That explains why your filter(s) sounds better than before. But, even with Snowmass, I still think I prefer a couple of the HQPlayer filters in the poly-sinc family. The good news is that the major benefits I hear with Snowmass over Redcloud are present whether I use your filter(s) or HQPlayer’s.
Paul thanks for the new firmware. I downloaded and installed the update without any problems.
First impressions:
the sound has become clearer and brighter,
there is a positive change in sound in out phase, I have not heard anything before,
improved localization of instruments in the sound stage, even in the MP3-radio can be heard
noticeable improvements in sound immediately after installation, the previous version did not give such a result
I continue to study improvements and write about it later …
Dire Straits, Telegraph Road, original digital release (the one with actual dynamics.) The footsteps are events that occur in space – so physical. And the sudden chords, the sforzandos, have every bit of impact they ever had but are now so very clear and enunciated, making my recollection of them seem like they’d been distorting or mashed together every previous time I’d heard them. This is magic.
Honestly, if somebody had played Snowmass and Redcloud side by side I would have paid substantial money to get one over the other. Don’t tell Paul and Ted.
After the first couple of hours, with all the articulation, delicateness and smoothness leaving a sense of the music moving more slowiy, I was wondering about it being a little less lively, but that came around too.
The only question I’d raise is about the added atmosphere losing the sense of placement or grounding of some instruments, with them floating in the back in space. Someone early on mentioned it with regard to piano and I hear that too on some recordings, seemingly more so than with Red Cloud. I don’t know mixing techniques, but have the sense that piano is probably the instrument that audio engineers either have the greatest trouble with in terms of placement in stereo, or just spatially mess with in a way that spreads across the speakers.
Snowmass loaded effortlessly - plus a reboot - which I always do as a matter of course: I couldn’t drag myself away from sitting listening to submit my findings, it was after 11.30pm when Snowmass landed in the UK/Scotland. I listened until 2am then left the DS with the attenuator engaged and playing during 5 hours sleep…! I had updated the DMP 3.10 firmware about an hour before Snowmass landed in my inbox and I thought this might make it difficult for me to make a proper judgement on Snowmass. So, I connected up my other DS from my second system that I could gauge the differences between DMP, Redcloud and Snowmass. Well, I needn’t have bothered, as soon as I heard Snowmass - it’s a paradigm shift in music reproduction through my big system! There is no need to switch back and forth between DS boxes to assess musicality …. No messing around: Snowmass in my system has a sound so distinct and therefore so instantly identifiable there was simply no need to bring DS2 into the room for any type of comparison purposes.
Reading through the many findings this morning of others re: Snowmass, I concur with most of them!
By switching both my DS boxes between Redcloud and Snowmass there appears an aggression in the treble region presented with Redcloud - that I wasn’t aware of - but on switching to Snowmass it is cleaner, clearer, smoother, more air, and it floats, whereas with Redcloud it is rougher-edged and slightly more mechanical…! How black can black get-?-inky-black backdrop, music – music - it just plays music; like I have never heard before with the DS. This is truly special. This appraisal is with Redbook CDs; I’ve still to play SACDs. I will report SACD findings. I am transfixed with standard CDs and wonder how much more can be extracted from PCM… This is a ‘very special’ piece of code. How Ted can create this just blows my mind. The man’s a genius, in rarified air…
‘BIG’ thank you to Ted, Paul and all at PS Audio for creating and delivering this masterpiece. I say it once again ---- it doesn’t cost a dime. “How fortunate are we” (Rabia Fazal)
Hello , I’m posting from the Netherlands.
Fairly new on this forum, but a long-time-friend of PS Audio: my DACs were DL-III, Perfect Wave and now Direct Stream.
I installed Snowmass and can confirm most of the enthusiastic comments.
However I encountered 2 problems:
Coverart disappears after a couple of songs and doesn’t return until a hard boot (bridge firmware 3.5.1)
After performing a hard boot (switch on the back) Snowmass re-installs again, showing by the flashing blue light on the left for about 40 seconds.
I tried this hard booting 3 times with same result: re-install of Snowmass.
The SD-card with all the firmware files on it stays inserted.
Not a big problem because I rarely perform a hard boot, but as it is a beta firmware I report it.
You need to delete all files from the SD card after installing the new firmware. The SD card must be empty and inserted into the DS to display the cover images
To point 1: I can confirm the same.
To point 2: Take the SD card out of the slot and delete all files on it. Then put it back (necessary for the album pictures)