[NickleCo]

gosh i feel like a kid in a candy store im overwhelmed by the amount of choices i can make!!!! You are spoiling us to no end @MrWalkman and im loving every second of this!

 

[NickleCo]

redacted. Found the settings

 

[lmf22]

@MrWalkman Thank you so much for your incredible work on these new Dawn v2 and Midnight v2 firmware!! I've donated a beer.

I'm currently enjoying Dawn v2 (FEv2 external turning). Settings: Region MX3, Plus v2, Different DAC initialization mode.

I briefly tried Midnight v2 (Project Z external tuning; same settings as above). The sound was too warm for me. I'm using the Sennheiser IE900.

 

[xjaynine]

Thank you MrWalkman for contuining to develop what is already an amazing custom platform. I will contribute a beer (or two) your way in the near future once my personal situation improves.

Here are my subjective impressions of the Midnight tuning (NW-WM1Z, XBA-A3 with Sony Kimber):

In general coming from the previous version of Midnight. the new Midnight presentation feels more engaging and forward than the last. It does sound a little less airy as a result, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

2a) Midnight (v1) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Tight clean bass

2a) Midnight (v2) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Tight clean bass
- Cleaner imaging and positional cues (crispy details)
- Soundstage width and depth feel similar in dimensions

2a) Midnight (v2) - Alternative DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain <----- I like this one the most
- Slightly relaxed bass, thicker
- Relaxed sound
- Reduced treble bite
- Metallic feeling to the details (adds an interesting tangible quality to things like guitars and percussion)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2b) Project Z (v1) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Thicker bass
- Relaxed sound
- Reduced treble bite
- Slower transients

2b) Project Z (v2) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Wider soundstage
- More accurate imaging cues
- Holographic feel
- Relaxed sound
- Reduced treble bite
- Slower transients
- Bass less bloomy, but still thick

2b) Project Z (v2) - Alternative DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Wider soundstage, less depth than above
- More accurate imaging cues
- Holographic feel
- More treble bite than above
- Slower transients
- Less forward vocals (in a good way)
- Thick bass that doesn't bleed into higher frequencies

 

[MrWalkman]

@MrWalkman Thank you so much for your incredible work on these new Dawn v2 and Midnight v2 firmware!! I've donated a beer.

I'm currently enjoying Dawn v2 (FEv2 external turning). Settings: Region MX3, Plus v2, Different DAC initialization mode.

I briefly tried Midnight v2 (Project Z external tuning; same settings as above). The sound was too warm for me. I'm using the Sennheiser IE900.

Thank you very much for the support!

I like Midnight very much with the Z7M2

Thank you MrWalkman for contuining to develop what is already an amazing custom platform. I will contribute a beer (or two) your way in the near future once my personal situation improves.

Here are my subjective impressions of the Midnight tuning (NW-WM1Z, XBA-A3 with Sony Kimber):

In general coming from the previous version of Midnight. the new Midnight presentation feels more engaging and forward than the last. It does sound a little less airy as a result, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

2a) Midnight (v1) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Tight clean bass

2a) Midnight (v2) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Tight clean bass
- Cleaner imaging and positional cues (crispy details)
- Soundstage width and depth feel similar in dimensions

2a) Midnight (v2) - Alternative DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Slightly relaxed bass, thicker
- Relaxed sound
- Reduced treble bite
- Metallic feeling to the details (adds an interesting tangible quality to things like guitars and percussion)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2b) Project Z (v1) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Thicker bass
- Relaxed sound
- Reduced treble bite
- Slower transients

2b) Project Z (v2) - Normal DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Wider soundstage
- More accurate imaging cues
- Holographic feel
- Relaxed sound
- Reduced treble bite
- Slower transients
- Bass less bloomy, but still thick

2b) Project Z (v2) - Alternative DAC Initialisation, Normal Gain
- Wider soundstage, less depth than above
- More accurate imaging cues
- Holographic feel
- More treble bite than above
- Slower transients
- Less forward vocals (in a good way)
- Thick bass that doesn't bleed into higher frequencies

Nice description! I'm curious what you think about the Plus v2 mode sound

 

[twixicore]

MrWalkman,
It looks like I am doing something wrong.

I installed the firmware and tuning one by one, waiting for the correct completion scale.
Then I went to the CFW folder in the player's internal memory. Edited the values in the "midnight_settings.txt" file that matches my firmware.
For example, in this way for one of the points:

# [HOME SCREEN ICONS COLOR]
#
# Make the icons on the Home screen have different colors.
#
# Available options:
# 0 for DEFAULT, 1 for PEACH (# FFD2B0), 2 for RED (# FF6757),
# 3 for BLUE (# B1CFE5), 4 for GREEN (# AED1B3)
#
# Type the chosen color after the equal sign.
# For example: COL = 2
# Default is [0].

COL = 3

After that, I closed the editor and saved the changes.
Disconnected the drive and waited for the library update.
Turned off and on the player.

After that, I still don't see any changes. The color of the icons remains the same (white by default) and the selected "PLUS MODE VERSION" mode also remains in normal mode when I check in settings -> player info. Although I changed the figure to 2.
The file "midnight_settings.txt" itself saved the changes after restarting the player.
The log file does not show changes.
What am I doing wrong?

 

[MrWalkman]

COL = 3

It should be COL=3, without those spaces.

Check the boot_log.txt file to see what happens. If there are those spaces, then the setting is not being read correctli'm not sure where the spaces came from.

 

[twixicore]

It should be COL=3, without those spaces.

Check the boot_log.txt file to see what happens. If there are those spaces, then the setting is not being read correctli'm not sure where the spaces came from.

Yes that's right. It's just that the spaces were added by the translator when I was editing the text for my post.

 

[kissmevn]

After the upgrade the sound only coming from the left ear. Did I do something wrong

 

[MrWalkman]

Yes that's right. It's just that the spaces were added by the translator when I was editing the text for my post.

If there are no spaces, then check the boot_log.txt file to see what happens.

 

[MrWalkman]

After the upgrade the sound only coming from the left ear. Did I do something wrong

I didn't hear of something like this happening before. Try reverting to stock and install again.

Of course, also check the channel balance setting on your player.

 

[kissmevn]

I didn't hear of something like this happening before. Try reverting to stock and install again.

Never mind, restart the player, and the problem is gone, weird. Thank you for your wonderful firmware (again )
IMO, the v2 seems to have a slightly cleaner mid and better image than v1

 

[gerelmx1986]

What does the different DAC mode does?

 

[twixicore]

If there are no spaces, then check the boot_log.txt file to see what happens.

boot_log.txt file does not show any changes. Perhaps the reason is in the editor. Now I will try to make changes through a regular notepad.

 

[MrWalkman]

What does the different DAC mode does?

I won't exactly go into details. Basically in the different mode some things are loaded differently during the DAC's initialization.

If you have headphones plugged in while the player starts, at some point during the boot animation the background hiss starts. That's when the DAC gets initialized and this setting apply.

I'd feel more comfortable letting you try this option and see for yourself if you like what you hear or not.