The big problem with the new Cen Grand streamer is not so much the cost or delay of the release (it was supposed to be marketed in October 2023) but rather the fact that old owners of the Cen Grand dac will have to send it for assistance (Where? At what price? ) to modify the firmware and add a new card that will allow the DAC to interact with the streamer.
No idea on pricing but it will be available in a few different versions. A GLD1.0 version which is a standalone streamer/server or GLS1.0 that has a built-in DAC basically a Deluxe inside. They will both be available either with a Celeron or i7 processor and support an internal M.2 SSD. That's all I've heard.
The big problem with the new Cen Grand streamer is not so much the cost or delay of the release (it was supposed to be marketed in October 2023) but rather the fact that old owners of the Cen Grand dac will have to send it for assistance (Where? At what price? ) to modify the firmware and add a new card that will allow the DAC to interact with the streamer.
The latest info I have is that DSDAC1.0 Deluxe owners will in fact be able to add the upgrade card on their own.
The hardware part should be a relatively simple plug and play addition, but it will also require a firmware flash which involves plugging a special cable to the main board which then connects to your computer via USB. I believe this is the same method used by Benchmark and some others so it's not unheard of, but also not the most convenient thing in the world. Still, it's a one time thing which should be pretty straight forward overall, and as long as they provide decent instructions most people should be able to handle it.
No idea on pricing but it will be available in a few different versions. A GLD1.0 version which is a standalone streamer/server or GLS1.0 that has a built-in DAC basically a Deluxe inside. They will both be available either with a Celeron or i7 processor and support an internal M.2 SSD. That's all I've heard.
This is fundamentally correct. I'm still not sure enough on pricing to throw out any figures yet, but so far what I've heard is not unreasonable compared to streaming transports from other quality brands. Obviously the GLS1.0 has the integrated DAC which means a higher price but again nothing beyond what others are doing. And the GLS1.0 Deluxe will probably have a significant premium over the base model, just judging by the price difference between the base DSDAC1.0 and the Deluxe version. But we'll have to see how it all shakes out.
The latest info I have is that DSDAC1.0 Deluxe owners will in fact be able to add the upgrade card on their own.
The hardware part should be a relatively simple plug and play addition, but it will also require a firmware flash which involves plugging a special cable to the main board which then connects to your computer via USB. I believe this is the same method used by Benchmark and some others so it's not unheard of, but also not the most convenient thing in the world. Still, it's a one time thing which should be pretty straight forward overall, and as long as they provide decent instructions most people should be able to handle it.
This is fundamentally correct. I'm still not sure enough on pricing to throw out any figures yet, but so far what I've heard is not unreasonable compared to streaming transports from other quality brands. Obviously the GLS1.0 has the integrated DAC which means a higher price but again nothing beyond what others are doing. And the GLS1.0 Deluxe will probably have a significant premium over the base model, just judging by the price difference between the base DSDAC1.0 and the Deluxe version. But we'll have to see how it all shakes out.
But will the update card and the new firmware be free for old DAC owners or will they have to spend more money? I assume that the new DACs will have the card and firmware for free.
But will the update card and the new firmware be free for old DAC owners or will they have to spend more money? I assume that the new DACs will have the card and firmware for free.
Unfortunately I don't have that info yet. I would also assume that new production DAC units would have the card installed but there could possibly be a price increase to offset that. It's something I've seen from other brands when they have a new feature included, so who knows.
Ideally they would just throw it in for free, and send them out to existing users as well - that would go a long way towards growing adoption for the GLD transports, and that's worth a lot more than a small upgrade charge. But Cen.Grand might not agree with my brilliant business ideas.
Motivated by this recent discussion, I checked in and and was able to get a little update. Turns out things have changed a bit since my last post, so this is the latest info.
(I've edited this to reflect the fact that it pertains to North America only, via distributor Power Holdings. I don't know what other dealers in other regions might do - hopefully they follow a similar path as it seems like the correct way in my view, but I really don't know.)
It seems there are actually two chips on the DAC mainboard which need updating to accommodate the new output board. And the firmware update process is actually a bit more complex than anticipated. The software involved is for industrial applications and not really designed with end users in mind.
The proposed solution, at least for the North American region, is that anyone who purchases a GLD1.0 will be offered a free upgrade if they already own a Deluxe DAC. The distributor (Arthur) would provide a prepaid shipping label and the DAC would be sent to New Jersey, where Arthur would complete the upgrade and ship it back. This would cover all existing North American owners who want to pair their DAC with the new transport. But I have no idea how this would work in other areas outside North America.
Meanwhile newly sold Deluxe DACs would ship with the upgrade already in place, for a proposed $100 price increase. I'm not sure this is set in stone yet but that's not a terribly unreasonable change if it does end up being the true cost.
There is also talk about possibly making a tutorial for end users, or maybe even remoting in to their computer to handle the clunky software aspect of the update, but those are just ideas at this point. This seems aimed towards Deluxe DAC owners who aren't ordering the new GLD transport. But why would those users need the update if it only involved the proprietary Cen.Grand POW connection system?
This brings me to my last point. Cen.Grand decided to offer I2S output in addition to their proprietary POW output, all on the same card. This opens up more compatibility with different transports that offer I2S, along with also supporting the Cen.Grand ecosystem of GLD/DSDAC using their POW system. I'm told the original plan was to offer I2S as a separate card, but they managed to integrate it into one - which to me seems like a much better solution.
Here are a few pics of the card which makes me think it will be done soon - but again I am not 100% on timeframe.
A question. For American users you have to send it to Arthur...and for European users? I am Italian, for example, who should I send my Dac de luxe to for the card update? And since I have an excellent streamer with i2s, how much would the cost of the card and the software update be if I didn't want to buy the Cen Grand streamer?
I'm not sure those details are worked out yet. I have only ever dealt with Cen.Grand direct and then Arthur who is the North American distributor. They have a growing network of dealers in other regions but I'm just not familiar with any of those myself, sorry.
I've edited my above post to be more clear that the solutions I've mentioned are for North American customers. I really can't or shouldn't speak to how any other dealer/distributor in any other region might handle the process. Sorry for any confusion there.
In other news, I also neglected to mention that the I2S connection uses what we sometimes call the "PS Audio standard", meaning it should be compatible with quite a few different devices. So that's good news as well.
Cen Grand is a Chinese company and not a South Korean one... and the Gld1-0 streamer should be released in China in the next few weeks and in July or August in the rest of the world.
Cen Grand is a Chinese company and not a South Korean one... and the Gld1-0 streamer should be released in China in the next few weeks and in July or August in the rest of the world.
Look what was sitting on the table for me when I made it home. I want to give a big Thanks to Arthur from Power-holdings-inc. Amazing communication, made it quite simple for me to have this by the time I got back home. Extremely great service. We even talked about my second favorite hobby cars. Arthur is one great guy, can't thank him enough, for making this so straightforward.
So I will be hooking it up tonight, will give my impression after a few days of burn in. I actually want to do a shoot out between Denafrips Terminator 2, Holo May, and the Dsdac 1.0 Superclock. Hoping it will help others, that are debating which dac to get from the far east. First I will hook the Dsdac to my bliss, so I can can input back and forth from the May to the Dsdac. I will wait for full burn in of the Dsdac to make it a little more fair. The Dsdac 1.0 Superclock would be a couple kilo bucks cheaper then the competition.
Thanks once again to everyone in the thread that contributed. You guys truly have been a big help in me deciding to get the Dsdac 1.0 superclock.
Edit:
Wow, just want to say 1 hr in and I am enjoying the vocals emmensly. If this is just a preview of what Im in for, I am beginnning to be extremely happy. Burn in no where near complete, but this is the sound I've been chasing. Sound is comparable to when I added my furman it reference 15i power conditioner to my system, I got deeper blacks, removed the hash, detail improved, could hear deeper into the music. Then adding my ddc gaia, which was reclocking the signal, and again purifying my end sound.
That's the boost in SQ I get from the Dsdac 1.0 Superclock a few hrs in. Mind you I am running it through my gaia through AES using a WIREWORLD Gold Starlight 7 AES cable.
Definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on the DSDAC, specifically as it compares to the Terminator 2 and Holo May. But obviously take your time, let it burn in a bit and get used to the sound along with the various options it offers.
As now shown on the Power Holdings product page for the Cen.Grand DSDAC1.0 Deluxe, it can now be ordered with the new digital interface card for an additional $300.
The DSDAC1.0 Deluxe can now be ordered with our new digital interface card installed. This card adds the Cen.Grand proprietary digital interface called POW and is used with the NEW GLD1.0 music server. It consist of an FC optic fiber (data) and BNC coax (clock) connections. An I2S input is also included for connection to any source with an I2S output using the 'PS Audio' pin out standard.
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