team could tell there was a benefit of better HW in WM1Z - but possibly it was not upfront enough to justify the cost difference. So the stock FW was tweaked up to 11 - to better demonstrate the hardware. But IMHO the WM1Z runs best on W1A stock - where the HW adds the missing X to provide a 'holographic' listening experience with the S-Master DAC. The 1A FM stock adds separation & air (often said to be missing in the W1Z), and the W1Z hardware brings the presence and 'thump'.

WM1ZA+ on WM1Z & W1A
there are instant attractions to a 'details' head like me (esp on WM1Z) - the upper frequencies are lifted - but the magical 'presence' factor [in 2kz & 5khz] on the WM1Z is diminished a little. And it has some issues with a song like Peter Gabriel's Solsury Hill - with the panning sfx and the quick shifts in timbre can play a bit of imaging havoc. But the option to have it is absolutely fantastic.

Conclusion
I started out with the question is there any way to justify moving from WM1A to 1Z - in this utterly, often morally (money) ridiculous pursuit of audio nirvana?

In conclusion, I think if @MrWalkman had not just worked some magic - the answer would be, for me, no. Because the loss of details in exchange for the 'euphonic' tuning did not work, especially with Z1Rs. Of course, the 1Rs have their critics. But what I've found over the years is that my ears fatigue with spiked upper trebles - which sound great for 10 minutes, and then you found you've taken them off and gone to do something else after half an hour - because your ears are just plain tired.

( Yes I'm aware of the 1Rs 10k "spike", but they were designed to match with WM1s internals, and there is the DNA solution. Which does of course create other usability problems down the road....)

So Sony's house sound, 'warmer' but with detail suits my ears best.

But it's only using W1A stock and WM1Z that works for me. Where the HW meets the FW halfway.

Seeing is.....
My only real issue now is that, as with other Sony cell/mobile screens (Samsung and others), the displays on the WM1s uses Pulse Width Modulation to dim brightness - and that is a headache-inducing horror show - unless you use at 100% (turns off PWM ...well nearly) and dampen dazzle with on-screen UV/Blue Light protector. Lots of phones/ laptops don't use PWM.

Why, oh why, do Sony continue to - especially in such high-end equipment - when it's a known problem for a significant minority. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Why-Pulse-Width-Modulation-PWM-is-such-a-headache.270240.0.html

So as a historical figure once asked....but not regarding the W1A/WM1Zs - "what is to be done?"

@WAmadeusM

 

[RYCeT]

No, it's not correct. CHAMELEON is a totally separate firmware mod.

Please read the main post for indications, link in my signature (WM1 Mods).

Installing CHAMELEON over WM1A/Z+ will just completely replace WM1A/Z+, exactly like installing official 3.01 over official 3.02 for example.


Edit: added a clarification text in the main post.

they are separate and independent... you want stock sound.. Chameleon, you want some tweaks then WM1A/Z+ is your choice

Oic. Thanks.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Talking of 1z warmth even the Chinese cookie confirmed it!

 

[mwhals]

Talking of 1z warmth even the Chinese cookie confirmed it!

Even the cookie knows best. I am looking at the WM1Z or the LPGT. Both have good positives and some negatives. Right now the biggest negative is how the LPGT handles music organization. It does not use ID3 tags for song title as it uses the file name instead. That would be annoying.

 

[Whitigir]