Since switching to W7, using Peter's best settings (except am using SFS @ .6 otherwise tics) and, in my system, truly having the Best Sound Ever, the following issues have arisen and they "feel" like they all have something to do with processor speed:

1. Occasional tics when changing volume, two or three then the volume changes;

2. When using cover art/mirror back, inconsistent volume display after alt/u or d. Sometimes the volume display changes and sometimes not, though actual spl does in fact change;

3. When booting and then starting Alaine's awesome IMDisc
bat file, XXoften opens but shows that it started directly from the C drive instead of the A drive. Closing XX, opening Explorer and then restarting from the A drive gets me there. In W8 XX always opened from the A drive when starting Alaines bat file;

4. Once playing tracks, stopping, starting, doing the things we do which at times causes others in the house to question our sanity etc, the XXHighend letters show in either blue or gray though there is no question that the OS is in fact minimized;

5. Sometimes after starting from the IMDisc it appears to open with Engine 3 selected rather than Engine 4. Once without realizing, I played some tracks and when making some setting change realized that Engine 3 was selected. But I'm almost certain it was Engine 4 playing and it was just the GUI display that was in error.

If these issues are not related I guess they should be put in separate threads.

Okay, back to XX and enjoying this snow day off from work!

Good assumption. The sound in my room is like going to a movie theatre with speakers that generate specific sound from specific places everywhere in the room.....and this with a $2,500 pair of speakers.

Will try your suggested settings sometime this weekend....long week ahead at the workplace.

Well, with W7 I'm finally able to listen to 1.186 without feeling half crazy (in W8 it sounds so good and bad at the same time). Not sure about all XX settings, but I did increase clock res from .5 or 1 to 15, which really helped the highs and reduced the overall wooly sound of W7. So without reservation, I can finally agree that 1.186 really is the best ever. So 3D sounding!

EDIT: Updated settings below.

Can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this! Thanks, Peter.

Several days ago I disconnect the usb ground in the NOS1 just to see what it sounded like. I use the MB usb connection so no isolation on the PC side. I thought it sounded a little bit smoother but needed to let it play for more than a few hours. That same night I woke up at 3 a.m. to the sound of rumbling pops coming from the music room. Freaked me out. Ran to the music room and turned the amp off and went back to bed. Next day "that" noise only went away when I reconnected the NOS1 usb ground wire. I was so glad nothing was destroyed!

Thanks Arjan, I guess my next "tweak" will be W7. I have a hard drive with a W7 and a W8 partition.

Well I hope these impressions are more helpful than annoying....   Because there have been so many changes in so many areas in such a short time around here I've not been able to keep up. Just deciding whether or not I prefer 1.186 or 9Z-9b has, over the last several days, finally been decided. I have not gotten a Silverstone card ....yet: USB is connected to the MB USB3 port. Nor have I jumped back to W7. (Hell, I'm still getting used to the profound positive changes  Bert's amp has brought me, which I purchased four months ago! If the Orlino's have the same amps they must be mind blowing.)

In short, there is something about 1.186 that drives me crazy but not in a good way. However, decision-making was difficult, because every time I retried 1.186 after switching back to 9Z-9b, my first impression, until recently, was always that it's better than 9Z-9b! But, after an hour or so of 1.186 listening, I begin to hear too much distortion, especially when going quickly from soft to loud with female voices.  What's sort of weird is that my body feels this distortion before I hear it and then, when I become conscious of the discomfort I  begin to listen for the problem. The last several days though, I can now spot the problem as soon as I change Q5 to 1, even in 9Z-9b.

What's really great about 1.186, what makes me initially feel that it's better, is the depth of the sound. individual vocals have a kind of depth or dimension that makes them sound more holographic, and present, but then.......my body begins to feel distortion and I tense up.

This makes me wonder, Peter, if the 25 people that you described at your party, early in this thread, felt what I have come to fell about 1.186.

 Listening to 9Z-9b, I am totally taken with how relaxed my sound is and how loud I came play it while retaining the naturalness of vocals. Although 9Z-9b lacks all the dimensionality (not sure if that's even a word) of 1.186, my body feels delighted by the one and not the other. Currently my Q5 is at 3.

Of course my tweeters, Heil type, may not be up to the task of 1.186, but I don't really know about that.

 

I live a bit West of Philly (Phoenixville)and would be happy to enlighten your ears! You could even bring your dac for comparison.

Brian

Yes, Happy New Year!

Well to alter the Zen saying a .....

"A Gazillion bit journey begins with the first bit!"

Thanks so much for your commitment and creativity.

Merry Christmas,

Brian

Yes, what a find. Got a chance to listen to Disc 1 today. Incredibly well recorded and the music, damn, it was like being on a journey.....track after track. Can't thank you enough, Paul!

Thanks

Hey Paul, any particular cd you've been listening too?

With Q1 at 14 Iv'e been listening with SFS of .2, but to get there  I have to reduce upsampling to 2x or 4x. Seems I have to fiddle around  between the two upsample values to get the skipping to stop. When it does stop at the 4x value the sound is wildly balanced and clear; it makes vocals with my gainclone almost identical to the sound with my tube amp. Hopefully Peter will get things sorted out so we can hear SFS of .2 with 16x upsampling!

Thanks Paul, great post. How much do those clocks cost?