My unit has about 750 hrs. on it running almost 24/7. The top end sounds relaxed to my ears (they are 60+ yrs old ears). However I don’t have a vinyl rig for comparison.
Was Upcoming DS release - Now Windom has been released
Difference between Snowmass (my favoured case 3.06) and Windom is immediate and (very) noticeable.
Installed early this morning before setting off to work, left dac playing music, returned home 9 hrs or so later.
Had a hifi pal over yesterday and we had a fun few hours enjoying some favourite tunes.
So hifi memory was strong from yesterday.
Played most of the same stuff this evening…and a far bigger jump in sound quality than from Redcloud to Snowmass…a bigger step.
It’s a ten seconder, you notice it right away.
Ticks FAR more hifi boxes, but more importantly there’s far more musical more meat on the bone, much more like real people playing in your room.
LOVING revisiting my favourite “MTV Unplugged” concerts on Youtube, even though not the best recordings they sound far more vital, and alive than I’ve ever heard them.
Wow.
By far the best I’ve heard the dac sound, install with confidence.
Teds done it again folks.
Thank you guys for your continued efforts, we appreciate it.
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Read earlier in the thread by several hours–it’s all there.
I let my DSD Sr. play music during the night, and I have been listening to it for about 3 hours so far.
I agree that the difference between Snowmass (3.06) and Windom is immediate and very noticeable.
In short, I would say that Windom puts more grit everywhere: it is as if the color knob on my old TV had been turned up.
Or, I could say it is like Snowmass on “steroids”.
I am still not sure which one I prefer because I wonder if the sound of the baroque violin I hear through Windom is natural versus Snowmass.
I will allow my brain some more time to assimilate all this and decide which one I prefer.
Now that Windom seems to have it, we can no longer speak of vinyl-like Color and richness which was not rarely declared as just coming from artifacts…fortunately it’s now Windom-like color and richness…and as Windom is digital, it must be right 
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Does this look correct for what the screen on the DSJ shows with everything updated?
Well, I just reloaded Huron and then Windom and I think I am getting more detail than before. I did notice that there was an extra file name on the Windom SD card that I used but was empty but I erased it anyway.
So, I’m not sure if the reload/Huron/Windom was necessary or if it was the extra file name on the Windom SD card that provided the improvement.
ozzy
over lunchtime placed the Snowmass 306 unzipped files into a folder named Snowmass 306 on SD card that came with the DSD SR.and placed unzipped Windom files in the root directory. powered on from switch on back with SD card inserted fully. Initialization bar took quite a while to get all the way across but completed okay. Did a “reboot”
(powered off and on from back switch with the SD card not inserted) and started play on “The Quality of Silence” stereo SACD by The Steve Davis Project. I encountered something odd in that the DSD Sr DAC volume reset to 50 several times during playback. So I repeated the Windom FW install from the SD card and did not reboot and had time to listen to Simon & Garfunkel “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme” SACD with no recurrence of the DAC volume drop or reset to 50 encountered. I noticed lower noise floor, more detail and improved soundstage dimensions, and a fuller, richer sound, with the delicacy of both the sound and the “poetry” preserved.
Kudos to Ted. Paul, and the gang for a wonderful update. Hopefully it will continue to improve…
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I’ve had Windom on for about six hours today while working from home. The main thing I’m noticing is that the sound is a little less bright and clinical than Snowmass. Or to describe it another way, more relaxed and easygoing, not so uptight. (I am trying to avoid saying it sounds more analog-like, but dang it… 
). Yet it is not lacking detail.
I never listen to what I call “audiophile” recordings (sonic greatness, but musical turdness), so anything I listen to is whatever excites me, or what is in my weekly rotation. Right now, it is a favorite 70s recording reissued in DSD (a Debussy disc with the Royal Concertgebouw, Bernard Haitink conducting), and I am enjoying the fullness of this recording now. I thought it always sounded good, but a little thin, prior to Windom. The brass and higher strings also had a bit of a glare to them, which seems to be gone now.
Previously, I was playing The Mavericks, “Rolling Along” from Brand New Day, and enjoyed it a bit more since that small amount of brightness I was hearing has largely been eliminated, yet the individual instruments are still clearly heard, more separated than I’ve heard them before. Awase (Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin) always sounded slightly sterile to me (not as much as Holon), and it sounded a little more natural and warm to me with Windom. Luisito Quintero’s Percussion Maddness album is often a mass of sounds, but this was the first time I played it on the “big boy system” and it sorted all the individual percussion and vocal elements out very nicely.
So far, I’m liking what I have heard with the Windom update!
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Mine is exactly the same! You’re on the right track. 
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Thanks, I lucked out . First attempt. I think it really helps to use a small USB stick like 2-4GB size and make sure it’s formatted in FAT32.
Quick impressions after an easy install process last night:
I liked 3.0.0 a lot; it had a richness and heft akin to what I loved about my PWDII. It was the tastiest cigarette that Nat King Cole ever enjoyed. Delicious tarry richness, to strain the metaphor.
3.0.6 was bright.
The first two words that Windom brought to mind were ease and transparency. It’s just cool, clear water. It’s just right.
Ted and Paul and crew, you’re freaking awesome. Thanks.
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I installed Windom and like what I’m hearing.
I have 3 DS DACs and a multi channel output card on my server for MCH setup. I could route FR/FL channel output to SL/SR and C/Sub channels on my soundcard in JRiver and I would get three identical inputs into three identical DACs. Next, connect the DACs to the preamp using identical cables and presto, I can do the perfect A/B/C comparison between FW versions, switching in real time.
I probably won’t bother but it would be an interesting experiment…
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I for one look forward to this!
I’ve never had a problem with the update process, always worked flawlessly for me - I must be lucky…
My aural memory isn’t great so I can’t really compare to Snowmass. However, I have to say my system is sounding the best it’s ever sounded tonight, everything feels just right, loving it…
Thanks to Ted, Paul and team again!
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This is how I ended up buying the DS years ago. I owned a $25K MBS, and lined it up for a “perfect” A/B/C real time switching comparison with the DS. For good measure, I added a $2K NAD51 into the mix.
The DS with 1.0 FW was within striking distance of the MBS. In fairness, the NAD held its own at the pricepoint. I decided the DS was in the price/performance sweetspot and I bought it and never looked back. With the FW upgrades its a no brainer.
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Looks perfect, great job!
I’m still listening before making any final judgements, but sadly I don’t seem to be in the “immediately noticeable improvement” camp… That’s not too say anything negative just yet.
Although, my remote control has stopped responding multiple times now requiring reset. Anybody?
Go back to Redcloud or something and then back to Windom. Sometimes it needs a kick in the head (and yes I know how crazy that sounds.)
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Sheer Audio voodooism 