PS Audio support - atleast in my case faulted the USB cable. To their credit, I could not replace this with a standard usb cable. That tells me that any cable which is not per USB spec, specially around the 5v line maybe having an issue.
What beats me is why this did not happen to some folks here with releases older than Windom.
Iām open to trying a new USB cable, but I donāt want to spend $3,000 on one. Is there a decent 1 meter cable out there that costs less than $50?
If you just want to check if the cable is the problem, I wouldnāt get another high (or even medium) priced cable, since many of them are NOT compliant with the specification.
I would simply get a certified cable from Amazon, or even Walmart to try out. The vast majority of them are less than $10 (I have a 6ft StarTech that was less than $5 from Amazon, and is certified).
You can check for certification on the USB website:
edit - the list and search function is a little slow loading, and may appear like there is nothing there or that the page has frozen for a little while.
edit 2 - the brand search under advanced filters can be a little misleading, as the certification may be under the REAL manufacturer, and not necessarily the marketing BRAND.
I can swing $5 
Iāll try another cable and see what happens.
@jamesh - as you know this is happening to quite a few folks. Others on the windom installation thread have also reported the issue.
The issue has been replicated on both Snowmass 3.06 and Windom.
uSB cables that have worked previously are now having issues
Would really appreciate if PS Audio can confirm that they are looking into having this issue resolved.
Thanks heaps.
As far as I can tell, PS Audio has been silent on this issue so far. Maybe you have to call them on the phone instead? While Iāve seen a few here with this problem, Iām assuming there are hundreds if not thousands of of USB users out there. If this were an across the board problem, Iām sure it would have been addressed by now. It must just be something quirky with certain users, computers, DACs, cables, etc. In my case, I installed the upgrade kit in my PWD chassis. All the guts where replaced except for the screen, so I canāt see how that would affect anything. As I noted in the Windom thread, the USB versions are different though. The old one worked perfect for me and the new one doesnāt?
We are looking into it, but as you can imagine, itās really hard to track down whatās going on. There are so many variables when it comes to playing over USB. Computers, streamers, different software, different OS. With something like this, it will take some time to fully diagnose what is happening. We ask for your patience while we figure this out.
Now this problem is getting the best of me and I canĀ“t fix it. Only FW version I get sound from direct usb from Innuos Zen mk3 is Yale. Always Yale for some reason.At times a get ticks and pops like vinyl. If I load any other FW version usb is dead. But usb works through Matrix with each and every time i change FW. Tried with different usb cables and same result. Curious,Inakustik,Belkin Pro and Qed,they all fail.
I just recently noticed this problem again because I wanted to listen direct usb and got no sound. Dsd shows green light usb selected ,so it recognises signal.
I would like to know if this is a hand shake problem with Innuos streamers and dsd dac or ābad loadā thing, what might be happening ? Any update from PS Audio ?
Done all the tricksā¦formatted 4 different sd cards,re loaded zip files and all that and tried FW versions back and forth.
@jamesh feel free to contact me about this matter. Maybe you can post original sd cards to try out ? If that helps.
I just loaded Windom Saturday and no issues, at least initially. This morning, Monday Nov. 11, I fired up mu Innuos Zenith Mk III and PSA DSDsr with Windom, and its sounds like an inexpensive clock radio. Further listening and the volume tends to trail off. Typically I would listen with my volume at 9 Oāclock, now I have it at 11:30 and it sounds unacceptable. Something is up with the Windom load. The DSD was fine with Snowmass.
Regret loading WIndom. Instead of enjoying a listening session I get to fool around with my DAC to get it to work properly.
Listening to my Metrum Onyx, no work arounds there.
Totally agree with SQ thing also.I have felt the same many times with different FW loads. Must be something there that messes up the signal and sounds like cheap clock radio. But is it Innuos or dsd ? Must be that bad load issue at play ,orā¦??
No issues when using my Innuos to my Metrum Onyx.
Itās gotta be the DSD firmware. Just down powering and re-powering the DAC, USB card removed, and it is now unlistenable. Working with PSA on the issue. Iāll let you know how it progresses.
Genuine question:
what are the reasons for preferring USB (as it seems many do) over e.g. AES or even SPDIF, when USB is not designed for audio (and is a hostile noisy environment).
I think itās these but am I missing any?
(yes I could google but Iām specifically interested in what the members of this forum think, as you lot mostly have good ears, unlike (it seems) so very many audio review and commentary sites and forums )
- option for higher sample rates than 96 (or 192 in certain circumstances)
- option for DSD (but usually it has to be packaged as DOP)
Any more?
Thanks in advance
In my situation this is more about a new DSD where the USB output is not working as it should following a Windom download, a down power and a repower. It did work initially.
All outputs on the device should work. I should not need to change to AES, SPDIF, Optical I2S and a Matrix to get a $6,000 DAC to work.
I am using USB as that is the Output provided by my Innuos Zenith Mk III Streamer.
I also have an Innuos Zenith MKIII (all music stored on 2TB SSD drive, s/w version 1.4.3, UPnP streamers option enabled (No Sonos, No Roon), Native DSD operational mode selected, Normal Latency USB mode, No Tidal, No Spotify, No Qobuz) and the USB output is connected directly into the DSD Sr. USB input via an Audience Au24SE USB cable (before that, I was using an Audioquest Carbon USB cable without any issues other than lower SQ).
And, I do not have the PS Audio Bridge card.
I never have any problem.
An, I believe DSD Sr. is limited to play back of DSD128.
@ B. Gelinas
Thanks for the heads up. My set-up with the Innuos is the same as yours.
That said it wouldnāt hurt for me to double check the Innuos settings one more time. There are two differences that I am certain of between your situation and mine:
After loading Windom 4.01 I can not change the firmware on my DSD.
Following the Windom 4.01 load I am now having problems between my Innuos and the DSD via the USB connection.
You said āAfter loading Windom 4.01 I can not change the firmware on my DSDā.
Are you serious???
That is not normal.
You mean to say you cannot load older firmware like Yale for example?
If not, then I would suggest that you talk to Ted or Paul (or tech support) : that should not happen.
Thatās correct and a conversation with PSA Staff is in progress. Basically this has been my first āSeriousā listen to the PSA DSD since receiving it. It sounded great with Snowmass 3.06, then I added a Curious USB cable with a step up in performance, and then moved to a Wire World Platinum Starlight 7 USB cable with an additional step up in performance. After about 10 days of listenng I had a handle on the DSD Snowmass 3.06 sound. Very good after a long burn in IMO. Based on what I read elsewhere in the forums with the Etcher USB forced SD card load I believed PSA had resolved the firmware load issues to the best of their ability. Saturday night I loaded Windom 4.01 and listened for about 2 hours before we went out for the night. So far all is good.
My initial impression of Windom was there was more āthereā in terms of detail, imaging and soundstage. Also seemed to be tonally accurate. I just needed more listening to determine if Windom was a move in the right direction, but I did like what I heard. Shut the DAC and Innuos down Saturday night. Fired it up Monday morning to hear a friend interviewed on a local radio stream, and i got very little volume out of my system. Turned up the volume from 9:00 to 11:30 just so I could hear it. My clock radio in the bedroom sounded better. Arrrghhā¦
Been in communication with PSA Customer Service, and they have been very supportive. After multiple attempts to load Windom using the Etcher/MAC method no luck. BTW, this was how Windom was originally loaded on my DAC just leading into the Saturday evening listening session. Tried going to Yale, no go-Blank Screen, tried going to Snowmass, still showed Windom 4.01. Tried Windom reload again still prefer my clock radio. From what I am seeing it appears after starting the unit up this morning something changed affecting the sound and the change is also preventing me from updating the firmware. Immediately after the initial Windom load it sounded fine, now it sounds worse than a clock radio. Local attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful.
I plugged my Innuos into my Metrum Onyx DAC via the WW PS 7 USB cable and all is good. My Metrum is a NOS Ladder DAC. Very sweet and musical sounding. I think I have found āhomeā with the Metrum. Regarding Digital I donāt do Tidal/Qobuzz, or Hi-rez, as Iām a Redbook guy. I do Spotify to try out new releases I may be interested in. Regarding music I lean towards Analog/Vinyl. Decided to try Digital Streaming thinking it would be easier and less frustrating. After this morning I am not convinced Digital Streaming/Server is for me.
Hopefully, PS AUDIO will fix your DSD Sr. and you will be able to enjoy Window (or Snowmass) to the best of its ability.
It is very sad that PS AUDIO has this firmware issue with their $7000 DAC as it can negatively affect new owners (and existing owners) impression of the DSD Sr. DAC, which is actually an excellent product when you can get the firmware working ā¦
I recently compared the DSD Sr. with Windom against the Hugo TT2, and the DSD Sr. was still the better one to my ears.
Appreciate the sentiment. From what I heard of it both the Snowmass and Windom versions of the DSD showed great potential. My brief experience with RedCloud not so much. Convenience has itās place as well. Iām not into the hair-shirt experience which is one reason I held off on updating to Windom. Should have waited longer. My bad in that regard.
That said Iām confident PSA can resolve the problem. 
You really went straight to the bottom there @weedeewop. Thatās nasty. I get loads through and FW changes everytime ,it is just bad sound sometimes and a mute usb out.
My first Windom load sounded so good,it made me go saying that I got only bad loads before.
Then I noticed muted usb direct from Innuos. Reset dsd and never got that magic back.
Now the best sound I get is Yale and direct usb. Snowmass and Windom I get sound only with Matrix and that combo is not as goodā¦so there must be something wrong with it 