Updated my T-Plus last night. Updating part was easy as I used a MacBook on purpose instead of a PC laptop. But the new firmware totally messed up my I2S connection between Iris DDC -and the T-Plus DAC. I first had to reset the clock-out from DAC to get sound since my Iris DDC is set for clock-in. I then reset the I2S configuration back to 0-0-0 that worked before the update, when playing a PCM (FLAC) track, the volume became extremely high with frequent loud skipping (or clipping) noise. So I tried to paly with other configurations, couple of the settings worked without skipping, but when I switch from playing PCM to DSD, it started to give loud popping noise ;( To make a long story short, out of all I2S configurations I have tried, none worked for both PCM and DSD. USB input worked fine though. Finally I gave up and flashed DAC to revert to V1.0, everything was back to normal and both PCM and DSD music played beautifully,,. wrote a few emails to Vinshine and have not heard anything yet. I suspect the new firmware may not be compatible with Iris DDC?
OK, a quick update. I did receive responses from the firmware support team. It seems there is a mismatch for I2S settings between the updated DAC and my old Iris DDC. They asked me to take a photo inside the DDC and send back so they could provide a firmware update for the Iris DDC to match the I2S settings of the T+ DAC with V3.7 update. That does make sense to me. When opened up the DDC, it did show a different chip, EP4C56E, different from the chip inside T+ DAC, EP4C22E. I am very impressed and appreciative of the service. Will keep you informed...
I have just updated the Terminator II DAC to the v3.7 firmware using Hermes DDC I2S connections. The procedure was quite involved but with insightful & quick help of Vinshine on a couple of stages completed successfully. I had to reset the clock sync & out & then using the Vinshine test channel files for PCM & DSD I had to swop DSD L/R channels for Roon playback, also it seemed not to work on 0000 setting but 1111 is fine, phew! Also to note the config file showed up in windows 11 device manager list only after rebooting the laptop as advised. Many thanks to Vinshine's support and great products!
My T+ FPGA could not be identified from the order number/date, so I had to open it up to take the requested photo. A bit of a pain since my DAC is a tight fit in the middle shelf of my rack, so it's hard to get the footers installed after pulling it out and putting it back in. But I just sent in the photo and am looking forward to getting the update to give it a try.
Hopefully it will be worth it. It certainly was a large improvement in my Pontus II 12th. more resolution, more solid space and depth, don’t know about the bass, but maybe tighter? And all with that wonderful musicality.
Ok, for those interested, here's some non-technical observations about the firmware update as experienced by myself. Model: Pontus II (non 12th); purchased May 2021 (UK stockist) Chip: EP4CE22F Firmware choice: v1.4 (as released in May 2023) As posted on page 118, my initial impressions were "...slightly less lower end but a bit tighter; mids slightly less prominent; higher frequencies notably more pronounced." Having given v1.4 a few days to bed in, those earlier impressions are broadly similar BUT with some fleshing out. When listening straight away, I thought there was a loss of deep rumbling / oily / burbling bass - enough to think of reverting to v1.0. I stuck with it. NOW, having listened to a range of albums, most notably Porcupine Tree's "Signify" (2016 remaster, as released with The Delerium Years box set (CD)) and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" (1994 remaster - gold CD; "MasterSound"), the aforementioned bass is definitely present but is more defined which is consistent with an overall slight tightening of the lower frequencies compared to the audio presentation with the original firmware. I've given some thought to "slightly less prominent" mid-range and this is harder to explain so I'll try and keep it simple. The overall sound signature (i.e. with v1.4) is definitely "cleaner" and I wonder if that gives the impression of the mid-range being slightly (and I do mean slightly) reduced when, perhaps, there is very little in it. Upper frequencies. Definitely greater "tinkle" / definition. Probably of most importance to most who have Denafrips DACs is whether this translates into harshness / fatigue. My experience is that there are just a couple of albums in my collections where the material has moved into "difficult listening" territory (e.g. the 2020 remix of Marillion's debut EP containing Market Square Heroes / Three Boats Down From The Candy / Grendel). I stress, the instances of potential listening fatigue only affects a tiny proportion of material that is already a "hot" listen and all other material should be fine with the audio simply sounding cleaner. "Cleaner"? For me, this means there is greater resolution of and separation between individual instruments . However, rather oddly, I haven't found the soundstage to be wider although there may be fractionally greater height. Also, to my ears, there appears to be more of a "triangle" when listening through headphones; meaning there is a concentration of audio at the top of the triangle and then at left / right. My recollection to the original F/W is that this triangle was less pronounced; the balance was more "around" the semicircle. I'm not making a case for "better" or "worse". This is very much going to be a case of personal preference and for those who have waited and waited wondering if they should dive in, my suggestion is to try 1.4 and see what you think. If it doesn't work out, the option is there to roll-back. Will I twist or stick? For now, I'm sticking with the v1.4 F/W. However, I'm expecting a new streamer in the next couple of weeks (EverSolo DMP-A6 - standard "silver" version) and much will depend on whether the audio character of the DMP-A6 differs from that of the Bluesound Node 2i and, if so, in what way (both being used as pure streamers; i.e. fed to the Pontus II with the internal DACs being bypassed). With the Node 2i, it's looking more likely that v1.4 will stay but we'll see. Note: I didn't try v1.3 as other posters whose views I have "tuned into" made it clear v1.3 would be too "dry" for my ears. Happy listening all...
I updated the firmware on my Terminator Plus today. The update went smoothly but I had some problems getting the i2s connection from the Gaia to work. It turned out that the clock output from the T+ needed to be reconfigured, even though the LEDs indicated that it was set up correctly. I'll give it a few days before I make any assessment on the sound quality.
Good to hear the I2S connection worked for your Gaia and T-Plus after V3.7 update. I have to use USB connection and bypass the Iris DDC for the updated T-Plus. Would be interested in hearing your impressions about the sound.
So far, I'm on the fence. The sound is definitely snappier, but doesn't sound quite as smooth as it did before. I'm going to give it a few weeks before I decide whether I want to switch back. Regarding i2s, have you tried to re-setup your DAC i2s connection? Are you using the clock lines from the DAC to the DDC? I had to turn off the clock outputs and turn them back on to get it to work.
Same here. I heard a bit more energy at both ends (HF and LF), and a bit digital sheen in violin and trumpet sound, overall the sound was not as musical as before. Will let it burn in for a week or two. As for teh I2S, yes, the clock-out had to be reset. I have tried every configuration to make the I2S connection work for both PCM and DSD to no vail. Vinshine told me my DDC is too old to be compatible with the V3.7, I have to wait for a new DDC firmware fix...
I haven't tried DSD (I probably have one or two files and have to figure out where they are), so I don't know if I'd have the same problem. My Gaia is also an early unit without the i2s programmability of the new units.
I have hundreds of albums in DSD, so it is very important for me to have that function. To test the PCM/DSD playback, L/R channels, and in/out of phase, I found that the Channel Test Tone By Jeffrey Richards recommended by Vinshine is very convenient and easy to use, download from https://www.denafrips.com/config-i2s.
"Make sure it is possible to revert the update without bricking sht, i.e., if you don't like what ya hear after updating...", says the hive mind
i updated my pontus ii to both the 3.3 and 1.4, overall I can live with both, one is neutral bright and one is neutral warm. I had bugs with both that were not there in 1.0. For 3.3, the pontus would randomly stop picking up signal from my node2i when I use coaxial - happens once every other day or so, it is fixed once I switch to using toslink. For 1.4, the pontus would forward cue like on a turntable, it was happening pretty often until I disabled fixed output in blueos, it then did that much less frequent, maybe twice a day - all of this while using coaxial, it is fixed when I switch to toslink, definitely something funny happening. As a final resort I decided to turn on clock trim in blueos 2 days ago and I have not had that issue anymore even on coxial.
Why not. It's reversible. Sure there's a small chance you might brick it but there's lots more in life that's more worrying.
Yes, I have 1.3 version (the first update released). I heard a distinct increase in resolution, instrumental and vocal separation, better musicality, and an increased sense of depth solidity. 1.4 apparently dials things back a little bit? I’m not interested in that.
I did it yesterday. Easy enough (I use a mac). Went with 1.4. Life-changing? Not for me. Can I really tell any difference at all? Thought it had more bass but then I remembered I had turned the Loudness button on earlier in the day. Sounds good tho.
Did you go from 1.0 to 1.4? IIUC seems like 1.3 could give you a little better resolution … ? But of course if you’re satisfied no problem. Maybe “better musicality” wasn’t correct …? It didn’t lose anything for sure. At least to me. Some folks think it loses something? I might try 1.4 sometime.
As someone that prefers 1.o in my system I’ll take this as an encouraging sign that 1.4 might be a better fit for me than 1.3 was. But I’ve also read several reports of people that liked 1.4 more than 1.3 but still ultimately preferred 1.0. So I do think a lot of it comes down to system synergy, room, personal preferences, etc. I’m also not sure that a firmware update program that has divided opinions so much is ultimately a good thing for the brand, despite the best of its intentions. And I wish they hadn’t combined bug fixes and technical improvements with changes to the sound signature. Because it would be nice to be able to get the former without the latter if desired.
The thing is, it sounds great. But then I always thought it sounded great. My streamer is just a Raspberry Pi running RoPieeeXL with a Pi2AES HAT going AES/EBU into the Pontus II. (Integrated is nice, speakers are nice,. Maybe I'd be able to tell more if I were to splurge on a top-notch streamer.) But regardless of gear, if the game was on the line, and you needed someone to pick out the differences between subtle changes in audio equipment/accessories/firmware, I do not believe the coach would put me in.
I HOPE if I heard 1.0 and 1.3 (and maybe 1.4) in succession I could hear the differences. My system is the loftiest I’ve ever had, possibly ever heard. I did get a sense of what I described immediately. But was it anticipation bias? I’m not one to worry too much about that, will just enjoy.
Ok, plenty of music has now been digested with v1.4 and a common observation has emerged. For me, in my system, lower highs and upper mids are too often conveyed with a glassy sheen that was not present with the original firmware. It's not huge but it makes itself known often enough to be noticeable and some "voices" such as lead guitar sometimes sound metallic and unnatural (such as the solos in the title track of David Gilmour's "On An Island" [limited edition CD, 2006] which, to my knowledge, is not regarded as a bright sounding recording. There is another album I use as the constant when trying new components / firmware / cables and, with v1.4, the aforementioned frequencies are definitely tending towards the bright / shiny side (by comparison). I really wanted the firmware upgrade to work out but having played around with the other variables in my setup, all routes lead back to the DAC. Before I make a final decision on whether to roll back to v1.0, I wondered if anyone else has any (constructive) observations from their own experience(s) in terms of what tweaks elsewhere in the system might have been tried to try and keep v1.4? As things stand, I'm minded to roll back and, if I do, barring an unlikely "OH, now I know why I should go straight back to the upgrade!" moment, it's unlikely I'll ever change the firmware again. For info, I'm using the "NOS" setting (parking debates about whether it really is NOS) which should be the "softest" of the settings available (the others being OS-sharp or OS-slow).
Your experience echoes mine (the one difference being the instrument referenced: guitar, not violin). I found no tweaks and rolled back to v1.0, where I've since happily stayed.
