Okay. Update: sound is improved. I rebooted the DMP and DSD both separately and together and reinstated the same tubes I was using earlier yesterday and warmed the system up and watched a bit of DVR and then returned to the most revealing disc I played yesterday–Disc 2 of the new Coltrane release, “1963: New Directions.” That starts off with the “Slow Blues” track from “Lost Album,” than follows “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman” and then three tracks of the Coltrane Quartet in the studio with Roy Haynes as drummer. Mono, then stereo, three different studio dates, nice disc to test sound with (and nice mastering).
Result: less treble, less thinness. Do I think this is a major upgrade over RedCloud? I’d have to reinstall RedCloud for comparison, something I don’t want to do in my current tired of futzing with firmware mode, but if pressed I’d say it’s an improvement, and I picture myself settling into the listening to it and enjoying the listening. Whew. Glad that ordeal has ended.
Chris5, this initial bad sound is my experience too. In my system, it either takes a month of normal playing (not many hours given work) or, as I have done this time, I run it over night to log the hours. In the end, I believe it is total hours played (not just DS on) and that magic number is about 200 for best sound.
Perhaps different versions (iterations) of the DS have slightly different components or the loading mechanism is somewhat variable, or both. For some, the DS updates and they hear the “final” product. For others, it takes a long time.
For those whose DS takes a long time, you might want to log your hours. If after 200 it still sounds like **** then your system and Snowmass don’t play well together. For those, Redcloud is a wonderful OS.
Is 1963: New Directions worth getting if I already have Both Directions? The last version I have of the Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is the Impulse 20 Bit SBM reissue of the 1990’s which I thought was decent already - is the remastering on this a lot better.
I should have waited rather than jumping in for Both Directions.
Hey, I got this because I’m a Coltrane nut and I’m always seeking out the best mastering on digital. Just my thing.
It has been ages since I’ve had the 20 bit Labson mastering of the Hartman album. This is a Reeves mastering and is i think the same 24 bit mastering that has been out in the US and Japan for a decade or so. I prefer it to the 20 bit. The mastering here of the material with Haynes and the Live at Birdland material is also better than the 16 bit and 20 bit versions on earlier cds.
Is the difference worth buying the material over again? In my estimation yes, because amazon has the set for like 22 dollars. 3 discs for 22 dollars is a good price to pay for the improvements in my estimation. Were it much more expensive. . . a less easy question to answer.
Yes. There are many versions of these available. I don’t have that version, though I have all but one other of the SACDs in that series. I’m sure it’s very good. . . . I do like the Reeves version presented here a lot, and don’t feel the need for the SACD. It’s not one of my very favorite Coltrane recordings, though I do grow fonder of it as the years go by.
My experience with Snowmass is very strange.
I was a beta tester and loved it (cf my initial feedback).
Then there was the bridge update with several reboots.
And I followed the official advice to reboot with a blank SD card.
For several days, I heard a fairly piercing treble, and I blamed it on the CDs, but it was not going away.
My wife noticed it too : « ouch, that violin hurts, please turn it down ».
Then I went back to download the files, rebooted with all of them on the SD card, and I am now back to musical bliss.
Strangely enough, the same procedure with the DMP.seems to lower the number of quirks.
I have no idea why all of this happened, but I thought it m’y be helpful for other forum members.
YMMV, of course.
I have to admit I’m very surprised to see any reports of shrill, thin or bright sound with Snowmass. I always found Red Cloud to have a bit of an emphasis in the upper registers which I actually posted about previously here. With strummed guitars I was getting more of the pick-on-string “clicky” sounds versus the tones and resonance of the guitar itself. It lent a bit of a thin sound to the overall tonality. It was a minor annoyance as I really enjoyed how that firmware had stunning image solidity, so I was willing to accept my personal quibbles with it.
Snowmass is slightly darker in that that mid/treble emphasis is gone. Again, Snowmass is not “dark” in absolute terms (nor was Red Cloud “bright”), but it is fuller and more natural-sounding in the best way possible. I’m quite pleased by how Snowmass turned out as it really eliminated my only minor gripe with Red Cloud while improving virtually everywhere else. The weight and timbre of instruments is so natural and impressive. Kudos, Ted!
I have been enjoying the sound of Snowmass and Bridge II 3.6.17, but like some of you my DirectStream will not remain in standby. I found a solution. If I switch to another input prior to entering standby, optical in my case, it remains in standby. I haven’t tried other inputs as I quit while I was ahead.
I didn’t find an ORG or AP SACD available, so this seems to be limited to vinyl.
In digital I have the MFSL CD and the RVG Stereo/Mono SACD as well as the Esoteric SACD. The latter two are better than the MFSL and both on a very similar level. I don’t know the Reeves Version unfortunately.
There never was an ORG and I thought there was an AP but I guess not, I don’t see one listed either. I have the Impulse RVG stereo/mono and like it, I also like several Japanese copies I have and the copy I have in the Impulse Albums Collection box set series. I just rotate my listening to various copies as time goes by, I do this with a lot of duplicates I have of Miles Davis, Duke Elliington et al releases. I don’t think there’s any reason to seek out a Reeves mastering in particular with what you have.
Good work-around. I should try it. I had to physically turn off the unit everytime and It was a bit painful to start listening right way after cold booting up. Thanks for the tip!
I have taken to using the dimmer with mine for the time being…i put my DMP and pre amp into standby and dim the DAC…then i turn them all on at the same time with the remote…it isnt perfect but better than having it constantly going on
No, there wasn’t an AP. There is an AP of Johnny Hartman - The Voice That Is but no reason for you to get that as you are more a Trane fan than Johnny Hartman.
I’ll probably get the RVG SACD (I read there are mastering anomalies between channels on this) or the Reeves hi res download.
I am told the Esoteric SACD sounds brighter in the highs
No the Esoteric is very fine, this recording has no treble sensibility. Hard to say what’s different between the Esoteric and the RVG with this quiet music, I didn’t spend much time with it.
In my case the problem stopped when I installed 3.6.17 (knock on wood). Go figure.
I stream directly from Tidal with mconnect. No other software or local storage.
