7/21/2023

If updating from earlier firmware versions, then BE SURE TO WRITE DOWN YOUR CURRENT SETTINGS if needed, including your cart hours. These settings will be erased. If you are upgrading from V1.50 Beta A or Beta B, then your settings will be re-used, so you can skip this step.

Updates At A Glance:
-Super Mono added to Modes (#10)
-Many new frequencies added to Hi (#8) and Lo (#9)
-Lo (#9) filter improved w/ more rejection out of band and less attenuation in band
-Brown Noise functionality added to fx (#13)
-DeRumble (#14) filter performance improved
-Bypass function is added at (#24) and Test suite is shifted to (#25)
-Sine generator added to Test (#25)
-Test (#25) suite changes

Beta A - 3/16/23 - Initial release
Beta B - 3/19/23 - Fixes output clipping bug. Clips in the DSP weren't logged correctly and caused an overflow. Reverted to previous clipping code (V1.30) that had been inadvertently omitted during rewrite.
Released - 7/21/23 - Rolled back SWEEP filter changes to V1.30. This had added rumble and made the frequency detection much worse.

Key points:
- Super Mono is geared towards true mono PVC records - both LPs and 45s. Effectiveness with 78 shellacs is unknown at this point.
- The Puffin's old "Mono" setting is now called "Mono Summed". They are the same. A record graded with Super Mono versus Mono Summed will typically be one full grade higher (e.g. B- becomes A-). You can objectively compare by grading a record both ways. Note that these Modes (Stereo, Mono Summed, etc.) affect the Grade but the Magic setting (currently) does not.
- Unlike the previous Mono, Left, and Right functions, Super Mono doesn't work with Stereo. You can't chop up stereo music and get anything useful. Indeed, it will sound bad and "digital". I worked on some detection schemes because I hate anything bad sounding coming out of the Puffin, but the detection schemes just lessened Super Mono's performance and also hid from the user that we were using a subpar mode for a stereo disc. So don't use Stereo records with Super Mono, and if the music sounds bad, check this first. Super Mono also throws an asterisk (*) when it detects dissimilar channels. This shows up for stereo LPs, but will show up for damaged sections of a mono track, too. I've seen it a lot on inner and outer edges - probably damage from stylus due to tonearm error (most likely a short arm in the past and not your current tonearm error). The "stereo detect" asterisk is a handy feature to help you determine if an album is mono, too, as some albums aren't specified. Do watch out for unmarked records that are a collection of mono and stereo tracks. With use, you'll intuitively get a feel for this. Note: the asterisk isn't currently useful with 78s due to the detection scheme that I use.
- Like Magic, I encourage use of your best records! This will make your clean mono pressings sound amazing - some will sound the absolute best that you have ever heard. If you have a nice mono collection you'll want to re-listen to all of it.
- You'll get addicted to collecting mono. Get that scuffed up mono copy of Flowers from the $3 discount bin! Starting place for mono rookies: Rolling Stones, Beatles, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan. Still plenty of affordable early 60s mono jazz records are available. Classical LPs are available for $1.50 on Discogs - find a good seller and load up. Super Mono works wonders on these dynamic classical discs and makes them so enjoyable.

HI (#8) AND LO (#9) FILTERS
At a glance, there are many more settings that you can play with and may help with certain records or to achieve an audio effect (e.g. an AM radio sound). But I've also started thinking about how one can get better feedback and develop more intuition on how these filters affect the sound. The basic way is to listen, adjust, and listen. But if we have an "inverted" filter, it will give us a little more information. For example, we might adjust the Hi filter to 9kHz to help a particularly noisy record. But we could instead first leave Hi at 20kHz and instead change Lo to 9kHz to actually hear what we'll be cutting out. This gives us a feel for the frequency response of the recording, what we might be accidentally discarding, as well as our own hearing response. Another interesting sound experiment, as recommended by Brian Eno, is to listen to music with the Hi filter set to 100Hz or 200Hz. It's like far-off music and some may find it relaxing.

LO (#9) FILTER IMPROVED
The Lo Filter was previously using a custom, overdamped (long slope and not as steep) filter design of mine and not a 4th order Butterworth per the manual. I just wasn't getting the performance in my DSP code for this filter, but I've rewritten it and all looks good now. It is now a true 4th order Butterworth and much improved. With the 25Hz filter (thus -3.0dB at 25Hz) we had -1.0dB attenuation at 46Hz previously and now it is 0dB. At 10Hz it previously had -15.9dB of rejection and now it is -32.5dB of rejection.

DERUMBLE (#14) IMPROVED
The DeRumble filter has been improved, similar to the Lo filter. So we have slightly better separation of the channels at low and mid frequencies, with a steeper rolloff at the filter transition (i.e. 150 Hz)

BROWN NOISE ADDED TO FX (#13)
This is kind of a fun thing I wanted to try and hopefully will be well loved by a few folks. You can also adjust the Lo Filter higher to tweak the regular noise to sound more like rain or wind (Lo: use 25Hz to 1kHz).

BYPASS (#24) ADDED
At the bottom of the menu (bumping Test to #25), is a new function that permits turning off all the tone, mode, and phase controls. Basically, it's an "idiot check" - lets you compare your settings with default settings. The EQ (#20) and Lo (#9) settings are *not* bypassed. The menu is locked during bypass, as it is meant as a temporary function. I.e., I don't want it to disable Puffin functionality all the time and folks don't understand why nothing works.

SINE GENERATOR (Test suite: h)
I've added a sine generator to the Test suite. It's a 20Hz to 20kHz generator and may be used with a SPL meter (dedicated or a phone app) to monitor system and room performance. The Volume (#1) control can be adjusted before/after use, to control the tone level. Note: use earplugs and don't damage your hearing with this OR annoy your significant other or neighbors. I think this may give more concrete results than using Pink Noise or similar methods with a spectrum analyzer.

TEST SUITE CHANGES
-The RPM (a,b,c) modes now temporarily turn off any filters or modes that might hinder the measurement.
-Azimuth (d) now changes Lo to 400Hz for the duration of the measurement. This can improve separation numbers with all the low noise rumble removed.
-Sweep (e): the Hi and Lo filters are turned off for the test duration. [EDIT: removed in final release]

How to Update the Puffin's Firmware to V1.50

Using the supplied allen key and USB cable, the Puffin can be updated via an internal micro USB header with either a Windows, macOS, or Linux system. You can see the currently installed firmware version on the splash screen when the Puffin is turned on.

Note that updating your firmware may erase old settings (typically major revs 1.X, but not 1.XX) saved in the Puffin's memory, so write down any current settings and cartridge hours that may help you set up after flashing the new firmware.

YouTube: Parks Audio #7 - Updating Puffin Firmware with Win 10 & macOS Big Sur

Connect to any computer:

Troubleshooting: