[enigmus12]

I have taken some time with the jumpers of the new Singularity board especially the NOS settings vs the default settting (i.e. the most neutral which is no jumpers at all with this new board) :
* NOS mode 1 have a good sense of musicality, put some weight on the notes and instruments. Bass seems a bit too forward but with a very good definition, The drawback is that high frequencies and details are recessed.
* NOS mode 3 is sounding close to mode 1 but with the high frequencies and details that were missing. I was intitially pleased by it but it appears that it is a rather V shaped sound (low and high frequencies are upfront, vocals are kinda burried). Loudness mode ON ^^
* NOS mode 2 is sounding good and quite comparable with the default setting but the soundtage is missing. I'm loosing the nice right/left stereo sound of some records and the whole music image is more centric and is smaller.

I've also played with PPLEN, and it gives me hard time. Kingwa confirmed that no jumper is PPLEN disabled and the most neutral setting. I've started the opposite and I was very pleased by it. It was like my old Master 7 but with some musicality, foot taping effect that was very nice. Removing it at first was sounding a bit dull but after some times with it, it really sounds the most neutral (bass are tighter, and I've loosed some glare in the vocals, upper mids that i was not aware before). It is very good as it is now and i'm giving it more listening session with no jumpers at all !

As a reminder this is my system and my preferences, I'm not telling any truth or something. It's just my observation mostly on my loudspeaker system

 

[FredA]

I have taken some time with the jumpers of the new Singularity board especially the NOS settings vs the default settting (i.e. the most neutral which is no jumpers at all with this new board) :
* NOS mode 1 have a good sense of musicality, put some weight on the notes and instruments. Bass seems a bit too forward but with a very good definition, The drawback is that high frequencies and details are recessed.
* NOS mode 3 is sounding close to mode 1 but with the high frequencies and details that were missing. I was intitially pleased by it but it appears that it is a rather V shaped sound (low and high frequencies are upfront, vocals are kinda burried). Loudness mode ON ^^
* NOS mode 2 is sounding good and quite comparable with the default setting but the soundtage is missing. I'm loosing the nice right/left stereo sound of some records and the whole music image is more centric and is smaller.

I've also played with PPLEN, and it gives me hard time. Kingwa confirmed that no jumper is PPLEN disabled and the most neutral setting. I've started the opposite and I was very pleased by it. It was like my old Master 7 but with some musicality, foot taping effect that was very nice. Removing it at first was sounding a bit dull but after some times with it, it really sounds the most neutral (bass are tighter, and I've loosed some glare in the vocals, upper mids that i was not aware before). It is very good as it is now and i'm giving it more listening session with no jumpers at all !

As a reminder this is my system and my preferences, I'm not telling any truth or something. It's just my observation mostly on my loudspeaker system

Thanks. I will five this a try soon (still have the pll jumper on). Do you use i2s as well? If so, is there any way to avoid reclocking totally?

 

[enigmus12]

You're welcome !

Kingwa confirmed me that the PPLEN disabled was the most neutral but he didn't get into more details than :
"The new firmware had improve a lot on the clock process, in the old firmware , the pll is quite effect but in the new firmware, the pll already had less effect."

I'm curious to know what is really done by disabling PLL (still reclocking or not), There was not any reclocking in the NOS 7 by putting a jumper on BYPASS (from what i read here but it was not documented in the audio-gd website).

 

[FredA]

You're welcome !

Kingwa confirmed me that the PPLEN disabled was the most neutral but he didn't get into more details than :
"The new firmware had improve a lot on the clock process, in the old firmware , the pll is quite effect but in the new firmware, the pll already had less effect."

I'm curious to know what is really done by disabling PLL (still reclocking or not), There was not any reclocking in the NOS 7 by putting a jumper on BYPASS (from what i read here but it was not documented in the audio-gd website).

I think reclocking is always occuring and as you said, it is not clear what the pll would do in this context. I don't mind not being able to turn reclocking off. The r2r 7 clearly beats the M7 anyway.

 

[enigmus12]

yeah i don't mind neither.

BYPASS is now for high exact mode and i don't see any other option to bypass the clocking but I trully enjoy the Master 7 as it is with the new board. I was already very pleased by the V7 firmware (it was a very good move for the bass neutrality and it was free) but this new board is doing more to me. More and more neutrality that serves the music, it's trully great from my point of view. Someone that heard the Master 7 with v6 and then the Singularity or M7S will have hard time to figure the unit share the same lineage.

P.S. : FredA : I've miss your question about I2s but i yes I'm listening with a Singxer Su1 via hdmi I2S !

 

[FredA]

yeah i don't mind neither.

BYPASS is now for high exact mode and i don't see any other option to bypass the clocking but I trully enjoy the Master 7 as it is with the new board. I was already very pleased by the V7 firmware (it was a very good move for the bass neutrality and it was free) but this new board is doing more to me. More and more neutrality that serves the music, it's trully great from my point of view. Someone that heard the Master 7 with v6 and then the Singularity or M7S will have hard time to figure the unit share the same lineage.

P.S. : FredA : I've miss your question about I2s but i yes I'm listening with a Singxer Su1 via hdmi I2S !

I had numerous great night of private concerts with the M7. I never thought it could be improved much on. I was so wrong. Kingwa has been working very hard obviously. Developping an r2r ladder is no easy task. He just did it and it's spendid. The singularity board is another great achievment.

 

[DACLadder]

@enigmus12 Thanks for that report on NOS mode with the new digital board. Similar to the old M7 I haven't found any jumper settings that improves my enjoyment other than the default no jumpers 8x OS mode.

 

[enigmus12]

You're welcome ! Well there is different taste for different people, at least it seems we have the same taste

My Singularity digital board is currently heading back to China for Kingwa to check out. But I still have the Singularity 7 enjoy. What nice sound from the S7! The Master 7 upgrade is close but the S7 highs are bit more refined. The Master 7 always has a little upper midrange/ lower treble glare that is not present on the S7. The S7 is smoother in this area while the Master 7 a bit more raw sounding. But I always like the Master 7 and the upgrade helps tremendously on sound quality. Enjoyed my time with the upgrade (when it worked correctly).

About the difference between the S7 and the M7S, Were they both with no jumper at all and feeded by HDMI i2s from Singxer ? Thanks !

 

[DACLadder]

About the difference between the S7 and the M7S, Were they both with no jumper at all and feeded by HDMI i2s from Singxer ? Thanks !

Yes, both M7S and S7 were compared in default 8x OS mode using the same DDC, cables, power, amp, and speakers. The Singxer SU-1 on HDMI I2S (Hi Exact) in both cases is my preferred input for music.

The improvement of the old M7 with the new digital board is not subtle. Much better bass, improved vocals, and clarity in the highs. The M7S is not far behind the S7 in sound quality. The S7 just brings a bit more refinement in the upper mids/ lower trebles.

 

[enigmus12]

thanks that's good to know, very interesting report !

Just to be clear (it was confusing to me going from the old M7 to the M7S so...), your setting was no jumper at all ? Because it's the new default setting being 8x OS, Hi exact, PPLEN and Dithering disabled.

 

[DACLadder]

thanks that's good to know, thanks for your inputs !
Just to be clear (it was confusing to me going from the old M7 to the M7S so...), your setting was no jumper at all ? Because it's the new default setting being 8x OS, Hi exact, PPLEN and Dithering disabled.

That is correct - default, no jumpers. It was confusing to me as well when I learned PPLEN = Off means no PLL for the new digital board. But I trust my ears.

 

[DACLadder]

Saw this statement today on AGD's website. Newer firmware for Master 7 Singularity. Anyone have more knowledge?

Firmware update
Now the Master 7 Singularity can update the new firmware.
Features: Improve on the clock reset timing, fixed the 0.3 second delay while users click and play a new track .
Please send an email include the series number and review (if exist) to audio-gd@vip.163.com

 

[FredA]

Saw this statement today on AGD's website. Newer firmware for Master 7 Singularity. Anyone have more knowledge?

Firmware update
Now the Master 7 Singularity can update the new firmware.
Features: Improve on the clock reset timing, fixed the 0.3 second delay while users click and play a new track .
Please send an email include the series number and review (if exist) to audio-gd@vip.163.com

From what i know, there are no sonic improvements. Just quicker to react under certain circumstances.

 

[enigmus12]

Saw this statement today on AGD's website. Newer firmware for Master 7 Singularity. Anyone have more knowledge?

Firmware update
Now the Master 7 Singularity can update the new firmware.
Features: Improve on the clock reset timing, fixed the 0.3 second delay while users click and play a new track .
Please send an email include the series number and review (if exist) to audio-gd@vip.163.com

Interesting, i'm experiencing a loud pop when i switch from a 24/96 files to a 16/48 files with the PPLEN enabled. Perhaps it is a fix for that, anyone have performed the update ? Is this a firmware update like it was for the dsp v7 (blaster) ?

Thanks

 

[FredA]

Interesting, i'm experiencing a loud pop when i switch from a 24/96 files to a 16/48 files with the PPLEN enabled. Perhaps it is a fix for that, anyone have performed the update ? Is this a firmware update like it was for the dsp v7 (blaster) ?

Thanks

Hi.

It is the same procedure as with the m7 update. Teamviewer, altera programmer and usb blaster required.

I have had the update on my r2r 7, hoping it would fix the glitch from 24/96 to 16/48 (and the other way around is even worse). It does not. However, it could be due to the singxer f-1 through i2s, not sure.