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PS Audio PWT software bugs

I purchased a PS Audio PWT about a year ago and have had some strange transport/software bugs since new.

If I put in a CD and then let it sit for more than about 10 minutes, the transport will refuse to play the disc when "play" is entered. The Icons on the front panel will change as if the disc is playing but no output. I am using the AES/EBU digital output to a Brystom BDA-1. The unit will freeze and I can "skip" to the next track but still no output. Often I cannot even eject the disk. I have to do a hard power shut down and cycle. After power up, it recognizes the disc and plays normally.

Same thing happens if I start a track, then stop it and go away for more than about ten minutes. When I try to resume the mode changes to icons showining "play" but no sound and the track will be frozen. Almost no response from any input after that.

When I contacted PS Audio (Marcus Iezzi), he replied in an email:
"There is a bug in the firmware that is causing this issue and our software team is working on fixing it."

Has anyone else had this problem and do you know if a firmware version has been released to fix the issue?
dhl93449
dhl93449 OP
455 posts
 
Need to clarify my original post. Problem occurs if disc is playing and you "PLAY/pause" (not STOP) to hold your place in the track being played. This happens while I'm listening and the phone rings, for example. If its in pause for more than a few minutes, the player will lock up and when you try to resume nothing responds. No remote commands work and you have to do a hard power cycle to unlock the unit. Reminds me of a Windows 3.0 computer.

I just spoke with Marcus Iezzi (CS Manager PS Audio) and he tells me this is still not fixed. So you can't have a firmware version where this does not happen. Its a known PS Audio bug. What upsets me is they still have no fix and no date when it will be. NO mention of this behavior in the users manual or literature. If its such a minor issue, then publish it and see if buyers still buy this product. My $50 Sony DVD player can be left in pause indefinitely and will always recover.

IMHO releasing a product with this bug is inexcusable, as is refusing to fix it years after the product has been released.
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
NO mention of this behavior in the users manual or literature.
It's a BUG and NOT an expected feature so why documented in user manual?

IMHO releasing a product with this bug is inexcusable, as is refusing to fix it years after the product has been released.
I think they want to fix it but they need to find and then have a solution to the problem.

In general if they can reproduce it, any engineer SHOULD able to fix it. It's possible the bug is NOT high priority with only few complaints so will delay indefinitely.
jriggy's avatar
jriggy
564 posts
 
Just yesterday I had to pause my PWT for a 10 min or so phone call and started the track back up from right where it stopped..
I purchased my PWT used locally about a year ago. I dont know what firmware it has but I have never had this big show up.

How do I look and see what firmware I have?
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
How do I look and see what firmware I have?
"First, turn
off the rear panel power switch. Wait for 10
seconds, turn the rear panel switch back on.
As soon as the touch screen displays the
“Initializing” screen, touch and hold the PS
logo in the middle of the initializing screen until
the version screen appears."

Jriggy, post your version so Dhl93449 can try.

FYI, always backup current firmware before updating to newer version so you can rollback if new bugs are introduced in newer version.
dhl93449 OP
455 posts
 
Knghifi:
Yes its a known bug and if PSA doesn't want to fix it, then the company (PSA) finds it acceptable by default. So why not mention it in a FAQ or the manual. According to Marcus the phenomena is repeatable but the actual delay causing the lockup is hardware (CDROM drive) dependent. Has something to do with limiting the time the drive spins in the pause mode, which may default to different times depending on the particular CDROM drive being used. I would doubt if just replacing firmware would fix this, as more extensive programming will probably be required.
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