Yes. There is certainty more there, there, with
Windom. Hard to fault anything, only the recording and transferring process. Nice to get a component level upgrade with the last two
software revisions, for free. DACs with chip sets seem so old school.
Got my Senior just as a Snowmass had come out. I plug the DS directly into my amp and use Roon with the network card.
I liked the sound of the DS over my previous DAC. But one thing I’d noticed was less bass. I moved my speakers to compensate.
To my ears, Windom is clearly superior. I hear more bass and it seems there’s more clarity. Very happy with upgrade. I listen to 80% classical and 19% jazz; mix of CD, hi-res and even MP3/AAC.
——
Classe amp, Acoustic Zen wire; Avalon speakers
I just did it an hour ago and it worked for me too . The sound is better right away . More large presentation and less aggressive . Bravo !
Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I’m not questioning what you’re hearing. I’m just trying to figure out why in my system and in the system of others, Windom makes both the good and bad recordings sound better. Which is not the case with everyone. There’s something here that’s not adding up.
Word for word, My experience to the TEE! Thanks for your direct line psychic reading.
I have now been listening to Windom since it was made available for download. I had no problems whatsoever coping to the sd card and updating the SR, did the turn off update, insert card reboot, turn off, remove card power on. Worked as advertised. I found Windom from the get go better, in fact turned subwoffers off, didn’t need them. But here is the kicker I played something I hadn’t listened to for quite awhile Jeff Waynes War of the worlds… OMG was it good and it is only 44/16 ripped CD, other files sounded even better. But I would suggest just listen to War of the worlds, to see what this version uncovers! Here is a list of performers on the CD and to be honest I don’t think it list them all;
Album[edit]
- Richard Burton – spoken words (The Journalist: the narrator-protagonist)
- Justin Hayward – vocals (The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist)
- David Essex – spoken words and vocals (The Artilleryman)
- Chris Thompson – vocals (The Voice of Humanity)
- Phil Lynott – spoken words and vocals (Parson Nathaniel)
- Julie Covington – spoken words and vocals (Beth)
- Jerry Wayne – spoken words (The Voice of NASA)
Tours[edit]
- Richard Burton – spoken words (The Journalist) (via a “virtual” Richard Burton: a large bust of the Journalist plus a projected image)
- Liam Neeson – spoken words (The Journalist) (The New Generation 2012, 2014 and the Dominion Theatre stage production 2016)[6]
- Justin Hayward – vocals (The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist) (all tours: 2006, 2007 Australian, 2007 UK, 2009 30th Anniversary, and 2010 tour)
- Michael Praed - vocals (The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist): Dominion Theatre 2016
- Alexis James – spoken words and vocals (The Artilleryman) (2006, 2007 UK, and 2009 30th Anniversary tour)
- Michael Falzon – spoken words and vocals (The Artilleryman) (2007 Australian tour)
- Jason Donovan – spoken words and vocals (The Artilleryman, 2010 tour & Parson Nathaniel, 2012, 2014, 2018 40th Anniversary tour)
- Chris Thompson – vocals (The Voice of Humanity) (all tours: 2006, 2007 Australian, 2007 UK, 2009 30th Anniversary, and 2010 tour)
- Russell Watson – spoken words and vocals (Parson Nathaniel) (2006 tour)
- Shannon Noll – spoken words and vocals (Parson Nathaniel) (2007 Australian and first half of 2009 30th Anniversary tour)
- John Payne – spoken words and vocals (Parson Nathaniel) (2007 UK tour)
- Damien Edwards – spoken words and vocals (Parson Nathaniel) (second half of 2009 30th Anniversary tour)
- Rhydian Roberts – spoken words and vocals (Parson Nathaniel) (2010 tour)
- Tara Blaise – spoken words and vocals (Beth) (2006 tour)
- Rachael Beck – spoken words and vocals (Beth) (2007 Australian tour)
- Sinéad Quinn – spoken words and vocals (Beth) (2007 UK tour)
- Jennifer Ellison – spoken words and vocals (Beth) (2009 30th Anniversary tour)
- Liz McClarnon – spoken words and vocals (Beth) (2010 tour)
- Carrie Hope Fletcher – spoken words and vocals (Beth) (2014 and 2018 40th anniversary tour)
- Callum O’Neill - spoken words (HG Wells) (2014 tour)
- Adam Garcia - spoken words and vocals (The Artilleryman) (2018 40th Anniversary tour)
- Newton Faulkner - vocals (The Sung Thoughts of The Journalist) (2018 40th Anniversary tour)
- Nathan James - vocals (The Voice of Humanity) (2018 40th Anniversary tour)
- Daniel Boys – spoken words and vocals (Male Understudy) (2006, 2007 Australian, 2007 UK, 2009 30th Anniversary, and 2010 tour)
- Jonathan Vickers - spoken words and vocals (NASA Controller) (2014 and 2018 40th anniversary tour)
- Lily Osborne (Female Understudy)
Black Smoke Band[edit]
Album[edit]
- Jeff Wayne – composer, arranger, keyboards, synthesisers
- Chris Spedding – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Herbie Flowers – bass guitar
- Ken Freeman – keyboards, synthesisers
- George Fenton – santoor, zither, tar
- Jo Partridge – guitars (The Heat Ray), mandolin, vocals ('Ulla’s)
- Barry Morgan – drums
- Barry da Souza, Roy Jones, Ray Cooper – percussion
-
Paul Vigrass, Gary Osborne, Billy Lawrie – backing vocals
It sounded fantastic!!
Okay, finally, like the porridge chosen by Goldilocks the Windom sound is just right for me.
I ended up retubing my preamp with six hand-selected and meticulously tested 6N5P tubes from the preamp manufacturer, replacing American Amperex 7308s, and I outfitted my mono block amplifiers’ input tubes with a pair of vintage 6N6P I bought from eBay last year that are head and shoulders above any other of that type I’ve ever tried, replacing American Amperex 6085 tubes. I also added another pair of Duelund resistors to the speaker setup and re-addressed my isolation setup on P10, preamp, ZBIT and ZROCK2. Settling in a day and I have eliminated the fatiguing treble and all the (subtle, but cumulatively impressive) improvements Windom brings are being enjoyed.
I enjoy making these sort of changes and evaluating the effects, especially when there is success as a result.
Really nice dynamic and clear sound! Take your time with the next firmware changes Ted!
Impressive work dialing the firmware in to your preferences. 
Thanks. It’s fulfilling to realize I’ve been building this system for over 20 years and have those years of experience with the equipment and the tubes used and all the trappings, and having the resources on hand is a comfort as well. And being back in the mode of just listening with deep enjoyment to whatever I pluck from my shelves of discs is a blessing.
It’s rewarding when we make “tuning” changes and they produce the results we were aiming for.
As much as I loved my 250 watt amp, I felt it was a bit too dynamic coupled to my highly efficient speakers. I switched to a 25 watt from the same mfr, but a different topology and it’s just perfect.
Then came Windom which just tied everything together.
Very satisfying.
Which manufacturer makes both a 25 and 250 watt power amp? Pass?
Pass X250.8 and XA25
I use a X350.8 but have always wondered about the lower wattage Pass amps.
Did the X250.8 give a fuller, beefier sound in your setup?
It sounds counter intuitive, but the XA25 has better bass grip. Where the 250.8 was more prominent was in the upper mid. It got fatiguing after a while with my 100db spkrs.
I find the XA25 to have an overall far more pleasing sound. It’s far better for soundstage/air, etc. The individual instruments are better separated.
All that said, the 250 never left class A. For most of my listening, I doubt I’m listening at more than a watt or 2.
@RonP, if you haven’t yet (or are thinking about) letting your 250.8 go, let me know. 
Hi Ron, do you have the DS connected directly to the XA25 or do you use a preamp ?
I built one of the DIY Amp Camp Amps from Nelson Pass, 8 watts out per channel. It drives a pair of ZU Omen Defs pretty dang well for under 350 bucks. I have a really good tube pre-amp feeding the ACA.
Sold it. Pass stuff goes quickly.
I’m using a BHK pre with Telefunken 6 volt tubes. It’s a very nice combination.
I also have an XP-12 but I prefer the BHK.
Same here. Went from a pass labs xa30.8 to a xa25. Using a Dsd senior into a bhk preamp and exclusively running Telefunken diamond 6dj8s. Spooky that your set up is so close Ron.
The xa25 is a brilliant amplifier. It has a very low output impedance so it really has a firm grip on the woofers in your system. The use of depletion mode mosfets gives a very dynamic, detailed sound. It runs very deep into classA so with efficient speakers you’d be in the sweet zone most of the time. It can also handle peaks better than the xa30.8 could too. The xa30.8 can get a bit bitey when you drive it hard. The xa25 just keeps digging.