Sony HAP-Z1ES file transfer BROKEN!!!


Hello all:

I just has an enlightening/depressing discussion with a senior level Sony ES Tech.  I had not used my HAP-Z1ES recently (or more correctly I had not uploaded any music to the unit for several months).  I have done some listening, tho.

Last evening I tried to transfer some FLAC files, and the HAP did not even appear as a network device on either my Mac Pro, or Windows 10 PC.   I futzed around with it for several hours with no success.  Then I did a Google search, and found that others had gotten it to work AFTER going into the HAP hidden SMB setup screen, and selecting SMB 1.0 as the protocol.

I finally got it to work on the Windows side, but then noticed the transfer speed was half of what it used to be- and that previous speed was glacially slow. They will have to come up with a new word to describe how slow it is now.

Sony tech told me that Apple, in their infinite wisdom, rendered the SMB protocol inoperative in High Sierra onward, due to "security concerns"  Sony Japan asked Apple to come up with a workaround to allow their HAP customers to be able to continue to use their players, but was told "Not only NO, but Hell, NO. We're not the slightest bit interested"  Thanks SO much, Apple!!!!

Windows users have also been affected because Microsoft recently downgraded to SMB protocol from Ver.2 back to ver.1.  Hence, the transfer speed was cut exactly in half, and that's precisely what I observed.

The Tech told me that to continue to use a Mac to work with my HAP-Z1ES, I'd have to find an older MAC that was running an earlier version of OS-X where the SMB was not hobbled.

I'm thinking about getting a laptop and installing LINUX to see if the file transfer to the HAP would speed up- since Sony natively uses the Linux EXT4 filesystem.

Has anyone else done this?

And thanks again, Apple and Microsoft!!!

P.S.  Sony has not put any of this information on their HAP-Z1ES website- tech said their legal beagles won't let them- so the customers have to do the digging to get to the truth of what is transpiring.

 

kind regards,

Greg Davis

dumpster

It's really not that different than many of the things that can go wrong in audio except it involves very large corporations and the turnover is faster paced.  At different times for different products replacement tubes, CD mechanisms, loudspeaker drives and integrated chips are simply not available.  Try getting a replacement video controller board for a 10 year old flat screen TV.  Think of it as a semi-permanent supply chain problem.

As much a pain in the ass as it has morphed into, the Sony HAP has permanently changed the way I listen to music. I love the vinyl process, but it can be time-consuming. If I want to listen for just a bit, I can fire up the HAP, use my iPad to select music (usually from a playlist), and chill for a half hour or so with my fave tracks.

I don't like it, but I can live with inventing workarounds to keep it going.  Again, not particularly Sony's fault. If Apple/Microsoft are SO concerned about my security, they can devote more time inventing operating systems without so many vulnerabilities. 

My .02¢

 

gregor

I'm using my Sony HAP-Z1ES from Ubuntu. This is the mount command that made it work. It's using version 3.0.

sudo mount -t cifs -o vers=3.0,uid=1000,gid=1000,password= //<YOUR IP HERE>/HAP_Internal /mnt/haps

I have no idea what you mean, what is Ubuntu?  The Sony HAP is. Linux based system.  

He is talking about directly accessing the internal storage of the HAP with the operating systems own capabilities, instead of using a dedicated software. In the past I was able to use this to keep my HAP in sync with my local storage of FLAC files. My system was down for some years and I now tried to re-setup. But the CIFS mount does not work at the moment. Also, when I did it in the year 2017 maybe, I did not use "vers=3.0" as option. EDIT: After updating my system (over the network) I now am able to access it.