Snowmass DirectStream Junior is now live

So far, the only way for people to update Bridge has been by using MConnect? How does one do this exactly?

Is there a force-load USB file we can use for the latest Bridge update specifically?

Email PS Audio support and ask for the PDF with the MConnect Brigdge II update instructions…

Forum Link to Helpful (?) Threads See post No. 7.

BTW, I upgraded to Bridge II, right from the screen on my DS Sr.; but I did that before loading Snowmass MK I. FWIW.

If you have Snowmass installed (V2 on Senior) then the Bridge update is handled normally and not needed through MConnect.

I had to downgrade to Yale to upgrade to Snowmass. Thanks to those who reported success with this workaround.

With Redcloud, my DSJ would not recognize any USB stick with Snowmass files. I tried four different USB sticks. All of them were freshly formatted and working as expected in my (mac) computers.

Using one of the same USB sticks, the downgrade to Yale worked on the first try. Likewise, the Snowmass upgrade succeeded on the first attempt once my DSJ was running Yale. With all attempts, I used the firmware update instructions posted by Ted Smith earlier in this thread.

The downgrade to Yale took about 3 minutes. The upgrade to Snowmass was about the same.

Spectacular sound. No issues loading with pny 16g

Wow, I did not think that Redcloud was bright or harsh sounding. This sounds like a good poll topic.

This might be speaker or electronics dependent. I like speakers that are on the warm side and I have Legacy Classics, so maybe this mitigated the harshness.

Sent my request in. I Tried each one of these including reformatting those that I could to fat 16. Tried both Yellowstone and snowmass. Can i throw it out the window if the thumb drive that PSA sends me doesn’t work?

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Yes, toss it with alacrity.

You certainly have tried a lot.

I tried eleven mate and, believe me, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck with PSA’s and you’ll surely enjoy the sonic benefits soon!

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Well if you need to throw it through a window, just throw it into mine. It would have a very happy home in my system :slight_smile:

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Yellowstone? Is that anything like Jellystone? :wink:
image
Just kiddin’. I hope your Snowmass install with the new USB stick goes smoothly.

First off, I want to thank Ted and the PS Audio team for their continued efforts on improving an already great product!

I had a bit of trouble getting Snowmass to load straight away from a brand new 32GB Sandisk USB drive. I bought my Djr with Redcloud preloaded. So, took the advice given by some folks on here (thanks gang) to download Yale and install it first. That worked like a champ. Then downloaded Snowmass again and it installed onto the Djr from the same thumb drive. Go figure.

My initial observations on the sound with Snowmass are that is seems to slow things down. I tested with Kid Charlemagne. I heard more, like more resolution, but the vocals especially just seemed a little slow; like the pitch. I had to check myself to make sure I wasn’t in some type of twilight trance. LOL Also, it seemed like there was a touch of reverb. Like all of a sudden, I was listening in a bigger hall. Maybe this is just more decay on the notes? Anyway…perhaps this is something one gets used to? Like a new pair of corrective lenses.

Anyone else notice these? I’ll give it a bit more time before switching back to Redcloud.

Thanks and kind regards,
Jason

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LOL. Thanks for pointing that out .

Naturally I meant Yale. I just got a little carried away.

Perhaps I should see if Ranger Smith can help me out?

Thanks for the chuckle bootzilla.

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The reverb is often in the recording but covered up by noise some where in the path to the speakers. Each release of the DS I attempt to lower the noise a little more and that will make for a little more reverb (on the recordings that have it.)

When your brain is busy sorting things out you can feel like you’re running low on time. When things are clearer it can feel like time is running slower, you have more time to “listen in the cracks”. I don’t know if this is what you are feeling, but I have now and then. If so, as you get used to the new levels of detail your brain will reset it’s expectations and time will run normally again :slight_smile:

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Ted… that is a pretty good description of SM. I did notice that I was able to hear the decay if notes more. And that it does sound like a bigger hall. So much bigger that the position of my speakers doesn’t make much difference in the sweet spot. I am assuming this due to the size of the sound stage? I get lost in time so much that i didn’t notice that effect…lol

Spot on @tedsmith :wink:

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@tedsmith
What an excellent explanation.
Time is the one thing that is constant in the universe but varies continuously to everyone’s perception of the moment or task at hand. Top tier performers / athletes / sportsman have the ability to slow time down in their mind and therefore get more done / have better accuracy / ingest more info in the given time allotment. I think well experienced audiophiles (trained listeners) must be the same to a certain extent.

Ted,

Thanks for responding! Your explanation is right on. I thought my brain at the time was suffering a race condition.

I will continue my journey with SM. It has been growing on me and makes me want to revisit all my favorite tunes! For that I cannot thank you enough!

Jason

The official PS Audio thumb drive arrived today. The upgrade from redcloud to snowmass went without a hitch, no need to downgrade to yale.

Everything is much more detailed, almost like a veil has been lifted off of my speakers. The Bass is also so much more defined, much less muddy, much less slurred.

A most excellent upgrade @tedsmith, thank you very much. What a wonderful Christmas present.

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