Hi @tedsmith,
I really enjoy Windom, thank you so much.
A question : does the level of the dimmer still matter?
If it does, what level do you recommend?
I suppose that turning off the display is best, but if I leave it on, what dimmer level should I use ?
I had a thought while listening in astonishment to some tracks that I know really well but it turns out Iāve never really heard before. Assuming you have a āgood loadā, and taking at face value the claim that nothingās changed in Windom other than a reduction in noiseā¦
Could some of the preference in favour of Snowmass be because when thereās a little bit of noise our brain makes up what it thinks is happening behind the noise? Perhaps when that noise is removed we are forced to hear whatās actually there and it may not be the thing weād imagined it to be.
There are a couple of particular moments in tracks I love that I have an expectation of how theyāll sound in some special way ā perhaps a drum hit that sounds particularly huge or a vocal inflection that sounds really emotionally intense ā and Windom doesnāt always deliver. But in those exact places now I hear more into the texture and detail of whatās actually present in the recording, in a way I never have before. I wonder if my expectations were simply made up in my own head.
For me, everything is more musical with Windom, regardless of the quality of the recording. And (again āfor meā) that is a result of it simply communicating more reality with less noise.
Bottom line is that Iām yet again discovering more nuance and colour in my favourite music and being more easily drawn in to music that I might previously have skipped.
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Thereās a song called āRimshotā by Rene Marie referring to a particular drum strike. Up until Windom, the rimshots by the drummer were not sharp and were barely audible, making the whole song kinda moot.
Starting with Windom, the rimshots now have the desired effect, and the song suddenly makes more sense!
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I assume it does - how much I canāt say. Itās one of those things youāll have to decide for yourself. Personally I turn the display off for a better listening experience for many reasons (dark room, less distractions, etc.) I leave it on when Iām just listening to background music.
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Thatās exactly how I do it! Maybe you can push Paul to build an optional setting ādisplay off at startupā into the next PIC code? 
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Itās probably a good thing that the DirectStream resets the display to āonā when power cycled. Itās not hard to push the āDimā button on the remote once in a while.
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Yes. Please. No more unneeded code change!! 
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Wait ā¦ That is ā¦unbelievable
@jamesh , any recommendation from PS Audio on the dimmer level?
Try these two
Eh, I havenāt heard any kind of change here, so I reckon either off or all of the way on is the best as before. But, experiment a bit and let us know. I personally havenāt noticed any big change when I play around with it.
Thanks !
I never run any EQ eitherā¦never have with anything.
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I use a bridge and also could notice a difference in SM300 vs 306 even though it was said by PS that there was no differenceā¦maybe it was just the variability in loads? May the 306 was just a bad upload??
Dude I was joking because you told ME it was unbelievable:-)
In my case Iāve gone back and forth between 3.00 and 3.06 often and have gotten consistently the same sonic differences each time. Others have noted the same sonic differences on the forum as well between these two versions. The only time Iāve really had bad loads is with Windom.
I experienced a demo of the B&W Nautilus $65,000 speakers that were set up poorly and than digitally equalized. They sounded terrible. I suggested to by pass the EQ and things definitely got better. They still did not sound anywhere near as good as my B&W 800 Matrix speakers but at least not as offensive. Set up and ancillary EQ make big differences for sure.
I get a boot out of folks like soundmind who say cables donāt matter, and that EQ is the way to go. Cables ARE EQ devices on some level. Though MUCH closer to straight wire WITHOUT gain than an EQ device - and given the fact that adding an EQ box into your system requires an additional set of ICs (not to mention all the curcuitry, power supplies, etc. in the EQ box) and that EQ changes phase response and so forthā¦
This is from the perspective of someone who is both a recording engineer (where we use lots of EQ, mostly on mono sources/tracks) and as an Audiophile - where Iāve become convinced over time from experience with Advanced EQs that it is a Last Resort to noodle with the Master youāre spinning, rather than sort out your room/speakers/gear.
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I listened to Simply Redās first album, Picture Book, last night. A well recorded album, IMO.
It became completely engrossing. I recall not being especially engaged by some of the songs on the album prior to Windom. Listening through Window transformed the experience. The subtleties of Mick Hucknallās singing were wonderful. When listening before Windom his voice could sometimes be piercing. With Windom his voice became more soulful, and definitely less fatiguing.
The bass was more impactful and had more texture than I recall prior to Windom.
On this album, I think Windom surpasses vinyl.
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Well, Iām going to side-flip on my back-flip. I moved my setup into another room which has very different acoustics to my normal listening room just to give myself a different perspective. I found the sound in the new room pleasant but a bit too laid back so just cause I could, I went from Snowmass (3.0.5) to Windom. 2 takeaways. Firstly, it was noticeably cleaner and the bass is slightly bigger but much more detailed. This tallies in with a lot of observations on this thread. Those people complaining of too much bass might have room mode issues that are being aggravated by the different bass character of Windom. Or perhaps their room is augmenting their bass already to a large degree. And at the other end of the spectrum, systems that are on the verge of brightness might seem a bit stark with the newer firmware.
A lot of people on here, including myself spend a lot of time and energy tuning and tweaking their systems to achieve a goal. Fact is, the new firmware generally give the DSD DACās a new character so we have to adjust things. If we donāt want to do that or if we are 100% happy with the firmware that we currently have then thatās cool. As Iāve said before, itās great to have choices.
I am getting to point where I can flick between 3.0.5 and WIndom and enjoy both for their different characteristics. Iād suggest Snowmass is the āromanticā choice, Snowmass is a more analytical choice. I like both.
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