For what its worth, I"m back to confirm my initial impressions. Despite having to get used to FAR more midbass (and bass period) I think this release is just an astounding success overall. The clarity and focus are the big changes - really leaps and bounds over what we had before. I don’t know if that’s all due to the reduced noise Ted talks about but its an astounding difference. The clarity of the new system rivals what I hear from DCS in their line of DACs, at a fraction of the cost. Bravo! Microrendu>Directstream>Aesthetix Janus>Aesthetix Atlas>Magnepan 20.7s, with Synergistic research cables throughout.
Have you tried disabling your EQ settings and listen to the native?
brett, the sound without EQ is horrible (EQ is effectively free within the digital crossover). I need some consistency - Windom today sounded totally different to when I was loading it after Snowmass and the only thing I’d done is to go via Yale. The system is active using three Direcstreams - if they each do their own thing dependant upon their history I’ll never be able to get consistency.
That’s interesting…so you have 3 DS, every cabling etc. equal and each one sounds different with the same firmware on?
I’m more neutral about Windom. I love the huge soundstage and enormity of the sound. The midrange on familiar, super high quality recordings leaves me wondering “is that it, where’d it go?” Passages that were very impactful on Snowmass in the mids are sort of meh on Windom. Yet Windom’s soundstage is super impressive, a clear step up for me, so are the bass details.
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Darn, that’s definitely more variables that the vast majority have to deal with.
My DS has sounded different each time I’ve loaded Windom, and the last load was after Snowmass 3.0.0 and it sounds the best to me, though I did go back to Yale and Huron previously and didn’t care for it…
Hopefully PSA will dedicate or find a resource that can definitively load new OS and/or confirm definitively a ‘good’ load.
I wonder how many DS have been returned or reviewed negatively because of this problem, combined with the need to break-in for a very long run-time…hmm.
I’m not 100% ‘sold’ on Windom but I’m far happier than the first few loads that were obviously not right, broken in fact.
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jazznut, if you were replying to me the explanation is that it’s an active system. Each DS has just one coax digital input from the digital crossover (a DEQX HDP-5). One DS does bass, one middle, one treble. The crossover has correction for impulse response and as part of the software I can input parametric equalisers (vital to compensate for huge amounts of treble and bass absorption in my room). Being active the speaker drivers are directly connected to the power amps (no passive crossover or preamp in the way). The system responds to the tiniest amount of change to EQ, HTH, Dan.
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Wow, that’s quite a setup! I was just asking as not many except PSA can compare with multiple DS DAC‘s. So in case you can ensure equal conditions for each, you could easily compare different loads.
But then you certainly would have to let each DAC run full range in another setup than your multi way ;-(
I am running my main speakers (Focal Sopra 2’s) full range with 4 JL Audio F-113 subs.
Since installing Windom on my DS SR I needed to lower the subs crossover point (45hz) and overall volume. But I am truly enjoying Windom.
Perhaps you guys need to move your speakers out from the wall a little. Windom does do better deeper bass.
ozzy
ozzy, my problem is that when I first loaded the dacs with windom the overall result was bass heavy. Initially I could swap backwards and forwards between Snowmass and Windom and get the same result. Heving gone via Yale, the system is certainly not bass heavy and the midrange is rather hard. It’s the inconsistency that’s the problem so there’s no point in me doing any more listening as I don’t know whether what I now have is static enough to be repeatable.
jazznut, that’s exactly right. I don’t have a quality set of passive speakers that I could listen to with each dac in turn.
Dan, so you’re saying you can’t run your speakers without the DEQX or some other form of external crossover, yes?
I would try to figure out a way to go forward without it. Had (still have, but don’t use) an HDP-4, and I was much happier without it ultimately. But I don’t have crossoverless speakers.
You have a massive case of too many variables. Better to pick speakers, optimize the room, and go from there.
This is aside from the DAC issues, in the end. My two cents.
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Yes badbeef, I need the DEQX and the three dacs. I think without EQ the room, with all the treatment, would be terrible (I embarked on a road that tries to reduce to a minimum the effect of room boundaries). I’ve had fantastic sound with my system and it always takes a while to get the best out of a new firmware release. Regarding the problems with indeterminate loads, if I felt it realistic to learn the programming language(s) used and how to use the development environment, I’d rise to the challenge - I was a programmer (and though I say it myself, a good one) but there’s no way I could start from scratch - I stopped work in 2003.
14 posts were merged into an existing topic: Windom: Installation/Technical Problems
Like what? Do you feel your load is inaccurate or you just don’t like windom ?
I guess I don’t understand when people run EQ - and that EQ is set up based on prior parameters. I’d be interested to know how things sound to you without EQ w snowmass vs windom w no EQ.
My system runs totally flat no eq of any type. I have appreciated every new OS that Ted has created for the Directstream. It seems the more complex the system is the more issues some experience.
We have to look into the other possible issues that may be responsible for causing one to be unhappy with an upgrade. Ted modifies the code to bring the system forward in accuracy. Lowering noise and reducing jitter should not be detrimental to performance.
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Bass heavy is exactly the issue I had…
I found rolling back to Snowmass became an issue. Then i tried Snowmass v1 ->3.06…In that load, the volume suddenly dropped to 50. I smiled because i knew i had the bug, which related to the version of snowmass that enjoyed.
So this is the buggy world that I have come to appreciate 
I have gone to another forum where they had close to 30 people post praise for windom. Not one person mentioned a funky load etc.
Personally I’ve never had any real issue loading etc. I do the same thing every time / new Sandisk sd card from Best Buy- don’t format/ bring the zip local and then unzip on a win10 machine/copy files to sd card and do a software eject.
My setup is basic. No bridge/output usb to matrix - just like the first ears that hear the release I believe. I go bit perfect out / no eq no upsampling / no external crossovers. I would say that my basic setup is about as close as it gets to the initial testers’ ears.
I’ve never been disappointed. No FOMO.
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Do you mean volume dropped right after the reinitialization of the software? If so - that’s not a bug - it’s by design.