[pervysage]

Quartus 16.0 works fine for me with WIndows 10.  I upgraded two DACs without fail.

Cool, thanks for the confirmation.

I had reached out to Kingwa and he also said 16.0 should be just fine for anyone wondering.

 

[pervysage]

I am a M11 user but thought I would post this here as well since it is likely to help M7 users as well:
 
Alright guys, just finished getting the update done and I have some useful information for anyone else looking to do the update.
 
I went through quite a bit of frustration before we could successfully get it done (all on my end of course, whoever was doing the update on Audio-gd end was awesome and very patient with me, haha). 
 
All of a sudden today I was getting very random blue screens of death on Windows whenever I had the USB blaster hooked up to my computer. Sometimes it would happen when opening the Quartus software, sometimes it would just happen when nothing was open... totally random. But pretty much exactly what @DACLadder was experiencing.
 
We tried to do the update several times over TeamViewer and it was failing and giving a error message "can't access JTAG chain". On top of that... my computer would crash with the BSOD right in the middle of the TeamViewer session, leading to more back and forth emails trying to figure out the situation. 
 
Eventually I figured it was my cheapo Ebay knockoff USB blaster causing the problem so we gave up on it.
 
Then I continued thinking to myself what the issue could be and began thinking about the whole difference between Quartus 16.0 and 12.1 again. It would make sense that the newer version somehow isn't compatible with knockoff blasters (maybe they updated it to block knockoff products). So I uninstalled 16.0, deleted the 16.0 drivers from Device Manager and got myself a copy of the 12.1 standalone programmer/drivers. Right away I could tell there was a difference... the Quartus program was no longer hanging and freezing and doing a JTAG debug, it was immediately successful. So I once again contacted Audio-gd and we tried it again. BOOM, successful immediately, no issues whatsoever.
 
So the lesson learned... DO NOT use 16.0 if you have a knock-off blaster. Use 12.1 version!
 
All you need is the STANDALONE VERSION... do not bother downloading the versions that are 2-3 GB, you are wasting your time. Also, I wouldn't try to attempt to download the version they offer on the Audio-gd website... it requires 3rd party Chinese software where you won't understand what's going on unless you read Chinese 

 
Here is a link to the standalone version (only 143 MB), directly from the Altera website. You will have to quickly make a free account to download it:
 
https://www.altera.com/downloads/software/prog-software/121.html
 
MAKE SURE if you installed 16.0 drivers that you delete them from your Device Manager and install the ones from the 12.1 folder instead! Just tell Windows to manually find the drivers and you will find them in C:\Program Files\qprogrammer\drivers
 
After that, it should be smooth sailing, no matter if you have a knock off USB blaster or not! I'm assuming 16.0 version should be fine for legit blasters but for us folks trying to save some money, stick to 12.1 to ensure success!
 
Hope this helps somebody avoid the frustration I went through. 

 
Now... onto listening to this new DSP! 

 

[DACLadder]

That is some good investigation.  Imperative to test download capabilities well ahead of scheduled time. 

 

[mowglycdb]

Is there a limit time for this offer? I'm still away from Chile.

 

[munce31]

Is there a limit time for this offer? I'm still away from Chile.

Supposedly they're only doing this upgrade for this month only.
 
Best to send an email to Audio-gd and confirm a time that will suit you. 

 

[PeterCraig]

I'm away until the 19th and not sure if the blaster I ordered has arrived at my home yet. I'm thinking the upgrade is free in November and will cost something later on.

 

[Strife]

Is there a limit time for this offer? I'm still away from Chile.

 
When I asked Kingwa about the update availability, he said it would be offered in November and December.

 

[robi-k]

Many thanks! It's very good news

 

[FredA]

I am a M11 user but thought I would post this here as well since it is likely to help M7 users as well:

Alright guys, just finished getting the update done and I have some useful information for anyone else looking to do the update.

I went through quite a bit of frustration before we could successfully get it done (all on my end of course, whoever was doing the update on Audio-gd end was awesome and very patient with me, haha). 

All of a sudden today I was getting very random blue screens of death on Windows whenever I had the USB blaster hooked up to my computer. Sometimes it would happen when opening the Quartus software, sometimes it would just happen when nothing was open... totally random. But pretty much exactly what @DACLadder
 was experiencing.

We tried to do the update several times over TeamViewer and it was failing and giving a error message "can't access JTAG chain". On top of that... my computer would crash with the BSOD right in the middle of the TeamViewer session, leading to more back and forth emails trying to figure out the situation. 

Eventually I figured it was my cheapo Ebay knockoff USB blaster causing the problem so we gave up on it.

Then I continued thinking to myself what the issue could be and began thinking about the whole difference between Quartus 16.0 and 12.1 again. It would make sense that the newer version somehow isn't compatible with knockoff blasters (maybe they updated it to block knockoff products). So I uninstalled 16.0, deleted the 16.0 drivers from Device Manager and got myself a copy of the 12.1 standalone programmer/drivers. Right away I could tell there was a difference... the Quartus program was no longer hanging and freezing and doing a JTAG debug, it was immediately successful. So I once again contacted Audio-gd and we tried it again. BOOM, successful immediately, no issues whatsoever.

So the lesson learned... DO NOT use 16.0 if you have a knock-off blaster. Use 12.1 version!

All you need is the STANDALONE VERSION... do not bother downloading the versions that are 2-3 GB, you are wasting your time. Also, I wouldn't try to attempt to download the version they offer on the Audio-gd website... it requires 3rd party Chinese software where you won't understand what's going on unless you read Chinese 

Here is a link to the standalone version (only 143 MB), directly from the Altera website. You will have to quickly make a free account to download it:

https://www.altera.com/downloads/software/prog-software/121.html

MAKE SURE if you installed 16.0 drivers that you delete them from your Device Manager and install the ones from the 12.1 folder instead! Just tell Windows to manually find the drivers and you will find them in C:\Program Files\qprogrammer\drivers

After that, it should be smooth sailing, no matter if you have a knock off USB blaster or not! I'm assuming 16.0 version should be fine for legit blasters but for us folks trying to save some money, stick to 12.1 to ensure success!

Hope this helps somebody avoid the frustration I went through. 

Now... onto listening to this new DSP! 

Hi. Thanks very much. I downloaded the programmer and installed the driver supplied by Altera for my taobao blaster. All set now with minimal fuss thanks to you. For those looking for it, the programming sofware is buried deep in the bin directory, full pathname with default install is c:\altera\12.1\qprogrammer\bin\quartus_pgmw.exe. You have to start it by hand, the installer creates no shortcut.

 

[manishex]

Just did a successful update of the SA-1.32 (the ref 5.32's DD brother) an hour before the stated time, also the model isn't listed on the website for the update.

 

[Clemmaster]

Any improvement on the SA-1.32?

 

[manishex]

It aligns with everyone else's findings: less bloat in the bass, better midrange definition, generally the upper frequencies have improved giving a slightly less warm tonality.

 

[tbend]

Is the less warm sound worth it compared to the better definition described here? 
 
Waiting for mye blaster from eaby. Have a M7.

 

[tbend]

Just a tip, for everyone struggeling with the settings. I have tried all combinations over a year now and this setup is the best sounding here.

If PLL is activated i loose some bass and the sound is getting brighter.

 

[Alireza326]

I return my M7 to audio-gd agent and he update my M7 to 2016 version
first impressions include: less bloating bass and more realistic low range, vocal came forward comparing to previous , no defining change i can find in high range
strongly recommend to update your M7 firmware