WM1A/Z-M2 Mods

Thank you for pictures ! Still not opened mine yet. What happened to 4.4 socket ? Thought Sony quality is better than that.

Seems like the Usb-C is now an extensions rather than on the board, and that is super smart for this type of connector.

I just got this done for a special friend 5N pure gold by 24Awg

I only listened briefly before packing up to send back to the owner. I don't have a fully complete WM1A/Z mod, the one i'm working on is about 60% but listenable and wasn't too far off 👍

awesome, safe to say m2 isn't worth it over the modded 1a if i dialike android?

Originally I didn’t want to lift my iron for 1ZM2.  But after extensive comparisons A/Z….etc…Once I hear that Pure Solid Core Gold wire again. I could not resist it. Blacker back ground, better imagines, controls, textures in comparisons, and more dynamic as well. Had to have that in the all Golden boy here. Just so, he is good all around as well.  The 1A with upgraded wires is already a bit better than 1Z with Kimber.

out the Kimber and in the pure Gold!

Cheers Doug 👍 I'm sure he will, if not i'm sure I will 😅

Further improving my WM1Z M2 by further improving the power supply capacitor.

Dang it, how I hate Sony is so neat and tight in build and space managements. You probably wonder why ? Because Class D amplifications is all about frequencies, physical vibrations will effect it performances. Sony always goes to the extreme length in all of their build anyways. You will never find anything that could become loose inside their products at all

Anyways, since it is that important with physical motions. I do not want to remove my inner plastic chassis but instead, making use of it. Finding a good space to fit in the right values of capacitors and wirings so that it also minimize the vibrations with added epoxy just like Sony is doing, in the while keeping away from our notoriously weakness to the S-Master , the noises and parasitic induced reactance , capacitances….aka…keeping it with some spaces a part. Even as much as 1mm would be a great different.

Finally, after countless plugin and listening , test and trials. I chose Nichicon UKW here. Being in parallel, the series impedances of the capacitors are already vastly reduced, so it isn’t necessarily have to be utilizing film caps, but instead we want capacitances and harmonics (which is the most and only with electrolytic)

Yes, lady and gentlemen, it is a very simple mods, but a lot of researches and planning in order to improve it !

Now, to whoever wanting to improve their M2, each different brand and values will impact your player under a different signatures. However, the most common improvements will be better staging, separations, and micro dynamics. Transients and timbres will be slightly different from one brand and kind to another, assuming you are using my values of 100uF to further reinforce the upper bass and upper mid spectrum.

Last and not least, the voltage should be higher than 10V, Eventhough the capacitor is only seeing 4V at max.

Then finally, when you are looking down onto the capacitor, please do pay attentions at the polarities. The one on the balanced port side is Positive, which is also on the positive side of the battery. DO NOT SHORT it out as a rule of thumbs

If you want to test trials and errors, do consider to carefully solder in DIP Legs from OpAmps sockets and give it a test run. Do shut it off between sections and allow running for more than 2 hours for initial burn in before you switch on. Notes down your comparisons for references. I burn in 6 different kinds and then started comparing afterward.

Solder is Mundorf gold and wires are top end silver Goldplated Litz cores from authentic Hakugei brand which has more than 32 strands per conductors

Picture for giggling 


Disclosure:  do not modify your WM1Z if you can not fathom the loss of it when it become dead .  There are Zero parts available to buy and fix it up ATM.  Otherwise!!! Have fun!!!