XXX a écrit :Last year some Chinese enthusiastic worked out a way to modify firmwares and change their sound. ATM I won't dive into disclosing the technical specifics since it may be illegal and ultra troublesome to write, but the results are something profound. I will first elaborate on some basic principles.

Firmwares do affect sound (nonsense... we all know that). The firmwares of 1A/1Z provided to download all over the world are universal and totally identical (identical MD5 value). But there are TWO SETS of tuning codes to tune 1A/1Z separately, stored WITHIN THE SAME FIRMWARE. The firmware file simply identifies whether your device is 1A or 1Z then it applies the proprietary tunings accordingly. It reads the identification codes stored within the firmware and your devices as references to preceed the installation.

Secondly, firmware file contains two parts: the first part with the basic system functionalities, for example, the random / repeat buttons shown in now playing, introduced in 2.0; the usb dac / bt receiver modes introduced in 3.0, etc; The second part is the tuning codes, which are scattered in various sections of the firmware. We don't know how exactly the codes work, as they remain an encrypted black box. But we can switch the "box" between 1A and 1Z to alter each other sound. Thirdly and most importantly, the firmware of DMP-Z1 & ZX300 are of similar structure with slight differences of the functionality part, for example, DMP doesn't even has a skip button in the UI while 1Z does of course. HOWEVER, the tuning codes of DMP can be applied to 1A / 1Z perfectly fine.

Incorporating DMP's tuning, both 1A / 1Z enjoy a much expanded sound with better extension on both ends. With the new assets at hand, theoretically speaking, tuning codes can be switched and combined to approximate the desired sound profiles of many other DAPs. Yet the process was HIDEOUS, since it's a shot in the dark for modders to blindly test the wild combinations with our own ears. Thx to our Chinese pioneer, Deck24, who relentlessly keep experimenting the tunings with months of trials and errors, finally there are some results to be shared to the public.

Disclosure: Since the discovery of firmware tuning, I have been working with "the Step-Father of Walkman"@Whitigir to create and share a series of modded firmwares "in conspiracy". Theoretically speaking, each of these firmwares is a clear upgrade to your Walkman, but remember that your hardware limitations will play the bigger roles that scales up with the firmware performances.

The following firmware mods will bring about the sound signatures of DMP Z1 fine tuned for the Walkman. There will be differences as DMP Z1 and Walkman are too different in hardware engineering, sizes and implementations. If you are not happy with what you hear, please use the stock firmware, as there has been no known risk of damaging or bricking the player.
Both 1A and 1Z are tuned exactly and the same. Four sound profiles were composed, tastefully and painstakingly. They are Mercury, Jupiter, Mars and Venus for you to choose from:

MERCURY: has the most neutral and flat frequency response and has the most reference sound. Clear, sharp and swift timbre warped you within a rounded holographic staging. Technically it's most akin to the sound profile of the almighty DMP-Z1 itself.

JUPITER: is the most majestic all-rounder profile lying somewhere between Mercury and Mars. It's more engaging and musical than Mercury and less warm and aggressive than Mars, but keeping all the ultra resolution Mercury has to offer.

MARS: is a more aggressive, V-shaped yet exciting profile than Jupiter. It's a living volcano and raging hurricane bringing forth gigantic soundstage, thunderous dynamics and authoritative slams, yet still breathes air in the upper treble area.

VENUS: is a silky smooth, mid-centric profile for vocal oriented music. It's the most colorful signature among all the Planets, with beautiful reverbs and decays lingering in an analogue flavor. If you are a fan of East-Asian pop songs, especially female vocals, this is the best fitting profile for you.

SOLIS: This is the One Sound To Rule Them All profile available only in Tier 5 level. With many attempts we tried to compress / downscale it to T4 and below but no avail without sacrificing too much merits of the tunings. This profile takes advantage of the expertise from all the other Planets, so it has was tuned with balance in mind, ready to shine upon every genres of music. Due to its technical complexity and sophistication, it could be a hit or miss for your setup.

Among all these 4 profiles, we also divided each of them into 3 different Tiers for various levels of setups. You can choose freely for your own preference. So there are a whole combinations of 4x3=12 versions to choose from.

Tier 1: Most friendly to the most numbers of setups. There will be a clear differences from a stock Walkman. The proof of different internal wires and hardware components in places. Sound is relatively milder and relaxed than Tier 2 and 3.

Tier 2: Better performances in details, resolutions and dynamics. However, if you don’t have TOTL setups, please refer to tier 1 or roll back to stock firmwares or it may sound aggressive due to your hardware limitations. The battery will also shorten by a little compared to Tier 1 and stock FWs due to the higher processed resolution.

Tier 3: Push the Walkman to its limits, or even beyond. Please note that this is the highest performances, but is also the most picky one. Highly recommended for players with hardware modified, authentic upgrades cables and very capable high end monitors, with which T3 scales incredibly well. If your setup can handle it properly, it offers the most dynamic, physical and detailed sound yet to be heard with any Walkman, otherwise it may sound worse than T2 or T1. The battery will shorten to some extent, just like switching from low gain to high gain.

To put it in a nutshell, these firmwares are all about the SYNERGY with your hardware. The higher the Tier ranks, the better hardware scales, and the higher output power perceived (illusionary). Tier 3 of each profile may not fit the majority out there, although they are the most technically capable.
For better performances, please also change regional code into Japan.

Additional Reading - Japanese Tunings
Japanese model of 1A/1Z sounds different than the other region models. Generally speaking, JP tuning has smoother timbre, better bass texture and a tad deeper/larger soundstage.

To obtain the Japanese tuning, simply run the Rockbox tool to change your region code to J. You can also find the Rockbox tool in the folder I shared.
How to change region code to "J" using Rockbox tool

P.S. You DON'T need to factory reset to activate J tuning! Don't reset or you will lose your clocking hours. Just restarting will suffice.
After changing to J, please run ANY firmwares again for your device to apply to the J FW. Restarting your device, u will find a new certificate item showing up at the bottom of setting's page, proving your FW is now the Japanese version. At the same time, u lose the ability to change language to others, but keeping your current language (such as English). Because Japanese FW initially doesn't support multi-language selection.

Upgrade methods: first make sure your device is on official 3.02. The mods are all based on the official 3.02, keeping all its vested functionalities. If u upgrade from any other official versions the installation will fail, though no harm will incur at all. The upgrading speed is much faster than official upgrade since only the tuning parts are being written in. The process is perfectly safe for your device, and you can always run the other mod to substitute, or revert back to the official FWs anytime by running their exe.

Important Notes concerning regions:
1. Choose the correct version corresponding with your device model to install.
2. All devices except JP model and EU model should choose Universal.
3. Japanese Tourist Edition should choose Universal, NOT Japanese.
4. Changing regions with Rockbox and choosing FW's region to install are two independent issues.
5. Changing regions with Rockbox will change sound, but installing FWs ONLY read the region your hardware device originally subjected to. Pls refer to the picture below for reference:

MrLocoLuciano a écrit : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... oTX3lfoM_l

In the link above you can find packages for each region (EU/JP/U). Also, before the Software Update tool will start, you will be greeted with this :



This will allow you to choose to what version of firmware you would like to apply the tuning to. For example, if at the moment you use the 3.01 firmware, you should choose option b. After you'll enter "b" and then press the Enter key, the Software Update tool will start, ready to apply the tuning for the firmware you have already installed.

Détail sur les firmwares :

Seasons :

1. Summer
As the sun shines brightly, the warm and Holographic soundstage that is insanely
wide envelopes you with lush mids and ultra smooth highs while producing a very refined and
deep bass experience.

2. Autumn
As the leaves fall, the thick and rich mids coupled with refined treble and super deep
bass gives you an enveloping wide stage of powerful and impactful sound.

3. Winter
As the snow falls, the gentle and warm mids coupled with silky smooth treble elevate you
to reach the deepest depths of bass and enjoy a sound that plays well with all genres.

4. Spring
When the leaves grow, you get a sense of clean and detailed resolution that shines through
with ease. The highs, mids and lows blend together in a very balanced yet enjoyable way with a tinge
of warmth.

Bonus :

Autumn+
When the leaves fall, so do the beats. This version of Autumn punches way down with
superb bass resolution. The vocals are full and warm yet airy and articulate. Highs are
silky smooth. The soundstage is wide and well spread out. The best all round sound for
all genres.

This is basically a more refined tuning of Autumn, which sounds really great in my opinion.

Complément :

As previously mentioned, the tuning was done using a stock WM1A, using the J region.
Using this on a WM1Z (included in the link) or on a WM1A with a different region may
result in a slightly different sound.