Ken said
I installed the DS kit successfully into my PWD chassis several weeks ago and have enjoyed it immensely. However, having just installed the new firmware, all is not well. Firmware install seemed to go well. Logo flashed for a while, then DS initialized. I powered the DS off, removed SD card, and powered DS up. Volume nearly nil in right channel. The balance setting indicated 100/0. As I pushed and held the right balance button on remote, the right channel came up until it reached 56, and then while still holding right balance button, right stayed at 56 but left channel started reducing. The highest equal setting I can achieve is 56/56. Output is set to HIGH, but at this balance setting, volume is too low even with integrated amp cranked way up, base tubby and excessive, mid to treble recessed. Sounds yucky. The setup menu indicates Firmware 1.1.5, FPGA 0.61.
I’ll have to wait 'til Monday to call Customer Service. In the meantime, any advice?
Many thanks!
I might have missed something, but can you use the volume up (either on the remote or the touch screen) to raise the volume back to 100? There’s nothing in the code that would restrict you to 56/56.
Volume is set to 100. Sorry I didn’t mention that. In balance setting, I can achieve 100 on left side but only 56 on right, max. Any more right button pushes simply causes left side to reduce.
Volume is set to 100. Sorry I didn’t mention that. In balance setting, I can achieve 100 on left side but only 56 on right, max. Any more right button pushes simply causes left side to reduce.
You mentioned 56/56 so I thought that was what the balance control read. If it did the volume would be 56. Anyway you can go back and forth between balance and volume to get where you want. Just try some non-obvious things like lowering the volume a ways and then see if you can balance things. Then you can then raise the volume back. The root of evil is that the software won’t allow either side to get louder than 100, but the best way to show that it not obvious to everyone (or perhaps some version is obvious to everyone, just not the same version.)
Just now, out of frustration, I recycled the power switch on back of DS, ran the volume from 100 to 0 and back to 100. Then went to balance setting and, magico presto, it read 100/100. But, honest, before this volume indicated 100 and balance was 56/56 and I couldn’t get the right channel balance to go above 56.
Just now, out of frustration, I recycled the power switch on back of DS, ran the volume from 100 to 0 and back to 100. Then went to balance setting and, magico presto, it read 100/100. But, honest, before this volume indicated 100 and balance was 56/56 and I couldn’t get the right channel balance to go above 56.
Anyway, problem solved! Back to toe tapping now.
Thanks for your help.
I’m glad you got it sorted. You aren’t the only one who has encountered this weirdness right after an upgrade, tho to my knowledge everyone else got it immediately when going from the PWD to the DS not upgrading the DS software. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some residual state still in your system so watch out the first few times you use the balance, but I’m reasonably sure it will go away with use. (I hate interfaces with hidden state…)
Last week I installed the DS successfully and I enjoyed . This morning , I tried to installed the new firmware : unzipped the new firmware , loaded the six files on the blank SD card , put the SD card back in the unit , powered on and the logo began to blink . But , after 20 minutes the logo was still blinking and the screen remained black without initializing .
So , I wanted to go back to my original firmware and the same thing happened ; the logo blinks non-stop and the firmware doesn’t load .
The upgrade had the blinking logo but continued for 1/2 hour. [no initializing]
A reboot [without sd card] delivered a blank screen.
A re-install of 5407 also blinked but failed to initialize.
He has 2 previously functional sd cards. neither will install now.
He also unplugged the DS for 1/2 hour.
He is now reformatting one of the cards to start over [ with freshly downloaded files] to see if any improvement.
HISTORY
After first installing the kit he could not get the included 5407 firmware to blink and install. I sent him an engineering set last week [ able to overwrite itself] and that installed immediately and was functional.
I reformated the SD card , unplugged the unit for 20 minutes , plugged it back , entered the SD card with the 5407 version in the slot , power on and the logo blinks and blinks for 5 minutes with a blank screen . So , Power off , removed the SD card and power on . Oh ! Miracle !!! It’s now initializing … And the version 5407 is working . So , I’ m gonna enjoy for few days or weeks before upgrading to the last version .
I’m curious if others are experiencing an issue since upgrading firmware with the Dim function on the remote. When I turn the unit on, the display is lit. I commonly dim it (maximum dim) with the remote. That still happens, but now I can no longer reactivate always on from the remote–nothing happens. If I touch the screen, it briefly come on and then dims again. If I press the Phase button on the remote, I do get display and change in phase and then dims again. Prior to upgrade in firmware, I was able to toggle activate display to stay on by pressing the Dim button. Anyone else experiencing this? Suggested remedy?
Thank you. Strangely, everything stopped working via remote. I shut off the dac from the front and then was able to turn on from the remote and now functions have returned. “On” does work as you indicate.
The latest firmware is:
1.1.5 is the PIC (Control Processor on the Display card)
0.61 is the FPGA
00.06 is the XMOS / USB
0.61 is short for 0.6115 - the version of the code is 61, the compile is 15 but there's only one compile of any version in the wild.
Ted if it’s not complex can you explain the pic and the fpga firmwares.
Meaning do both chNge in number if I go back and forth between the stock 54 and the new 61.
Thanks in advance.
Al
If I haven’t made it clear there are three “processors” in the DS - The PIC which runs the user interface and the touch screen. The FPGA which does all of the digital signal processing and the translation to double rate DSD. And the XMOS which does the USB handshaking and presents the USB data as I2S to the FPGA. Each of these processors has it’s own software releases.
In general you want a matched set of software releases. We’ve been taking pains to make sure that all FPGA versions out there work with all PIC versions and with all XMOS versions. This can’t be true forever so, in general, mix and match sets can’t be supported.
Anyway to confuse things the FPGA code that Paul put out only affected the FPGA software and left everything else alone. Similarly the beta software that was distributed let the beta users change either the FPGA code or the PIC code independently if the beta testers wanted.
The original SD cards have a complete set of software and the new release has a complete set. Those sets each have their own version numbers for each component. I don’t have the original version numbers at the tips of my fingers. But the FPGA was 5407 which would display as 0.54. And I think the XMOS code was also 00.06.
IMHO, based on previous pain and suffering, the mixed or separate sets should be considered “Alpha” until they become a “complete” ready for general consumption Version number and then move to “Beta” tests for functionality and SQ to test on a wider user base than the Alpha team.If no problems in Beta then it can be posted at will.
We are actually not far from that now, but a tighter control of the release of incomplete ver sets would save a number of support calls. I had calls this weekend with members upgrading the 6115 posted on the web site. It did not go through Beta in it’s final packaged release form. Perhaps the melding of the different components creates variables?
Knock on wood ( several times) I down loaded and installed it with no issues… I did keep the old version on a known good SD card just in case but all went fine…
Where can I download the original DS firmware? I know it’s been asked previously in this thread, but I cannot for the life of me see it in the Downloads page on the site.
High frequencies on the new firmware sounds overly bright and harsh compared to what shipped with my DirectStream. I have about 400+ hours continuous run-in on my DirectStream. My unit has been running 24 hours since I upgraded the firmware, with little/no improvement in the sound. I’d like to re-load the original firmware for comparison.