Sony NW-ZX300
Aug 6, 2020 at 4:22 AM Post #11,521 of 12,862
Does the WM1A/Z fw mod run smoothly on the ZX now...& is it easy to install?

I never said WM1A/Z+ runs on ZX300.

Only ZX300(A)+ runs on ZX300.
 
Aug 6, 2020 at 9:47 AM Post #11,523 of 12,862
Hi there
Got a question - for @MrWalkman or for @Lookout57 or any one who can answer really :sweat_smile:
I'm using the Mac versions of the new FW's. Mac running Mojave 10.14.5
I installed the WM1A/Z++ on my WM1Z with no issues, so thank you both for that! :)

Tried to do the same for my ZX300 (with theZX300/A+ FW), but I'm getting error messages with this one.
It's running Sony 2.02 FW (not that this should matter I believe), and it doesn't have a micro-SD card inserted (for what it's worth!).

Here's screenshots of the error messages that occur. It won't move beyond the 'Connect target device to your computer' stage.
Screenshot 2020-08-06 at 14.32.22.png

Screenshot 2020-08-06 at 14.33.11.png

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! :)
 
Aug 6, 2020 at 9:50 AM Post #11,524 of 12,862
Hi there
Got a question - for @MrWalkman or for @Lookout57 or any one who can answer really :sweat_smile:
I'm using the Mac versions of the new FW's. Mac running Mojave 10.14.5
I installed the WM1A/Z++ on my WM1Z with no issues, so thank you both for that! :)

Tried to do the same for my ZX300 (with theZX300/A+ FW), but I'm getting error messages with this one.
It's running Sony 2.02 FW (not that this should matter I believe), and it doesn't have a micro-SD card inserted (for what it's worth!).

Here's screenshots of the error messages that occur. It won't move beyond the 'Connect target device to your computer' stage.
Screenshot 2020-08-06 at 14.32.22.png

Screenshot 2020-08-06 at 14.33.11.png

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! :)

I think @Lookout57 should give it a look, I honestly have no idea :)
 
Aug 6, 2020 at 10:22 AM Post #11,525 of 12,862
Ok, I figured out the problem.
Schoolboy error, but I'll post what I did wrong here and endure the embarrassment in the hopes it might help anyone else foolish enough to do as I did :sweat_smile:

I installed the WM1A/Z++FW on my WM1Z, and then tried to install ZX300/A+ FW on my ZX300.

The mistake I made was that I left the WM1A/Z++ FW .dmg file still mounted, and tried to mount and run the ZX300/A+ FW without unmounting the previous one.

Once I unmounted everything and started from scratch, it all worked just fine :)
Thanks again to you both for your excellent work! @Lookout57 is there any way to buy you a beer too? :)
 
Aug 6, 2020 at 10:40 AM Post #11,526 of 12,862
Ok, I figured out the problem.
Schoolboy error, but I'll post what I did wrong here and endure the embarrassment in the hopes it might help anyone else foolish enough to do as I did :sweat_smile:

I installed the WM1A/Z++FW on my WM1Z, and then tried to install ZX300/A+ FW on my ZX300.

The mistake I made was that I left the WM1A/Z++ FW .dmg file still mounted, and tried to mount and run the ZX300/A+ FW without unmounting the previous one.

Once I unmounted everything and started from scratch, it all worked just fine :)
Thanks again to you both for your excellent work! @Lookout57 is there any way to buy you a beer too? :)
Nah, buy MrWalkman another beer for me.
 
Aug 8, 2020 at 5:13 AM Post #11,527 of 12,862
Hi, guys. I am a newcomer here, both at Head fi and also the world of dedicated music listeners. I currently own the Sony NW Zx300 and am thinking of getting a headphone amplifier (thinking of the Chord Mojo) to boost the sound. What kind of connection cable would I need to do that? I would also really welcome any recommendations or experience sharing of pairing of amp with the NW Zx300. Thanks in advance.
 
Aug 8, 2020 at 5:33 AM Post #11,528 of 12,862
Hi, guys. I am a newcomer here, both at Head fi and also the world of dedicated music listeners. I currently own the Sony NW Zx300 and am thinking of getting a headphone amplifier (thinking of the Chord Mojo) to boost the sound. What kind of connection cable would I need to do that? I would also really welcome any recommendations or experience sharing of pairing of amp with the NW Zx300. Thanks in advance.
Welcome!

there is a dedicated Walkman to usb cable that you need then you also need the usb to mojo (but that is a standard usb to micro usb

when you use it that way the zx300 is just a transport thought - the Mojo works as a DAC rather than just an amplifier which means you don’t get a louder version of the same sound - and the other thing that was odd with the ZX100 (haven’t run the 300 much this way but I assume it’s similar) is that th battery is a lot worse than using it to drive the headphones directly, which surprised me!
 
Aug 8, 2020 at 5:47 AM Post #11,529 of 12,862
Does anybody know, zx300 has enough power to drive Sony IER M7? I owned zx300 half year ago and I was using sony z5 and they sounded pretty good but the best sound was with better amplification.
So now i'm considering to be again with zx300 but at the same time, as I know, IER M7 are power demanding.
Thank you.

zx300 & IER M7 owner here. Yes. Plenty of power over its balanced connection. M7 aren't that difficult to drive anyway. I also have FA E5000 (very hard to drive) that Zx300 drives solidly through the balanced mode.

Regards
 
Aug 8, 2020 at 8:58 AM Post #11,530 of 12,862
Welcome!

there is a dedicated Walkman to usb cable that you need then you also need the usb to mojo (but that is a standard usb to micro usb

when you use it that way the zx300 is just a transport thought - the Mojo works as a DAC rather than just an amplifier which means you don’t get a louder version of the same sound - and the other thing that was odd with the ZX100 (haven’t run the 300 much this way but I assume it’s similar) is that th battery is a lot worse than using it to drive the headphones directly, which surprised me!
So I cannot use the USB cable that came with the player for digital output to an amp then. That's a problem with Sony using a proprietary port. Could be difficult and expensive to get the correct cable.
I am using mainly IEMs now but planning to get a magnetic planar headphones (perhaps the Hifiman Arya) and worried that the Zx300 might be too weak to drive properly. I have the Tin Hifi P1 and already I find the player struggling to drive it even with high gain balanced output. Thanks for the feedback
 
Last edited:
Aug 8, 2020 at 2:04 PM Post #11,531 of 12,862
So I cannot use the USB cable that came with the player for digital output to an amp then. That's a problem with Sony using a proprietary port. Could be difficult and expensive to get the correct cable.
I am using mainly IEMs now but planning to get a magnetic planar headphones (perhaps the Hifiman Arya) and worried that the Zx300 might be too weak to drive properly. I have the Tin Hifi P1 and already I find the player struggling to drive it even with high gain balanced output. Thanks for the feedback
I’m not aware of amps having a usb a input? But yes you need the other cable for Sony - it is proprietary but it’s been around over a decade so it should be available.

Regardless, the cable cost me about £30 years ago and worked on 3 generations of Walkman I own - they’ve changed to a standard USB-C Port on the new version so they have listened to that feedback at some point.

from memory there is also a line out cable you can buy to connect to an amp but I never have.

Again if you are streaming the data via USB you’re not getting any benefit of the player as far as I can tell. My cable is permanently connected to my DAC In the living room for when I want tocarry on with my listening on speakers.
 
Last edited:
Aug 8, 2020 at 3:30 PM Post #11,532 of 12,862
Welcome!

there is a dedicated Walkman to usb cable that you need then you also need the usb to mojo (but that is a standard usb to micro usb

when you use it that way the zx300 is just a transport thought - the Mojo works as a DAC rather than just an amplifier which means you don’t get a louder version of the same sound - and the other thing that was odd with the ZX100 (haven’t run the 300 much this way but I assume it’s similar) is that th battery is a lot worse than using it to drive the headphones directly, which surprised me!

Do you know if the player passes 5 volts DC through the dedicated USB cable (to support those devices that are powered from the USB input)? If so, this might explain why the battery life is worse as a DAC.
 
Aug 9, 2020 at 1:45 AM Post #11,534 of 12,862
Do you have
I’m not aware of amps having a usb a input? But yes you need the other cable for Sony - it is proprietary but it’s been around over a decade so it should be available.

Regardless, the cable cost me about £30 years ago and worked on 3 generations of Walkman I own - they’ve changed to a standard USB-C Port on the new version so they have listened to that feedback at some point.

from memory there is also a line out cable you can buy to connect to an amp but I never have.

Again if you are streaming the data via USB you’re not getting any benefit of the player as far as I can tell. My cable is permanently connected to my DAC In the living room for when I want tocarry on with my listening on speakers.
Are you using any of these?
Untitled.jpg

I
Untitled.jpg
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top