04-Aug-2016, 17:56
(03-Aug-2016, 16:47)Vivialet Wrote:(03-Aug-2016, 16:16)Rufus McDufus Wrote: I used to have Linn equipment (Klimax DS) and exactly the same thing used to happen - new firmware would come out with (say) only functional changes or a bug fix or two, nothing to do with sound quality, yet many people would report SQ differences. My opinion (looking at it from a software point of view which was my trade a while back, though usually C/C++ as opposed to the FPGA bytecode or whatever runs on the Dev) is that with a different version even minor changes will have a slightly different run profile on the processors in the Devialet, and perhaps slightly different power requirements. It would seem unlikely that these would be significant enough to make a difference but it's certainly a possibility. Another factor could be how the firmware is compiled down. We don't even know how Devialet manage their firmware build environment but I'd hope they keep it extremely consistent between builds. Different compilation flags between builds could affect how the firmware runs on the processor.
Compilers are also improved and will create more optimized code. Simply using a new compiler version can already bring SQ improvements.
Going back to what Rufus said: compiling might change something in terms or run optimisation of the code which could alter the sound BUT in what way? The subjective nature of change (much referred to already on the thread) means the outcome is hardly quantitative: not least because they don't tell us what they've done!
