Scotte1 is right. Remember this site is “no politics” in any way. Let’s keep that way please.
Chas
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Yeah … Godwin’s Law is about to be invoked …
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Hey, how bout that next DirectSteam Update?
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I could love me some Elk right bout now. (I hope he likes my humor. I know he off for the evening, enjoying music)
Am playing the Only The Lonely too but the 24/ 48 download on Redcloud. The Stereo mix is very impressive.
Wonder when they get around to doing Wee Small Hours.
Fascinating, I had by happenstance found the DS sounded markedly better with the display off, so I had kept it that way and never thought anything of it. The dimmer circuit explanation makes total sense. The midrange really opens up with the display off.
Working in the software industry myself I have complete empathy for PS Audio right now. I can confirm the Miles Davis story is totally apropos and if you want the software as soon as possible, you should not say a word about it. 
Seriously, I think many of us developers find it quite demotivating to be nagged repeatedly, to say nothing of on weekends… the seasoned ones know never to read customer forums. Paul Ted and crew are just too nice for their own good. 
You’re lucky to have those experiences and memories
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As the Snowmass release is imminent hasn’t this thread run its course? At least until Snowmass is released and we can talk about the next one…
So hop aboard the Snowmass thread Steve! 
Sorry guys let’s end it, it was just an intellectual game and in fact I didn’t want to put those on the same level but show different levels and ask hypothetically where the limit is. Was not meant politically.
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A difficult topic to discuss without upsetting someone, but it is good to give these issues some thought if even only privately.
And yes this thread meanders, as do all our musings.
Given that the next DSD update is imminent, this thread has nowhere else to go but sideways.
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Now that Snowmass is released I believe we have solved the display problem. The display now runs at 80Hz refresh rate, fast enough not to noticeably flicker, but slow enough to not interfere with the sound quality. We made some pretty extensive tests in Music Room One and could not hear a difference between display on and display off. That was not the case before Snowmass.
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I already have, Gary.
I was at my 13 yo son’s Confirmation church retreat this weekend, so just was able to listen to the beta firmware until this afternoon. Tone definitely changes right away, but in my experience, soundstage doesn’t expand and come into its own until at least 8+ hours of continuous play after flashing.
There is a definitely a layer of digital etch that is removed. Sound is smoother and warmer in a pleasant and realistic way. Details pop out more with ever more realistic sound queues. I actually found the soundstage to collapse a bit after flashing, but it has since improved over 8 hours. I would say throw it on repeat for at least a full 24 hours post-flashing before rendering a final verdict. I struggle to explain why a firmware flash would require that, but it’s been my experience so far… I’ll let it play overnight before commenting further, but yes, this release definitely adds a more natural, analog tone to the sound. Cymbals and highs are clear and etch/hash free. Deepening soundstage is still something I’m waiting to hear, YMMV in the early hours post-flashing.
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Hi @tedsmith. If there’s one thing in common with all the good feedback about Snowmass, it’s that it takes time, sometimes hours of continuous playing, to sound best. I’m curious, why is this?
There are a lot posts around talking about it You can search for software break-in or software burn-in, , etc.
Then there’s the simple fact that most of us start more quietly and slowly turn up the volume, louder always sounds better. With less extraneous noise we turn things up higher before we quit…
The software upgrade process puts a little DC across the output transformers. This doesn’t do any damage, but it takes a little while to “degauss” afterwards. The effect is subtle at best and some good ears don’t hear it at all and some others think it’s a big deal. I’m sort of used to it now and no longer notice.
We’ve noticed for a while that sometimes after an upgrade the system needs a reboot before it sounds correct. I’ve been trying to find possible things that could cause it every release and perhaps I have got them all now (except there’s been one report of it so far (I haven’t read the posts yet today.)) The control processor does something a little different after power up than it does after an upgrade so the difference may not be in the FPGA at all…
More details and speculation can be found in searches like those hinted at above.
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Thanks, @tedsmith. In fact, I’ve confirmed this myself. There is a school of thought that denies break in, saying “our ears just get used to it.” Not wanting to discount the possibility, I left a song playing repeatedly and left the room for a few hours. Snowmass did sound better when I got back! I’m certainly not complaining! 
One thing though. I leave the SD card in the socket for cover art. If I power-cycle the DS, the firmware update sequence starts again. Should I just delete the firmware files then reinsert the SD card? Or is there another way?
Hi Paul, any guess on when the DS Jr release will be made available? Thank you.
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As mentioned in the Snowmass thread - about a week.
Going through the compiles for DSJ is an additional, separate and painstaking process, and the winner of the DSSr. compiles is not the same as the winner for DSJ.
Darren was over yesterday, and we went through 10-11 of the 20 compiles over the course of 8 hours. One of those stood out, having all the qualities he was looking for, but there are more to go through. The PIC code for the DSJ is still being written. When both of those processes are done, then the winner gets married to the PIC code, requiring additonal checks, which however should be less of an issue than it was/is with DSSr.
I’m not positive, but I don’t think DSJ will require a beta prior to release, as the SR. Gang has done that this weekend.
I can only concur with the reviews so far - I was gobsmacked by the qualities of this release. And the one we liked the best out of half of them might not turn out to be the best!
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