New beta firmware 7.1.3 released

[Mikeeo]

Had a listen tonight with a couple of albums I know well. To my ears, the softening I was hearing with SAM enabled seems to be much reduced.  I hadn't got used to the D200's sound enough to say more generally about the change in sound, but the softening was something that bothered me and was very apparent, so I'd be very surprised if the new firmware didn't at least have a SAM update. Well, now I can brace myself for the big reveal too....... 

Hi,

Please describe the softening effect that you experienced. For me SAM in general added not only better bass but more important clarity and coherence in the other areas av the music spectrum.

Best/Mike

Well, it's, er, a slight softening...

Not sure how to describe it better, but I'll try….

I find that without SAM, the detail in the upper frequencies is very sharp, and precise and the 3d soundstage is wide and again, precise.

With SAM enabled, I sense a drop in detail/clarity, and everything seems somehow 'smoothed' in the treble.  The soundstage isn't as wide or precise as it was. I get extra depth to the bass but only if its there in the recording which I guess is expected - I sometimes notice very little change with SAM enabled other than that softening and soundstage shrink. Well, that was with 7.1.1 anyway, which is what my unit came with, and I've only had it a couple of weeks. With 7.1.3 I didn't notice that 'softening' or 'difference' so much when I engaged SAM - based on only a few tracks obviously. 

Apologies, describing sound isn't my strong point.

Many thanks! I think I know what you mean but to my ears this softening is better coherence that gives better clarity and insight as well as better dimensional reproduction. As the sound in general becomes less offensive (more coherent) that may be perceived by some as softening. I think SAM delivers some of the treats what an active system would deliver.
I'm happy for you that softening is less with 7.1.3 as after reading your post have to agree that now I have more clarity and even better dynamics ie less forced reproduction which for me means more analogue.

Keep on enjoying/Mike