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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
jriggy's avatar
jriggy
565 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.
dhl93449 OP
455 posts
 
BTW, my firmware version is 1.22.
mcondon
235 posts
 
Dhl, I have not had the problem you describe, but believe you when you say it has a bug. I guess my phone doesn't ring that much, and if it does, I just press stop rather than pause.

Overall, I like the PW DAC & Transport quite a lot, but agree that the company falls short when it comes to fixing software bugs. Just go to the PS Audio forum and read to your heart's delight about other issues people have had. I suspect the particular bug that is causing you problems is a very low priority for PS Audio. They seem to move on to their next big project before they tie up the loose ends of existing releases.
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