I’ve abandoned the “good load”, “bad load” model entirely and adopted an “it is what it is” approach. I’ve been switching back and forth between Snowmass and Windom, via Huron, freely without issue. If either can’t load properly, then that gets rolled into the evaluation as being “as it is”. No more Windom “bad load” scapegoats, the mountain has to stand on its own two feet!
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@danofesherintheuk and @dancingsea:
You guys are still making observations that are reflective of what I experienced prior to “getting a good load”, as it were. That is starting to sound like a happy intestinal day. Which is cool too.
If ANYTHING does not sound like Snowmass or like Snowmass, but Better, I’m still guessing something’s wrong.
Yeah - more detail and so on, but everything else is mo’ bettah in the way that we like. Sounds, dare I say it…Analog.
Signed,
Apologist-In-Cheif
Former Windom Naysayer
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Then, in my Zen approach, the bad load is what is. I’ve reloaded it so many times, enough already. In my little kingdom, then a bad load is simply how it goes. And PS Audio seems anything but motivated to fix the issue. So be it. I’m really very happy with Snowmass.
I hear the good things that people are talking about with what I consider the “good load,” except that there is a bright character overall. With the “bad load” it’s even worse. This has been a consistent “dichotomy” so I can only assume that what is “good” is correct. Can’t go on reloading over and over day after day. If I find fatigue continues I’ll go back to Snowmass 3.06 and stay there. I’m glad you’re happy with what you have finally arrived at.
@lonson, buddy - I think I said this up front…don’t modify your system for Windom. At least until you’re sure you have proper Windom.
I admit that, after a week of doubt and suffering (1st World Suffering though it may have been), I ordered a bunch of stuff in the hopes of mitigating the “problems” with the sound I was hearing, but that was based on sound that was not right. Thankfully, when it Finally Happened For Me, I had not modified anything in my system. Everything sounded better.
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Totally get it, and simply consider myself fortunate amongst us Unfortunates.
We are 1%'ers in the negative sense ; )
Here is brief summary of my Windom experience: I first uploaded Windom directly from Snowmass 3.0.6, I did it follow my old routine without knowing the process shared here (re-format to FAT32, extract the file to folder, then save to SD card): I copied the file from zip folder directly to the SD card that I have been using for DS, DMP and P20 updates, no re-format since came with P20); 2nd round I rolled back to Redcloud, then Windom, using same SD card without formatting , but I did re-boot after each upload without SD card; I felt a bit more low end than I liked and overall it is fine; Tonight for the heck of it I rolled back to Snowmass 3.0.6 using a freshly re-formatted SD card, extract file to local folder then copy to SD card, re-boot without SD after loading; listened, and then load the windom the same way; Since I listened to snowmass right before Windom I have some fresh comparison and clarified some my mis-impression of Windom at first place; To summarize, Windom is cleaner, less grit, better defined highs, mid-low and lows; the volume of low is actually similar to Snowmass to my ear; I ended up very much kept the REL S3s cross over and level unchanged, and no adjustment for speaker position; Musicality is similar, snowmass may have a tad more sweetness; Overall it is pretty darn good upgrade. I am glad to read what folks share here and it is very helpful (thank you); Now back to spinning some CDs and SACDS!
It does feel like a more refined snowmass to my ears; Also, I feel fortunate that it does not appear to be forward / fatigue on my system; I have been listening Windom non-stop since this 3rd installation for hours; given it is more refined, less grain, more revealing and punchy, I actually prefer to crank up the volume a lot more than usual; man what a thrill!
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This almost sounds like a “born again” experience. I don’t know man, I keep going to church every Sunday, but I just don’t feel like Our Lord & Savior Windom is real to me. But everybody else is so into it… 
Right on the money, Mr Beef. I wouldn’t change a thing to make Windom work. And once I got it right, it was very obvious that it was right.
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A fellow Windom back flipper. I went back to Windom this week and I’m loving it.
Feel that, as someone raised Catholic/Christian.
So - Brother…take my Hand, and Imagine a World in which, from the Depths of Despair, your Stereo Suddenly creates a Miracle:ghost:
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I now understand that the whole “Left Behind” book series was about Windom loads 
I also mentioned this in the “problems” thread, but it might be more apropos here.
I noticed a “touch” more brightness in the highs with Windom, but revisited the gain/balance between the DSD and preamp. With Snowmass, I had settled in at a DSD output setting of 90. When I heard the brittleness in the highs, I reduced the DSD output to 80 and relied on the preamp to make up the difference.
Issue solved - for me, anyway.
Perhaps smacking the DS really hard a few times (on the right side if you are right-handed, left if you’re lefty) as we did with televisions, oh so many years ago.
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Howard - yeah - there is indeed a touch more brightness/detail. Most dig that shtuff. However, that is a good solution, should you find that added information bothersome in some way.
Despite the fact that one of the “fixes” in this iteration was to make 100 sound as good as 75, that Does Not Mean that every user will find that 100 on the DS is some sort of Absolute. That is a relic from the Olden Days when all DACs put out an uncontrollable Full Level.
As before - all y’alls feel free to press the little buttons (typically not requiring getting up from one’s chair) and adjust the pre and DAC to one’s taste. Even on an "by album"basis. (horrors!)
Even if you find a Happy Medium, the difference in gain of various sources and recordings may require some pressing of buttons to acheive audio nirvana.
Please do not speak of our Problems to Others, as they will understandably consider you “Touched in the Head”. ; )
One person’s touch more brightness and detail is another man’s touch of fatigue, it depends. The “loads” are a minor variable compared to the variety of ears listening to the loads 
I also don’t understand that if bad loads were a pervasive problem, why does Snowmass always load correctly for me, and Windom purportedly does not? Isn’t it the same loading mechanism for both?
I’m sticking with “it is what it is”…
If you refuse to listen to a fellow sufferer’s story, so be it.
"One person’s touch more brightness and detail is another man’s touch of fatigue, "
This was the sort of thing I was posting about for a week.
I’ve said from Day One that it was Fatiguing/Wierd, and that the loads were all the same, until it was suddenly, Magically All Good. And it was Obvious. And was the Opposite of everything I had complained about for a week. If I could give you the Magic Formula to make it work, I would.
“Bad Loads” (bad Sonic loads, as opposed to the ability to Get the FW to Load at all) AFAICT, are Mostly a New Thing with this iteration.
BUT - y’know…Snowmass Ain’t Broke.
This assumes comparative universes. If my Windom loads sound like X, and there’s nothing else I can do, and there’s no way to verify if my Windom loads are good or not, then whether they are good or not really doesn’t matter. All that matters is what they are for me.
That doesn’t discount your experience. Its simply near impossible to compare experiences because of the 1000 variable combinations involved in our relative universes.
I could have a bad load. I could have a perfect load and simply don’t like it as much as Snowmass. There’s no way of knowing. Therefore I’m negating all that I cannot know, until, we’ll, I know it. By doing so, I’m setting aside the grass is greener, the wine is sweeter component and simply enjoying Snowmass.
That’s all a comment on me and really doesn’t relate directly to anyone else. Every head is its own world.
Fair enough. Except that you continue to post about your perceptions of the sound, as I did for a week, which turned out to be based on…whatever it is that is going on here. I went through and edited/took back what I’d posted.
This is not to say that I think the fact that this was able to happen in the first place, to me, others, and perhaps you - perhaps not - is OK.
This is all any of us can do. Post on the sound “that is going on here” 