Denafrips FPGA Firmware Update

Apologies for the long post but please bear with me.

I sidestepped the first FPGA update for my Venus II based on some negative comments and went straight to the more recent 3.5 release that had better user feedback. 

Update went ok and reported success but on reconnecting the DAC in my system i was greeted by a sound full of distortion, it was awful.  I use a Hermes DDC and I2S connection.

After panicking that something had gone horribly wrong i tried USB. All was fine so i breathed a relief that the FPGA update process wasnt the issue.  This led me to play around with I2S config on the Venus thinking there was a chance this may have changed or need resetting post update.  Dont recall seeing anything about this in the instructions.

On changing the I2S pin config on the Venus i found 3 settings that played without distortion, i am not sure what the original setting was on the Venus as it worked straight away with the Hermes without having to do any config changes.

The 3 settings that played without distortion all had vastly different sound characteristics, something i didnt expect.  One was devoid of midrange and bass and one bloated, thankfully the one was fine (011 if i recall correctly).

So if you are using I2S bear this in mind.  It may also help to have some guidance from @alvin1118 about this if possible.  I know HDMI cables can differ but didnt expect more than one setting to work.

In terms of the sound via 3.5 (and the better I2S config!) i can sum up the sound  -bigger, deeper, more decay and background detail, tighter and more detailed bass, better treble clarity and improved focus.  My jaw was on the floor with respect to the bass depth and transients, shockingly good.

There is a major downside that others have noted and that is instrument body, vocal feeling and emotion have disappeared.  This is a big issue as others have noted.

It was at this point my mind went back to when i first bought my Venus II, it was thin sounding and almost tinny at times, it nearly went back!  I was aware of extended burn in times so thankfully persevered to enjoy the gorgeous fleshed out sound i had prior to doing the FPGA update. 

This recollection got me thinking.  Posts are talking about burn in required after FPGA update.  Based on my recollection of the Venus sound when i first had it and how it developed over time, i believe the main components at play here are the oscillators and time to settle in to operating temperature and stability.  I am no expert in this but would seem feasible based on other posts re burn in.

The reason i mention this is whether others had to do what i did, disconnect and power down the DAC to perform the update.  I wonder if the posts specifying burn in being required relate to the oscillators having to re-stabilise after being powered down.  Just a thought based on my recollection of the out of the box Venus sound. 

I am hoping that the fleshing out experienced from new will happen again - if it does, even 50% of it back,  then this FPGA update would be nothing short of miraculous.

Update on last nights post. All was fine for the first hour, sound changed over the listening period with vocals defintely fleshing out more as time went on. That was until i started getting artefacts, especially on high dynamic swings, notably drum impacts and bass.

I played around with the I2S settings again, sometimes it would clear but not always. Checked cable connections, rebooted just about everything i could think of including the SoTM SMS200 Ultra (used as HQPlayer NAA, fixed volume with -3db, Sinc-M, LNS15 and 176.4K PCM - nothing too severe) and Antipodes CX. Again all was fine for a bit then artefacts returned. The only other item in the chain is an Audioquest Vodka HDMI 48K cable, all components the same as pre FPGA upgrade.

Mixed feelings when i ended the session, sound (when working) was damn close to what i would expect going from the Venus to Terminator, it was that good. Just need to bottom out the source of artefacts, will raise a call with Denafrips.

Anyone else had similar issues using I2S post v3.5 on a Venus II?

The joys of digital audio! Turned everything off physically and powered everything back on starting with source and ending with DAC, to that point i had concentrated on rebooting DDC, SOTM NAA bridge and DAC not considering anything else in the chain. I have used the system all weekend without an issue. Why the Antiopodes source would be affected by changing I2S pin out on the DAC i dont know. Maybe something completely unrelated that coincided with changeing I2S. Keeping fingers crossed.

In terms of sound, Firmware update very positive in all areas but still lacking body in mids.  With all the issues i have had i havent really been able to let the system settle.  Intend to keep 3.5 on the Venus due to improvements in clarity, focus and scale/depth and hoping mids fleash out over time.