Alright. Long awaited. Ted has been slaving away at perfecting the beta release of Massive for the MK2 DAC, and finally, after tons of testing and lots of listening, here it is.
The final release of Massive.
I find it nothing short of stunning. The sound quality is off the fricking charts. Noise is no longer an issue. He’s gone to a 7th-order SDM, which is a marvelous technological achievement.
Plus, there’s a new UI (User Interface) included too. This fixes a bunch of stuff as well it gives us (finally!) bigger fonts for the sample rate, etc.
I cannot wait to hear your reactions.
Have fun, and let us know.
Be sure to unzip the file.
Remember, the MK2 is different from the MK1 in how you upgrade its firmware.
You place the unzipped file onto a USB stick.
Put the stick in the FW upgrade port on the back of the MK2.
Long-press the menu button to the left of the display.
Once the menu options appear, use the right-hand button (on the circular front panel button cluster) to scroll to System (6 clicks).
Press enter (center cluster button).
Using the right hand button again, scroll 4 more times over to Firmware Upgrade, and again press enter.
The version numbers appear on the screen.
Use the center button again to select it.
Answer yes to the prompt and wait until the firmware has been loaded.
At the end of the process you’ll again press the center button to upgrade, and you’re done.
I just uploaded. OMG this is not a subtle improvement from the Massive Beta version. First song was Fink Trouble whats you’re in. The details evident in soundstage is a truly massive explosion in boundary less music from right to left, ceiling to floor, front to back.
The upload was a little funky. Now runs you through question Do you have preamp? Yes or No. Then sets volume to 100 percent automatically. Forced me to redo my inputs. Lots of interface lagging response.
But worth it when the music starts.
Great job PSA team! Ted what a wizard in digital. Worth the wait this upgrade.
Wow! Install as described, yes it asks if you have preamp and do you want fixed output @100? Yes please. So far it sounds amazing and no ticks/pops between PCM and DSD!
Nice! Yeah, I had to listen to 50 different versions of this (literally) to find the best-sounding firmware. So, I got really good at installing new firmware. I had 5 USB sticks, each with ten different compiles of this same firmware. At the end of the process, I considered either killing myself or dunking my head in a bucket of cold water—having heard the same few tracks fifty-something times. Instead, I went home and took a nap.
After just a few minutes listening (system not fully warmed up) everything sounds cleaner. I think this is due to, in part, less smearing across the frequency range, most easily heard in the upper mids and treble frequencies and also in the bass. Some “hash” in the upper mids is lessened and bass notes are better articulated.
A while back I believe Ted said new fpga code may take about 100 hours to settle in (apologies if my memory has failed, again). So things should just improve.
Also check your ground lift and power on/off settings, mine did not survive the upgrade.
I couldn’t help it. Sure hope I receive a tracking # from you guys today.
