(01-Jun-2015, 13:14)PhilP Wrote: Well that's an encouraging response from Devialet on two counts: firstly they acknowledge the differences in sound between 7.1.1 and 7.1.3 that many of us have reported; and secondly they accept that there are issues with 8.0 which will be addressed. Hurray ?

(01-Jun-2015, 17:30)Confused Wrote: I like the way that the "beta" version is described as "the most stable version of our firmwares", whereas the official release 8.0 clearly isn't.

(01-Jun-2015, 12:52)Confused Wrote: I have managed to extract a few nuggets of information from Devialet regarding 7.1.3., as follows:

"Firmware 7.1.3 is actually the last release of Firmware 7. Meaning that this is the most stable version of our firmwares.
Firmware 8 is newer than the 7 and it includes many improvements compared to firmware 7 (ICM, DPM, phono menu). It does however need some corrections, that will consequently appear in firmware 8.1"

"Actually the 7.1.1 compared to the 7.1.3 is very different; Because the 7.1.3 brought many ameliorations to the 7.1.1.
So it is not surprising that the sound is better on the 7.1.3, simply because it corrects and improve the general version 7 of the firmware.
Of course in the future, we hope to do the same with firmware 8."

(01-Jun-2015, 18:52)Rufus McDufus Wrote:

(01-Jun-2015, 17:30)Confused Wrote: I like the way that the "beta" version is described as "the most stable version of our firmwares", whereas the official release 8.0 clearly isn't.

They misspelled it. They meant 'better', not 'beta'.

(01-Jun-2015, 19:12)moreno1973 Wrote:

(01-Jun-2015, 18:52)Rufus McDufus Wrote:

(01-Jun-2015, 17:30)Confused Wrote: I like the way that the "beta" version is described as "the most stable version of our firmwares", whereas the official release 8.0 clearly isn't.

They misspelled it. They meant 'better', not 'beta'.

They meant not 'better' but 'BEST':-)

(07-Jun-2015, 11:17)Confused Wrote: I've manage to spend much time this weekend listening to 7.1.3beta.  Now a few people have reported hearing improvements with bass, and for me it does sound better defined with more impact, tighter, just generally better.  Now a while ago I posted some observations regards to some individual tracks that were a little problematic with SAM, exhibiting strange low frequency grunge, bass artifices etc., with a theory that large floor standers with SAM could possibly generate more very low bass than would even be apparent on the recording studio monitors.  One thing I did was whenever I found one of these tracks, was stick them in a playlist, with the idea being that they could be used as a reference when experimenting with speaker placement.  This proved to be useful, but not 100% successful because the optimum speaker placement to calm the negative effects of these specific tracks, was clearly not the best positioning for most of the rest of what I wanted to listen to.  Anyway, yesterday I was thinking about this and tried replaying my playlist of problematic tracks with 7.1.3beta in place.  The result was interesting, about 75% of them were perfectly listenable, with maybe 50% simply sounding fine and issue free, so much so that if 7.1.3 was in place at the initial listen the track would never had made into the problematic playlist anyway.  For me this offers some evidence of why some folk find 7.1.3 better, and not really in anyway too subjective.

(07-Jun-2015, 11:44)GuillaumeB Wrote:

(07-Jun-2015, 11:17)Confused Wrote: I've manage to spend much time this weekend listening to 7.1.3beta.  Now a few people have reported hearing improvements with bass, and for me it does sound better defined with more impact, tighter, just generally better.  Now a while ago I posted some observations regards to some individual tracks that were a little problematic with SAM, exhibiting strange low frequency grunge, bass artifices etc., with a theory that large floor standers with SAM could possibly generate more very low bass than would even be apparent on the recording studio monitors.  One thing I did was whenever I found one of these tracks, was stick them in a playlist, with the idea being that they could be used as a reference when experimenting with speaker placement.  This proved to be useful, but not 100% successful because the optimum speaker placement to calm the negative effects of these specific tracks, was clearly not the best positioning for most of the rest of what I wanted to listen to.  Anyway, yesterday I was thinking about this and tried replaying my playlist of problematic tracks with 7.1.3beta in place.  The result was interesting, about 75% of them were perfectly listenable, with maybe 50% simply sounding fine and issue free, so much so that if 7.1.3 was in place at the initial listen the track would never had made into the problematic playlist anyway.  For me this offers some evidence of why some folk find 7.1.3 better, and not really in anyway too subjective.

I had a very similar experience although not in the area of bass, but rather midrange.

The album in question was Bucky Pizzarelli's Three For All (in 24/192), which features a trio of seven-string guitarists. Very intimate recording (Chesky) with so much detail you can hear literally everything, particularly the fingers moving on the strings and which can sound very busy at times as all three guitarists seem to be competing for your attention.

With 7.1.1 whilst I enjoyed the album I found it a little fatiguing and would rarely finish the whole album in one sitting. It didn't sound congested or anything but just a bit overwhelming, almost too much detail and not enough music if that makes sense! Certainly not bright or anything, just a bit edgy. 

When I first tried 7.1.3 this was one of the first albums I played. The change was remarkable, suddenly it was no longer noise but rather music (I'm exaggerating a little but you get my point). I could almost feel the interaction between the musicians and everything was coherent, it just gelled. All the detail was still there but this was now really enjoyable. I was actually really surprised!

This is what led me to make comments that I found 7.1.3 to be the most "musical" firmware release to date. Many albums in my collection sound great on both 7.1.1 and 7.1.3, but this particular one really helps to differentiate the two.

When I updated to 8.0 some of this coherence was lost and it felt like there were too many guitarists in my room again. It was better than 7.1.1 but worse that 7.1.3, and probably closer to 7.1.1.

I do find that the choice of music really helps with these kind of listening tests. It's almost a case of finding something that doesn't sound great and then seeing if it changes, which is of course exactly what you did. 

Guillaume