[manishex]

Anyone seen the new firmware for the pegasus on the musician website. Not sure what it would change, all the instructions are in chinese

 

[TheManko]

Anyone seen the new firmware for the pegasus on the musician website. Not sure what it would change, all the instructions are in chinese

I just went to the Musician website and the firmware update isn't there anymore.

The firmware was there as a result of me contacting Musician support and asking them to put out a firmware update to fix a stutter/skipping bug that can occur on all the inputs except USB. They couldn't mail the firmware update to me directly because the mail was blocked by spam filters, so they put it up on the website instead. If you need the fix you might have to mail them and ask them for it, and I'm sure they'll put it up again on the site temporarily like they did for me.

I contacted them because I saw that Denafrips had the same issue on their Ares II and Pontus dacs, which had been solved this year by firmware updates. So I contacted Musician in the hope that they could also fix it for the Pegasus, which they actually did in just a few days after I asked them about it. I suspect that they have already rolled out this firmware in shipping models of the Pegasus, so what you get when you flash the firmware is probably what's in recent shipping versions of the Pegasus. Mine is from late April and needed the firmware fix. If you got yours more recently it might already be fixed. Or maybe you aren't experiencing the issue to begin with and don't need it.

In case you downloaded the firmware before they took it down, you need to disable driver signing in Windows 10 and run the .bat file in the ConfigProgramDriver which is in the u20-v2.2.1.rar file. After that run the other .bat file in the Pegasus.rar file. There should be a film clip that shows what a successful firmware upgrade should look like. If you haven't experienced the stuttering bug, you probably shouldn't bother with the firmware update.

 

[sajunky]

I thought it was normal for the two modes to sound different, because I searched the DI-20 thread for every mention of Parallel or Serial to understand the difference, and everyone seemed to have experienced a noticeable audible difference between the modes. On the GoldenSound website he mentioned that there was no measurable difference in jitter between the modes, but didn't elaborate beyond that. So my assumption is similar to yours that the Pegasus might be reacting better to one vs the other.

It can change with a new DI-20 firmware, see this post where it says that there are significant changes starting with DI-20 firmware 3.9 to the clock generation and synchronisation.

 

[TheManko]

It can change with a new DI-20 firmware, see this post where it says that there are significant changes starting with DI-20 firmware 3.9 to the clock generation and synchronisation.

One of the first things I did when I got the DI-20 was to upgrade to the latest 4.076 firmware, which was probably pointless because it was most likely already installed on mine from factory. I haven't tried downgrading to earlier firmware versions, as the firmware update process is a bit too time consuming. But whenever a new firmware update is released I look forward to hearing if it'll come with audible improvements.

 

[VintageAudio]

I've owned the Pegasus for 6 months now. Here are some thoughts after long term use, many probably repeating the same points I made when I posted first impressions back in early May.

I've found that every input on the Pegasus has a distinctly different sound, in a way I’ve never heard before with a dac. The Pegasus is maybe the fifth or sixth dac I own. Coax is worst, with a hard digital sounding feel. Toslink is much nicer, with a hazier and more diffuse style that's inoffensive. AES is way better than both Coax and Toslink, having a much more natural sound. USB input is more hit and miss depending on the quality of the source. My source is a gaming PC, so it's the worst possible source imaginable. I tried using an Ifi iSilencer+ to improve the quality of the USB output, which it did. But the sound improves by a lot more if I use a separate USB to AES converter to feed the Pegasus. It doesn’t seem to matter if it's a decades old converter, as long as the signal is properly galvanically isolated and reclocked it improves over the Pegasus USB. I'm sure the Pegasus USB can sound better with a different computer, but in my case, I'm not using it because it's not good enough.

In general, the digital inputs on the Pegasus are weak. To improve the quality of my TV and PS4 sound I bought an Ifi SPDIF iPurifier2. I've done several comparisons of outputting TV toslink direct to Pegasus vs having the iPurifier2 inline between the TV and Pegasus, meaning the iPurifier2 reclocks the toslink signal and then outputs toslink into the Pegasus. The iPurifier2 makes a big difference in the quality of separation, soundstage quality, and general sense of resolution. Without the iPurifier2 the sound is congested and muddy.

And then we get to the Audio GD DI-20. It has I2S output compatible with the Pegasus, and has Coax and USB inputs. In my current setup I have the iPurifier2 connected to the Coax input on the DI-20, so the signal is reclocked again by the DI-20 and then transmitted via I2S to the Pegasus. My PC is connected via USB to the DI-20. The I2S input on the Pegasus has a distinctly different sound to all the other inputs, so this in my experience results in the best possible sound from both my PC via USB and TV via Coax. I’ve done many comparisons of AES vs I2S to the Pegasus via the DI-20, and I2S has the most nuanced and detailed sound. I'm also using the iSilencer+ on the USB output from my PC going to the DI-20. I've done maybe four comparisons on different days testing the sound with and without the iSilencer+, and in every case I preferred the sound with the iSilencer+. It seems to add more contrast to the sound. It creates that "blacker background" effect to the sound.

I'm not sure this is a reasonable level of money to have invested to improve the quality of sound from the Pegasus, since the combined cost of iSilencer+, iPurifier2 and DI-20 approaches the cost of the Pegasus by itself. But the result has been very positive, and the DI-20 and iPurifier2 can be reused with future dacs, so I don't see it as sunk cost. Many dacs costing more than $3000 like the SPL Director mk2 have awful digital input quality with mediocre jitter measurements. For whatever reason many companies are able to create wonderful analog stages, but are hopeless when it comes to handling digital inputs. I used the Asus Essence III for 7 years and it spoiled me with its identical near perfect performing digital inputs. I assumed by now everyone would have matched and exceeded what Asus was doing back in 2013. But that’s not what happened, and it explains the big market for USB to AES and I2S interfaces. For enthusiasts, they’re necessary.

The sound I’m getting from the Pegasus now with all these upgrades to the signal chain is one with big firm bass, a sense of physical midrange body I never heard from dacs I’ve owned previously, and also a good amount of treble sparkle, bordering on sibilant. Each upgrade to the signal removed layers of haze from the signal and brought forward the true signal underneath, giving a greater sense of sharper focus, of more purity to the sound, with more punchiness, and more body and presence, also affecting the treble. It’s very enjoyable. I think the R2R character is coming through more clearly now, as it's a style of sound that prioritizes body and physicality across the whole frequency range at the cost of air. The air is still there, but it's nothing like how a delta sigma dac would produce it.

I can now more easily hear the limits of resolution from the Pegasus. In certain congested tracks it’s clear where the ladder dacs run out of resolution and smear things together. The Pegasus is capable of a lot, and I feel it was worth squeezing the most out of it. But now and then I can hear its limits. On the whole I’m enjoying the sound every day, and I’m often pleasantly surprised by what I hear. I think I’ll keep using the Pegasus for a good while, as it’s giving me a well-rounded sound that does the material justice, no matter what I listen to. When I first bought the Pegasus, I was disappointed by weak bass. But using a USB to AES interface fixed it, and the DI-20 improved things further. Getting a shorter HDMI cable for I2S again improved things a bit, sharpening up the sound. And by this point it’s good enough that I don’t feel like touching the equipment any more for now.

Another thing, I've seen GoldenSound's reviews of Denafrips Ares II, and there he mentioned input buffer lag. It seemed to be variable on the Ares II, and in his opinion, it could affect the enjoyment when playing games. With the Pegasus I've played plenty of games, including rhythm games. I've had no issue with input lag. So at least with the Pegasus, I'd say it's a non-issue.

I experience similar experiences with the IO on Pegasus. From my experimentation and 1st hand experience, I found a budget Douk Audio U2Pro feeding I2S into the Pegasus will give you vastly improved results. On the output side, I use XLR to RCA inputs into a Topping Pre90 -> Bakoon Amp 13R.

You're right, lots of tweaks you can do to squeeze out better SQ from the Musician Pegasus. I think the Douk Audio U2 Pro is probably the best value tweak. It's only $50 something bucks.

The power cords, fuses, cabling result in really subtle differences, probably not worth the cost. The pre-amp was very noticeable, but it adds quite a bit of money to the setup. I actually own the Douk Audio U2 Pro (standard clocks) as well as the Femto one ($250ish). I'd say I have not noticed a difference going to femto, so not worth it IMO.

I prefer the NOS mode, so I have not tried HQPlayer with oversampling.

 

[KerrangZ]

I experience similar experiences with the IO on Pegasus. From my experimentation and 1st hand experience, I found a budget Douk Audio U2Pro feeding I2S into the Pegasus will give you vastly improved results. On the output side, I use XLR to RCA inputs into a Topping Pre90 -> Bakoon Amp 13R.

You're right, lots of tweaks you can do to squeeze out better SQ from the Musician Pegasus. I think the Douk Audio U2 Pro is probably the best value tweak. It's only $50 something bucks.

The power cords, fuses, cabling result in really subtle differences, probably not worth the cost. The pre-amp was very noticeable, but it adds quite a bit of money to the setup. I actually own the Douk Audio U2 Pro (standard clocks) as well as the Femto one ($250ish). I'd say I have not noticed a difference going to femto, so not worth it IMO.

I prefer the NOS mode, so I have not tried HQPlayer with oversampling.

Hi, would a standard hdmi cable work with i2s?

 

[VintageAudio]

Hi, would a standard hdmi cable work with i2s?

Yes - that's what I'm using.

Only caveat that comes to mind is the left and right channels are reversed.

On Mac, I just fix that by swapping them in Audio Midi Setup.

 

[okan]

Hi, would a standard hdmi cable work with i2s?

Denafrips iris also works with pegasus without any issue and they sound great together. I have standard hdmi cable which I bought from amazon. Try to keep length short. My cable is 0.3 meter.

 

[KerrangZ]

Denafrips iris also works with pegasus without any issue and they sound great together. I have standard hdmi cable which I bought from amazon. Try to keep length short. My cable is 0.3 meter.

Ah sweet, I’ve been looking at the Iris as well.. thanks!

 

[T 1000]

The power cords, fuses, cabling result in really subtle differences, probably not worth the cost.

this cannot be the rule
With the introduction of the USB cable and power supply, I got the biggest progress in getting details, texture, expanding and deepening the sound scene, a blacker background, fullness of tone ...
I noticed a very small shift by replacing the interconnection cables and inserting the IsoTek EVO 3 gemini - IsoTek EVO3 into the power line.
I assume that certain components have different effects on different systems

 

[Zaurux]

I tried to install the firmware via my Asus laptop (Win10 HOme 64).
http://www.musician-audio.com/en/col.jsp?id=105
Firmware 3.06
I already got an error that the libusb0.dll library is missing.
I corrected it by installing the 32bit version (which is supposed to be compatible with the program "xprog.exe". The 64bit version does not work).
But if with the driver, I visualize the Pegasus on my Asus when I switch to the procedure (flashing of the USB on the dac) I have this error in the CMD window.

XING Digital Audio Technical Team
Firmware Programmer v1.3.0
Error 010: no valid device is found.

╣╠╝■╔ıð┤╩º░▄

 

[TheManko]

Error 010: no valid device is found.

╣╠╝■╔ıð┤╩º░▄
[/CODE]

I didn't get that error. Once I resolved the libusb0.dll missing error, the process worked for me. When you put the Pegasus into firmware flashing mode, ie with the USB light flashing, did Windows discover a new device and install drivers for it? That's what happened for me when the Pegasus was put into firmware update mode. Pegasus identified itself to Windows as a new different kind of hardware device and Windows automatically installed drivers for it. I can't remember the device name it identified itself as unfortunately, but you could probably find it in Device Manager in Windwos 10. It's possible that identification process hasn't worked correctly and that's why the updater isn't finding a valid device.

One more thing I did, which I don't know if it'll help, was to install a Chinese language pack and change system locale to China. I don't know if it's necessary for the firmware update to work, but it'll at least change those garbled characters into Chinese characters. It could be worth trying if you don't get it to work. I don't know if you need the language pack installed to change system locale. But you can install language packs in the Windows 10 settings under Time & Language. After that go to the old Control Panel, Region and Language, Administrative settings, Language for non-Unicode programs, and set it to China. You don't need to change the display language in Windows to Chinese, only the system locale setting. It's a bit mysterious why Windows has these settings, but I'm familiar with them because they can solve problems with fan translated Japanese games.

 

[Zaurux]

No, it is not detected as "new device" but now that I know, it gives me an idea.
My Asus is slightly optimized (much less than my audio server ).
I think the detection service is stopped.

I'm on USB and I have no real problems with the Pegasus, just a slight click when changing tracks.
See if this firmware changes things.

 

[sajunky]

No, it is not detected as "new device" but now that I know, it gives me an idea.
My Asus is slightly optimized (much less than my audio server ).
I think the detection service is stopped.

Rather a driver signing restriction. Do you still not get driver loaded if you disable driver signing in Windoze? A virtual machine is also a method to bypass driver signing.

 

[Zaurux]

Thank you.
The solution was at Denafrips with the explanation the "Configuration driver" pack.
https://www.denafrips.com/firmware-update-usb

I changed version... but when I start the music again, I still have this micro-click!

Do you think the change log is the same for Musician ?

FIRMWARE LOG


V3.3.2
- Original firmware

V3.3.5
- Increase USB resync time to address USB out-of-sync issue

- Supports PCM1536 / DSD1024

V3.4.1
- Fixed compatibility issue with macOS 

- PCM1536 / DSD1024 supports disabled


V3.6.0

- Compatible with macOS / winOS / Linux 

- Increase USB resync time