14522
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: 9u-4 and bass lines from 44/16 material
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on: March 08, 2008, 11:17:08 am
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I really don't know ... However, if you're indeed playing Attended (like you sig currently tells), anything can have changed. Remember, the SQ can't be retained (or directed / controlled) at playing Attended, and it really must be seen as we're in luck when the SQ comes better from Attended than from UnAttended. I predicted it ... (somewhere, a few days ago). Hmmm, actually, this starts to sound like maybe the phase is reversed in XX? No, it isn't. But it is known that the influence of XX (intended or not) may flop the perceived absolute phase, just like Q1 settings do that at certain levels, and which levels may change per new version and which certainly with Attended will be the case. There may come a time that you hate updates because (SQ) things change again. Stick at the old version of then obviously is the solution. On that matter it would be best to use UnAttended always, and try to improve (by means of settings) on that only. This won't change SQ from version to version, unless it is anounced, might that be because of I know things just have changed, or because of explicit improvement on SQ. I must honestly say that one week ago I lowered the bass output which I never did before, because in fact since 0.9t it became too much at overall listening for a couple of weeks. The result is less "disturbing" records on one hand, but less easy to judge on the other. I think it is a fact that before 0.9t versions could deal with all the bass there was (thinking in standing wave terms), while now this is not the case anymore. BUT, if you know that I (estimated) lowered by bass with 9 dB at least, you'll understand the headroom in there (logically or technically it couldn't exist that one is as satisfied with two levels, both varying 9dB). Things work differently though, just look at the super direct output and changes in the high frequency region, as emerged per 0.9t. There too one shouldn't change the high frequency output, while you just could to suit yourself better. The point is : we actually don't know what the original must be ... just think of how XX has changed the SQ over time, and looking at measurement devices for e.g. loudspeaker frequency response measuring AND calibrating, while the test tones used for that do not come from XX. The whole thing becomes super complex, and maybe only by (we all !!) paying the best attention we can when things change, in the end we can make "the" conclusions. I've said it 100 times and I say it again : it is virtually impossible that my high frequency output is 16dB higher, which has been applied to eliminate perceived roughness. I reasoned this out in advance and it worked exactly as how I predicted (and wanted), but now don't think my speakers show anything of a flat frequency response. There is more going on, and one day we will now what that is.
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14524
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: 0.9u-4 and bit length
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on: March 08, 2008, 10:40:03 am
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Hi Mani, The answer is in this quote from the Release Notes on 0.9u-1 : - When "DAC needs" is set to 32 (!!!), hence the "DAC is" > 16 bits, Doubling and Upsampling (to 88K2) is supported now.
Important : Most often Upsampling takes place in the 16 bit domain, as was the case with XXHighEnd before. Now, "genuin" Upsampling is performed as soon as the DAC has more than 16 bits (17 would be sufficient theoretically). BUT : Upsampling *and* using the Digital Volume Control should really not be applied together !! Why ? because the "genuin", or better, "balanced" upsampling will be destroyed by it. Anyway in my theories the Upsampling of the Samplerate (2x) including interpolation to the proper amplitude values (right in between two adjacent original 44K1 samples' amplitude) will be destroyed by the Digital Volume. And just the same : when an e.g. 18 bit DAC allows for the headroom to do this, attenuating with 12dB already has removed that necessary headroom. When your DAC is 24 bits and play it so ("DAC needs" is set to 24 (but see below topic for 24 !) or 32), YMMV and it kinds of depends how much you attennuate. On the other hand : When you use your system with the Digital Volume set to -0dB (hence the Volume Control is analogue), Upsampling will be way better than before hence will not be able to show the anomalies from before, thinking of no headroom at all when the amplitude varies less than 2 decimal in two adjacent samples, or varies uneven decimal for that matter (like 3, 5, 7, etc.).
So ... this is an indirect implication of using the additionally emerged space between two adjacent samples in the bit depth domain. It appears to be difficult to reason out towards you, but luckily it was predicted (see quote) and is not something I can't understand. Thinking in "headroom" terms as per the quote, will at least give you the idea that this has to come from somewhere, and obviously the one bit needed for that can only emerge at ... the lower (Least Siginificant Bit) side. Technically it comes down to dividing decimal 1 by 2, which sets the originally available LSB to 0, and uses up the one (available at > 16 bits DACs) below that, and set it to 1. Decimal this would come down to 0.5 (where the base for smallest value WAS 1). When 4 x Upsample is available within XX (to 176400), you will see that 2 additional bits will be consumed at the LSB side. As per your pictures, people will be able to better understand what happens (and which was so beautifully "found" by Russ earlier) : in your case you have 7 bits (42dB) left to attennuate this Upsampled situation. Me, with my 18 bits DAC would have 1 bit (6dB) left. With a 16 bit DAC there's no headroom to start with ... Btw, I never realized that I could have shown/explained this by means of DigiCheck, which I just have the same (coming along with the RME Fireface). Peter
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14528
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: wishlist for future versions
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on: March 07, 2008, 11:35:36 pm
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- More screenspace for showing the name off the current playlist What do you mean ? the combox with the Playlist Name ? otherwise I don't understand. drag and drop files and directorys from TC to Playlist (isn't working now) I can't think of anything else than drag doesn't work from Total Commander ... Drop works ...
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14533
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Download Area and Release Notes / XXHighEnd Model 0.9u-4 (with Crack Detection and support for more Formats)
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on: March 07, 2008, 09:25:41 pm
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It is strongly advised to not use your system without a preamp (or the pre-amp at max volume for that matter) if you or your speakers won't be able to handle a situation that e.g. the file contains wrongly formatted data or otherwise - because of which cracks may emerge with an energy beyond imagination.Engine#3 only, unless otherwise indicated. The following changes have been applied : - Crack Detection.
This is about way loud cracks that can occur when a format is not understood by the soundcard/DAC. It can't be guaranteed that the detection trips in 100 % of cases (because : how to find hence test all cases) but in those cases I mangled the format such that loud cracks would occur, it tripped. Note that there's a difference between "way loud cracks" and rather plain distortion, which is *also* a means of a wrong format accepted by (sent to) the DAC. But this distortion won't break your windows, and the way it expresses can't be captured (ok, maybe it can, but it doesn't). So this is about the prevention from real damage.
- Better checking for unallowed Format Changes.
This was in the previous version as well, but it was wrongly applied; A parallel process was could switch from e.g. 24 bits to 16 bits (because the next file just did relatively), but it set a "global" setting, and the playback would suddenly switch from 24 to 16 bits with actually 24 but data in there (which would cause random loud cracks). This was tested in the before version, but what was tested was (apparently) from 24 to 16 bits which technically lowers the volume, and the cracks could not be heard. ... All variations have been tested now, and if it would fail, above Crack Detection is *also* there, and which is even earlier applied than this check. Should be waterproof, but please be careful.
Btw note that in one Playlist no different formats are allowed to appear (e.g. 96/24 and 96/16). Attended Playback could cope with it, but anyway Unattended can not. In the end this is a technical issue with Exclusive Mode, which allows for *one* setting only during continues playback. All in all where it is not allowed, you could do it by accident, and this is where these checking functions are for.
Please note that the message "Format Change is not allowed !!" - if it appears- stays there for 20 seconds, then disappears, and 10 seconds after that "Engine3 did not start withing the expected time" appears. So, if the latter message appears, be sure you didn't miss the first.
- Newly allowed formats.
44.1/24 48.0/24 44.1/24 to 44.1/16 48.0/24 to 48.0 /16
These formats are UNtested. So be careful please. Also note that it was reported that 44.1/24 and 48/24 already worked, but which was unofficialy. Here again, please be careful, because now it could just be wrong.
- Improvement in SQ for 96/24.
Whether this is audible or not is up to you. But for technical reasons it should be better. Recheck the difference withe 96/24 played as 96/16 ! (set "DAC is" to 16 bits).
- The normally allowed formats are allowed from within FLAC as well (same as MP3, although I don't know others than 44/16 (originals), so this was not tested).
The dreaded "Length error in FLAC" message cannot appear anymore, BUT, this does not imply that all can be decoded to WAV properly now. This is up to the FLAC decorder itself ...
- Faster loading of MP3 in the Playlist Area.
This comes together with more accurate tracklength calculation (note that before all MP3's were rounded at .00 fractions of a second). This applies for Engine#1 and Engine#2 as well.
- The Tooltip on the "V" for Volume (so, above the slider) showed a wrong value once the Volume had been changed after startup. Now the Volume itself doesn't show anymore on that Tooltip (and so isn't wrong either ).
- The No Track Given message could appear when first something else was rejecting the track for reasons. This will not happen anymore, and when the message appears now it will be more genuine.
- The file length is now taken from the physical length of the file instead from the header data. This kind of guarantees that when the header data is wrong according to this (which often just is true), playback isn't interrupted early (hence before the end of the track), or the other way around : Engine#3 errors out because it expects more data while there's nothing left.
This has not been explicitly tested, apart from playing numerous tracks the last days, without showed anomalies to this matter.
Again, be careful please.
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