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Author Topic: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery  (Read 12967 times)

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Anaxilus.

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2013, 08:27:52 PM »
I said that based on some evidence of possible hardware variances.  Which corroborated the fact that no matter what FW the PWD mk1>2 used, it still sounded like a PWD mk1>2 inherently.  The new PWD mk2 we sampled, I mean, it's simply unfathomable any FW could possibly fix that.  Could be wrong, who knows.  The two DACs sound that different and in a way that seems to point towards power delivery based on past experience w/ other devices.  Maybe the new FW can make the new mk2 grow a pair of balls, hope so.
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CEE TEE

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2013, 08:50:25 PM »
Okay, here is more possible revision history...please note that the July 2nd version was supposedly a new PL109 version emailed by someone from the PS Audio team.  I added a couple more 2.20 versions that Solude mentioned he knew about (104 & 105).
 
Versions of v2.20:
1.       2.20 (pld 104)
2.       2.20 (pld 105)
3.       2.20 (pld 107)
4.       2.20 (pld 109)
5.       2.20 (pld 109) "Emailed on July 2nd". Specific Filenames:  Loader.CFG, pWD20400.hex, PWDPL109.hex, PWDUI200.hex, and PLDUL103.hex
 
There is a v2.40 which is in Beta.
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hiyu64

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2013, 09:16:39 PM »
Quote from: Analixus on July 03, 2013, 08:27:52 PM
I said that based on some evidence of possible hardware variances.  Which corroborated the fact that no matter what FW the PWD mk1>2 used, it still sounded like a PWD mk1>2 inherently.  The new PWD mk2 we sampled, I mean, it's simply unfathomable any FW could possibly fix that.  Could be wrong, who knows.  The two DACs sound that different and in a way that seems to point towards power delivery based on past experience w/ other devices.  Maybe the new FW can make the new mk2 grow a pair of balls, hope so.

Yes, logically how the hell can a firmware update create such a large difference or even filters for that matter if the hardware is the same(comparing different 2.20 versions on the new MKII board), unless they fucked up really badly on making the firmware in the first place. 
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johnjen

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2013, 10:27:00 PM »
I also have a copy of 2.4.0 and it contains the PWD20400.hex file.

It won't load in my PWD so it still needs a bit of tweaking.

JJ



Quote from: CEE TEE on July 03, 2013, 08:50:25 PM
Okay, here is more possible revision history...please note that the July 2nd version was supposedly a new PL109 version emailed by someone from the PS Audio team.  I added a couple more 2.20 versions that Solude mentioned he knew about (104 & 105).
 
Versions of v2.20:
1.       2.20 (pld 104)
2.       2.20 (pld 105)
3.       2.20 (pld 107)
4.       2.20 (pld 109)
5.       2.20 (pld 109) "Emailed on July 2nd". Specific Filenames:  Loader.CFG, pWD20400.hex, PWDPL109.hex, PWDUI200.hex, and PLDUL103.hex
 
There is a v2.40 which is in Beta.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2013, 10:51:24 PM by johnjen »
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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2013, 01:59:43 AM »
Is there a list of fixes for 2.4.0?  Couldn't find it.  Or is it more of Paul's tuning by ear?
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fishski13

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #15 on: July 04, 2013, 04:46:43 AM »
i'm guessing that your power cables aren't resolving enough to appreciate the sonic improvements of the FW updates.  maybe an audition of a PS Labs TOTL power cable is in order?
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johnjen

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #16 on: July 04, 2013, 06:10:19 AM »
Quote from: Analixus on July 04, 2013, 01:59:43 AM
Is there a list of fixes for 2.4.0?  Couldn't find it.  Or is it more of Paul's tuning by ear?
Not that I have seen.  Probably because its still in beta testing.  And has been there for a couple of weeks now.

It was hinted that this latest version is supposed to be further dialed in for the long awaited PerfectWaveStreamer s/w.  But I also suspect it may also have 'fixes' for other anomalous behavior as well.

JJ
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twizzleraddict

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Re: PWDII firmware extravangza
« Reply #17 on: July 04, 2013, 11:41:19 PM »
Quote from: CEE TEE on July 03, 2013, 04:44:31 AM
LALALALALALALALALALALA...I can't hear you.  :)p8   Isn't there gonna be an OR6?

This is what I'm doing when some folks bring the OR5 up to me as well. lol. Currently not in a spot where it's absolutely needed (enjoying the PWDII as-is) but also curious what the OR6 will bring to the table.

And despite the firmware revisions, at least they (PSA) haven't abandoned tweaking with it to try to resolve what appears to be issues in the new versions. I am not going to curse and shoot down a company that at least has supported their TOTL DAC since they launched it in 2009. It's been 4 yrs and though they've milked customers a little via the MKII and Bridge upgrades, it's still a relevant piece in 2013 when you look at other DACs in the same price range.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2013, 11:52:57 PM by twizzleraddict »
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DaveBSC

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #18 on: July 05, 2013, 03:29:35 AM »
Still not much on the OR6 other than that it's XMOS based and will require some Vbus. Steve swears that with galvanic isolation plus something beyond the Analog Devices ADuM used by Berkeley that it should outperform the OR5, despite that being 100% self powered.

PS has done a good job of keeping the PWD relevant, but the FW issues are still a total mess. Combine that with the complete cluster fuck that is eLyric, and I have little interest in actually owning one.
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johnjen

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Re: The PS Audio Perfectwave DAC PWDII Mystery
« Reply #19 on: July 05, 2013, 04:20:48 AM »
If the dramatic difference between USB and Ethernet weren't there, I doubt I'd still be using the PWDII.  But the output from a lightly modded PWD using the bridge, even given all of the foibles and missing functions, more than makes it worth the effort to pursue this to see where it winds up. 
At least for me. 
Plus the fact that the only other DAC that has caught my eye is 4-10 times more $$.

So it’s a nod to sensibility and being budgetarilly responsible, or something. 

JJ
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PWD-II w/bridge (lightly modded) - Schiit Ragnarok - The Rok (lightly modded) - HD-800 SAA modded, balanced & hardwired
Shunyata Python & α-Digital & Anaconda XLR - AudioQuest Coffee - Wyrd Schiit - 'Other' cables & Tweaks aplenty
Schiit Mojo (retired for now)
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