Well, I stil have the XXHE PC but the NOS1 was sold a year ago to my good friend AlainGr(yes, that Alain). Alain, alas, does not own the XXHE PC(at least as far as I know) but he does state that he has plans to purchase the PPAstudio usb card.  Perhaps when my economic portions have improved a bit(i.e., my wife finishes remodeling our home - we had our kitchen totally gutted and remodeled and now we're adding a 2nd bay garage with a deck on top) I'll be able to purchase another NOS1.

Anthony, thanks again for the information on the linear PSU. I'm not a DIY guy but I know someone very capable who would build one for me for a reasonable fee.

Esau

Thanks for this experiment Anthony and thanks for doing all of the "heavy lifting." I've gone ahead and ordered Paul Pang's usb card and can't wait to hear the difference it makes in my system. I wonder now, however, if I should also be thinking of upgrading the PSU in my XXHE PC(you've just gotta love this hobby!). Along those lines, if you have thus far gotten good results with a relatively less expensive linear PSU, what higher end PSU's are you considering next(specs and all)? Also, how would the Sonore PSU fit spec-wise with the PPA card and XXHE PC?

Esau

Well, tourists in California buy t-shirts that say "Cali," so that should aid with spelling.

Peter is, of course, "infamous," if you will, for dropping little teasers as an "oh by the way" for game changers on the drawing board. All that the rest of can do, then, is to wait patiently for the next project to be released.

The Phasure DSD prototype is obviously past the initial design stage which means that Peter is already in the process of working out changes to XXHE to incorporate playback of DSD. That's a win win for DSD listeners everywhere(I can picture Jud salivating as I write this!).

Peter's announcement, of course, begs the question of whether currently existing NOS1's would be upgradeable to NOS1 DSD. I expect the answer is yes(there were, after all, such plans when the new and improved NOS1 was first announced a few years ago) but that is largely dependent on how Peter is able to work things out first for the prototype(s).

Esau

P.S.

I wonder which recordings Peter will be using for testing his NOS1 DSD and XXHE DSD prototypes...

Yes Peter, Blind Blake is a revelation. I have that CD(since out of print) and it contains some of the best music in my collection. I have Ryan Cooder and Jorma Kaukonen versions of Blake's "Police Dog Blues" and, trust me, everything they do can be heard done better on Blake's original recording. I rarely listen to Blake, partly because the reproduced surface noise from those original old 78's is more than a challenge(sizzling meatballs indeed) and partly because the guitar player side of me is so humbled by the listening experience that it makes me want to put down my Froggy Bottom parlor guitar and never pick it up again. Anyway, thanks for the story and especially thanks for getting me to "dust off" my Blake recording for another listen.

Esau

It's interesting reading the recent Computer Audiophile T+A DAC 8 review in that the manufacturer responds with a comment to the effect that the reviewer's issues with the sound of the DAC were likely traceable to the fact that Windows 8 was being used. The manufacturer says , in effect, that previous listeners had better experiences using Windows7. Sound familiar? And no, XXHE was not used for the review.

Esau

I had HIFI Tuning fuses in my PS Audio Perfectwave DAC when I owned it, and it made a significant improvement in the sound. There are a ton of posts on PS Audio Community forum singing the praises of the HIFI Tuning fuse. I also have a pair of their fuses in my PS Audio P5 Power Plant power regenerator. Just so you know, these talk on the PS Audio forum of the orientation of the fuse when placed in the DAC making a difference. This may be all subjective experience and a bunch of smoke and mirrors but I figure I'd just throw that out there for people who like endless tweaking.

Esau

Allow me to approach this topic from a slightly different angle. There is an important variable here that is, in itself, a bit of a moving target. What I'm talking about is the listener. No, I'm talking you versus me, I'm talking about me versus me(or you versus you) on different days or, perhaps, at different times of the same day. Somedays everyday just sounds so radiant, clear and perfect and other days, with the very same equipment plugged into a clean power regenerator, it all sounds just a little bit off. It matters whether or not you have a headache, a head cold, some preoccupying stresses, etc., or whether you're drinking water or coca cola or wine or cognac. It matters whether you've had a light but filling meal or too much of a heavy meal. It matters who or what you're sharing your listening room with(one of the best listening partners being a sedate and mellow canine though a like minded audiophile can be a close second). It matters if you are dealing with a conflict with your spouse or your boss.

And then some days you almost stumble upon the perfect mood for listening and find that you're just in the zone.

Esau

Well, that is the crux of the problem. Windows in any version is made for the business user first and foremost because that is Microsoft's bread and butter, and then second comes the home user who essentially is running MS Office(they hope) and Internet Explorer(probably) and precious little anything else. The audiophile users make up the smallest niche whereby they(we) get little by way of consideration.

I honestly feel bad for all developers of audio software who have to deal with new iterations of the OS, effectively fixing what wasn't broken in their software when running the previous OS. And then, of course, the new computer audio user who has recently a new PC is, by default, starting out with W8 and they just want things to work, otherwise they'll get their music software from somebody else(even if it doesn't sound as good as the more challenging software might).

Of course, we can all hunker down with our W7 software, not allow any updates from MS(well, we shouldn't anyway)  and then software developers like Peter(in the general category since there are no software developers like Peter except for maybe Miska on Windows side and Damien on the Mac side) can write code for a W7 exclusive XXHE.

Except, of course, it means being a bit reactionary and defintely not "future proof," whatever that elusive (and foolish, in my view) term is supposed to mean.

Esau

Chose not to see it because, unfortunately, I read a review which gave the full story away. I don't know why they do these things.

Esau

Peter, congratulations on the 6moons review. It was long overdue! I just got back home from Christmas and New Years festivities and I fired up my NOS1 and PC for music enjoyment. I also loaded up the new version of XXHE which some fantastic and tick free. I have found, however, that I'm getting music playback in mono(left channel only played through both speakers simultaneously). I noticed this on some 70's rock where the channel separation is panned artificially to the extreme left and right and I verified it by listening to the Beatles in both stereo and mono. This is occurring with XXHE version 0.9z-7-4, 0.9z-7-5 and 0.9z-8a. I played with the switches and switch#5 does not appear to be the culprit. The driver is set to multichannel 4.0 so that also appears to not be the issue. I'm sure that it's something simple eluding me and I was hoping for a little guidance from folks on the forum.

Esau

The Auralic Vega is a new DAC that, as I understand it, is just now shipping as of this month. I haven't seen or heard one but it sounds like an intriguing DAC to pair with XXHE. Unlike the NOS1, it upsamples PCM to 32 bit 1.5MHz(!) in the hardware(as opposed to XXHE/NOS1 doing it in software). As always, we have to wait on reviews or hand on owner/istener reports before drawing any conclusions. It has 6 filter modes for listener preference but I can't help but imagine how listener options would expand with XXHE. I also wonder how this DAC might sound with Arc Prediction and, possibly also, Phase Alignment selected. I have no connection with the company and I look at this simply as a potentially intriguing product full of what ifs.

From the Auralic website:

http://www.auralic.com/en/

"AURALiC VEGA
 

VEGA, the next generation digital audio processor, is developed with the goal of 'seeking for non-compromised sound'.  With plenty of I/O ports and powerful function, it will become the kernel component of your high-end stereo system.
 
With Sanctuary Audio Processor as heart, AURALiC introduces several cutting-edge technology for VEGA: Megahertz upsampling algorithm up-samples all PCM music to 1.5MHz in 32bit; Femto Master Clock provides an ultimate clock precision with jitter only 82 femtoseconds(0.082 picosecond). Binding with other AURALiC's patented technologies such as 'ORFEO Class-A module' and discrete 'Purer-Power™ solution', VEGA will bring high resolution music playback experience to climax.
 
VEGA supports all high resolution music formats including DXD(352.8KS/s, 384KS/s in 32bit) as well as DSD stream at 2.8224MHz and 5.6448MHz. Five digital inputs include AES/EBU, coaxial(set of two), toslink and USB. The balanced and single-ended analog outputs can connect to power amplifier directly, adjusting volume in digital precision without dynamic loss.

The six built-in filter modes each contains several digital filters optimized for corresponding sampling rate. These filters are solely developed by AURALiC to optimize the listening experience for different music and format. VEGA allows its user to customize according to different music formats, tuning sound best to personal preference."

Esau

http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=2084.0;all

Esau

As alluded to in the subject heading, there have long been debates about the merits and downsides of using professional active monitors for music listening. Active monitors, of course, are used in professional studios and in live performance settings where the goal of the audio engineer is to hear everything and make sure that everything is mixed properly. Accuracy and lack of listening fatigue are valued over musical enjoyment listening in such settings. XXHE's phase alignment setting rekindles the debate since many active monitors have built in DC protection that would make phase alignment an option for music listening meant for enjoyment. Add to that the absence of a preamp and, frequently, the availaility of balanced connections and you have a recipe for listening to XXHE with PA.

I see that at least one XXHE PA user(pistollero) listens to his/her music played through Adam Audio A8X monitors. From what I could ascertain from an internet search, the A8X are not as highly rated as their less expensive relatives, the A7X, but then that's looking at reviews where they are judging the speakers as working monitors and not as pure music listening tools. Put another way, they may or may not be ideal speakers for mixing/mastering but they may be awesome for the purpose of relaxing and listening to music. There's a fellow who posts over at the CA forum who swears by his Genelec 8260A monitors. While they may or may not be the holy grail(they are for him), there are lots of active monitors that can be bought for far less than the 11000 USD that the 8260A's will cost you.

I was wondering if there are other active monitor users out there enjoying phase alignment settings for their music listening. I would also be interested to know what active monitors they use and which active monitors XXHE users would recommend for pure musical enjoyment.

Esau

While I acknowledge that Barry Diament's recordings are not everyone's musical taste, the same can also be said about any recording ever made. Most of the music that any of us listen to is recorded with close miking and that goes for the overwhelming majority of your and my favorites. At the same time, I agree with the notion that musicians and engineers have a right to use nontraditional means of recordings to fit their own vision of how the music should sound. I have AIX, 2L and Naxos discs that bravely go that route producing interesting musical experiments that I also enjoy. Though part of a niche market, I don't find those recordings to be unlistenable and I also don't think it impossile to compare sound quality when listening to differently formatted recordings that are not exactly one's cup of tea.

Still, I have to admit that the bulk of music recordings that most of us(myself included) want to hear are available as popular CD's in redbook format and, short of a flood of legacy recordings by companies like WMG becoming downloadable for Neil Young's Ponos device(and I don't even want to begin to get into a debate right now about that enterprise which has yet to surface in the marketplace) and usable by folks using non-Ponos playback systems, our favorite recordings will continue to only be available in redbook format.  I find it interesting that some folks on the CA website have dissed the HDTracks 24/96 download of Crosby, Stills and Nash while Steve Hoffman's clearly superior remaster of the original recording is available as a redbook CD. I've listened to the Hoffman remaster as an XXHE upsampled file playing through my NOS1 and have not been left wanting.

The point that Peter makes about downsampling a 24/192 wav file to 16/44.1, effectively decimating, if you will, the original recording, is an excellent one. While not the same thing as, say, downsampling a 24/44.1 or 24/192 Beatles recording to an mp3, it is still a move in the same direction. I agree with Jud's proposition that the ultimate test is to listen to and compare recordings of performances where you were present at the actual performance.

Esau

I only have the 24/192 wav files but Soundkeeper Recordings are available in redbook, 24/96 and 24/192 formats. The original recordings are made as 24/192 files but Barry Diament, a highly regarded engineer and frequent contributor to the Computer Audiophile website. If you're looking for true hi res recordings to compare with redbook obtained from the same source, well, look no further.

Here's an example:
http://www.soundkeeperrecordings.com/americas.htm

Esau