[RockLee]

These days I'm doing burn in on the wm1z, since this dap has hardly been used since I bought it.

I came to notice that the sound was varying, for example that at 90 hours the midrange of the voices were very sweet, impressing me with how close the voices were, but as the hours passed, at 120 hours those voices began to sink removing the liquid sound, and then the voices appear again at 150 hours

Is this strange, did I say?

I have also seen that the bass rises quite well, but after coming from the street and looking at how the hours go, the bass is reduced, what is happening here, I said?

It is currently at 180 hours, very close to having 200 hours, but those voices that captivated me at the beginning of the burn in have disappeared, my question is, is this the sound of the final WM1Z that will be present when the burn in ends? I don't know what the final sound of the WM1Z is like.

 

[boodi]

WM1A original + mod versus WM1Z original

So what is the consensus on the sound when comparing the 2 units?
Size and weight apart , which would me lead buying an WM1A of course.

 

[Vamp898]

These days I'm doing burn in on the wm1z, since this dap has hardly been used since I bought it.

I came to notice that the sound was varying, for example that at 90 hours the midrange of the voices were very sweet, impressing me with how close the voices were, but as the hours passed, at 120 hours those voices began to sink removing the liquid sound, and then the voices appear again at 150 hours

Is this strange, did I say?

I have also seen that the bass rises quite well, but after coming from the street and looking at how the hours go, the bass is reduced, what is happening here, I said?

It is currently at 180 hours, very close to having 200 hours, but those voices that captivated me at the beginning of the burn in have disappeared, my question is, is this the sound of the final WM1Z that will be present when the burn in ends? I don't know what the final sound of the WM1Z is like.

The reason for burn in is to stabilize the capacitors. This does slightly affect the sound but the effect you describe should not happen, it sounds like something else is happening in addition too

 

[JSBachFan]

So what is the consensus on the sound when comparing the 2 units?
Size and weight apart , which would me lead buying an WM1A of course.

I can contribute to this question, too. I own 4 WM1s of all types.
- WM1A with NPAudio mod v3,
- WM1A original,
- WM1Z with kmod ultra and
- WM1Z original.
Lately I was playing around with the Walkman One settings. As I side effect, the players got compared, too.
I would say that 1A mod vs. 1Z original are on the same level. WM1A modded gets a lot out of the mod, but WM1Z still sounds somehow "noble", where WM1A mod is "intensive". I could live with either one not knowing the other one. For the comparison I only used three pieces of music. One classical, one Adele, one German singer.
And I used CF Supermoon to compare.
The difference between the Walkman region settings are not a game changer, but significant. Here it comes to personal taste. Since I have a lot of devices and options, I will stop playing around for now and stay with MX3 regional code and WM1Z setting on all players.
Of my four players, I would say all but WM1A original are on top level and "good enough". And yes, WM1Z kmod is still an improvement over WM1Z original. Clearly more open, more clear, but not as much of an game changer as the WM1A mod.
My mainly used player at home is WM1Z kmod. When traveling WM1A NPAudio.

 

[boodi]

I can contribute to this question, too. I own 4 WM1s of all types.
- WM1A with NPAudio mod v3,
- WM1A original,
- WM1Z with kmod ultra and
- WM1Z original.
Lately I was playing around with the Walkman One settings. As I side effect, the players got compared, too.
I would say that 1A mod vs. 1Z original are on the same level. WM1A modded gets a lot out of the mod, but WM1Z still sounds somehow "noble", where WM1A mod is "intensive". I could live with either one not knowing the other one. For the comparison I only used three pieces of music. One classical, one Adele, one German singer.
And I used CF Supermoon to compare.
The difference between the Walkman region settings are not a game changer, but significant. Here it comes to personal taste. Since I have a lot of devices and options, I will stop playing around for now and stay with MX3 regional code and WM1Z setting on all players.
Of my four players, I would say all but WM1A original are on top level and "good enough". And yes, WM1Z kmod is still an improvement over WM1Z original. Clearly more open, more clear, but not as much of an game changer as the WM1A mod.
My mainly used player at home is WM1Z kmod. When traveling WM1A NPAudio.

Thanks appreciated
and kind of make sense,
similar on the difference between 1zm2 and 1am2 too ( just saying , I owned both them at a point)

 

[boodi]

So -asking anybody who got to listen them- it would be general consensus that wm1z / kmod offer somewhat the best( or more refined/audiophile/balanced etc) sound signature of the bunch ?

 

[JSBachFan]

So -asking anybody who got to listen them- it would be general consensus that wm1z / kmod offer somewhat the best( or more refined/audiophile/balanced etc) sound signature of the bunch ?

WM1Z NPAudio (v5) might still be better than WM1Z (kmod). Somehow I doubt that someone has both since they are rare and kmod not produced any more as far as I know. In case of a different owner comparison, it has to be the exact same fw and settings on both. Otherwise it is comparing apples and pears.
Comparing WM1Z mod X to WM1A mod X should even with the same fw and settings be different. The housing does have an impact on the sound.

 

[RockLee]

Hello everyone

I've already had the wm1z burning for 214 hours and something is happening that I don't know.
There are times when the mids become sweet, but then they sink, also the bass of the wm1z seems to hit a little better and when I return in hours, those bass were already diminished.

I have 2 iems, Monarch MKII and FiiO FH9
When using the mk II, I feel those passages vary, with the bass and the mids, which rise and sink later

You should wait longer for the burner to work more hours
oh my MK II has a defect

 

[Vamp898]

So -asking anybody who got to listen them- it would be general consensus that wm1z / kmod offer somewhat the best( or more refined/audiophile/balanced etc) sound signature of the bunch ?

As long nobody is uploading sample recordings of selected songs using the several variations, there will be no way to know for you unless testing out yourself

 

[Vamp898]

Hello everyone

I've already had the wm1z burning for 214 hours and something is happening that I don't know.
There are times when the mids become sweet, but then they sink, also the bass of the wm1z seems to hit a little better and when I return in hours, those bass were already diminished.

I have 2 iems, Monarch MKII and FiiO FH9
When using the mk II, I feel those passages vary, with the bass and the mids, which rise and sink later

You should wait longer for the burner to work more hours
oh my MK II has a defect

Are you using the Monarch with Foam or Silicone?

It is not sealed so it should not make that big of an difference, but the Monarch Mk2 is an complicated IEM which even though not sealed, can affect the listening using silicone ear tips.

If the issue doesn't appear with the FH9, I assume it's due to the Monarch and I guess it's due to using silicone. I'd try with a good pair of foam like COMPLY TZ and check if this variation still occurs

 

[RockLee]

Are you using the Monarch with Foam or Silicone?

It is not sealed so it should not make that big of an difference, but the Monarch Mk2 is an complicated IEM which even though not sealed, can affect the listening using silicone ear tips.

If the issue doesn't appear with the FH9, I assume it's due to the Monarch and I guess it's due to using silicone. I'd try with a good pair of foam like COMPLY TZ and check if this variation still occurs

I'm changing ear tips and I'm using the spinfit right now, I also tried the comply and the result is the same on the Monarch MK II.

I had to do it with the Fiio fh9, here I took time to analyze each passage of music and each 1 minute, if I feel that the bass rises and at other times sinks. It seems that when the bass grows the voices begin to combine so they feel veiled.

Is it possible that this dap is very resistant to other wm1z, so it needs more burning? this one has 214 hours

 

[Vamp898]

I'm changing ear tips and I'm using the spinfit right now, I also tried the comply and the result is the same on the Monarch MK II.

I had to do it with the Fiio fh9, here I took time to analyze each passage of music and each 1 minute, if I feel that the bass rises and at other times sinks. It seems that when the bass grows the voices begin to combine so they feel veiled.

Is it possible that this dap is very resistant to other wm1z, so it needs more burning? this one has 214 hours

With my WM1ZM2 the biggest difference was from 0h to 20h. Since 20h, it still changed, but marginally. Since 100h i don't hear any differences anymore.

But i already have my second WM1ZM2, the first one went into repair to Sony due to an issue with the mechanical relays (which is surprisingly not as uncommon as one might thing and can be related to your issue)

Does this issue appear both on 3.5mm and 4.4mm or only on 4.4mm?

 

[RockLee]

With my WM1ZM2 the biggest difference was from 0h to 20h. Since 20h, it still changed, but marginally. Since 100h i don't hear any differences anymore.

But i already have my second WM1ZM2, the first one went into repair to Sony due to an issue with the mechanical relays (which is surprisingly not as uncommon as one might thing and can be related to your issue)

Does this issue appear both on 3.5mm and 4.4mm or only on 4.4mm?

Now I'm burning the 4.4 balanced one, I haven't had the opportunity to try 3.5mm yet. I'll still let you know when I find out.

 

[proedros]

Now I'm burning the 4.4 balanced one, I haven't had the opportunity to try 3.5mm yet. I'll still let you know when I find out.

make sure you try @MrWalkman lovely FWs

 

[RockLee]

With my WM1ZM2 the biggest difference was from 0h to 20h. Since 20h, it still changed, but marginally. Since 100h i don't hear any differences anymore.

But i already have my second WM1ZM2, the first one went into repair to Sony due to an issue with the mechanical relays (which is surprisingly not as uncommon as one might thing and can be related to your issue)

Does this issue appear both on 3.5mm and 4.4mm or only on 4.4mm?

I tested the 3.5mm output, it is unburned and sounds more congested, currently my WM1Z has 285 hours of burn in the 4.4mm termination, this is the report I give you

I was finding out what was the cause of why sometimes the voices sound clear but sometimes they fall off, it also includes the treble and the dynamic range is subtly affected

When I placed the 4.4mm cable from the MK II to the DAP, I started to turn it from right to left and I noticed that the voices suddenly appeared, and when I turned it a little more the sound began to decay.

Here is a picture of what I mean.

I understand that the default cable looks thick in the picture, when I first got the iem I noticed that it was heavy because of the metals separating the cable, but it was thin from its formation

I have been using eartips but the result is the same, in my humble opinion I am considering replacing the cable, since this cable by default is hot swap, when removing and placing I imagine that it loses those properties that unite it.

That's why I have always considered that a fixed cable to a termination, such as 4.4 Pentacom, is better, even if it is not hot swap.

Maybe it's a solution to what I'm looking for.