Sony Walkman custom firmware (non-Android)
Nov 14, 2020 at 11:35 AM Post #1,651 of 8,151
The only thing I’d like to see in WM1A successor would be to have a faster cpu processor so it can upsample at 8x or 16x in playback. In the new Hiby R8 MQA can be oversampled at 16x! What this does is that it allows the files to sound better, smoother and with less distortion sans having to upsample those files into Yuge ones. That’s an awesome feature!

Another would be PCM To DSD conversion in realtime. This requires lots of cpu power in order to be done right though and will limit your battery life but it’s well worth it if done right!

Sony seems to do PCM to DSD with the help of a FPGA or something in their DMP-Z1. Otherwise, the DMP-Z1 has the same SoC as the WM1 players.
 
Nov 14, 2020 at 12:10 PM Post #1,653 of 8,151
Some DMP comparisons a45 vs ZX300 in case someone thinks about upgrading his player:

I have a a45 with the latest DMP firmware at the moment and it sounds great for such a little thing! It is better than stock a45 for sure, I am not sure if its better than the reloaded+ that I had before however. I think the DMP-40 sounds fuller with more bass and wider soundstage compared to reloaded+ but I am not sure, the reloaded+ was also very good and a big improvement over stock a45.

I was so impressed by the mods on the a45 that I soon upgraded to ZX300 as I also wanted to try the balanced output.
The a45 with DMP-40 was better than the stock ZX300 (single ended). The stock ZX300 had peakier treble sometimes and smaller soundstage. The a45 DMP-40 had more bass and wider soundstage, smoother treble and more relaxed tonality.

Ok, so I had enough of the stock ZX300, I didn't wait longer and loaded the DMP-300 firmware.... the modded ZX300 became the player it should be from the start, same improvements as with a45: much better bass, grander soundstage and much smoother tonality compared to stock fw.

Now a45 with DMP-40 vs ZX300 with DMP-300... the ZX300 is (a bit) better, it sounds more refined overall. The tonality is nearly the same on both. You have the same lush and warm sound on both players, so upgrading makes sense but only if you buy used and want to try the balanced output. I can't say anything about the balanced out yet as I don't have the cables but I'll get them soon and will update my conclusion.

Conclusion: put on DMP fw whatever Sony DAP you have :)

@MrWalkman is there a hope for an updated DMP-300 like the DMP-WM1 FE?

Thanks Mrwalkman for your hard work & a beer from me too!
 
Nov 14, 2020 at 12:18 PM Post #1,654 of 8,151
@MrWalkman is there a hope for an updated DMP-300 like the DMP-WM1 FE?

Yes, it should arrive tomorrow most probably, and ZX300 should sound better than it sounds with the current DMP-300 mod.

Thanks Mrwalkman for your hard work & a beer from me too!

Cheers! :beers:
 
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Nov 14, 2020 at 1:17 PM Post #1,655 of 8,151
I have been lurking on here for a good while just observing the comments regarding MrWalkman's work. I have had a PHA-3 and A-45 for a long while and have been very happy with both driving my heavily modded original Z7's. Happy with the sound quality but not happy with the poor battery performance and holding a heat radiator that is too big to put into my pocket with the A45 rubber banded to the top.

I thought I could resist and simply observe all of this firmware modding from a distance and still be happy with what I was using for portable audio. LOL!!!!!!!!! Yeah right.

I considered the 1A for a couple of seconds, but then just took the plunge and purchased a 1Z for the express intent of using the firmware mods and trying to come as close as possible to having a DMP-Z1 in my pocket that lasts at least 8 hours on the battery charge and does not feel like it is about to catch on fire.

I have not heard the 1A or the DMP-Z1. Ever. I had not heard the 1Z prior to buying one. All I had to compare with is my PHA-3/A45 combo with a silver WM-Port/USB cable. I always run it balanced and have really not spent more than a couple of hours listening to it in SE. I spent 100 hours listening to the 1Z balanced in stock 3.02 mode. I know that is not enough time to fully break in, but it was enough time to make some observations. 1. The 1Z with stock firmware is better than the PHA-3/A45 both being run balanced. The PHA-3 has more power and more punch on the bottom end, but the 1Z has much better holographic imaging and is generally a much warmer and organic sounding presentation. Vocals are more in the center of my head and there is more of a natural, relaxed and less etched out presentation of voices. The midrange is just better all around. The bottom end while not as punchy due to less power available on the 1Z, the bottom end is well controlled and more than enough for my tastes. What the 1Z does better in the bass department is expression of ultra low frequencies <20hz. I can feel sound pressure levels changing in the lower frequencies while not particularly hearing any bass notes being played in some types of music. One specific example is track one "Mining for Gold" Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions. This was recorded in a church with a single Ambisonic mic. There are a lot of reverberations going on in there that sound like a <15hz rumbling that is in the background of the track. The 1Z makes those low frequencies much more palpable and realistic than the PHA-3. The PHA-3 is punchier but the 1Z is more extended if that makes any sense.

Now for the reason for this post. I used the WM1A-II firmware first. I can say that at first, and maybe this is because I am already using the 1Z and not the 1A, that I did not discern a dramatic difference between the stock firmware and the WM1A-II firmware. I am sure the guys with the 1A walkman heard a much more dramatic difference given that the 1Z was already somewhat better sounding to begin with on stock firmware. I felt like the imaging was a little more holographic than stock FW, but I did not notice any difference in the warmness or low frequency extension. WM1A-II was better than stock FW to my ears but not dramatically better.

I changed the FW to the FE version late last night. I had no problems at all reverting back to stock FW. Seamless. Before uploading FE I spent several hours back on stock 3.02 FW listening to tracks that I felt sounded really good on the WM1A-II FW. This includes "Mining for Gold". I guess I did not realize how good the WM1A-II FW was. Most of the material I reviewed lacked the same impact and holographic presentation that my brain had become accustomed to with WM1A-II. What I thought was subtle could not be fully appreciated until going back to the stock FW and critically listening. Turns out WM1A-II was way better than I had given credit for. I have only been listening to FE for a couple of hours now and I can already ascertain a difference between it and WM1A-II. My brain is not good at making instant perception differentiations. I believe a lot of the instant "OMG this is a million times better" is actually expectation bias on the part of the listener. Reading tons of posts about how great something is supposed to be actually biases the listeners initial impression. This of course is my opinion and not based in research I have done or in scientific fact that others have deduced. This opinion is based on the personal observation of one person who is trying his best to remain as neutral as possible in his observations.

I think it will take my brain some time to adjust to the FE FW. I will likely revert back to 3.02 stock at least once after my brain becomes sensitized and acclimated to the new FE firmware. Only then do I feel that I can make some truly objective observations.

Ignoring the minutiae for a moment, there is one thing I can say for sure. Buying the 1Z has definitely increased my enjoyment of music. I listen to music more often than before, and I am enjoying the hell out of how this player sounds. It really is a marvel of engineering of portable sound reproduction. Whether on stock FW or any of MrWalkman's fantastic FW mods, this little (heavy) player is a tour de force. The firmware mods only increase the enjoyment of an already superbly sounding and well built walkman.

Thank you MrWalkman for engaging in this obvious "labor of love". You have put in a lot of time and energy into this. And you seem to ask for nothing in return. How noble is that in todays world?
 
Nov 14, 2020 at 3:42 PM Post #1,656 of 8,151
The only thing I’d like to see in WM1A successor would be to have a faster cpu processor so it can upsample at 8x or 16x in playback. In the new Hiby R8 MQA can be oversampled at 16x! What this does is that it allows the files to sound better, smoother and with less distortion sans having to upsample those files into Yuge ones. That’s an awesome feature!

Another would be PCM To DSD conversion in realtime. This requires lots of cpu power in order to be done right though and will limit your battery life but it’s well worth it if done right!

Power WM1A/Z successor absolutely needs to be at a minimal 4X of the current power. A TOTL DAP that excludes so many TOTL IEM's and HP simply isn't TOTL in 2020 IMO. I recently gave the new Moondrop Illumination a shot, my 1A totally struggled to drive them @ 259 Ohms, likely being far from optimal. A&K's SR25 is 4X more powerful on paper and sounds like it...

I completely get that you need to balance the headgear with the source and to this day I very much enjoy my own WM1A, equally what I'm saying is a fact. If the next Gen WM1A/Z is limited to the same 60/240 mW @ 16 Ohms it will be a hard pass and I also think Sony is more than acutely aware...

Q-6
 
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Nov 14, 2020 at 3:57 PM Post #1,657 of 8,151
Power WM1A/Z successor absolutely needs to be at a minimal 4X of the current power. A TOTL DAP that excludes so many TOTL IEM's and HP simply isn't TOTL IMO. I recently gave the new Moondrop Illumination a shot, my 1A totally struggled to drive them @ 259 Ohms, likely being far from optimal. A&K's SR25 is 4X more powerful on paper and sounds like it...

I completely get that you need to balance the headgear with the source and to this day I very much enjoy my own WM1A, equally what I'm saying is a fact. If the next Gen WM1A/Z is limited to the same 60/240 mW @ 16 Ohms it will be a hard pass and I also think Sony is more than acutely aware...

Q-6

Hey, I get it. Haha. More current is more versatile and more marketable simply because the demand is there. I’m on your side. My only concern is whether or not it’s compromising the Sony House Sound.

I find you putting Sony on notice is awesome but * don’t hate the playa, hate the game, playa)


(*Totally irreverent and has no merit in the convo, I just thought it was funny to insert this phrase that way for effect.)
 
Nov 14, 2020 at 4:06 PM Post #1,658 of 8,151
Hey, I get it. Haha. More current is more versatile and more marketable simply because the demand is there. I’m on your side. My only concern is whether or not it’s compromising the Sony House Sound.

I find you putting Sony on notice is awesome but * don’t hate the playa, hate the game, playa)


(*Totally irreverent and has no merit in the convo, I just thought it was funny to insert this phrase that way for effect.)

Well simple as this...
IMG_20201115_043657.jpg

Spot of juice and these cans will change your life, and yes they sound better than you think they do...

Q-6
 
Nov 14, 2020 at 4:44 PM Post #1,660 of 8,151
Niiiiice! Do you think Planar is better than Electrostatic??
Not enough experience with Electrostatic nor owning. Listened to a fair number of Planar's think Ananda is the best I've heard on a DAP as not being massively demanding to drive and I like Hifiman's clean sound signature. As long as the DAP has some go Ananda is a perfect partner. I could have got an equally good deal on Arya, however need a good bit more power to get the best out of them.

Deva is another with it's rather clever LDAC Bluetooth solution, however Ananda is in a totally different class being literally magnitudes better. Ananda is one of those thing's that if you listen to, you'll either purchase or want to purchase like an itch you cant scratch. I'll be one of the first to say that there's a lot of hype in this hobby, equally these are the real deal...

Q-6
 
Nov 14, 2020 at 10:28 PM Post #1,661 of 8,151
Niiiiice! Do you think Planar is better than Electrostatic??
If you like your bass the yes all the way. I've yet to hear an Electrostat match a planar in bass.

Kind of like the BA vs DD comparisons of old.
 
Nov 15, 2020 at 3:26 AM Post #1,662 of 8,151
Niiiiice! Do you think Planar is better than Electrostatic??

I don't own or tried any Planars.
But I own and use 2 electrostatic headphones a Stax SR003MKII+CESA1 and a Kingsound KS-H04, that I can compare with some of the very good Closed Headphones of the market and a very one of the most impressive IEM (Z7M2, Ultrasone Veritas Ed15, IER-Z1R) ... I can say, that all of them need some EQ to be equilibrated (I use some Auto EQ project PEQ parameters) in the low frequencies (either to increase some parts or to lower some other) and for sure my Electrostatic gears are not missing low frequencies from 30hz to 500hz and between 10hz to 40hz they are still some good deep and fast sound available.
I would say Electrostatic is nothing less than giving an impressive music but the real issue with Electrostatic Headphones, for me, is that, they have a much lower limit in sound pressure before clipping hard.
In some way, it's better for the ears, in the other way, sometimes I love to feel a full dynamic range which needs a higher level from 15hz to 15khz and be able to go beyond reasonable volume for a while.

Actually, I use more often 4 items with the WM1A .. the IER-Z1R in trains, planes, etc a Beyerdynamic Xelento+Qudelik5K or the KS H04/Z7M2 at office. None are missing low frequencies .. the IER-Z1R is really impressive with the WM1A ..the Z7M2 and KS need a good amp after the WM1A. The Xelento is comfortable at office because of Multipoint BT5.0 for smartphone and WM1A connections
 
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Nov 15, 2020 at 4:09 AM Post #1,664 of 8,151
Power WM1A/Z successor absolutely needs to be at a minimal 4X of the current power. A TOTL DAP that excludes so many TOTL IEM's and HP simply isn't TOTL in 2020 IMO. I recently gave the new Moondrop Illumination a shot, my 1A totally struggled to drive them @ 259 Ohms, likely being far from optimal. A&K's SR25 is 4X more powerful on paper and sounds like it...

I completely get that you need to balance the headgear with the source and to this day I very much enjoy my own WM1A, equally what I'm saying is a fact. If the next Gen WM1A/Z is limited to the same 60/240 mW @ 16 Ohms it will be a hard pass and I also think Sony is more than acutely aware...

Q-6
If i read correctly, oficial moo drop specs for illumination is 25 Ohm, not 260
 
Nov 15, 2020 at 4:51 AM Post #1,665 of 8,151
I think i broke my wm1a track list lmao. As far as I know its not related to any fw mods but rather to a specific track that I put in it. Still have to pin point as to which though...
20201115_174733.jpg
 

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