The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
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MonochromeFashionLawyer
100+ Head-Fier
The W2 Ultra had landed at Jaben SG yesterday.@Uncle Wilson sent it across. Been enjoying it. Also trying it out with the LP WY1 interconnect with external battery.
I love, love, love that olive green color. It looks so good. Question: Did it come with the WP1+ cable? That would've been awesome if it came in the same olive green color.
I can only really state the obvious here. There are differences in synergy with the RS8 and Mjolnir when using the APX SE. I preferred the RS8 slightly after about 15 mins of playback as I felt it had a very nice, slightly fuller and textured sound. The mjolnir on the other hand was technically superior everywhere and gave a deeper sub bass and more treble extension. It sounded incredible from both though, and if I only had the RS8, Mjolnir, or MUB1 I still would have bought it based on what I heard from each source.
The stock cable is the black one you see in the unboxing photos.
I'm not getting as much listening time as I'd like. Work is a dumpster fire to say the least and I'm just opting to sleep more.How's the Viento-B coming along?
But, I've been enjoying them immensely with the time I had.
I'm really not sure if it was what I gear I was listening to at the time (MEST OG & DMagic) or the source (WM1A). But I definitely like it even more now, definitely going down as one of the greats for me.
After long consideration and testing, I decided to compliment my P6Pro with Sony WM1Z. In fact, after listening to the Sony, and its Android partner, WM1AM2, I was wondering why I didn't start with one of these, having loved my cassette tape Walkmen thru most of my young life.
TLDR: The Sony WM1Z after modification becomes a uniquity, "keeper" for the impossible improvement offered by NP Audio. The sound has improved, exactly how I can't fully describe yet, but it's now actually competing with P6Pro, so this means a lot. Certain synergies are beyond astounding...CFA Trifecta and Fir Xe6 sound as amazing, if not better, here than P6Pro which is mind blowing.
Still, in a world with new DAPs every month, why seriously look at the older Sony, especially when I already love the old P6Pro? Well, maybe because I'm old and affected, but IMHO, the sound from these older Sony players truly still rival or outdo what's dominating the TOTL of today and makes an excellent DS companion to P6Pro's R2R sound.
Well, I went for it and found a good condition used WM1Z, and then went a step further, inspired by @bigbeans, and sent it to NP Audio in the UK for some major modification, all geared to improve audio and battery performance (and the aesthetic wasn't left behind). When you're legitimately improving things that didn't really need improving, you're speaking to me
! Here's a link to explain what they did to my Sony: https://www.npaudio.uk/npaudio-modifications/npaudio-wm1a-z-expmv5-upgrade
This was not cheap, doubling the price of the used WM1Z. But I have a peculiar affection for the Sony and serious modders, and NP has demonstrated some mastery here! They took something already great and made it even better, and I'm pretty happy with the result (they even changed out the screen when they recognized it needed changing). Couldn't be happier with the work done and my old/new source!
What makes me particularly happy is that both players remain small and easily portable, tho P6Pro weighs a good degree less (and still outperforms if only slightly) the modded WM1Z. The battery difference is ridiculous however...7 hr vs I'm not sure, but I've gone at least 20 hours with the Sony and battery still shows there's more.
I should state that I paid full price to NP Audio for their work and they never asked me to post my thoughts on their work. I just thought for those interested, this might be interesting!
TLDR: The Sony WM1Z after modification becomes a uniquity, "keeper" for the impossible improvement offered by NP Audio. The sound has improved, exactly how I can't fully describe yet, but it's now actually competing with P6Pro, so this means a lot. Certain synergies are beyond astounding...CFA Trifecta and Fir Xe6 sound as amazing, if not better, here than P6Pro which is mind blowing.
Still, in a world with new DAPs every month, why seriously look at the older Sony, especially when I already love the old P6Pro? Well, maybe because I'm old and affected, but IMHO, the sound from these older Sony players truly still rival or outdo what's dominating the TOTL of today and makes an excellent DS companion to P6Pro's R2R sound.
Well, I went for it and found a good condition used WM1Z, and then went a step further, inspired by @bigbeans, and sent it to NP Audio in the UK for some major modification, all geared to improve audio and battery performance (and the aesthetic wasn't left behind). When you're legitimately improving things that didn't really need improving, you're speaking to me
! Here's a link to explain what they did to my Sony: https://www.npaudio.uk/npaudio-modifications/npaudio-wm1a-z-expmv5-upgrade
This was not cheap, doubling the price of the used WM1Z. But I have a peculiar affection for the Sony and serious modders, and NP has demonstrated some mastery here! They took something already great and made it even better, and I'm pretty happy with the result (they even changed out the screen when they recognized it needed changing). Couldn't be happier with the work done and my old/new source!
What makes me particularly happy is that both players remain small and easily portable, tho P6Pro weighs a good degree less (and still outperforms if only slightly) the modded WM1Z. The battery difference is ridiculous however...7 hr vs I'm not sure, but I've gone at least 20 hours with the Sony and battery still shows there's more.
I should state that I paid full price to NP Audio for their work and they never asked me to post my thoughts on their work. I just thought for those interested, this might be interesting!
Looks neat. Quite amazed that despite being released sometimes ago and superceded, 1z is still loved by many people.
What improvement did you notice? Also just wondering if you managed to get a second unmodded copy to do A/B.
I have been doing some back and forth testing with my WM1AM2, which supposedly recreated the WM1Z sound which I agreed with pretty much.
There is a palpable difference between them now. The NP1Z sounds more open, with increased "beef" and more separation. It is like the whole thing got a supercharge!
I need to resist the temptation, my 1AM2 is enough for me right now
.
Is there a battery replacement?After long consideration and testing, I decided to compliment my P6Pro with Sony WM1Z. In fact, after listening to the Sony, and its Android partner, WM1AM2, I was wondering why I didn't start with one of these, having loved my cassette tape Walkmen thru most of my young life.
TLDR: The Sony WM1Z after modification becomes a uniquity, "keeper" for the impossible improvement offered by NP Audio. The sound has improved, exactly how I can't fully describe yet, but it's now actually competing with P6Pro, so this means a lot. Certain synergies are beyond astounding...CFA Trifecta and Fir Xe6 sound as amazing, if not better, here than P6Pro which is mind blowing.
Still, in a world with new DAPs every month, why seriously look at the older Sony, especially when I already love the old P6Pro? Well, maybe because I'm old and affected, but IMHO, the sound from these older Sony players truly still rival or outdo what's dominating the TOTL of today and makes an excellent DS companion to P6Pro's R2R sound.
Well, I went for it and found a good condition used WM1Z, and then went a step further, inspired by @bigbeans, and sent it to NP Audio in the UK for some major modification, all geared to improve audio and battery performance (and the aesthetic wasn't left behind). When you're legitimately improving things that didn't really need improving, you're speaking to me
This was not cheap, doubling the price of the used WM1Z. But I have a peculiar affection for the Sony and serious modders, and NP has demonstrated some mastery here! They took something already great and made it even better, and I'm pretty happy with the result (they even changed out the screen when they recognized it needed changing). Couldn't be happier with the work done and my old/new source!
What makes me particularly happy is that both players remain small and easily portable, tho P6Pro weighs a good degree less (and still outperforms if only slightly) the modded WM1Z. The battery difference is ridiculous however...7 hr vs I'm not sure, but I've gone at least 20 hours with the Sony and battery still shows there's more.
I should state that I paid full price to NP Audio for their work and they never asked me to post my thoughts on their work. I just thought for those interested, this might be interesting!
a little story of something that happened today
the friend who is helping me buy the sennheiser ie 900 received them today (its hard to get in my current region). got them to try them out to make sure they are working, and to have a listen for themselves. they got a little giddy and excited listening to them. talking about how they sounded smooth and was amazed at how crisp the layering and separation is. they listened to some Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder and was gushing about how they noticed for the first time that Billy Joel just wasnt singing as well or sounding as good in a particular track. and how they now could really tell when a simple track was just simple, vs complex/busy tracks.
i dunno. it was just really fun to see a non-audiophile friend experience something really high end for the first time. its easy to get bogged down in the details. looking for marginal improvements. chasing the diminishing returns. but seeing someone go from only having heard cheap mainstream stuff to experiencing really good stuff in one go, is such fun. i live a long way away from most of my friends, and cant travel due to poor health, so its really nice to have a small opportunity to share this hobby i love. i told them to use the iems as much as they like between now and the weekend
the friend who is helping me buy the sennheiser ie 900 received them today (its hard to get in my current region). got them to try them out to make sure they are working, and to have a listen for themselves. they got a little giddy and excited listening to them. talking about how they sounded smooth and was amazed at how crisp the layering and separation is. they listened to some Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder and was gushing about how they noticed for the first time that Billy Joel just wasnt singing as well or sounding as good in a particular track. and how they now could really tell when a simple track was just simple, vs complex/busy tracks.
i dunno. it was just really fun to see a non-audiophile friend experience something really high end for the first time. its easy to get bogged down in the details. looking for marginal improvements. chasing the diminishing returns. but seeing someone go from only having heard cheap mainstream stuff to experiencing really good stuff in one go, is such fun. i live a long way away from most of my friends, and cant travel due to poor health, so its really nice to have a small opportunity to share this hobby i love. i told them to use the iems as much as they like between now and the weekend
Awesome story! Now help him to create an account here!
oh gods no. theres no way im gonna recommend them join the degenerates on hereAwesome story! Now help him to create an account here!
chickenmcnug
Formerly known as 8481
It's awesome when you watch friends convert and finally "get it".
