[MrWalkman]

how do we load the custom software onto the a55 pls..i know how to change the region

Just check out the instructions, it's really simple (main post).

DMP-A50 FE is stock-based, and DMP-A50R FE is non-stock based.

 

[unifutomaki]

the lack of a proggramable queue

Never felt it was necessary on a portable device

strange format of cable why couldn't the use us

WMport cables have been around for so long that they're actually as cheap as, if not cheaper to acquire than USB-C cables.

strange support issues with multi cover albums in flac format

Seems like an edge case

it's so picky with the format and dimensions of the image

Letting Media Go take care of the album art leads to no problems

put cover to artists rather than picking the first album of said artist and displaying that on the artist menu

Even the iPod didn't do this

the lack of battery percentage

Not a phone

there is a clock only in the options menu

I have a watch and a phone on which to check the time

music center is really buggy but with some really nice features

Media Go.

 

[MrWalkman]

They mention in the clock settings that it's only for library management.

 

[complete]

hi i was using DMP-A50 mod, i installed stock software for the new mod now when i try to install new mod i get connect the target device to a computer with usb cable error usb cable is already connected

 

[MrWalkman]

hi i was using DMP-A50 mod, i installed stock software for the new mod now when i try to install new mod i get connect the target device to a computer with usb cable error usb cable is already connected

You can't install the StockRevert of the new FE mods. You're getting the error because that StockRevert of the newer A50 mods did not actually install.

Please install the StockRevert for the previous DMP-A50 mod, as mentioned on the page: https://www.mrwalkman.ml/p/dmp-a50-fe.html

 

[complete]

hi i was using DMP-A50 mod, i installed stock software for the new mod now when i try to install new mod i get connect the target device to a computer with usb cable error usb cable is already connected

Ok, I did it, thank you very much, another great mod, you are doing wonders

 

[WilcoRoger]

So to any walkman user what are some quirks or lack of features that you wished were different. Personally I'm been using my walkman for almost two years, I'm really satisfied with the thing but somethings really bothered me like the lack of a proggramable queue,that strange format of cable why couldn't the use usb , how it doesn't support making playlists in the EU firmware for some reason although bookmarks are a thing. Sound warning was the worst thing that can happen to a good track and that cap in music volume for high resistance headphones was a killer , J version fixed all of that. Then there is some strange support issues with multi cover albums in flac format it doesn't seem capable to find the right one to pick even though you have listed a main album and it's so picky with the format and dimensions of the image ,I olso have tried to put cover to artists rather than picking the first album of said artist and displaying that on the artist menu but no luck there,I olso hate the lack of battery percentage I mean four bars what are those suppose to mean.The fact that there is a clock only in the options menu makes me wonder why they couldn't just put a clock to display in the music menu. The music center is really buggy but with some really nice features. I have many more things to say but the basic idea is that this product is really great but it doesn't fell polished as its stands.

The only issue I found with the cover is that it didn't support interlaced jpeg (mrwlakman firmware fixed that) I have album vouchers from 300x300 to 1500x1500 pixels and no issues at al.

The clock is really a weird Sony/Japanese thing - you can even chose the time & date format, which is basically just how it's displayed but nothing is displayed. I file it under the "strange things the Japanse do" case.

With the Music Centre on Mac one is really lucky if it starts at all. But all it does is take a few MB of storage and easy to delete. File under the same case as the clock.

WM-port - just because they can. Same as Apple with their proprietary lightning port (and 20-pin port before)

 

[WilcoRoger]

Interesting problem - I finally installed Windows XP on a virtual machine to try the "windows way" of the FW, but when I try to run the A50 related executables, I get a "not a win32 application" error message.

Indeed the issue ws the XP version. Installing a Win7 virtual machine took care of that.

One thing came to mind concerning the ExtTuning firmware - it would be nice to be able to see if the fw had been applied or not, e.g under the Device information submenu, just as we can see if the main fw version is installed.

 

[HeyManslowdown97]

A touch more power would be nice

Would also like to see Sony develop its own DAC semiconductor chip but I sincerely doubt it. I doubt they will implement more power because there are more mainstream headphones and most people nowadays stream their music with low res lossy files. It seems they are all on remastering their catalog with Reality 3D with streaming services on an android OS with third party DSP room correction eq especially as 5G takes off mainstream.

The DSP room correction is more or less eq with delays, echo and transient between speakers so you can more “surround sound” speaker system. It can “trick” the mind into thinking that there’s more height and stereo width soundstage but these digital signal process manipulate the output by improving the soundstage which is subjective.

The DSP on Sony Walkmans in future with Android OS generally sound artificial based on what I’ve heard about the Nw-105 and battery life is compromised! For the looks of things Sony Walkman will have Android OS even though they tend to no sound good and much worse than the Walkmans without Android.

This is all of course speculation but it does seem that the “closed” flagship high res portable player in 2020 and beyond will have to carry Android OS because the ones who hate that approach are becoming a fewer and fewer niche market.

 

[captblaze]

Would also like to see Sony develop its own DAC semiconductor chip but I sincerely doubt it. I doubt they will implement more power because there are more mainstream headphones and most people nowadays stream their music with low res lossy files. It seems they are all on remastering their catalog with Reality 3D with streaming services on an android OS with third party DSP room correction eq especially as 5G takes off mainstream.

The DSP room correction is more or less eq with delays, echo and transient between speakers so you can more “surround sound” speaker system. It can “trick” the mind into thinking that there’s more height and stereo width soundstage but these digital signal process manipulate the output by improving the soundstage which is subjective.

The DSP on Sony Walkmans in future with Android OS generally sound artificial based on what I’ve heard about the Nw-105 and battery life is compromised! For the looks of things Sony Walkman will have Android OS even though they tend to no sound good and much worse than the Walkmans without Android.

This is all of course speculation but it does seem that the “closed” flagship high res portable player in 2020 and beyond will have to carry Android OS because the ones who hate that approach are becoming a fewer and fewer niche market.

then you can count me in as a niche market buyer and as long as I can replace the battery on my WM-1A, all will be good. I have never liked Android (both as a phone O/S and DAP O/S) because of the way it handles audio natively.

 

[HeyManslowdown97]

then you can count me in as a niche market buyer and as long as I can replace the battery on my WM-1A, all will be good. I have never liked Android (both as a phone O/S and DAP O/S) because of the way it handles audio natively

I am speculating and hope I’m wrong. I am however open minded to customizing dsp tunings of OS system for music playback. It can be used on firmware modifications like the ones I’ve used on the WM1A or just open source music player OS.

There are third party softwares like sonarworks that can do this for headphones, firmware and even for personal recordings that are pretty cool. Only just discovering this world but it looks worthy enough to explore especially for using WM1A as a usb output

 

[lambrosk22]

I believe moving forward the next walkmans would be just a mash up of other systems using android. First the market for mp3 players is small so makings a r&d program for new chips isn't profitable so they would keep that just for hi end products. So if they continue supporting the walkmans that are priced at 200€ I thing they might move in the direction of making them as close to any android experience as possible to increase the potential buyers

 

[aceedburn]

I believe moving forward the next walkmans would be just a mash up of other systems using android. First the market for mp3 players is small so makings a r&d program for new chips isn't profitable so they would keep that just for hi end products. So if they continue supporting the walkmans that are priced at 200€ I thing they might move in the direction of making them as close to any android experience as possible to increase the potential buyers

If you ask my personal opinion, Sony has killed the main feature we all love about the Walkman by releasing the android versions. That feature is Ui and responsiveness. Pure music OS made by Sony for the Walkmans. No android crap that is lingering in the background. I would never ever buy an android based dap.

look at the ZX507. Who’s buying them? And they go on sale in flea markets faster than Sony can make them. It’s a failed device for sure.

 

[HeyManslowdown97]

I believe moving forward the next walkmans would be just a mash up of other systems using android. First the market for mp3 players is small so makings a r&d program for new chips isn't profitable so they would keep that just for hi end products. So if they continue supporting the walkmans that are priced at 200€ I thing they might move in the direction of making them as close to any android experience as possible to increase the potential buyers

Exactly. They won’t invest in the R&D cost for a dedicated DAC chip and because the mobile marketshare is dominated by streaming they will opt for the ultimate Android experience.

Since Sony owns the largest music masters collection in the world, they will remaster lots of famous recordings with the 360 Reality Audio for third party streaming services and market their headphones for them.

 

[lambrosk22]

Exactly. They won’t invest in the R&D cost for a dedicated DAC chip and because the mobile marketshare is dominated by streaming they will opt for the ultimate Android experience.

Since Sony owns the largest music masters collection in the world, they will remaster lots of famous recordings with the 360 Reality Audio for third party streaming services and market their headphones for them.

That's interesting considering that 4channel audio failed I believe just for how much space it needed in a room and the cost just for a basic system, olso 5.1 audio is very limited format in form of titles and there mostly use for movies and if you want to use in a really high and fashion you need a special decoder that is hard to find and adds distortion to the sound multiple drivers and a huge room if you don't want to experience 5.1 in the sound space of a small room. I remember watching back in the day a fund raiser for some headphones that used 360° through multiple drivers. These thing aims to use preexisting hardware, this can't be really 360 sound it's gonna be an illustration mixed through an eq and other plug in features. I imagine any audiophile would find audible distortions to the sound. There are people that choose to listen to mono audio and they have really advanced systems .I don't know if this is the next big thing but I highly doubt that and in my eyes it's seems like a gimmick.