[newcris]

Thank you very much guys!

 

[newcris]

Can someone explain me what improvements I'll hear in my reference one with the new dsp-1  (v.5)? Is it worth doing it?
Kingwa wrote me: "I can't sure you will gree the upgrade because this is much personal taste."
 
Thanks

 

[sayh]

 
Quote:

Can someone explain me what improvements I'll hear in my reference one with the new dsp-1  (v.5)? Is it worth doing it?
Kingwa wrote me: "I can't sure you will gree the upgrade because this is much personal taste."
 
Thanks

Read back to the last page and you could see at least 3 owners shared their views on the upgrade to DSP1 v5.
Kingwa meant it is up to your ears to decide how much you will like the upgrade to v5.
 

 

[tim3320070]

Get it

 

[punk_guy182]

Quote:

Get it

x2

 

[newcris]

Quote:

Quote:

Get it

x2

 

 

 
Thank you!

 

[wild4sound]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Get it

x2

 

 

 
Thank you!

 
Did you get it ???
 
Prepare to wait about 1 month .
Cost me $169 AUD.
My 14 year old could swap it .
Get the right tool for the screws / bolts on the chassis or leave it, they will strip.
No screws inside.
The new board looks slightly different . Jumpers instead of toggles.
Don't change any settings( unless you want nos  then read on website )
It is eeeazy to lift , wriggle the board out , just drop new one in , tap/ press down until flush.
Put lid back , reconnect , pray ,  enjoy
 
 
 
Have fun

 

[newcris]

Thank you!
I'll get it soon...

 

[elwappo99]

Been looking at this DAC as a possible upgrade from a reference 5. Any idea how much of an improvement it will be?

 

[Currawong]

Second-hand? They aren't sold new any longer, only the Reference 7.1.

 

[elwappo99]

Ya been thinking about second-hand.

 

 

[dukja]

Recently, I made another comparison between PS Audio DLIII (stock) and Ref-1 with V5 DSP software.  Just because I put Ref-1 in the FS forum, I would like to know what I am going to miss if that ever goes.  So here is some interesting observation I found. 
 
First, I found out that the strength of a DAC may take gears with enough resolution and music that highlights certain spectrum to really show clearly.  In my case, T1 and Phoenix together did the great job for that purpose.  And classical music, especially piano, that has quite wide range of frequency and dynamics, plus high recording quality enhances the difference.
 
In the past, I did some comparison of Ref-1 and DLIII at the bass quality since some posts criticized the Ref-1 bass quality.  I found Ref-1's bass has higher density (more solidified) and momentum (impact).  Later, when I tried again with different music (new age, easy listening music), the difference wasn't a lot.  However, another comparison using Chopin's etude (Pollini) as tests, the difference immediately shows.  The bass of Ref-1 had better speed (crispier), tighter control, and actually seems to be better located than DLIII.  DLIII's bass is closer and warmer with some "glow" but a little loose.  The bass locations presented were also different.
 
The soundstages setup by both have about the same width, but Ref-1 has deeper and farther presentation.
 
The difference on the high-freq information was quite larger than I initial thought.  Ref-1 has much more details and yet maintain the similar smoothness.  The sonic picture of Ref-1 has sharper edge and better definition.  And the leading edge of the attack was much better with Ref-1.
 
Disclaimer:  I have one Ref-1 at FS now.  These observation was just a note for those who are interested in the difference of these two.
 
Post-note: Both DAC were fed by Audio-Gd's Digital Interface in my observation.  I feel that DLIII's performance was much improved with DI.   Most of weakness of DLIII may be related to USB input.  When quality SPFID input was used, DLIII does much better.   Still Ref-1 has edges over it.

 

[Jon L]

Ref-1 has much more details and yet maintain the similar smoothness.  The sonic picture of Ref-1 has sharper edge and better definition.  And the leading edge of the attack was much better with Ref-1.
 
Disclaimer:  I have one Ref-1 at FS now.  These observation was just a note for those who are interested in the difference of these two.
 
 

PS DLIII's weaknesses are edge-definition and solidity of resolution, so this is not surprising. Thanks for the notes.

 

[IPodPJ]

They are in very different leagues.  Having owned both, even a modded DL3, it can't compete with the RE1 nor should one expect it to.

 

[dukja]

Thanks for the confirmation.  It helps to verify the advantage and sonic characteristics of DACs that I have heard.  And I am glad that it agrees with your experience.

 
 
Quote:

PS DLIII's weaknesses are edge-definition and solidity of resolution, so this is not surprising. Thanks for the notes.
 

 
Post note:  It is agreeable with my observation.  But I suspect most of those weakness are also related to the USB input.  If you feed DLIII quality SPFID signal instead, the performance can be improved quite significantly.