Example of what oll talks about.
We use it for tamper proof reasons, but to check for corrupt files (as intended) works well.
If you replace only one bit among millions of bits inside a file, the end result makes a huge of a difference.
Note that MD5# has nothing to do with encryption/decryption.
Paul McGowan saidDEA said Just to be clear, I listened to the Joe Walsh and Olivia Newton John CDs again today, and did not hear the strangeness I originally wrote about last weekend. Everything is good again.One cool thing I noticed today… at the very end of Joe Walsh’s - So What, on the last song, you can hear song birds singing on the fade out. Never heard that before, and have listened to that CD umpteen times.
That’s what DirectStream does. Brings out what’s been missing. It’s uncanny, eh? Glad you picked up on it.
In my case and I assume others the DS enables us to hear some aspects of the music that we did not hear before when we played a CD even though it was there. We just couldn’t hear the subtle bits. It is these bits the we now appreciate and delight in hearing. .
For me, with the DS there is now something definitely missing in the play back compared to the PWD. I actually don’t know what is missing. It may be jitter, distortion, noise or all of them and more. Who cares, it is now gone. Whatever is now missing from PWD normal play back masked or covered the extra little bits that we now hear and appreciate? What is now there was always there we just couldn’t hear it for the garbage that was there with the PWD and is now missing with the DS playback. In a way I have had to retrain my brain not to expect the garbage component that it thought was normal in the music that I was hearing form my PWD.
assisi saidPaul McGowan saidDEA said Just to be clear, I listened to the Joe Walsh and Olivia Newton John CDs again today, and did not hear the strangeness I originally wrote about last weekend. Everything is good again.One cool thing I noticed today… at the very end of Joe Walsh’s - So What, on the last song, you can hear song birds singing on the fade out. Never heard that before, and have listened to that CD umpteen times.
That’s what DirectStream does. Brings out what’s been missing. It’s uncanny, eh? Glad you picked up on it.
I know that the same words can mean different things to different people and in what I am about to say, maybe I am being a bit pedantic. However it seems to me in one way not accurate to say that the DS brings what has been missing. Everything was always there. It is now not all about parts of the music that have been brought out. It is now really about what is not there anymore.
Continuing in the pedantic vein: I interpreted “what’s been missing” as “what’s been missing in the quality of the reproduction” or “what’s been masked” or “what’s been missing in our experience” rather than “what’s been missing on the CD” or “what’s been missing in our systems”
Absolutely.
I think we are all trying to say the same things while using historically appropriate but more recently limited terms. Not that the eagle eye/ear spotting of these is not relevant, but they seem to leave out the part of how the reproduction makes us feel. Like cause and effect but understating the “effects”. This is perhaps why some of us were somewhat challenged as to how to share our impressions since society seems to be less inclined to share openly when it comes to feelings. When someone does, I think this should be encouraged.
I am not so sure that I am hearing “more” info with the DS. Perhaps at lower volumes I do, a bit. What really rings my bell is how the same music and sounds draw me so much into the performance. I can literally get lost in there for a while. Emotional involvement is the closest I can come if avoiding the “R” word.
It seems that the same parts of the brain that are involved in playing music is identical to the part that listens to it. Apparently, we tend to role play while listening to music, watching a movie or sports event. It is like we are actually present and participating. This is why we tap, air guitar or jump when the monster jumps out of the bushes. We know it is not real but because we are immersed, it is real. When this level of involvement can be reached by a reproduction then something very special has been accomplished.
The better the gear the simpler it is to suspend disbelief…
Elk saidDEA said I can't really explain why it sounds different this week? Last week I was hearing the same things stereophilus and emailists were reporting earlier in this thread, but today I'm not hearing it... strange.Very Odd. And disturbing.
It is possible the DS is selective in loading new FW or misloads it on occasion, but this seems unlikely.
I hope our other two colleagues try going back to the old and then re-loading the new FW to learn if they hear anything different.
Dennis Kerrisk saidoll saidActually each one of the .HEX files has a built in checksum,so if there is a problem it abouts the load.maniac said@oll the upgrade files are packaged in the ZIP archive, extraction of which automatically verifies consistency of data.The file can be corrupt before or during ZIP so the only way to know for shure is to hash before ZIP. This is ease to do and don’t take much time but it can save you from a lot of trouble an down time. I actually hash sha 256 or sha 1 all of my music files so I can verify them bit perfect. The hash result can be save in a small text file.
Dennis
Well that’s great but if I understand you have to go all the way (ea. download>unzip>copy to sd> load to DS) and if it don’t load it may be corrupt but you don’t know for sure, and this start a loop of frustrating trial and error attempts . If you provide the hash of the original files we can verify the files right after download and unzip.
oll saidWith all due respect: checksums don't address the weakest links. If the downloaded zip file had the hashes in it there'd be essentially no way for them to ever be wrong in practice. If the hashes were published separately it would serve as a non-obvious check that the right zip file was down loaded but little more. (I actually have never had an SD card have bit rot or anything like that. If you buy cheap SD cards it's on you to use checksums, not PS Audio.)Dennis Kerrisk saidWell that's great but if I understand you have to go all the way (ea. download>unzip>copy to sd> load to DS) and if it don't load it may be corrupt but you don't know for sure, and this start a loop of frustrating trial and error attempts . If you provide the hash of the original files we can verify the files right after down load and unzip.Actually each one of the .HEX files has a built in checksum,so if there is a problem it abouts the load.
I don’t want to say that the PWD/DS/etc. always download an SD correctly and I get apparent failures now and then too, but ALL of the failures I have had are my own fault not the DS or SD card… If you ever get an SD card to work once, keep using it. If you want a different version of the software zip up the old content of the SD card into a zip file with a correct name. I actually keep all of my releases on the SD card in their original .zip files and then just unzip whatever I want to install. The other files on an SD card don’t hurt anything.
At times I do twenty or thirty installs off of a SD card a day and in general they just work. I do forget to power off at the right time or do other silly things like loading the wrong files, but a quick check of the version screen right after a load catches all of my problems (when I remember to check 
)
At least with md5# there will never be a misunderstanding which zip file to deflate for a certain revision.
There has been a a lot of confusions on this lately, e.g. for beta testing.
If you associate a .txt file with the hash for the corresponding zip file you are all good.
The trouble is that you have to install the utility in order to check the zip file locally.
Frode said At least with md5# there will never be a misunderstanding which zip file to deflate for a certain revision.There has been a a lot of confusions on this lately, e.g. for beta testing.
If you associate a .txt file with the hash for the corresponding zip file you are all good.
The trouble is that you have to install the utility in order to check the zip file locally.
Still I’d support PS Audio using checksums if it helped even a few people to feel more comfortable.
Ted,
All of the files are checksumed. Just invisible to the user.
Dennis
assisi saidFully agreed, and I initially raised this point a couple of months before the DS was released.However it seems to me in one way not accurate to say that the DS brings what has been missing. Everything was always there. It is now not all about parts of the music that have been brought out. It is now really about what is not there anymore.
In my case and I assume others the DS enables us to hear some aspects of the music that we did not hear before when we played a CD even though it was there. We just couldn’t hear the subtle bits.
Delightfully, it no longer is a controversial distinction.
For thous interested this is the hash of the 6115 I downloaded from PSA:
11-061-01-1-fmc-6.zip=8BF72A41FA5E5A3960800D4B8FB2B06B - md5
11-061-01-1-fmc-6.zip=103A40DAC0486B05C7C5DF2FB38FCFA91F8DBC98 - sha-1
Of course this don’t verify until some one or the source (PSA) confirm this is the correct hash.
My favorite hash software is Easy Hash: http://ziin.pl/en/easy_hash
Last night I listened to my DS and this time it was ok. More than ok it is amazing!!! 
Given Dennis’ replies, the focus on hashes seem misplaced.
Given that the files are internally checksumed and will not load if there is an issue, what additional benefit does one realize by yet again running an external hash check?
Elk said Given Dennis' replies, the focus on hashes seem misplaced.Given that the files are internally checksumed and will not load if there is an issue, what additional benefit does one realize by yet again running an external hash check?
See my post 168.
oll said For thous interested this is the hash of the 6115 I downloaded from PSA:11-061-01-1-fmc-6.zip=8BF72A41FA5E5A3960800D4B8FB2B06B - md5
11-061-01-1-fmc-6.zip=103A40DAC0486B05C7C5DF2FB38FCFA91F8DBC98 - sha-1
Of course this don’t verify until some one or the source (PSA) confirm this is the correct hash.
oll saidElk saidGiven the files are internally checksumed and will not load if there is an issue, what additional benefit does one realize by yet again running an external hash check?
See my post 168.
Given the literally hundreds of drivers, FW updates and the like I have downloaded and installed without issue, I have trouble imagining spending the similar time running a hash check.
But there is no harm in offering the hash. Audiophilia involves plenty of anal retentive behavior, indulging one more cannot hurt.
Meanwhile, I’ll be individually checking my mattresses springs to make sure all of them are properly torqued.
Elk saidoll saidThat's it? The risk that you unzip and try to load FW that does not load and you have wasted a minute?Elk saidSee my post 168.Given the files are internally checksumed and will not load if there is an issue, what additional benefit does one realize by yet again running an external hash check?
Given the literally hundreds of drivers, FW updates and the like I have downloaded and installed without issue, I have trouble imagining spending the similar time running a hash check.
But there is no harm in offering the hash. Audiophilia involves plenty of anal retentive behavior, indulging one more cannot hurt.
Meanwhile, I’ll be individually checking my mattresses springs to make sure all of them are properly torqued.
If you read this and other threads there are examples of this loop of try and error. Hash is just another tool to help you in troubleshooting. It is used in many download web sites and by the IT professional. If you know for sure the file is ok then you can look forward for the cause of the problem.
Paul/Ted,
Can we get the original DirectStream firmware up on the Downloads page? Want to compare them, plus to see if suggestion of restoring original, then upgrading to new firmware a 2nd time exonerates the demons (not sure how, but worth a shot I suppose)… -Jeff