[donkeanu]

  What are the general thoughts here on SQ of the 901 vs. 901S? My 901 unit is faulty so I have the option of a replacement or upgrading to 901S (not 901U) for $500. But I still think $500 is a lot if the difference is mainly UI..

the overall UI is not actually different between the old 901 & the 901s..
same Taichi software but slightly faster...
wheel is still a bit flimsy but more responsive..
 
so it really comes down to its sound which is for me, different..

 

[KT66]

"Don't ask, don't get"

 

[inventionlws]

What are the general thoughts here on SQ of the 901 vs. 901S? My 901 unit is faulty so I have the option of a replacement or upgrading to 901S (not 901U) for $500. But I still think $500 is a lot if the difference is mainly UI..

The new 2.004 software changed the sound a little bit on the 901s, bringing it back a little to the old 901 sold, that is, fuller

 

[donkeanu]

The new 2.004 software changed the sound a little bit on the 901s, bringing it back a little to the old 901 sold, that is, fuller

i still have some problems updating mine to 2.004..
i removed the battery & sd card wherein the updates are saved..
placed the batt & sd card again..
press the home button then powered it on..
just right after the hifiman logo shows, it then shows update interrupted, update file not found, click enter to exit..
i clicked forward button and it says update complete..
but still, the version is 2.003..

 

[flinkenick]

I had that same problem with the 901, tried a couple of times.
 
Thanks for the input everyone btw.

 

[inventionlws]

i still have some problems updating mine to 2.004..
i removed the battery & sd card wherein the updates are saved..
placed the batt & sd card again..
press the home button then powered it on..
just right after the hifiman logo shows, it then shows update interrupted, update file not found, click enter to exit..
i clicked forward button and it says update complete..
but still, the version is 2.003..

Did you pull the update.zip (not sure about the suffix though) file out from the upper folder? You have to pull that out and place it under the main directory of your sd card.

 

[donkeanu]

finally got it updated to 2.004!
 
just the same procedure when updating but take note of this: do not decompress the downloaded file
it seems like mac is automatically decompressing it so i downloaded it in windows..

 

[inventionlws]

finally got it updated to 2.004!

just the same procedure when updating but take note of this: [COLOR=FF0000]do not decompress the downloaded file[/COLOR]
it seems like mac is automatically decompressing it so i downloaded it in windows..

congrats!

 

[muzic4life]

finally got it updated to 2.004!

just the same procedure when updating but take note of this: [COLOR=FF0000]do not decompress the downloaded file[/COLOR]
it seems like mac is automatically decompressing it so i downloaded it in windows..

So hows your SQ impression on the new FW, Don?

 

[nakedtoes]

To me personally 2.004 sound less dynamic and less spacious. I down trade to stock 2.003.

 

[donkeanu]

So hows your SQ impression on the new FW, Don?

 
I've been listening for hours now with the new firmware..
It is indeed a little bit warmer now on the mids, a little more weight but not as full as the previous 901...
I agree with @naketoes, lesser dynamics but it still maintains its spaciousness at least for my ears..
 
though this firmware is mainly due to its compatibility with DSD, i have no plans of playing DSD's on my 901s..

 

[donkeanu]

now comes the bad part of this firmware..
 
at some point, the track is playing as you can see on the screen but i can't hear anything on my IEM..
i skip the track and its OK..
 
does anybody experience this?
this happens mostly to 24bit files...

 

[Koolpep]

 
finally got it updated to 2.004!
 
just the same procedure when updating but take note of this: do not decompress the downloaded file
it seems like mac is automatically decompressing it so i downloaded it in windows..

 
You can prevent Safari from doing that if you go to Safari's preferences and un-tick the last option like in this screenshot:
 


Alternatively, just download the file with Chrome, Firefox or Opera on a Mac.
 
Cheers,
K

 

[flinkenick]

I always use chrome but had the same problem.. do I have to change settings as well?

 

[Koolpep]

I always use chrome but had the same problem.. do I have to change settings as well?

Could be, just give it a try.
 
Cheers,
K