older firmware for PWD

Audio Components DACs
1

is there anywhere i can download older firmware versions. Specifically? 2.02 or 2.03

I have read that these versions may sound smoother and not so forward/bright. I have tried a few of the versions on the current archive page and haven’t noticed much of a change in SQ, and i am finding the sound a bit hard in the upper frequencies

I am using the PWD mk ii with bridge v1

.

thanks

Dave

2

Here you go.

Please report back with your impressions.

3

thank you so much for those versions. I tried 2.0.2 i can say this is the best version for me that i have heard so far. I think this version is for me. Loving it

4

mmm, still getting plagued with brightness here. does anyone have any advice? I am now currently running version 2.0.2 , I have tried different servers, currently using minim server. I have changed the output to flac:wav and not a change in SQ.

any ideas?

5

What tweaks, if any, have you tried? I can tell you from personal experience that power cords, better Ethernet cables, and vibration control (what the DAC sits on) all affect the sound. Unfortunately I can’t say exactly what results, or to what degree, you will get in your system. If you want to experiment with these things, deal with a place that lets you send stuff back if it doesn’t help your system. Clean power definitely matters, either a PSA Power Plant or another high-quality conditioner.

Maybe the most important thing is what the DAC and NAS (I assume you have a NAS since you’re running MinimServer and using Ethernet) are connected to. If it’s a noisy router supplied by your phone/cable company, you might benefit from galvanic isolation. There are some folks here who say this has helped their system a great deal and it’s not too expensive. I also plug my NAS and network switches into a separate (cheaper) power conditioner, away from the actual audio components that are fed by my P5.

Long-term you might think about upgrading to Bridge II. It’s been a while since I swapped out Bridge I, so I’m hesitant to say too much. Bridge II was definitely more detailed and, I think, smoother; whether ‘smoother’ is the same as the brightness you are experiencing I’m not sure. Maybe some others here who have heard both Bridges will have better recollections about the differences than I do.

Hope this helps!

6

thank so much for your reply i really appreciate your in depth response. I haven’t made any tweaks with the ethernet cable at all. I have tried two different power cables and no effect on the sound at all. The thing is i recently upgraded my dac from a much less expensive model and i did expect an upgrade in sound right out of the box. There is without doubt more detail, but the brightness and sibilance is exhausting. My old dac which caused a fraction of the price was much smoother. (maybe the ps audio is just too revealing ?) At this point i don’t want to start pouring more money at it, with power conditioning, cables, upgrading the bridge. I feel that at the price point the pwd comes at it shouldn’t have a shrill digital edge to it. I have a mcintosh system so its not like i have a forward sounding system behind the dac.

I really do appreciate your response. I just don’t think i can invest more money in trying to tame the sound : (

7

I completely understand about not spending more money.

While the PWD/B1 combo is not as refined as the DS DAC/B2, it should not be unpleasant to listen to due to sibilance and brightness; I spent many happy hours with mine. It is more revealing than lesser DACs and you might get this effect with certain recordings, but not across the board. I went from using the DAC built into a Marantz SA8003 CD/SACD player to the PWD and it was definitely a step up but not hard to listen to, and I am more sensitive to harshness or glare, particlarly in the treble, than some people.

Could there be room issues (lots of glass with no drapes, for instance)?

As an experiment, you might try hooking a laptop up to the PWD with a USB cable and play some music that way. Foobar2000 is a free player (Windows) and sounds better than Windows Media Center and so forth. My experience is that USB sounds inferior to the Bridge without a lot of tweaking, but if the glare disappears (or is much reduced) that would at least tell you something.

Maybe some other folks here will have ideas. I also suggest giving the support team at PSA a call. They are very helpful and might know things we don’t. Harshness and glare are not inherent qualities of the PWD.

8

thanks again, i will try my lap top tomorrow and see if there is a difference in sound. as far as the room treatment, nothing has changed in the room since my last set up. I have had decent sound in the room before i introduced the pwd. I will also go to my audio store and see about trying different interconnects and power cables. good idea with ps audio support team. i will also see if someone there can help.

again thank you for your help, really appreciated : )

9

so far i have upgraded my ethernet cable from cat 5e to cat 7. No Noticable change in SQ, but I’m sure the shielding doesn’t hurt. I have a ac3 power cord coming in the next few days, i will post my findings there. I also changed my IP and now have a faster internet 150 , new modem/router box ( all in one). I definitely noticed an improvement with this change. I am thinking that my problem may lie in my network topography.

At present i have modem/router all in one. where i have my NAS and perfectwave both connected. I have heard a difference with the upgrade in hardware and internet service. My question now would be, should i buy separate devices rather than have the modem/router all in one device.

Will i notice a difference if I had separates?

Can someone advise me on what the network topography should look like?

I have read that i should have my audio network on a dedicated switch, would adding a switch after my modem/router (all in one), with only my NAS and perfectwave dac connected to the switch be beneficial?

Or would i be recommended to buy, a modem, router, switch?

I really am confused as to how my network should be, if anyone has advise i would be very grateful, any links etc

cheers

dave

10
lopsa said I am thinking that my problem may lie in my network topography.
This is entirely possible. There may be various solutions depending in part on how your house is arranged.
At present i have modem/router all in one. where i have my NAS and perfectwave both connected.
Modem/routers supplied by ISP are not (ahem) exactly designed for high quality audio and can be noisy. It sounds like you have the modem/router close to your audio equipment -- is that right? If so, I think (but cannot say with 100% certainty) that getting this beast away from the audio rack will help -- particularly if it is generating a strong wifi signal. Adding a switch is not a magic bullet, but if by doing so you can separate the pieces it may help. In my case I have the modem/router on a different floor of the house, with a cable from the router to the listening room. This cable feeds a switch (with metal housing to help keep down RFI) that supplies my NAS, DAC, DMP, etc. This may or may not be possible for you.

If the modem/router must stay in the same room, as an experiment you could try moving it as far as possible from the audio rack – get generic CAT6 from the hardware store for long runs and see what happens. Some people here have reported good results with galvanic isolation, which costs less than fancy audio cables. Try moving the router first and report back.