Awesome! I thought I'd have to wait till tomorrow.

Holy...wow, I just loaded the new OS on a 16GB SD I had around. This is not subtle to me. The lower noise makes the music, especially percussion just jump out of the blackness.

I'm listening to a band called Om right now - it's a duo that does music considered "drone metal" - but I don't think that does it justice. It's great percussion, bass, and vocals; dark and mesmerizing...even more so now!.

Listening from Roon, via Bridge II in the DS, to the one off 20 year old Zen UFO, to MG944.        K.I.S.S.

Lon, this is good, this is *really* good. I was up till 3am listening last night! It's been a while since I've fallen that far down the rabbit hole.

A few of the updates improved on a thing or two, but always left me feeling like something small but important was left on the table.

This update, has the blackest blacks, PRaT in abundance, and the detail I love so much without being fatiguing at all! Across all the frequencies it sounds more accurate, and the bass doesn't feel like it's lacking anymore...like it's gained speed that previous versions were missing.

I'm stunned Ted was able to make this happen. I was looking at a TEAC because I was wondering if something newer could outclass the DS, but I've kinda lost the lust for something new right now. Time to get back to room treatment instead!

I'm really running out of things I feel the need to upgrade.

I'm considering trying out some really high end XLR for between the DirectStream and the ZMA. Beyond that, I'm very, very happy.

I must have put in over 20 hours of real listening time since Huron was released! I even took the time to pull the Loveseat out of the living room, and line both sides of the room with my fleet of diffusers.

I too feel I'm needing to adjust my system some, now that I can hear deeper into each recording.

One thing that's bugging me - I'm hearing some distortion from somewhere, and I'm having trouble placing from where.  When I was listening Roon -> DS via Bridge II -> Zen UFO, I had assumed I was driving the amp too hard. While the souped up Zen amp has way more apparent output than it should, it's still easy to run it aground being only 2.5 watts (or whatever it really reads out to).

So I switched to the ZMA, and I have to say...this Huron makes the difference between the Zen and ZMA very apparent! It's no longer like, well, the Zen sounds a little more true to the source and the ZMA has more grunt....now it's like the Zen is *very* true to the source, and the ZMA sounds veiled in comparison, but with real grunt and full bass. I feel like the resolution of the DS has surpassed the ZMA and only better shows what this UFO Zen is really capable of.  (I'm sure Steve would say Nonsense to that, but that's how it feels).

So, as I said, I switched to the ZMA and put another 10 or so hours of playtime, mostly playing new albums released the past couple months, some stuff recommended in a private music forum I belong to (lots of urban and hip hop unfortunately, but some was sonically interesting and had really good beats).  And I'm still hearing some distortion. It's very subtle, and if I wasn't so in tune with my system I probably wouldn't have noticed. On the Zen it sounded like it was running out of steam, and the ZMA it sounds like there is a little raggedness in the upper mids like you have with tired tubes. I swapped tubes to some known good new, and still had the same thing.  

It really feels like my input tube selection isn't up to par for the new resolution presented, and the amp can only produce as good as it's given (Garbage In/Garbage Out). I'm going to have to explore this some more.

Or....I'm noticing in the forums, a couple people were complaining about digital artifacts in recordings, and on closer inspection, it turns out these were issue in the original recordings that were just not apparent with the past resolution. I've noticed this as well. While I'm getting an amazing amount of separation of voices and instruments, I'm also hearing more microphone sibilance and redlining the inputs on the mixing board in the original recordings...and I can hear when there is some autotune used on vocals where this would (mostly) get masked in the recording before.

Really interesting, and requiring some tweaking of the system, but this is fantastic! I finally feel like I have a source that pushes the limits of what the amps can do. The differences between Zen and ZMA jump out at you now, and that's wonderful and painful at the same time. LOL

Well Huron is an interesting change. I had tailored the system to Torreys and the extra clarity and dynamics of Huron had me puzzled at first as to how to address it. Tube-rolling was the easiest and most effective manner. I moved from Amperex input tubes to a pair of Mullard made for RCA and the extra smooth roundness of the Mullard added a bit of flesh around the bone that the extra clarity was exposing with the Amperex. And yesterday I moved voltage regulation from Tesla 11TA31 to 75C1 Enelectico valves that then gave a little kick to those fleshed out bones. Using the 75C1 I still have a tiny bit of leanness I wish would go away but it's material-dependent and if I use the High Regulation setting of the P10 it's almost perfect. And when it's a bit too lean kicking in multi-wave at 1 is a pretty good choice.

Overall Huron is a solid improvement and a welcome tool in the tool kit.

I've been exploring NOS "slightly different" types of tubes from the great makers that don't command the silly prices of NOS of the 6922, 7308 type etc.

I've had some good success with two versions of RCA ECC189 made by either Mullard or Amperex, very reasonably priced on ebay at around thirty a pair. The Amperex is probably closest to the Telefunken sound. (Generally I shy away from that sound as my brain seems to interpret treble differently than others, I seem to hear more than others do at the same settings, one audiologist who examined me said I may have a type of tinnitus where the ear drum becomes overexcited by high frequencies, but he couldn't say definitively as not all my hearing matched that problem and I could hear well into the high frequency before I became irritated, it was more quantity than range with me). Anyway another that I like but that has just a bit too much treble energy for me (and which may be just right for you or others) are a pair of Mazda "Made in England" PCC189. Very open and clear and for me just a bit too hot and unruly at the top, but again that's my sonic peeve and not necessarily others'. . . .

Sure: here are what I picked up which should help; the Mazdas at the top of the list still have pairs available:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251022979365?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STR...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/382008730168?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STR...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262998502971?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STR...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/332110155660?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STR...

They work. And the prices are right.

I did wind up grabbing some 7DJ8 - they say Telefunken, but they don't sound like Telefunken 6DJ8 - they are clear and fine, but don't have the "air" and extension that I love about real Telefunk 6DJ8.

got some of the Tungsram 7DJ8, Bascom King recommends for the PS BHK signature gear.... breaking in - initial impressions are they are "nice".

I would use the oppo as my player and get into streaming. Later, you could put the $1200 towards a better DAC.

Same as busterfree ... I would get a PS Audio DSD DAC and then use the Oppo transport going into the PS Audio DSD as your primary DAC, then when funds allowed I would then upgrade to the PWT ~ that is if you still think you need a CD spinner at that point.

Thank you all very much.  It seems a new DAC is in order!

To add to that though. . . the PWT or the DMP is a step up when used with the DirectStream DAC compared to any other transport I've tried (and I've tried a few including an Oppo). The Digital Lens inside these transports and the use of I2S via HDMI makes the connection special. .  . and not by a tiny margin.

So I would agree that saving up for a DSD is a great thing. . . and then if you are still spinning discs I would consider one of the PS Audio transports.

I've heard the NuWave and it's quite nice though not up to the standard of the DSD or the PWD. May be better than the Oppo though (I may not be the best judge as Oppos haven't really impressed me this decade, and I've been spoiled by the PWD and then DSD).

I haven't heard the new TEAC, I'm lucky in that I have the DAC I love and am not on a quest for or curious about another.

Thanks, Dave,

I ultimately just could not afford the step up to the two PS Audio units.  I kept the Oppo as the transport and added a Teac UD 503 Dac.  The Teac is pretty nice (I note Steve just released the Dec-modded version of this DAC).  I was able to purchase it new from a Teac dealer for around $750.  It seems like a nice upgrade from he Oppo.

Ken

Another hint from Paul in today's Paul's Post about an upcoming music server.

"To make an effective high-end quality server one must appreciate the hardware challenges as well as the software hurdles. In the case of PS Audio’s upcoming server, the computer board inside the device is the least of our worries. Isolating that board and its noise from the purity of the digital audio stream is one hell of a major challenge relative to just throwing a USB cable into a Mac Mini and calling it high-end."

Hi, all -- I am enjoying the Teac, but like a writer on a different thread, the software startup, etc., is not very good.  I've also integrated a new CPS-3 with the Tori Jr, and some new tubes, so there is so much going on I can't really "compare" anything.

I've also purchased Tidal, which is pretty good, even with some obscure stuff (like a 1972 Bowie concert, just released).  No Roon yet.

I'm debating moving more to a "streaming/network setup rather than a better transport, and essentially retiring the cd's.  

It never ends!  

Redcloud operating firmware released today.

Listening now -

I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around how they can squeeze even more information out of the same bits I've been using in my Demo tunes for 4 years now! Not just that, but these are rips of CDs I've owned and listened to since the 90's. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!

I'm hearing more detail, and more balanced "information" across the board. And somehow, tracks that were great sounding but always had a few spots that were a bit....edgy, are now smoothed and listenable, but without any loss of detail...in fact, I'm hearing more detail in these rough spots in recordings.

Listening to some Opus3 DSD recordings now - and the DSD recordings don't sound as flat and lifeless as before. There was always great detail, but just kind of a flatness - now they have more of the dynamics and timing accuracy that I've always associated with Master Tapes sets master tape above and beyond all other formats.

I'm diving back in...I'm finding myself listening all the way through my Demo Tunes again, not just listening to the first (and usually best) parts of each track and moving on. I'm enthralled.

I left the DMP feeding the DSD Billie Holiday all night and it still sounded a bit wonky when I woke up. So I gave the DSD a power off, wait and power on and that seemed to bring it into better sound.

Detailed and a bit thin for my taste overall so far but I goosed the ZROCK2 on EQA a tiny bit and am getting great sound. Amazing what these firmwares do. I'd tell Ted this is good enough for now, slow down, you move to fast, you got to make this level of playback last a while. . . .

I listened all day and I like this firmware. My system layout does not necessarily favor "sound stage" in the way that I think others do, but I set my speakers up a bit further out into the room today (I have to move my speakers in to the room and then out to the back wall daily) and was able to enjoy the bit more depth to the sound I get from RedCloud. What's most important to me is tonal and timbral qualities of the sound and how accurate the music therefore sounds and RedCloud is a step up from Huron, which was very good. I did find a bit of leanness that was compounded a bit with the speaker location, but the ZROCK2 takes care of that easily. I'm sure that the system will sound even better on Monday when I resume serious listening.

The DSD was such a good investment as it keeps getting better and better for little further investment.

I think I'm going to lose my shit. I've been hearing some treble distortion on my system, and first I thought it was input tubes, then tweeters on my MG-944...I've been chasing my tail on this starting to think I'm imagining it...then I saw this on the PS Audio Forums.

Quote:


It's really rare and really brief and I couldn't really replicate it easily if at all. So much Ugh.

Like you Lon, I have this stack and couldn’t agree more!!

He also has a good ear in general, though I feel he sticks to his opinions a bit hard. But yeah, good ear, so this is great to see him say this!

I'm still waiting for an update to fix the issue I mentioned above.