[rsbrsvp]

4.03b3 is excellent. More analogue, sweeter, less sterile than he 3.993 I was using. Better soundstage and more 3d depth as well. 3.993 had fuller sound and better bass with a less rounded and more raw style crunchy detail retrieval. 3.993 is seemingly less colored and perhaps harsher but the analogue coloration of 4.03b3 is beautiful and very convincing. This is my initial opinion. I need more time to evaluate.

4.03b3 sounds more more open and clearer with internal clock. External has better bass and imaging as usual but at the cost of that open clarity.. My experience so far has me concluding that external clock is always better with all the 3. FW's and in all the 4. FW's both external and internal clocks have advantages over each other.

Another surprise is with all the FW's I have found my R7HE on 8x oversample provides more detail but in FW 4.07b3 I find NOS is more detailed while 8X is smoother.

Wow am I confused- but either way- this is a world class price no object transport- very very best I ever heard..

 

[rsbrsvp]

Soundstage with 4.07b3 is by far the widest and deepest I ever heard on headphones.

In combination with my goodhertz canopener speaker emulator plug-in, the sound is extraordinary;- totally out of the head 3-d experience.

 

[DACLadder]

Kingwa's focus on clocks is paying off. I like 3.93 b2 very much as I can hear great bass, accurate vocals, and even the highs were clearer/ more separation.

Just loaded 4.07 beta 4 and sounds good as well. External clock, USB in, I2S out, serial mode. DAC is the M7S.

 

[myshark]

Kingwa's focus on clocks is paying off. I like 3.93 b2 very much as I can hear great bass, accurate vocals, and even the highs were clearer/ more separation.

Just loaded 4.07 beta 4 and sounds good as well. External clock, USB in, I2S out, serial mode. DAC is the M7S.

I agree on fw 4.07b4. its sounds the best overall to me. usb/external/parallel/i2s.
More lateral and front to back depth in soundstage. Laterally the sound was 2-3 ft to the side of the speakers which normally only about 1 ft or less. This i use the chieftains- sake in a jar (look for the stick).
The sound to the front normally about 2 ft, now 4-5 ft very close to my seating position. Use Sting- mad about you. ( left speaker ).
I also think the separation better. The bass was deep and tuneful.
Resolution about the same but better dynamics i.e. the low volume music heard clearer.
The next best is 3.93b2 and 4.07b3, they are good but 4.07b4 have small edge in my system and to my ears.
/shark

 

[FredA]

Soundstage with 4.07b3 is by far the widest and deepest I ever heard on headphones.

In combination with my goodhertz canopener speaker emulator plug-in, the sound is extraordinary;- totally out of the head 3-d experience.

I agree. The 3d experience is excellent.

 

[FredA]

I agree on fw 4.07b4. its sounds the best overall to me. usb/external/parallel/i2s.
More lateral and front to back depth in soundstage. Laterally the sound was 2-3 ft to the side of the speakers which normally only about 1 ft or less. This i use the chieftains- sake in a jar (look for the stick).
The sound to the front normally about 2 ft, now 4-5 ft very close to my seating position. Use Sting- mad about you. ( left speaker ).
I also think the separation better. The bass was deep and tuneful.
Resolution about the same but better dynamics i.e. the low volume music heard clearer.
The next best is 3.93b2 and 4.07b3, they are good but 4.07b4 have small edge in my system and to my ears.
/shark

Thanks to you, @Wynnytsky and @DACLadder. I will give it a try.

 

[FredA]

I just flashed 4.07b4.

First impressions are that the balance is similar to 4.07b3 but resolution is superior. However, there seems to be less depth and width in the soundstage. Still very smooth and enjoyable. Depending on priorities, it is as good a choise as 4.07b3 IMO. I would be inclined to say 4.07b3 is more for me.

These early impressions are with i2s/external/parallel. Thanks again to Kingwa to give us these choices.

 

[FredA]

After a first couple of tracks, 4.07b4 is gowing on me. Soudstaging/imaging are better than i initially thought and it's cleaner than b3. I like it. Not as forgiving but not by much.

 

[Wynnytsky]

After a first couple of tracks, 4.07b4 is gowing me. Soudstaging/imaging are better than i initially thought and it's cleaner than b3. I like it. Not as forgiving but not by much.

I can relate to your initial impression about the spread. Each performer is in a box with less overlap, so separation is stellar, even at loud levels, yet the shorter reach of each performer makes for an overall smaller stage. Overall things are still sounding more live than whatever preceded this. It's a new sound for me that I'd happily spend months acclimating to. At some point I'll get a DAC with a 10mhz input and I'll really hear what it was designed to do.

 

[PLGA]

Hi guys
Where is 4.07b3 to download it and try it?

I don't see it on Audio-gd web page?

 

[FredA]

The link to the rar file:

http://www.audio-gd.com/DP20firmwares.rar

 

[FredA]

I can relate to your initial impression about the spread. Each performer is in a box with less overlap, so separation is stellar, even at loud levels, yet the shorter reach of each performer makes for an overall smaller stage. Overall things are still sounding more live than whatever preceded this. It's a new sound for me that I'd happily spend months acclimating to. At some point I'll get a DAC with a 10mhz input and I'll really hear what it was designed to do.

It is very accurate while very musical. The level of life likeness is pretty amazing. Bass quality is remarkable.

 

[mudhole]

The device is the most wired one I ever used. Since my moded reference one has only i2s input so that I have to use both USB and spdif input on the Di 20, before only 3.32 make the spdif to i2s working which makes me upset.
On Thursday night, I tried the 4.07 b3 first, spdif in i2s out to reference 1still had no sound. Then I flashed the 3.93b2, everything works properly. I also impressed by the wide and deep soundstage, very detailed clean sound. Bass is solid with texture. I was so happy with it . Finally the Di 20 works full functioned with a satisfied sound. Today I flashed the 4.07b4, after several songs, I know I like 3.93 b2 better, then I flashed 3.93b2 back. ....... The USB to i2s has no sound, but the spdif to i2s still have sound. I was scared, flashed 4.07b4 USB works spdif no sound, back to 3.93b2 usb no sound spdif works...... Then I flashed 4.07b3 so strange, the USB and spdif both work ...... this makes me feel better but I still miss the 3.93b2

 

[Jackula]

I must be the odd one out because I still prefer the 4.07b1 with internal clock. The imaging is sharper and there is a bass bloat with b4 on my setup. I'll give it another go when I buy an external clock, as it sounds very much like a firmware that favours the external clock.

 

[rsbrsvp]

4.07b3= more analogue, sweet, round, musical, 3-D, huge soundstage,.
4.07b4= more resolution, better separation, fuller bass, more crunch, smaller soundstage, less analogue.
3.993= least musical, least analogue, most resolution, most transparent, full sounding, most raw sounding, perhaps could be described as sterile or harsh.

4.01b1 was thin sounding to me but was perhaps the best version so far with internal clock and had astonishing detail with internal clock..


In the next version of the DI20 hardware Kingwa needs to add a button to allow one to choose 3 or four FW's at the touch of a button. I hope he reads these threads.