DS firmware - what is the lastest on the most musical one?

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2010-10-02 21:45

Hi
Running 3.6.7 on my KDS since 6months and I have the following new SW's not tested firmwares:
3.6.8, 3.6.9, 3.7.3, 3.8.1 and 3.9.1 - all downloaded to my PC.

Anyone tested them all?
What firmware is most musical, any of these or older versions?

OT, uploading Cara 7 or later firmware's result in "failed", using manual uploading from my PC.
(see my thread on linn offical forum)

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2010-10-02 23:18

I've found that 3.1.25, 3.6.7 and cara 7 (3.7.3 iirc) to be the most musical on my system in my room. The newer of these the better.

Wish I could help more but I need a new notebook to get into konfig. The wife has proven the MacBook Pro prefers coffee without cream and sugar. I don't want to spend that kind of money again and the repair is estimated at$1240.00 US. :(. Any thoughts on less expensive replacements?

Are you using a wired connection? I've done all my firmware upgrades wirelessly, against advice from Linn, with no problems though.

Tendaberry · Post by **Tendaberry** » 2010-10-04 13:18

I think it's worth trying the 3.9.1 It's working very well for me, certainly preferable to 3.6. Some claim Cara 4 is the best, but after reading about an elaborate comparison between Cara 4 and 9 on the forum on Linn's homepage, I decided to install the 9 and never looked back.

TomBK · Post by **TomBK** » 2010-10-06 22:45

Tendaberry wrote:I think it's worth trying the 3.9.1 It's working very well for me, certainly preferable to 3.6. Some claim Cara 4 is the best, but after reading about an elaborate comparison between Cara 4 and 9 on the forum on Linn's homepage, I decided to install the 9 and never looked back.

Which DS do you have? I was one of the 4 doing the comparison at the Linn Forum Event - and I'm still preferring the ADS 3.4.2 Beta on my own ADS...

Apparently it's not the same for all DSs and the KDS should sound better with another version...

Cheers
Tom

Tendaberry · Post by **Tendaberry** » 2010-10-07 11:20

I have the ADS, 2007 version, not 2010 version :-(
Then again, I've never tried the 3.4.2 Beta, onla the standard Cara 4, which at the time was overwhelmingly good.

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2010-10-17 14:36

I've just spend some time with the two newest Cara - 3.10.3 and 3.10.4. IMHO the Tune Method results in 10.3.3 as the best of the best. 3.7.3 as the runner-up.

I even tried repositioning the speakers with 3.10.4 to tweak back that missing tune from 3.7.3 and 3.10.3. No improvement was found. So I repositioned back to favorite spot.

I find more frustration in speaker positioning (of course ultimate satisfaction) than in any other aspect of trying out these software versions. I don't recall the speaker positioning to be part of the improvement with different software versions. I have found a need to reposition speakers with component changes. So I would like to know what others have found in their experience. Can I leave repositioning alone when tune deming? Have you ever found different positions working better with different versions?

What are the rest of you finding from Cara 10 betas?

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2010-10-17 17:49

SaltyDog wrote:I even tried repositioning the speakers with 3.10.4 to tweak back that missing tune from 3.7.3 and 3.10.3. No improvement was found. So I repositioned back to favorite spot.

I was in a doubt because of this, too, but what convinced me was trying the different firmwares with headphones, too. The result which I gained with headphones was exactly the same as with speakers, so the missing tune of firmwares can't be compensated by different speaker positioning because the headphones do not have a "position" which can be tuned.

What are the rest of you finding from Cara 10 betas?

Every time I try to compare firmware versions I started with the one which is inside my DS, and everytime I'm ending listening to music instead of changing the firmware. So I'm sorry, I'm stucked with 3.6.7. :mrgreen:

LeutzM · Post by **LeutzM** » 2010-11-23 13:04

Anyone else compared the new cara 10 betas with 3.6.7?
can anyone send me the 3.10.3 to my mailadress [email protected] please?

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2010-11-23 19:32

Just sent to you.

Tendaberry · Post by **Tendaberry** » 2010-11-23 20:01

LeutzM wrote:Anyone else compared the new cara 10 betas with 3.6.7?
can anyone send me the 3.10.3 to my mailadress [email protected] please?

Have you tried 3.10.5?
Any experience with the official Cara 10 anyone?

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2010-11-23 21:37

Official 3.10.6 is very good. Better than 3.10.5. for some reason.

3.10.6 is the best balanced musically IMHO.

Choosing from 3.6.7, 3.7.3, and 3.10.6 should cut the auditioning time down.

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2010-11-24 12:58

SaltyDog wrote:Official 3.10.6 is very good. Better than 3.10.5. for some reason.

3.10.6 is the best balanced musically IMHO.

Choosing from 3.6.7, 3.7.3, and 3.10.6 should cut the auditioning time down.

And what version is most musical?
My memory...do you have a KDS/D?

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2010-11-25 04:06

ML asked:
And what version is most musical?
My memory...do you have a KDS/D?

3.10.6. From a correspondence with another music loving aficionado I have cut and pasted the following:

"Like you, I too favour the latest Cara, in terms of the foot tapping - now here's my take on it; it's as if your whole body is responding to the tune. I must admit I am finding nuances in the tune, and rhythms that previously appear to have been overlooked, smeared, or simply not evident."

My system is fronted by current spec KDS/D - KK/1/D. System is fully balanced.[/quote]

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2010-11-26 09:21

Thanks for the feedback.
I upgraded KinskyDesktop and LinnConfig a few days ago and going to test 3.10.6 n week.

Anybody else compared the most recent firmwares?

Manelus · Post by **Manelus** » 2010-12-15 00:48

Not tested 3.10.6 yet.
3.7.3 is my favorite so far (KDS/D)

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2011-04-22 06:15

Finally I have found some time to listen to some Cara firmware versions. This seems to be senseless since Davaar is knocking on the door, but maybe my results are of interest anyway!?

Here comes the TuneDem scores, 1 is worst and 7 is best. My Unidisk 1.1 is about 5-6 and was used as reference.

3.1.14: 1
3.1.16: 3-4
3.1.17: 3
3.1.18: 4
3.1.20: 6
3.1.23: 4
3.1.25: 4-5

3.2.1: 2-3

3.3.2: 1
3.3.3: 2
3.3.4: 3

3.4.1: 3
3.4.2: 4
3.4.3: 3

3.6.1: 4
3.6.2: 4
3.6.3: 4
3.6.4: - (notable brighter than all the other ones, therefore I did not do a TuneDem here)
3.6.5: 5
3.6.6: 5-6
3.6.7: 6-
3.6.8: same as 3.6.7, was not able to detect a difference
3.6.9: same as 3.6.7, was not able to detect a difference

3.7.2: 5-6
3.7.3: 6+

3.9.1: 5

3.10.2: - (only noise)
3.10.3: 6+
3.10.4: 6-7
3.10.5: 7
3.10.6: 6

All was done with my Sneaky DS (and I have no idea if the list above will fit for other devices as well or not). All firmwares were flashed with "Device Recovery" ticked on, and the settings were "Restore Default", "Internal Power Amplifier: off" and "Internal Volume Control: off". I did a full reboot just before listening by pulling the power plug for about 10..15 seconds.

(For flashing the firmware I have used LinnKonfig 3.1.27, 3.3.2, 3.4.3, 3.6.9, 3.7.3, and 3.10.6.)

I tried to continue this with Davaar, but unfortunately KinskyDesktop 4.1.4 is not working on Windows2000 (but the Cara versions did), and is totally useless on Linux - it did not enter the folders I have selected (but different ones!), and crashed all the time. I was able to listen to version 4.1.5 for a short time anyway (but to different music I wanted to), and it was quite promising. Will finally do the adaptions for Davaar in Leia, and will continue afterwards. So please hold the line...

Linnofil · Post by **Linnofil** » 2011-04-22 09:09

sommerfee wrote:Here comes the TuneDem scores, 1 is worst and 7 is best. My Unidisk 1.1 is about 5-6 and was used as reference.
...
3.1.20: 6
...
3.6.7: 6-
3.6.8 and 9: same as 3.6.7
...
3.7.3: 6+
...
3.10.3: 6+
3.10.4: 6-7
3.10.5: 7
3.10.6: 6

All was done with my Sneaky DS

Great work Axel, thanks! On my old ADS I liked 3.6.7 the best, but i didn't test them all as you did. Now with my new ADS I can only use Cara 10 and Davaar. I have also found that a DS player can get "tired" and benefit from upploading the same SW again. I tested Davaar 4.1.5 last week and while it was better than Cara 10 I had to step back to Cara 10 again to get my iPhone control back. (Wife and kids upset!) The ADS was definetly better with a fresh upload than before with Cara 10 (loaded at Linn). I have a friend (20+ years experience with Linn.) who reflashes his ADS (old) once every two months. He had to do the same with his previous MDS. It keeps them performing at their best.

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2011-04-22 16:50

...

4.1.3: 4
4.1.5: 5
4.1.6: 5+
4.1.7: 5+ to 5-6
4.1.8: 5-

So IMHO 4.1.7 is the best Davaar firmware so far.

Linnofil wrote:I have also found that a DS player can get "tired" and benefit from upploading the same SW again.

I cannot confirm this, at least with my Sneaky DS. Before I started these listening sessions, I had 3.6.7 for about one year and I didn't noticed a degradation within this period.

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2011-04-26 21:18

4.1.9: 6+, maybe even 6-7, but definitely not 7

So this is IMHO the most in-tune Davaar firmware so far by a margin. (At least on a Sneaky DS)

Music Lover · Post by **Music Lover** » 2011-04-26 21:43

Serious work Axel, THANKS!!!

I'm at 4.1.5 for the moment, its the best firmware I tried on my KDS (previously 3.6.7)
Haven't tested 4.1.6-9 yet.

Tendaberry · Post by **Tendaberry** » 2011-04-28 21:33

There's even a 4.1.10 now... Don't have time for an update every day...

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2011-04-30 20:52

Tendaberry wrote:There's even a 4.1.10 now... Don't have time for an update every day...

IMHO it's not worth flashing it anyway. It's notable too bright, reminded me of version 3.6.4 which had the same problem. (Just flashing back to 4.1.9... But only because I need a Davaar version for developing Leia, otherwise I would go back to Cara.)

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2011-05-05 16:37

It appears that 4.1.10 is the released version - at least it has been moved out of the Downloads/Beta section to the Downloads/Releases section. So it seems that however good the 1.10 version of Davaar sounds it is what most people will be using.

Isn't it wonderful that we don't have to worry about things like cartridge alignment, anti-skating and belt slippage in the digital world? It's all just 1s and 0s and works perfectly all the time with none of these extraneous things effecting the sound! So much simpler! ;-)

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » 2011-05-06 01:16

Simple.

Except I like 4.1.7 better.

Of course I imagine that the the KDS/1 will be different than the current aka RenewDS with upgraded casing. ;)

Simple.

sommerfee · Post by **sommerfee** » 2011-05-06 07:12

I guess many people will like 4.1.10. When something sounds brighter, it has "more space", "more details" etc. (But at the latest when playing Classical music the problem is apparently.)

Futhermore Linn has introduced extra headroom for upsampling (starting from 4.1.5), which makes clipped recordings sound notable better. And in todays world almost all Pop and Rock recordings are clipped.

DS firmware - what is the lastest on the most musical one?

DS firmware - what is the lastest on the most musical one?

cara 10

Re: cara 10