[bflat]

@bflat does the offending "SQ" in the fiio M15 appear for every track? Even 16/44.1 or 16/48 ? In the walkmans the "HR" only appears for hi-res tracks

Just checked, 48/16 shows up as SQ as well.

 

[gerelmx1986]

Just checked, 48/16 shows up as SQ as well.

Well, no need to hate the walkman

 

[bflat]

I think the whole "HR" certification is utter BS. I've heard plenty of bad recordings at alleged "HR".

 

[gerelmx1986]

 

[slumberman]

I think the whole "HR" certification is utter BS. I've heard plenty of bad recordings at alleged "HR".

the fact that they are HR doesn’t mean the recording is good to begin with. Sample rate/ bit resolution has nothing to do with recording material quality.

 

[candlejack]

the fact that they are HR doesn’t mean the recording is good to begin with. Sample rate/ bit resolution has nothing to do with recording material quality.

Not to mention that if you listen to people like Dr. Mark Waldrep, no music recorded before the 2000's even has Hi-Res information in it, so you can buy it at 32/192 but you're still getting CD quality at best, just bigger.

 

[bflat]

the fact that they are HR doesn’t mean the recording is good to begin with. Sample rate/ bit resolution has nothing to do with recording material quality.

That's the conundrum right? If the original recording is bad, then a HR version should sound worse because all you get is more resolution of a bad recording. For example, I hate brussel sprouts so a whole bowl of sprouts would actually be worse for me than a single sprout.

 

[515164]

This post was updated. Check it out here (click).

Also, check out Autumn+ here (click).

Hello,

I've been experimenting a bit, and I came up with 3 versions of tuning for WM1A: A, B, and C.

If you'd like to give them a try and leave your feedback, it would be appreciated. Also, you may find something you like.

In the link you can find packages for each region (EU/JP/U). Also, before the Software Update tool will start, you will be greeted with this:

This will allow you to choose what version you would like to apply the tuning to. For example, if at the moment you use the 3.01 firmware, you should choose option b. After you'll enter "b" and then press the Enter key, the Software Update tool will start, ready to apply the tuning for the firmware you have already installed.

Why are the packages so small?

There is no thing as a special "modded" firmware at the moment. All the magic takes place in the SWUpdate.xml file. The UPG that we all have in previous mods gets sent to the device, and the device will just not use it, as it's not intended for the WM1A (or WM1Z, in case of other mods for this device). This is why the update progress bar doesn't reach the end when you flash one of the mods. However, the updater will use values from SWUpdate.xml and apply them to the device.

What does it sound like?

The main idea was to keep the great soundstage of the "DMP-Z1 1.02 mod" and have fuller mids, with the great bass of the same mentioned mod. Version C has an interesting soundstage, that at first was giving me a weird feeling for some reason. The B version's soundstage doesn't give me the weird feeling, but the bass seems a bit too punchy for me - someone else may like it, so I kept it. Version A keeps the version B's soundstage, with less punchy bass (which seems right to me).

I welcome you to try them for yourselves. Also check the 3.5 mm port.

Why just WM1A?

I don't own a WM1Z. If anyone wants to try this on a WM1Z, please PM me.

Note that this is just the result of some personal experimentation - you can either like it or not!

Also, I can confirm that there is no risk of any kind of bricking or anything similar.

Credits:

- unknown Chinese Walkman enthusiast who decided to share some details about his discovery
- me for the tuning process

Edit: The tuning was done on some pretty neutral headphones (DT770 Pro). Also, the region that was used during the process is J.

 

[Donmonte]

I finally tried Solar firmwares on my setup which is:

Stock MW1A Japan Tourist Edition region E

Focal Clear - Lavricable Silver 12 core Master 4.4mm

Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon and Original - LQi Cables Esprit Series UP-OCC silver plated copper 4.4mm

I’ve had the Focal Clear since it came out, and although I thought it was a good headphone, I never really agreed with all the reviewers who said it was one of the best headphones available.
It was good yes, but I never thought it was amazing. I just didn’t get the sense of scale that open headphones should be able to give you, the sound was narrow and a bit agressive compared to the Nighthawks which was more open sounding and silky smooth, a sound signature of the Hawks that you either love or hate.

Fast forward to the firmwares, I tried most tiers of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Solis.

And on the Clears, lo and behold with Solis (Mercury was great also), it was a transformative experience. Everything that I imagined before I bought them was finally coming to fruition. It was literally perfect ! Sound stage, cohesiveness, detail and impact, everything came together with perfect synergy. I could not believe it at first. I was finally happy with the investment I made when I first bought them.

The only negative to this story, is that Solis did not play well at all with the Nighthaws. Everything was all over the place.

EDIT: I just changed the pads of the Hawks, and they’re now perfect... every little thing matters. END EDIT

But I’m not willing to find a planet that plays well with both of them now that I’ve tasted perfection with one of them.

So the moral of the story that has been said previously by @Whitigir and @Morbideath is synergy, synergy and more synergy.

Great job guys, and thank you for helping me realize the potential that I’ve been so desperately trying to achieve.

And another thank you to @nc8000 and @Lookout57 for sharing the files.

 

[Blueoris]

Hello,

I've been experimenting a bit, and I came up with 3 versions of tuning for WM1A: A, B, and C.

If you'd like to give them a try and leave your feedback, it would be appreciated. Also, you may find something you like.

In the link you can find packages for each region (EU/JP/U). Also, before the Software Update tool will start, you will be greeted with this:



This will allow you to choose what version you would like to apply the tuning to. For example, if at the moment you use the 3.01 firmware, you should choose option b. After you'll enter "b" and then press the Enter key, the Software Update tool will start, ready to apply the tuning for the firmware you have already installed.

Why are the packages so small?

There is no thing as a special "modded" firmware at the moment. All the magic takes place in the SWUpdate.xml file. The UPG that we all have in previous mods gets sent to the device, and the device will just not use it, as it's not intended for the WM1A (or WM1Z, in case of other mods for this device). This is why the update progress bar doesn't reach the end when you flash one of the mods. However, the updater will use values from SWUpdate.xml and apply them to the device.

What does it sound like?

The main idea was to keep the great soundstage of the "DMP-Z1 1.02 mod" and have fuller mids, with the great bass of the same mentioned mod. Version C has an interesting soundstage, that at first was giving me a weird feeling for some reason. The B version's soundstage doesn't give me the weird feeling, but the bass seems a bit too punchy for me - someone else may like it, so I kept it. Version A keeps the version B's soundstage, with less punchy bass (which seems right to me).

I welcome you to try them for yourselves. Also check the 3.5 mm port.

Why just WM1A?

I don't own a WM1Z. If anyone wants to try this on a WM1Z, please PM me.

Where's the download link?

The download link is here (click).

Note that this is just the result of some personal experimentation - you can either like it or not!

Also, I can confirm that there is no risk of any kind of bricking or anything similar.

Though I won't get into details, credits for the method of tuning goes to whoever discovered this and decided to make it public (you're a cool person)!

Is this an alternative way to apply the same mods shared in this thread and packed up in bigger files? Also, what do you mean by "All the magic takes place in the SWUpdate.xml file".

 

[515164]

Is this an alternative way to apply the same mods shared in this thread and packed up in bigger files?

It's basically the same way, except that in those packages there's a big .UPG file that helps with nothing, as no actual flashing is involved.

When the firmware upgrade kernel is booted ... the upgrade script does the following:

• mounts the user partition (the one accessible through USB)
• looks for a file called NW_WM_FW.UPG
• if the file is not there, it clears the upgrade flag and reboots
• it decrypts the file and check the MD5 signature
• if the signature does not match, it clears the upgrade flag and reboots
• it unpacks the first file from the firmware upgrade archive and runs it (it is a shell script)
• it clears the upgrade flag and reboot

Quote source (click).

If the big .UPG were to actually be decrypted and unpacked, the update progress bar would reach the end, and the update would take more than just 2-3 seconds (more like almost 1 minute, like when flashing stock official firmware downloaded from Sony).

So all Planetary System mods could be also made into these small packages as well, and they would work.

"All the magic takes place in the SWUpdate.xml file"

As Morbideath/Whitigir prefer not sharing stuff about this process, I would rather not share as well. The info is still available out there, somewhere.

By the way, this is an official 192 kHz MQA file (it gets unpacked to this sample rate by the Walkman), if you would be curious about how it sounds

 

[aceedburn]

Hello,

I've been experimenting a bit, and I came up with 3 versions of tuning for WM1A: A, B, and C.

If you'd like to give them a try and leave your feedback, it would be appreciated. Also, you may find something you like.

In the link you can find packages for each region (EU/JP/U). Also, before the Software Update tool will start, you will be greeted with this:



This will allow you to choose what version you would like to apply the tuning to. For example, if at the moment you use the 3.01 firmware, you should choose option b. After you'll enter "b" and then press the Enter key, the Software Update tool will start, ready to apply the tuning for the firmware you have already installed.

Why are the packages so small?

There is no thing as a special "modded" firmware at the moment. All the magic takes place in the SWUpdate.xml file. The UPG that we all have in previous mods gets sent to the device, and the device will just not use it, as it's not intended for the WM1A (or WM1Z, in case of other mods for this device). This is why the update progress bar doesn't reach the end when you flash one of the mods. However, the updater will use values from SWUpdate.xml and apply them to the device.

What does it sound like?

The main idea was to keep the great soundstage of the "DMP-Z1 1.02 mod" and have fuller mids, with the great bass of the same mentioned mod. Version C has an interesting soundstage, that at first was giving me a weird feeling for some reason. The B version's soundstage doesn't give me the weird feeling, but the bass seems a bit too punchy for me - someone else may like it, so I kept it. Version A keeps the version B's soundstage, with less punchy bass (which seems right to me).

I welcome you to try them for yourselves. Also check the 3.5 mm port.

Why just WM1A?

I don't own a WM1Z. If anyone wants to try this on a WM1Z, please PM me.

Where's the download link?

The download link is here (click).

Note that this is just the result of some personal experimentation - you can either like it or not!

Also, I can confirm that there is no risk of any kind of bricking or anything similar.

Though I won't get into details, credits for the method of tuning goes to whoever discovered this and decided to make it public (you're a cool person)!

So i took the plunge and decided to load version A which in your words are the best of the three. I'm impressed Indeed it sounds very much like the original dmp1.02 mod but with slightly fuller and warmer mids Bass digs deep and doesn't overpower. Treble is smooth and not sibilant which i love Overall i'm quite impressed mate Fantastic work and with bloody smaller packages as well and i like the fact that you can use the mod for all original firmware versions with just a quick selection upon start up You've done a great job with the installers and a fantastic job with the tuning I'd like to try version B as well but i'm liking A at the moment Kudos to you mate!

p.s. if it's not too much work, i'd be really pleased if you listed the main differences between the 3 version in more detail. as in bass quantity/quality, mids, treble etc so it would make it easier for anyone wanting to try thanks

 

[515164]

So i took the plunge and decided to load version A which in your words are the best of the three. I'm impressed Indeed it sounds very much like the original dmp1.02 mod but with slightly fuller and warmer mids Bass digs deep and doesn't overpower. Treble is smooth and not sibilant which i love Overall i'm quite impressed mate Fantastic work and with bloody smaller packages as well and i like the fact that you can use the mod for all original firmware versions with just a quick selection upon start up You've done a great job with the installers and a fantastic job with the tuning I'd like to try version B as well but i'm liking A at the moment Kudos to you mate!

p.s. if it's not too much work, i'd be really pleased if you listed the main differences between the 3 version in more detail. as in bass quantity/quality, mids, treble etc so it would make it easier for anyone wanting to try thanks

Really appreciate the feedback!

- Version A should be exactly like you describe it (this is how I hear it as well)
- Version B should be a bit overpowered with the bass compared to A, but otherwise pretty similar to A. Personally I don't like the overpowered bass, that's why I tried to achieve version A
- Version C shouldn't have the overpowered bass, but the soundstage sounds different. I can't seem to put my finger on how exactly it sounds different, but it does, and I thought it sounds interesting, so I decided to have it as this version C

By the way, it's called "V7" as I was doing some testing starting with a version 2 (of DMP-Z1 1.02 mod) until I reached this 7th version, with small adjustments between C and the others.

 

[aceedburn]

Really appreciate the feedback!

- Version A should be exactly like you describe it (this is how I hear it as well)
- Version B should be a bit overpowered with the bass compared to A, but otherwise pretty similar to A. Personally I don't like the overpowered bass, that's why I tried to achieve version A
- Version C shouldn't have the overpowered bass, but the soundstage sounds different. I can't seem to put my finger on how exactly it sounds different, but it does, and I thought it sounds interesting, so I decided to have it as this version C

By the way, it's called "V7" as I was doing some testing starting with a version 2 (of DMP-Z1 1.02 mod) until I reached this 7th version, with small adjustments between C and the others.

Brilliantly done once again. A gives me enough bass and I do like my bass so for the most extreme bass heads, B might be the one for them.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Sony NW-WM1Z Digital Audio Player Japanese Tourist Edition Firmware Jupiter301-T1
qdc Anole V3 IEM #817993 (stock setting/Sony Hybrid Tips) Han Sound Audio Zen 4 wire OCC litz copper cable terminated Furutech Rhodium plated CF - 7445 R 4.4mm