4.6 update and upgrade sound quality ?

No quarter posted:

David Hendon posted:

NQ  I only just got up here in the UK so I missed this. I'm glad your update worked. Although this fault code 61 normally indicates a hardware fault and a trip back to the factory, it does seem to occur on some streamers when you do this 4.6 upgrade. We saw it once during beta testing and several people have reported it since release, including myself when I updated my Unitilite.

Turning it off and on again does seem to clear it and I haven't heard of it recurring after that, so I think you should be fine. Enjoy the music!

best

David

Hi David,the time difference between Britain and Canada does mean the forum is pretty silent after 9 PM (my time).I knew this could cause me some grief if I ran into trouble,but simply could not wait,much like Christmas morning as a kid. All sorted out now though,it still would be nice to hear from Naim,as to why this fault showed up after the update was finished.I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that my laptop had a brand new hard drive,and windows 7 installed just yesterday.

Hi NQ. I had the exact same error come up after doing the factory reset (worked fine on 4.6 before doing the reset). I think it is related to the internet connectivity as when I turned the unit off and on again it all worked fine. It did cause slight palpitations at the time though...

No quarter posted:

David Hendon posted:

NQ  I only just got up here in the UK so I missed this. I'm glad your update worked. Although this fault code 61 normally indicates a hardware fault and a trip back to the factory, it does seem to occur on some streamers when you do this 4.6 upgrade. We saw it once during beta testing and several people have reported it since release, including myself when I updated my Unitilite.

Turning it off and on again does seem to clear it and I haven't heard of it recurring after that, so I think you should be fine. Enjoy the music!

best

David

Hi David,the time difference between Britain and Canada does mean the forum is pretty silent after 9 PM (my time).I knew this could cause me some grief if I ran into trouble,but simply could not wait,much like Christmas morning as a kid. All sorted out now though,it still would be nice to hear from Naim,as to why this fault showed up after the update was finished.I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that my laptop had a brand new hard drive,and windows 7 installed just yesterday.

It certainly won't be your laptop at all. The tick on the screen meant that it's work was done anyway and the fault 61 occurs during the restart/reset phase. It's nothing you did.

I did six updates to 4.6 and it happened once for me. And it's nothing to do with things being not left switched off long enough because all of that is under control of the Naim kit itself. I think it's just "one of those things" and I doubt that Naim will have any explanation for us.

best

David

ND5XS/XP5XS - big thumbs up, it’s sounding wonderful. Not only more detail, air, space and definition etc... but sounds like I’ve got a free amplifier upgrade too such is the force and control in the bass.  Shining example of Source first.

I can only imagine naim have pushed this DSP update to reposition the SQ of the streamers above the new Uniti boxes, and rightly so given the price differences.  

Very happy.  Kudos to naim.

David the problem of not leaving things switched off long enough is specific to use of a power cycle to clear the Fault 61 code.

If you don't leave it long enough the Fault 61 can recur again on power up.

Huge posted:

David the problem of not leaving things switched off long enough is specific to use of a power cycle to clear the Fault 61 code.

If you don't leave it long enough the Fault 61 can recur again on power up.

Ah I see what you are saying. I didn't leave mine off for more than a couple of seconds and it didn't recur. It would be interesting to know what causes it. I did ask about it in the beta forum but no-one from Naim has responded.....

best

David

David Hendon posted:

Huge posted:

David the problem of not leaving things switched off long enough is specific to use of a power cycle to clear the Fault 61 code.

If you don't leave it long enough the Fault 61 can recur again on power up.

...I didn't leave mine off for more than a couple of seconds...

best

David

Switching anything off for a couple of seconds is definitely not recommended practice IMHO. Twenty seconds minimum or even two minutes would be better.

The fault 61 showed up on my 272 right away after it said the update was complete on the laptop,with the green check mark.I thought I had to wait for something else to happen,waited about half a hour,it was still there,so I powered the 272 down (using the Xps power button).When I powered up again after 5 minutes,the fault code was gone,and everything worked.I then did the factory reset using the remote,and after that was done,the fault 61 code alarm re-appeared.I waited a while again,powered down,and the fault was gone again,which is where I am at now...listening to a much improved 272.

i am happy that it works fine for you No Quarter!

There are a lot of very happy 272 owners after the new update. But I've not read many comments regarding the SU. I'm curious to hear from other SuperUniti owners, have you found SQ improvements after the 4.6 firmware update?

Hi Dom - I'm a SU@ owner, and very pleased with the 4.6 update - from my forum posting on the 4th April:

"I have noticed that the presentation of the music seems to involve a lot more "air", and it seems much easier to pick out individual threads in the music - which I guess must contribute to what someone else here has described as being a more immersive sound. I'm not finding myself tempted to crank up the volume as much as before - it seems much more satisfying at lower volumes. So that augurs well for extended listening sessions... and good relationships with the neighbours! "

These were my immediate impressions - I was one of the early adopters, so hopefully not much by way of unconscious bias from others posting their findings. I'd add to the above comments that bass seems more extended though remains controlled, which suits my speakers (ProAc Tablettes) well. Interestingly those who have posted negative findings seem to have often referred to bass "bloom" - but for me the effect has been subtle but positive in this regard.

All in all, I'm still slightly awed that Naim have invested serious time (and therefore money) enhancing my experience as the owner of a product that's now a couple of years old and EoL. Appreciate that the firmware is generic to other devices that are still current, but even so...  

I have an SU in my office feeding a pair of LS3/5A loudspeakers and it sounds lovely. I think it's more open and more real. Maybe it is unconscious bias, but anyway I'm very happy with it.

best

David

SB posted:

ND5-XS updated tonight. Like others I could be imagining it, but it sounds like a nice upgrade to me . Bass is deeper and tighter and an overall improvement in clarity

did you do a factory reset after the 4.6 update?

Well, I find myself joining the others who have reported a boost in SQ, following the 4.6 firmware upgrade.

I started streaming Ry Cooder's "Get Rhythm" ripped CD about twenty minutes ago. 

I'd stopped listening to this album, as on the busier tracks it always sounded muddy and confused.

Now, everything has opened up, and one can hear all the individual  instruments contributing to the overall sound of the music.

Nothing else has changed on the system, so I can only assume that the upgrade to my NDS, and hence the DSPDAC update, is responsible for restoring this album back to my top ten.

It's all good. 

Duncan Mann posted:

Hi Dom - I'm a SU@ owner, and very pleased with the 4.6 update - from my forum posting on the 4th April:

"I have noticed that the presentation of the music seems to involve a lot more "air", and it seems much easier to pick out individual threads in the music - which I guess must contribute to what someone else here has described as being a more immersive sound. I'm not finding myself tempted to crank up the volume as much as before - it seems much more satisfying at lower volumes. So that augurs well for extended listening sessions... and good relationships with the neighbours! "

These were my immediate impressions - I was one of the early adopters, so hopefully not much by way of unconscious bias from others posting their findings. I'd add to the above comments that bass seems more extended though remains controlled, which suits my speakers (ProAc Tablettes) well. Interestingly those who have posted negative findings seem to have often referred to bass "bloom" - but for me the effect has been subtle but positive in this regard.

All in all, I'm still slightly awed that Naim have invested serious time (and therefore money) enhancing my experience as the owner of a product that's now a couple of years old and EoL. Appreciate that the firmware is generic to other devices that are still current, but even so...  

I did the update to my SU last night and it all went without any issues. There is definitely a change in the sound. I’ve not had time to properly sit down and listen, but first impressions are that the highs have opened up a bit and there is more detail. However, the bass is less pronounced now. Not sure if I like it more now.

Something isn't clear for me.

1. Before a software update, is there a factory reset required?

2. Is there a factory reset required after an update?

3. Is there a factory reset required after a "downgrade" to an older verion? 

Duncan Mann posted:

 

All in all, I'm still slightly awed that Naim have invested serious time (and therefore money) enhancing my experience as the owner of a product that's now a couple of years old and EoL. Appreciate that the firmware is generic to other devices that are still current, but even so...  

This sums up my own thoughts, now that I've had a lazy Sunday at home listening to some of my favourite albums, streamed to my now updated NDS.

I was perfectly happy with the NDS, pre-update, until the news broke of the forthcoming ND 555, and, inevitably, my thoughts strayed 

to "I wonder?"

Now, following the firmware update, the performance of my NDS has been lifted to an amazing degree, and it was no slouch before, so I'll join you in thanking the folks at Naim who've provided this upgrade to existing users, completely free of charge. 

Robiwan posted:

Something isn't clear for me.

1. Before a software update, is there a factory reset required?

2. Is there a factory reset required after an update?

3. Is there a factory reset required after a "downgrade" to an older verion? 

1. No but you should restart it when the updater tells you to.

2. Naim recommend it in the instructions and some people find it fixes issues they have but lots of others don't bother and don't see the point. It's up to you.

3. Naim recommends a reset to factory settings after any firmware update. Whether you want to bother or not is up to you.

if you want my opinion, I would only do a factory reset if I thought something wasn't right. But that's just me.

best

David

Robiwan posted:

Something isn't clear for me.

1. Before a software update, is there a factory reset required?

2. Is there a factory reset required after an update?

3. Is there a factory reset required after a "downgrade" to an older verion? 

1. No

2. Some seem to get a benefit, I didn’t.

3. In Beta tests, I’ve reverted to old versions and never had to do a reset.

N. B. This applies to my NDX

A big thank you to Naim from another SU owner!!

The upgrade has given me a fuller sound especially in the mid bass!

I use an NDX with no PSU, the 4.6 upgrade has been a pretty serious upgrade, lovely tone at the top end, seems to be a lower noise floor as I can listen at lower levells with no loss of clarity, there has been a significant bass improvement with what seems greater extension and better grip at low volume levels. My lounge is a tricky room, it’s T shaped, the speakers sit in the middle of the cross-bar of the T firing down the vertical bar, there is an RSJ dropping a couple of feet from the ceiling between the two parts of the T.  I’d found speaker positions that worked before 4.6, now at low volume levels it is excellent, at high levels the greater bass is a bit overpowering, not too bad, but more prominent than I find ideal. I’ll experiment with positioning over the next few days. (Although I picked up an olive Supercap from the bay of fleas today, so might wait for that to arrive to have a stable system to play with.)

So did naim comment on the improvement? Cause I definitively hear one! Sharper imaging, more details.

Soundquality  4.6 vs 4.4

Pro's: more open, wider and breathing, more transparant, more treble bite,  deeper bass

Cons: less intimacy, less warm, thinner mid bass, less energetic,  more "hollow" soundstage, more fatique at higher volume levels

There are probably more pro's and con's.

Verdict 4.6 vs 4.4:

40/60, Pitty there isn't a switchbutton between 4.4 and 4.6

oh and sound is a bit slower with 4.6??

Two people I know with very high resolution Naim active systems have contributed to this thread to state that they feel 4.6 is a musically backward step. Naim inevitably have to move with the times and I wonder if they are 'tuning' new kit to work more optimally with current mastering styles, and indeed; the likes of (inferior) sources such as Tidal and Spotify?

The reason I have yet to hear any digital source which sounds better than my CD555 may to some extent be that it was optimised on the mastering style of popular music during its development.

The standard of mastering has (generally) deteriorated for me, post year 2,000, and most of my CD collection is pre-year 2,000. Ergo; it sounds right on the CD555.

Times change. The mastering of current popular music often sounds like it needs de-mushing to me. Maybe that's (to some extent) what 4.6 is optimised for?

John.

Robiwan posted:

Soundquality  4.6 vs 4.4

Pro's: more open, wider and breathing, more transparant, more treble bite,  deeper bass

Cons: less intimacy, less warm, thinner mid bass, less energetic,  more "hollow" soundstage, more fatique at higher volume levels

There are probably more pro's and con's.

Verdict 4.6 vs 4.4:

40/60, Pitty there isn't a switchbutton between 4.4 and 4.6

 

Its more audiophile style now. Imaging is vastly improved, I barely had depth in the soundstage before 4.6 and now have plenty. For someone like me who like to sit dead center in the dark and feel the singer is there and the guitar is there, its a suprisingly strong update.