Sony NW-A55 & MRWALKMAN Firmware - Alternative Firmware For Your Sony Player

I recently reviewed the

sony

nwa 55, a small digital audio

player

that offers many features at a reasonable price, does not have the flashiest components and is a pure audio

player

with no online streaming support during my review I mentioned that Sony players They use a combination of software integration and proprietary hardware to achieve harmony. I talked about Sony's user interface and features. It turns out that an audiophile who calls himself Mr Wachmann provides

alternative

firmware

for the a55, in fact he has

alternative

firmware

for the a30, a40 and nwzx300. I contacted Mr. Walkman and discussed his firmware.

I downloaded that firmware to test it. This video explains what happened. You can visit Mr. Walkman's blog and read all the details about the firmware of it. You can read the Q a section and the discussions with people who have left messages on his. websites essentially there are a few different versions of this firmware one version is based on the wm1z from nw another version is based on the dmp z1 which costs like 8 500 Mr walkman believes that the firmware alters the sound signature of the a50 and also the other players , but it's more than just that, for example if you live in Europe then you are subject to the European Union rules for audio equipment.

Two of the rules directly affect Sony players. First, there is a mandatory volume limit of 85 decibels, which means no audio. The player may exceed this volume. The second rule is that any radio in a device must support HD radio. These rules result in Sony players having their volumes limited and their radios disabled again. This applies to units sold in the European Union with the firmware ID. configured in that world region, the Mr. Walkman firmware will change all the region codes of the A50 and unlock the locked potential of the radio and volume. As for promises of sound alterations, Mr.

Walkman provides information about what he should hear if he clicks on the firmware version he wants. To download, you will have the opportunity to read about the changes. Those changes rightly include a more precise and balanced sound with a better foundation of control. Improved detail retrieval. Best soundstage holography. More present media. You should take the time to check out the Mr Walkman website to familiarize

your

self. With firmware, Mr Walkerman firmware is compatible with a30 a40 850 zx300 wm1a and wm1z. One of the best things about Mr Walkman firmware is how easy it is to download and install.

Get the zip file and extract it. Connect

your

player to your PC. The player enter mass storage mode do not connect the player to PC as a dac it will not work read the instructions in the installation folder they are very simple and easy to follow you will need to install two files your player will reboot twice you can do it easily uninstall the firmware and return to the original firmware. There is a separate folder in the download file called revert. Follow those steps and your player will return to factory firmware. I played with installing and uninstalling several times.

I never had a problem. My player never. it crashed or froze and was obviously not locked. I can't promise that this will be the experience for everyone, but the firmware appears to be stable enough to be able to test Mr. Walkman's firmware. I had to find a way to be transparent and honest. Impossible to ab test this firmware if you only have one player on hand, therefore I bought a second a55 on eBay. I installed the Mr Walkman firmware on the second a55. I used the current firmware available which is Fe version 2. This firmware allows dual boot mode before turning on the player, if you put hold button 2 and then press the power button the player will boot in plus mode , which is supposed to offer an improved sound signature and you should read the website about what it does when the whole button is in the down or off position and you turn on the player and then go into the classic version of the firmware, which is basically the original a55 firmware with minor improvements to make the sound warmer or at least that's what mr walkman says anyway.

I copied my flac library to a second SD card and put it in the second a55. I now had two a55s with identical music on board. I connected both players to an ab switch. I used numerous headphones for this test including the tin hifi t2 odyssey lcd 1. hd6xx and mdr z7 mark ii listened to the exact same songs at the same time, matched the volume, turned off the dsp and then turned on each dsp one by one on each player in summary, I did an extensive test back and forth if I made a change on On one player I made the exact same change on the other, I listened to hip-hop pop, classic orchestral rock, jazz and electronic music.

Try as I might, I couldn't hear the difference between the original firmware and Mr. Walkman's. There were a few times where I thought Mr Walkman's alternative firmware made the vocals a little clearer, but when I restarted the track to confirm that impression simply disappeared, I played and repeated numerous tracks, starting them at the same time on both players and I just switched back and forth on my a b. I didn't hear any consistent differences and the differences I did hear were so elusive that I couldn't hear them again when playing the tracks. I contacted Mr. Walkman about this and he told me that other people do hear differences, so I went back to the original firmware and downloaded a new one.

I copied the fe version 2 firmware and reinstalled it. I tried the test again and again. I got the same result. There's no difference. I was a little confused as I am aware that people who have used the alternative firmware say there is a noticeable difference and some say. There is a difference between day and night. Then I watched a video by youtuber tech moan who also did a brief analysis of the Mr Walkman firmware in that video, techmon commented that he thought he heard a difference but he couldn't be sure he said that anyway. The differences he heard weren't night and day, so I really don't know what to tell you.

If you hear a difference, then you hear a difference. I have no doubt that you really believe that is the case, but until you do an ab test, you really can't. make sure of that and my eb test using two a55 playing the same music while using the same headphones shows that there is no noticeable difference, at least for me now, maybe some will complain that I have bad ears or I just don't know what is. I'm doing it, but I can only tell you what I hear based on my testing. If anyone else with two A55s can run a similar test and come to the opposite conclusion I'd be interested to hear what they have to say but there is another Mr Walkman firmware that has an audible difference Mr Walkman released an r version of their firmware but the removed because some people had compatibility issues there are some differences between the r version and the fe version the fe version that I just talked about in the last section looks identical to the original firmware, it has exactly the same dsp options as the original firmware, but The R version has different DSP capabilities. some options are removed and others are added.

I wanted to try the DSP added on the A55, so I asked Mr. Walkman if he would let me download and try the R version. He gave me a download link. I reverted the second a55 to stock firmware, then installed version r. I set the test parameters as before and heard a big difference. The r version has a smoother and less electronic design. sound signature compared to the standard firmware version there is more fusion between the elements in a track the vocals sound softer the elements have a slightly greater decay the details are not as obvious although they are not muffled either people often talk about dynamics and texture and while those terms might have some meaning to the people who use those terms, it's completely vague to everyone else, so I'll leave my impressions as simple as possible.

The r version makes things sound softer, more delicate, less in your face and smoother no matter what headphones. I used the impression which was always the same, plus it always seemed like the volume was a little lower on the r version even though I had the volume matched and when I increased the volume on my second player I could never get the same volume level as I did it on my standard version of the a55. Mr. Walkman has a post where he discusses the firmware versions he has. He says the r version may sound cold to some people and I didn't get that particular impression if by cold he means less. vocal oomph less sparkle in the treble, then maybe I'd agree with him, but if he means cold as analysis, then that's not really what I heard.

The bottom line is that the r version has an immediate difference from the original firmware, whether you enjoy it. The interpretation of the music in the R version is really entirely up to you now the additional DSP options also make playing with the sound signature quite fun. The same options are available on the zx507 and I suppose also on the zx300, consequently, when you lose something basic. DSP With the R version you get the additional DSP power of much more expensive Sony players. The r version is not available for download on Mr. Walkman's website. I'm not going to share the link you provided because I don't have permission to do so.

Consequently, if you want to experiment with the r version, you should contact Mr. Walkman directly. You might be wondering why bother with Mr. Walkman's firmware if there is no difference in sound, at least with the Fe version. Well, all I can say is that I didn't hear any difference on the A55. I don't know if the experience would be the same for the a30, the a40, the zx300 or the other compatible daps, but there are more pragmatic reasons to consider the mister walkman firmware, for example,

sony

has not released a single firmware update for the a55 since its release, not sure if they have updates for the other series of daps, assuming Sony has no firmware updates, that suggests that Sony believes there are no improvements to be made to the players and in theory Sony really will not support firmware or software.

If you don't need to make improvements or modifications according to them, but Mr. Walkman seems to support the firmware of it. In fact, when people told him that the r version was causing problems, he removed it and offered another option, too, if he has a European. sony dap then you will probably have limited volume and a disabled radio function. mr walkman firmware will fix I also understand that mr walkman is again thinking about working on the r version of the firmware and would like to fix the stability issues. and if he does, then the r version offers some additional dsp options that are only available on the much more expensive sony daps.

The versions you can currently download appear to be stable. You can always go back to the original firmware and the main reason is that Mr. Walkman. The firmware is completely free, so while I can't say there's an audible difference in sound with the firmware, I think there are compelling reasons to use it. One thing I want to point out is that I think Mr. Walkman does this out of passion, he clearly doesn't. He has to offer any firmware and is certainly not obligated to let you download it for free, but he does and answers questions and concerns on his blog.

There is a donation button if you have used his firmware or if you would like to support his efforts please consider donating to him, as far as I am concerned I will be keeping the r version firmware on my second a55. If Mr. Walkman releases a new firmware, I'll be in line to download and test it.