[Cecala]

Most of the so called changes will have little affect (time will tell), how about delivering more power, a much more needed powerful SOC and improved S master chip.
All that people want and crave Sony has not provided, instead they did some work on the power supply. The fact that the video concentrated on the copper case and special sauce solder says it all. I will concend though and await reviews. In any case I have written it off as my next purchase as I detest laggy UIs ( I have owned the ZX2). Even if the sound by some miracle is 1% better, it still comes up short in a lot of areas for me. Each to their own.

 

[psikey]

Haven't done anything? Did you even read the release materials? Just in terms of active components they created a completely new power regulation stage (the massive silver capacitor), new FTcaps (version 3 vs version 1 in the WM1) which they specially customised, and more accurate clock crystals.

In terms of passive components, new PCB boards, thicker internal cabling, much better compartmentalisation between components, more EMI shielding, new solder etc just to name a few.

Agree, but will that all deliver actually "better" sound or just slightly different sound because its new and now cost 25% more?

The fact its even bigger/heavier puts me off too!

 

[Cecala]

You realise you are in an audiophile forum right? Audiophile chases 0.0001% differences, 0.03% is already an absolute win.

First off, nobody or even a bat could discern a 0.0001 difference (even if you meant this as a joke). This is the problem with audiophiles, they're too busy chasing the equipment and have long forgotten it's intended use.

 

[siruspan]

There is already an optimization guide that has been made for the ZX-507; I suspect that most of these tweaks are valid for the WM1 mkII devices

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-nw-zx500.914486/page-57#post-15339376

Jesus, that's a lot. I was just pressing "play" on my WM1A for the last 5 years. Often wihout even turning on the screen

 

[Cecala]

Jesus, that's a lot. I was just pressing "play" on my WM1A for the last 5 years. Often wihout even turning on the screen

Good on you, you were simply enjoying the music.

 

[nanaholic]

Agree, but will that all delivery actually "better" sound or just slightly different sound because its new and now cost 25% more?

The fact its even bigger/heavier puts me off too!

At the TOTL range, there's really no objectively better but only subjective preferences. You can show measurements of the exact same ruler flat FR from 2 to 20kHz and 0.0001% THD etc from half a dozen DAPs and people will still have a preference for one over the other and insisting one is absolutely "night and day better" than another, so that point is moot, and frankly, I don't give a crap about those opinions anymore and have no interest in participating in those discussions either.

That said, the original point is to address the "Sony changed nothing" point - that otoh, we can say is objectively false, and is something that I'm actually going to bother with correcting. I always respect the Sony sound team engineers for actually doing something and actually investing in newer tech, regardless if their effort actually results in changes for the better or not, because every time I talk to them I can feel the enthusiasm and pride in their tone and body language, which tells me they aren't just clocking in and clocking out for work.

 

[hoofman]

That said, the original point is to address the "Sony changed nothing" point - that otoh, we can say is objectively false, and is something that I'm actually going to bother with correcting. I always respect the Sony sound team engineers for actually doing something and actually investing in newer tech, regardless if their effort actually results in changes for the better or not, because every time I talk to them I can feel the enthusiasm and pride in their tone and body language, which tells me they aren't just clocking in and clocking out for work.

I watched the interviews with the engineers on Youtube and I felt the same thing. I don't understand much about the engineering parts (yet) obviously but I did feel that they honestly care about their products and take pride in their works. You have talked to them directly? What a chance!!

 

[Cecala]

At the TOTL range, there's really no objectively better but only subjective preferences. You can show measurements of the exact same ruler flat FR from 2 to 20kHz and 0.0001% THD etc from half a dozen DAPs and people will still have a preference for one over the other and insisting one is absolutely "night and day better" than another, so that point is moot, and frankly, I don't give a crap about those opinions anymore and have no interest in participating in those discussions either.

That said, the original point is to address the "Sony changed nothing" point - that otoh, we can say is objectively false, and is something that I'm actually going to bother with correcting. I always respect the Sony sound team engineers for actually doing something and actually investing in newer tech, regardless if their effort actually results in changes for the better or not, because every time I talk to them I can feel the enthusiasm and pride in their tone and body language, which tells me they aren't just clocking in and clocking out for work.

That comment was addressed to me. By saying Sony changed nothing, I was addressing the point that Sony changed nothing worth that offered superior sound objectively or subjectively speaking or better and quicker functionality. Items that are potential issues with a new Sony dap, latter withstanding.
As has already been said, they're no reviews as yet to comment on SQ differences if any. Fine. My prediction is that the sound will be judged as somewhat different at best not better.
You cannot argue against that this is a very lazy offering from Sony.

 

[gLer]

Sony changed nothing worth that offered superior sound objectively or subjectively speaking or better and quicker functionality.

You won't know that until you've heard it, and for anyone who wants streaming, wireless file management support, the ability to quickly play music videos, or even fully customise the interface, try that with the old Walkmans...

 

[Vamp898]

heMost of the so called changes will have little affect (time will tell), how about delivering more power, a much more needed powerful SOC and improved S master chip.
All that people want and crave Sony has not provided, instead they did some work on the power supply. The fact that the video concentrated on the copper case and special sauce solder says it all. I will concend though and await reviews. In any case I have written it off as my next purchase as I detest laggy UIs ( I have owned the ZX2). Even if the sound by some miracle is 1% better, it still comes up short in a lot of areas for me. Each to their own.

The capacitors have the biggest influence on the sound at all, changing them will cause the biggest change. Giving the S-Master HX more power as it is would just decrease the sound quality for the sake of higher volume. So you would have the same sound, but in worse quality and louder. That is not an option for anyone i'd assume.

Sony is a Japanese company and most of their Audio Gear is sold in Japan. They sell more Walkman in Japan than the rest of the world combined. So they're focused on the Japanese market first and 250mW@16Ω is not an issue for most Japanese (Im in several Japanese Audiophile community and the lack of power is something you hear very rarely if at all). You can drive the Sony MDR-Z1R (100db, 64Ω), Final D8000(98db, 60Ω) and the Sennheiser HD800S/HD820(103db, 300Ω) without any issues (even at low gain). There are not that many Headphones that need such an insane amount of power. The MDR-Z1R is sufficient loud at 80/120 low gain and painfully loud at 100/120 low gain.

It is a portable device, making it bigger is no option (That is what the DMP-Z1 is for) and in the size it does have, there is not much you can do about the S-Master HX. And Sony stays true (they mention it in every interview and even in the new WM1ZM2 release video) that the S-Master HX gives the highest possible sound quality.

The only way to get higher output is by using an Analog Amp which Sony considers inferior.

The WM1Z is the way it is. Sony made it with 250mW@16Ω and they post it very clear and without doubt on their homepage. If 250mW is not enough for your Headphones than the WM1Z is just not the right device for you. I can understand that this is an annoyance for you because it is an beautiful and convenient device but complaining won't help.

If you really want the Sony sound, need a portable device but more power, your only option is the DMP-Z1 for now. If this is not the right device for you, i'd recommend getting an competitor device like the Astell&Kern SP2000 (375mW @ 16Ω) or FiiO M11 Plus (588mW @ 32Ω) or similar.

 

[Vamp898]

I watched the interviews with the engineers on Youtube and I felt the same thing. I don't understand much about the engineering parts (yet) obviously but I did feel that they honestly care about their products and take pride in their works. You have talked to them directly? What a chance!!

You can ask them Questions on Twitter about the new WM1 Releases and they will try to answer as many as possible in an upcoming video (Japanese Only! So if you intend to ask an question, put it into deepl and let it translate into Japanese. If you want, you can send it as an PM to me and i'll check if Deepl messed it up and correct it if needed)

https://www.sony.jp/walkman/special/walk2022/

 

[hoofman]

You can ask them Questions on Twitter about the new WM1 Releases and they will try to answer as many as possible in an upcoming video (Japanese Only! So if you intend to ask an question, put it into deepl and let it translate into Japanese. If you want, you can send it as an PM to me and i'll check if Deepl messed it up and correct it if needed)

https://www.sony.jp/walkman/special/walk2022/

Oh that is great I didn't know that. I haven't used Twitter yet but I'll create one account if that enables me to interact with them. I'll PM you when I need help thanks for offering.

 

[Vamp898]

Oh that is great I didn't know that. I haven't used Twitter yet but I'll create one account if that enables me to interact with them. I'll PM you when I need help thanks for offering.

Don't forget to follow the master himself: https://twitter.com/Hiroaki59612632

 

[Lookout57]

I look at the M2's as Sony's attempt to scale the DMP-Z1 down into a true portable device. To add DMP-Z1 features like DSD Remastering they needed to make it physically bigger to support the additional hardware required. Since it was physically growing and to the masses, streaming is the thing, they added wifi and support. But I bet they went Android because it was cheaper and quicker than trying to add everything needed for streaming (drivers and applications) to their proprietary Linux OS. I also doubt that the streaming vendors wanted to port their streaming apps to a proprietary OS that has a much smaller market than Android.

In looking at what they did, it reminded me of Apple. The original iPod was a pure music player. They replaced it with the iPod Touch which added the touchscreen UI that people wanted since the iPhone came out. They also added the ability to install apps like games and other crap (just like Sony is allowing on the M2's.) Hopefully the M2's won't end up like the iPod Touch, the end of the road.

 

[DanielListening]

There is already an optimization guide that has been made for the ZX-507; I suspect that most of these tweaks are valid for the WM1 mkII devices

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-nw-zx500.914486/page-57#post-15339376

My NW-ZX507 was acting up. This link answered all my questions and allowed me to reset it. Thank you.