[Chopin75]

Hi
I also found the NOS-1 mode to be the best sounding after the Firmware update . NOS-3 sounded a little rough and not as clear and the OS-8 which sounded great at first became a bit tiring to listen to for an extended period . So I have refitted the lid and now I have a great sounding dac .
Thanks

Hey I am using NOS1 on my R2R7 now, like what u found it seems to be better than NOS3 which can be muddy. I am on SW, V2, latest FW

 

[Chopin75]

Tried NOS-3 extensively. Didn't like it. Felt like halfway between NOS-1 and OS8X. If I want detail, OS8X. Pure musicality, NOS-1. NOS-3 split the difference, but that's just my take. I really feel NOS-1's mids shine compared to the other modes.

The fact my R2R-11 can hang with the NOS modes of the R2R-1 shows what an incredible value the R2R-11 is, TBH.

NOS1 really sounds grest on my R2R7 too. I prefer it to NOS 3. Do u also use NOS1 on R2R1 ? Using latest FW? s, sa or a ?

 

[Viper2005]

I use NOS1 on my R-28 (v2 Smooth fw) with my Focal Elex. I like the mids of NOS1 more than NOS3.

 

[gLer]

Hey I am using NOS1 on my R2R7 now, like what u found it seems to be better than NOS3 which can be muddy. I am on SW, V2, latest FW

I had my R-28 on NOS 1 because NOS 3 was broken on my unit. That was fixed with the new fw and now I definitely prefer NOS 3. No mud in sight, just pure, resolving, musical, analog goodness.

 

[alphanumerix1]

does the r1 have i2s?

 

[Chopin75]

does the r1 have i2s?

Yes

 

[Chopin75]

I had my R-28 on NOS 1 because NOS 3 was broken on my unit. That was fixed with the new fw and now I definitely prefer NOS 3. No mud in sight, just pure, resolving, musical, analog goodness.

Oh well, maybe my source sucks, but then I would expect NOS 3 that has more filters to be better then. Or my R2R7 is still not burned in completely yet. I will see how NOS 1 goes for the next few days. A new computer tomorrow and that may change things too.

 

[alxw0w]

Yes finally ! I've updated firmware in my R2R1. Couldn't find usb blaster in my city, so I had to order it from internet.
Today blaster arrived, upgrade went smooth no problems at all. Old blaster seems to be malfunctioning or maybe it was cable. I'm not sure since I used a new blaster + all new cables.
Will write something in couple of days, how the sound changed etc.

 

[Elder]

Yes finally ! I've updated firmware in my R2R1. Couldn't find usb blaster in my city, so I had to order it from internet.
Today blaster arrived, upgrade went smooth no problems at all. Old blaster seems to be malfunctioning or maybe it was cable. I'm not sure since I used a new blaster + all new cables.
Will write something in couple of days, how the sound changed etc.

I have upgraded my R2R 11, but I had to come back to the original version. One of my DSD albums reaches 100% of level. With the new version the peaks are severely distorted. I noticed no improvement in the sound but the pop sound being reduced. The pop problem was mitigated but not eliminated, though.

 

[WaltW]

I have upgraded my R2R 11, but I had to come back to the original version. One of my DSD albums reaches 100% of level. With the new version the peaks are severely distorted. I noticed no improvement in the sound but the pop sound being reduced. The pop problem was mitigated but not eliminated, though.

You are the first person here to upgrade the R2R AFAIK. Would you describe how you connected the blaster to the lower DA on the R2R 11? I bought a blaster but from your description it sounds like I should keep the original firmware.

 

[maellen]

Yes finally ! I've updated firmware in my R2R1. Couldn't find usb blaster in my city, so I had to order it from internet.
Today blaster arrived, upgrade went smooth no problems at all. Old blaster seems to be malfunctioning or maybe it was cable. I'm not sure since I used a new blaster + all new cables.
Will write something in couple of days, how the sound changed etc.

Hi. Can you share the link of where you ordered the blaster? Apparently I have the same setup of amp+dac combo as yours but haven't update the firmware yet. Looking forward for your review. Thanks.

 

[jasoun]

Hi. Can you share the link of where you ordered the blaster? Apparently I have the same setup of amp+dac combo as yours but haven't update the firmware yet. Looking forward for your review. Thanks.

Hi
I got a USB Blaster from Amazon " RioRand USB Blaster " for $9.99 and it has worked perfectly .
Link to page : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRODADK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[alxw0w]

Hi. Can you share the link of where you ordered the blaster? Apparently I have the same setup of amp+dac combo as yours but haven't update the firmware yet. Looking forward for your review. Thanks.

I ordered my blaster from Polish company, They provide internationally shipping, but i think that the one from @jasoun post will be also fine and cheaper,
But if you want here is what I've ordered:
https://kamami.com/programmers/5602...ds.html?search_query=kamami+blaster&results=4

 

[Elder]

You are the first person here to upgrade the R2R AFAIK. Would you describe how you connected the blaster to the lower DA on the R2R 11? I bought a blaster but from your description it sounds like I should keep the original firmware.

My blaster came with a kit of cables and a 14 pins to 10 pins adapter. To program the upper module, I used the adapter and the 10 pins cable. This is easy to connect. To program the lower module, I used a cable that has a 14 pin connector on one end, to connect to the blaster, and loose wires with single pin connector on the other side. Kingwa provided a picture of the module connector with the identification of the pins to be connected to the respective wires. This was harder to connect, but it is not a big deal.
The most difficult part was making the software work. I was not able to run it under Windows 10. I created a Windows 7 32 bit virtual machine, installed the Xilinx suite and run the programming tool. I shared the host computer's USB port after connecting the blaster. It is important to not let the host computer install the blaster driver. The virtual machine will detect and install the driver itself. It was tricky to get through the process because I have to figure out all by myself. Now with the VM set, programming the modules is not difficult and fast. One must be very careful connecting the wires to the respective pins and be sure the Amanero module is well protected to not touch any metallic part of the DAC's case. Putting it in a plastic envelope may help. I used the anti-static envelope that the blaster came packed in.

Edit: I uploaded the pictures AGD provided with the firmware:





The GND pin is too close to the capacitor under the DA module. Instead to use the indicated pin, I used the pin to the right of the VDD pin. It is GND as well.

This is my blaster:

 

[Pharmaboy]

My blaster came with a kit of cables and a 14 pins to 10 pins adapter. To program the upper module, I used the adapter and the 10 pins cable. This is easy to connect. To program the lower module, I used a cable that has a 14 pin connector on one end, to connect to the blaster, and loose wires with single pin connector on the other side. Kingwa provided a picture of the module connector with the identification of the pins to be connected to the respective wires. This was harder to connect, but it is not a big deal.
The most difficult part was making the software work. I was not able to run it under Windows 10. I created a Windows 7 32 bit virtual machine, installed the Xilinx suite and run the programming tool. I shared the host computer's USB port after connecting the blaster. It is important to not let the host computer install the blaster driver. The virtual machine will detect and install the driver itself. It was tricky to get through the process because I have to figure out all by myself. Now with the VM set, programming the modules is not difficult and fast. One must be very careful connecting the wires to the respective pins and be sure the Amanero module is well protected to not touch any metallic part of the DAC's case. Putting it in a plastic envelope may help. I used the antistatic envelope that the blaster came packed in.

I've been following this thread for some time...also the DAC-19 thread before it. I own a NOS 19 (primary system DAC) + DAC-19 (2ndary system). I also owned an NB 15.32 combo at one time. I'm kind of an Audio GD fanboy.

But to be honest here, I can't imagine going through what you describe to update any Audio GD DAC. It sounds like a real kludge w/real potential for harm to the DAC, or at the very least, inducing all manner of errors that weren't there before. FYI, I tried setting up a virtual Win 7/32 machine several years ago (on a Win 7/64 PC). It may or may not have worked...I'll never know because I just couldn't understand how to actually operate real-world software on the virtual machine.

Later this year I'll purchase an R2R 1, the newest one w/everything switchable from front panel (no jumpers). Then, as I've done w/my other AGD DACs, I will forget all about the possibility of updating because it's just too difficult/intimidating.

There are many things to like about Audio GD--but for this crazy method of updating to persist at a time when pretty much every other mfr allows updating via flash driver or download--it just makes no sense to me.