[jb2unique]

Ooh I gotta prep myself and get all the songs ready

 

[MrWalkman]

Here it is, guys, the expected firmware mod

Features:
- sound signature resembling the one of the DMP-Z1, with awesome bass response and amazing soundstage holography and extension
- native DSD playback over the 3.5 mm output (available only for the 4.4 mm balanced port on the stock firmware)
- DSEE AI (present on DMP-Z1)
- progressive JPEG and interlaced PNG album covers are supported
- hardware accelerated rendition of the UI

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-fw-mods.943661/post-15899735

 

[pr0b3r]

Here it is, guys, the expected firmware mod

Features:
- sound signature resembling the one of the DMP-Z1, with awesome bass response and amazing soundstage holography and extension
- native DSD playback over the 3.5 mm output (available only for the 4.4 mm balanced port on the stock firmware)
- DSEE AI (present on DMP-Z1)
- progressive JPEG and interlaced PNG album covers are supported
- hardware accelerated rendition of the UI

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-fw-mods.943661/post-15899735

What a great post to wake up to! Haha! I'll try this a bit later. I'll have to listen first to the current setup just to remember its sound for comparison after flashing the new one. Thanks a lot, @MrWalkman! I'll give my feedback later.

 

[pr0b3r]

Just a quick question, @MrWalkman. Do you have any idea what we, zx300 owners, should expect from your latest DMP 300 firmware? I mean the sound changes or the DMP sound character. Unfortunately, I haven't heard one so I have no idea how that thing sounds.

 

[MrWalkman]

Some of the changes should be a holographic soundstage, but that is also able to extend really wide, better bass response, better details retrieval... You may notice things in songs, that you were not noticing before.

I posted about this here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-fw-mods.943661/post-15894552

 

[pr0b3r]

i really wanted to keep it as much of a secret as i could, truth is: new firmware scales things to another level, soundstage becomes 3d, almost like being in a helmet where all the instruments surround you, details are clear and mighty impressive with their smoothness, with dmp bass becomes something else, i feel this reverb in tracks where the lows are mixed with scrutiny (The Ocean Collective last years album, Ulver's Flowers of Evil and AOJC, Metallica's Load adn Reload (i love those 2), Pain of Salvation Panther with its impressive mix) and vocals became so ... man! you have the dude inside your head singing, stage is intimate but it has this extension... i was talking with a friend about it, this chip has been sony's flagship for years (almost 6 or 7 years if im correct?) and the potential that it has... they just put it in anything and can achieve colossal results, if mr walkman keeps going, we might have one of the best architectures in audio in front of us waitint to be exploited

I agree with the soundstage here for the new DMP 300 firmware. It's crazy good! Even better than the previous mod. I thought the previous one already took it to another level, but this new one even elevated it further more. However, I'm not so sure about the midbass and the midrange in general. Were they pushed back a little? Not much pronounced anymore? I can feel the notes lingering longer due to the soundstage improvement, but I'm usually particular about the mids whenever I'm testing out DAPs with my Penon Orb. Anybody who have tried the DMP 300 firmware kindly confirm on this with your observation.

Again, thanks a bunch for your hard work, @MrWalkman and to all who have contributed and tested all his releases.

 

[MrWalkman]

I agree with the soundstage here for the new DMP 300 firmware. It's crazy good! Even better than the previous mod. I thought the previous one already took it to another level, but this new one even elevated it further more. However, I'm not so sure about the midbass and the midrange in general. Were they pushed back a little? Not much pronounced anymore? I can feel the notes lingering longer due to the soundstage improvement, but I'm usually particular about the mids whenever I'm testing out DAPs with my Penon Orb. Anybody who have tried the DMP 300 firmware kindly confirm on this with your observation.

Again, thanks a bunch for your hard work, @MrWalkman and to all who have contributed and tested all his releases.

Try installing the external tuning again, and see if things are different.

The external tuning stuff is still kind of a mystery. Reinstalling again could help.

 

[pr0b3r]

Try installing the external tuning again, and see if things are different.

The external tuning stuff is still kind of a mystery. Reinstalling again could help.

Alright, I'll do that after going through some more tracks because I could l be wrong too. Maybe it's working already. Damn this hobby, can't trust the ears sometimes especially without a spare unit for direct comparison.

 

[pr0b3r]

Haven't flashed the ext tuning again. Instead, I did a brief sound comparison with my LG V20. I can confirm that the stage really improved, and the sense of mids getting pushed back isn't actually the case. Since the sound became more holographic, the vocals also seemed to become a bit more separated. I mean the sense of airiness and space between instruments somewhat caused this effect from my initial observation. I'll continue browsing my collection and will chime in again if there's anything worth mentioning. Again, thanks @MrWalkman!

 

[HifINerD]

Try installing the external tuning again, and see if things are different.

The external tuning stuff is still kind of a mystery. Reinstalling again could help.

What does this external tuning exactly mean ? I don't remember this as part of the previous ZX-300 firmware mods...

 

[MrWalkman]

What does this external tuning exactly mean ? I don't remember this as part of the previous ZX-300 firmware mods...

Not entirely sure, but it can affect the sound, in a less obvious way in comparison to the base sound which brings this whole difference of the sound being more clear, the soundstage being enhanced, etc.

It seems that it can be altered by the Software update tool of Sony, so this is why running it looks like you're doing an update. I will try figuring out at least how to make sure it's always the same, without needing to do these fake updates to alter it.

 

[Dinche]

Sorry MrWalkman. I feel totally stupid. Can I install this new update over the existing ZX300(A) mod, or do I have to reset it back to original Sony firmware before I install the new one? In your instructions (To revert to the stock firmware), are you referring to DMP-300 as stock firmware or official Sony firmware?

Regards

 

[MrWalkman]

Sorry MrWalkman. I feel totally stupid. Can I install this new update over the existing ZX300(A) mod, or do I have to reset it back to original Sony firmware before I install the new one? In your instructions (To revert to the stock firmware), are you referring to DMP-300 as stock firmware or official Sony firmware?

Regards

You can just install it over the other mod.

 

[MarkParity]

When I apply the tuning mod, the player reboots, the bar goes a little way and then the player reboots again, I assume it failed?

 

[MrWalkman]

When I apply the tuning mod, the player reboots, the bar goes a little way and then the player reboots again, I assume it failed?

Only for the DMP-300 installer and for the StockRevert (if you're gonna use it) the bar should go to the end. Otherwise, for the external tunings, the bar will not go to the end, and it's ok.