Poll - New firmware: sound upgrade or downgrade?

The test is underway…

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So this is likely a noise issue. The software needs to be optimized to minimize noise generation that is polluting the processes involved in digital audio. I was thinking this is likely the culprit.

We have similar systems minus the 300 year old piece of wood. The more I listen to the firmware upgrade, the more and more I’m revisiting my favorites and smiling more than ever.

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So I have done the test with one 555PSDR and two.

My findings are as follows:

Listening to Grace Jones on Qobuz. Lots of hf and lf to test system thoroughly

One PS: sounds solid, HF sound good, LF sound solid. Overall sound very good.

Two PS: more detail, more separation. HF distortion at high end. Snare drums shrill.

So two 555PSDR has more separation, more detail. Unfortunately it is spoiled by shrill on high frequencies. It’s like it’s on steroids.

The system sounded better before firmware update with 2 x 555PSDR to what it does now. Using one 555PSDR doesn’t sound as good as what it did before. It takes away the increased separation, wider soundstage and refinement I had before, that is with 2 PSs.

So in some ways I still prefer with 2 x 555PSDR on certain types of music. So will stick with that and await a firmware update to resolve issues.

Test was carried out with Router > AQ Vodka > PhoenixNet > Diamond > ND555.

I would urge others to carry out tests if you have 2 x 555PSDRs. This will help Naim consider making changes to firmware.

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Cool. No issues with higher volume listening? Are you using a rack? Cheers

My system is on Fraim. Higher volume listening? Here’s the kicker. I can play at a lower volume now and it sounds marginally better lower than it did previously at a higher level. When everyone is out of the house I’ll try to crank it up but honestly it sounds so good around 8:00 o’clock.

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Thanks Dan. I’ll copy this into the beta group. Your observations confirm what I suspected. Thanks for taking the time. Let’s hope it helps.

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You’re welcome. It’s about working things out for everyone.

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Thanks Marcusman. I feel It’s a lesson for me with respect to the significance of the rack/furniture…

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I’ve gone back to one 555PSDR. Calm has prevailed. No shrill on HF. Sounds very good to be honest with all switches and cables in. I was looking for HF shrill with 2 x 555PSDRs and found it all the time.

However, it’s not as good as before. A temporary measure no doubt.

I look forward to next firmware upgrade!

Come on those with 2 555PSDR, give one PS a go. If you all find the same as me it will be better leverage.

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There are quite a few on here having 2ps which hear the same thing which I’ve said for weeks. Why would Naim not collect their findings with one vs two ps like Dan did when they contact support / all say the same thing here? It’s not a bad thing asking for help/feedback “Please try one vs two ps and report back what you hear”.

But someone has to do initiate it and that someone is naim. Best help from those claiming sound is worse would be to evaluate like Dan did. Not say “Naim fix it”. Data is important to understand what is happening.

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I am pretty certain that this will be fed back from the forum to Naim. They will be reading this.

I can set up a ticket with Naim during the week with my findings.

But we really do need more users with 2 555PSDRs to feedback finsings on the forum. It won’t take much time.

For reference I found taking out switches and cables didn’t make any difference to the tests in terms of HF problems.

All you need to do is try with one 555PSDR. That is the issue. It will be clear within 5 minutes if you test some music with HF.

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Just seen it. It costs about £1500. If it works then fantstic. I am glad you have found a solution!

A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter, …and getting smarter faster than most companies.

The book Cluetrain, a big hit from when internet started to become a thing. My manager forced me to read it and appreciate our users and even discuss with developers at competitors :slight_smile:

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Dont you think Naim seems to go to far here? Using 3rd party libraries is expensive in complexity, development time and integration time. It is often faster to do it in-house. With the advantage you can then sell it as library to competitors - slowing them down.

Seriously, if it does not improve time-to-market by some impressive factor - build it yourself and gain knowledge and control.

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I suspect it will be a licensing condition from people like Apple and Tidal. I kind of feel it’s unlikely Naim would use reversed engineered libraries off GitHub… but you never know.

I think the differences you experienced confirms it is a noise issue. With two 555PSDRs you minimized power noise to such a degree that it unveiled the noise issue from the fw update.

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I’ve fed it back directly to the person at Naim who is leading on all this. No need for you to do anything more.

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Thanks Nigel,

I know that, like myself you are doing everything you can to help out on this issue. Hopefully others will appreciate what we are doing. If they can do the same by doing the test it will help with the data.

So come on, put your pride to one side and do the test!

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Concerning the thread’s poll: improved, not improved, deteriorated, I am curious about a particular aspect of this question.

Does the fw update seem to have improved the musical flow, pace, tempo, etc of the sound? Is it more captivating than before? I know for some the negative effects of the update make the answer to this question a definite no. But for those for which this may not be the case, even if there are issues in particular frequency ranges, has the musical nature improved? Does it sound more musical in general since the update? Are you more easily drawn into the music?