Thanks!
But most of the credit goes to Paul, who sets the tone and his generosity allows us to have this platform, and to this group of interesting and gracious audiophiles. I just push the pebbles around.
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It would be nice if the forum software indicated from where a given post arose if it started life elsewhere. @maxim 's post makes perfect sense if you knew it came from somewhere else.
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Agreed. Iād say he aināt doinā a half bad job 
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If you go to the following link you can see link you will see the review that my wife and I did when we replaced the DMP with the new Perfectwave SACD Transport (PST). Beta Testerās Impressions of the New PerfectWave SACD Transport. We repeated this exact same review process when I switched from Windom FW to Sunlight FW on the PS Audio DS DAC. We first listened to the four SACD tracks with the DS DAC set at 92 volume level with the Windom FW. Then I inserted the SD card with the Sunlight FW. It took about 4 minutes for the DS DAC to initialize with the Sunlight FW. The we immediately listened to the same four tracks with the DS DAC set at 92 volume level.
We both felt that on all of the tracks there was even more clarity in the music with the Sunlight FW. My wife felt that the sound brighter with the Sunlight FW. I felt that on loud passages the sound was louder with the Sunlight FW. Can someone tell me if the DS DAC actually does play louder with the Sunlight FW even though I had it set at 92 for both the Windom FW and Sunlight FW or is it just my perception that it is playing louder?
Both of is felt that the Windom to Sunlight upgrade improvement in SQ was not quite equal to the improvement in SQ that we had when the DMP was replaced by the PST. This is not a criticism of Sunlight FW in anyway. The SQ of the PST / DS DAC combo with Windom FW was already at a very high level and to make further improvement on it is incredible. Paul has said that there will be a new DS DAC this year that will be even better. I eagerly await this even though it is hard to imagine how there will be further improvement given were the bar is now set with Sunlight. Well done Ted!
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Itās just perception. With a lower noise floor you might hear the difference as louder or quieter depending on what your brain uses mostly to judge loudness. If you are paying attention to power then Sunlight will probably seem quieter on the same volume setting. If you are paying attention to the music vs. the background noise Sunlight will probably seem louder.
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some followup after initial impressions - as i expected the sound settled down on day2 already but only today got time to go thru some careful listening.
Slam of kickdrum is now more evident and distinguished from bass. Lowest tones are still there but less prominent (like organ or electronica).
Voices are more real, no digital glare, kind of coming from vinyl.
Treble has more energy and is pristine clear.
What i like most is what i heard in first moments after upgrade - the naturality of sound (how its ācontinuousā thru frequency range - maybe time-aligned?) it just sound right to me.
What astonished me is how the leap between average and phenomenal recording grew with Sunlight. Basically now it can sound super fluid or bleedingly sharp - depending what you throw in (including the digital transport part) .
Some (again probably depending on recording) tracks with busy moments now sound less congested and more intelligible. Easily heard on electric guitars complex passages.
Oh and on the speed - indeed that can be heard again nicely on guitars either electric ones with some grunge boosters, but also on classical guitar.
Ted, PS Audio you did it again, kudos! 
P.S. considering I have bought original PWD well like 10years ago , then upgraded to PWD mk2 followed by DS kit upgrade I have now like quasi 10years old DAC which is still quite on the top of whats available on market, how cool is that? You rock guys!
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Ted, Thank you, now I understand.
I wish I had a sound meter so I could measure the sound output of both firmwares. Not that I donāt believe you, I just need to see the measurements with my own eyes, because my ears sure fooled me. Sunshine sounded way louder than Windom.
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After listening for 3 days, I was a bit underwhelmed by the bass. Then I rembered that I turned off the Anthem Room Correction (ARC) on my Martin Logan ESL-13a speakers because that pushed the bass too far. After tuning ARC on with Sunlight, Iām getting these extra details and clarity from the new release plus a good level of bass punch. Iām very pleased!
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I am wondering if when people say ālouderā that maybe more dynamic might be more accurate? I find it more dynamic
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ālikeā
Ted.
Demonstrably, emotionally intelligent.
Let us all be that.
As a DS owner signing off on the last Update:
Bless you Sir, thanks for all the fishā¦and the Firmware.
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I am too lazy to AB, but on first listen Sunlight seems a step up in many departments with no downsides: āthere is more there thereā.
A big thank you to Ted and all!
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Ted Smith came down the mountain and gave us Sunlight , what else can I say? Thank You!!! all involved.
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āYou donāt know what youāve got till itās goneā. Well, I found out just how much I was missing out on til Sunlight. Great presence and detail. The greatest leap in SQ of all the FW upgrades. Thank you, Paul, Ted and the PS Audio team. Each of these upgrades has come at no additional cost, and whilst itās kinda sad to reach the end of that road, it really finishes on a super high note. Big smiles here in Australia 
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A big smile from Norway as well. All the good experiences described in this thread materialized in my music room yesterday after a successful update. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
My chain of components: P15 regenerator - DMP - DS (Sunlight) - Lyngdorf DPA-1 (pre w/room correction) - SPEC W3 power amp. - Vienna Acoustics āThe KISSā
I also use the Bridge 2.
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Nice systemā¦
Enjoy.
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4 posts were merged into an existing topic: Sunlight: Installation and Technical Issues
My system has never sounded this good. Sunshine keeps me fixed in the sweet spot. Iāll intend to spin one track and then end up listening to an entire album. I hear new details in records Iāve listened to a thousand times. And itās not fatiguing.
Bass detail took a quantum leap. While there may be less room pressurization overall, I am hearing new subtleties in familiar basslines. Itās as if my brain was working to fill in or make sense of bass information that was muddied before ā and now I can just see it plain as day, exactly how the player crafted the line.
Thanks to PS Audio. This is another triumph.
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Itās likely system dependent but itās not a net positive for me.
There are surely some areas where things sound more real; drums, cymbals, for example. But thereās a grittiness to some acoustic sounds, like piano, vibes, horns, voice. I find myself turning the volume down due to fatigue.
I have about 20 hours on it. Iāve loaded it a few times, cleaned, reformatted the card, reloaded.
I remember Ted saying that Sunlight is using some areas of the fpga that were formerly unused and a week might be needed. So Iāll keep going, waiting for some of the smoothness of Windom.
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