[Queen6]

Danzig - Danzig II Lucifuge

Blood and Tears; vinyl 96/24 this is layering, music is all over the place in a good way...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Kate Bush - The Kick inside

Wuthering Heights ; vinyl 96/24 this is FEv2 on region E, very much alive, such a beautiful voice...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Spatialize - Beyond the Radar

FEv2 delivers holographic sound, without any artificial expansion, the CFW just sounds as intended by the artist...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

vinyl 96/24 bass is not lacking, it's there exactly where it should be...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Nirvana - Nevermind

Come As You Are, you can feel the edge with FEv2 on E just sounds right; dirty, raw, & visceral as it should be...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Yeah FEv2 has been my jam too. Finally reached 200 hours on my WM1A today. I am one of those who went to CFW almost immediately, after my initial not-quite-30 hours of initial burn-in/battery drain for calibration (honestly, went CFW to fix the stock FW album art issue with progressive jpg). FEv2 came across as too lean, almost brittle when my unit had so few hours on it. I dallied with both Midnight & Dawn (actually preferred Dawn between those two, at least with minimal hours on the device); Region E preference by a mile for me too.

However, once I had 100 hours, it was all FEv2 for me. The others couldn't stand up to it at all. YMMV as always.

I might give Dawn another chance some time, but I like what I hear so much, ehhh, probably not.

FEv2 is the standout and will likely remain to be so. The dialled down/tamed treble of Midnight etc. becomes dull over time as energy is lost in favour of a smoother sound signature. FEv2 to me adds Sony's house sound, yet does not overly colour the artists intention nor is the CFW abrasive very much following the DMP-Z1...

Bill Withers - Lovely Day; again FEv2 excels in layering and placement, most of all accuracy just like it was, just as it should be...

Local guy's are very picky, staid if you will, tend to dismiss the Sony WM1A/Z, however the 1A on FEv2 & region E has turned many heads. Dropped jaws with an assumption that the DAP has been hardware modified, stunned that it's a stock player, running DMP-Z1 based CFW...


Q-6

 

[aceedburn]

FEv2 is the standout and will likely remain to be so. The dialled down/tamed treble of Midnight etc. becomes dull over time as energy is lost in favour of a smoother sound signature. FEv2 to me adds Sony's house sound, yet does not overly colour the artists intention nor is the CFW abrasive very much following the DMP-Z1...

Bill Withers - Lovely Day; again FEv2 excels in layering and placement, most of all accuracy just like it was, just as it should be...

Local guy's are very picky, staid if you will, tend to dismiss the Sony WM1A/Z, however the 1A on FEv2 & region E has turned many heads. Dropped jaws with an assumption that the DAP has been hardware modified, stunned that it's a stock player, running DMP-Z1 based CFW...


Q-6

There is a version midnight that makes it much closer to FEv2, but since that was not released officially, it’s true value is really hidden. But I’ve been using that for a few months now and it’s absolutely awesome. It lifts that veil off the officia midnight, added some clarity and detail yet managing to sound very wholesome.

 

[Queen6]

44.1/16. digital and or 96/24 vinyl...

Latter easily wins on FEv2 being far more organic compared to it's digital counterpart.

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

There is a version midnight that makes it much closer to FEv2, but since that was not released officially, it’s true value is really hidden. But I’ve been using that for a few months now and it’s absolutely awesome. It lifts that veil off the officia midnight, added some clarity and detail yet managing to sound very wholesome.

Moot as is not released to the general community, nor any sign of this CFW forthcoming anytime soon. Midnight V2 maybe awesome or not as the case maybe, IDK. As you said the original Midnight is veiled which is one of it's issues. Midnight's treble is dialled back far too much which is why FEv2 remains the top pick today of the current CFW on offer for the WM1A/Z being more balanced and representative of how music should sound.

Q-6

 

[camera]

I Like FEv2 on region E too.

 

[proedros]

FEv2 plus on J region , for months now

mighty happy with it

@Queen6 have you got those amazing vinyl rips for KB ? let me know if you want them

 

[Hinomotocho]

is it possible to use the remote with an android phone?

I did successfully get the remote working on my Samsung S10 - I don't know why it didn't work in the past or if it will work with every phone, perhaps others may be able to try and give feedback.

 

[Lookout57]

Moot as is not released to the general community, nor any sign of this CFW forthcoming anytime soon. Midnight V2 maybe awesome or not as the case maybe, IDK. As you said the original Midnight is veiled which is one of it's issues. Midnight's treble is dialled back far too much which is why FEv2 remains the top pick today of the current CFW on offer for the WM1A/Z being more balanced and representative of how music should sound.

Q-6

I don't find Midnight treble to be dialed back when using an OCC silver cable (DHC Clone Silver balanced).

 

[Excavation]

The more audio mp3s I decide to replace with FLACs the more I realize how inaccurate my mp3s were. It took the sound i had before and what i thought was my best setup and flipped it on its head. My old mp3s vs my new FLACs sound nothing alike. Which means its time maybe i revisit other FWs.

I loved the sound of my A55 on DMP-A50R FE when i had mp3s but currently i get more than enough low end so FLACS definitely helped with that but i get waaay to much highs, ear piercing harsh and not enough mid/vocal. Liveliness has kinda died down in the music.

Figure its time i revisited FEv2 or A50Z, if neither impress then i might be left having to return to DMP-A50R. But its created a hell of a situation for me.

Edit 8:55 PM CST-
Random question, how much does FW change before you get an accurate representation of the FWs signature? I see all this talk about 100-200 hour burn in for firmware but is it drastic? Does it change a ton or is it just very gradual?

I ask this because i currently set on A50Z and I'm trying to get an idea of what itll sound like. But there is a whole lotta low end, everything's just so punchy and wide, but for the most part it solved the harshness in the higher frequencies where certain words with t's or s's would be ear piercing. But there's just not a lot of mid.

Thats why im asking how drastic change can be in the FWs sound. Can it go from nothing to well beyond what it was before?

 

[Hinomotocho]

FEv2 is the standout and will likely remain to be so. The dialled down/tamed treble of Midnight etc. becomes dull over time as energy is lost in favour of a smoother sound signature. FEv2 to me adds Sony's house sound, yet does not overly colour the artists intention nor is the CFW abrasive very much following the DMP-Z1...

Bill Withers - Lovely Day; again FEv2 excels in layering and placement, most of all accuracy just like it was, just as it should be...

Local guy's are very picky, staid if you will, tend to dismiss the Sony WM1A/Z, however the 1A on FEv2 & region E has turned many heads. Dropped jaws with an assumption that the DAP has been hardware modified, stunned that it's a stock player, running DMP-Z1 based CFW...


Q-6

What are their reasons for dismissing the 1A/1Z? Anti-Sony, age of the daps, lower power output, lack of streaming, android OS preference, general Sony Walkman tech (comparing with other chips)? I've never looked into other dap options or compared.

I switched back to FEv2 and appreciate what you've described about it. I am still on J and never thought to change but I will give E a go again now I'm well past the burn in time and see how it sounds. My fear is it will be too bright with FEv2 but I've learnt with the firmwares and iem pairing that the result can surprise you.