706
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: Windows 7 SP1 Surprise
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on: November 23, 2011, 01:25:32 pm
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Anyway yesterday I fully updated W7 which of course included installation of SP1. Paul, does this mean you installed SP1 and all the subsequent updates? I know when I first tried W7 with all updates it sounded terrible until I deleted them, including SP1. Maybe "they" heard us and have now included an update that tweaked the sound?
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708
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: Tube rolling without tubes
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on: October 28, 2011, 01:51:52 pm
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Hey Juan, thanks for the acknowledgement! Just so you guys know, I do some other things pretty well too--like driving cars. So, if anyone ever needs to know the best line or entrance speed into your favorite twisties, I'd be happy to show you how to drive a Blue (NOS 1) NSX or Ferarri! Ha! On a more serious note, here's my initial thoughts that I posted on SFS back in August of 2010: With vocals, Leonard Cohen, Dylan, Patty Griffin, Eva, Dianna, etc., the "correct" setting changes for each singer depending on the volume level. Take a singer and turn the volume to a moderate level. Here, on my system, setting the split file size to 12 does sound very good, but, turn the volume up to very loud and everything sounds way too detailed and etched, like a too sharpened digital photo. Keeping the sound very loud, turn the split file size up to between 80 and 200 (depending on the vocalist) and it sounds very pleasing again, though it looses some detail it sounds very realistic.
Its interesting that reducing the size at loud volumes initially sounds "best" but it soon becomes fatiguing. In a way, the split file size acts like a master tone control: reducing it makes all ranges, low, mid and high, sharper and more revealing, thus for moderate volume it sounds "best"; increasing it, at very high volumes, rounds all ranges off and makes them feel more pleasing. Give it a try........and let me know if I've lost my mind...... Peter has dramatically changed XX since this post and SFS's are much larger and need to be changed (here) way less often, but I agree with Juan that it is very much like tube rolling when you get the itch to play with XX settings!
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709
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Smaller SFS with 6-1c?
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on: October 24, 2011, 11:23:53 pm
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Hi Peter, just noticed in your signature that you are listing windows 7, "sp1". Are you using SP1 and not "vanilla"? Just wondering. There are some other things I'd like to say in this thread but I stop myself..... I know I' not crazy....well, maybe a little.
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713
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Minimize OS Problem
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on: October 08, 2011, 10:40:21 pm
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When I was changing settings in my BIOS this happened to me too: though the Minimize OS button would cause a reboot the sytem would not be minimized. Changing the BIOS settings back to default didn't help. "System Restore" to a time immediately prior to when "Minimize OS" quit working fixed it. Just an FYI should yours quit working.
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715
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: SFS Privileges
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on: October 07, 2011, 12:14:37 pm
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Well Z6-1 works as described: changing SFS restarts the sound engine. The result is that I can't get a SFS larger than 200, so I'll be using Z6 instead. Call me crazy, but I get a much less "articulated" sound with a SFS of 400 which I can get with Z6. Perhaps someday the Maestro will figure this out.
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717
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: SFS Privileges
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on: October 04, 2011, 03:03:16 pm
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The remapping of PCI memory is in the Chipset > Memory settings of my BIOS not in the area for video card settings. Well, still can't find "remapping of PCI memory". In fact, there is no option whatsoever for "chipset", though it is shown in the BIOS system information screen, but its grayed out which I believe just means it's stating the info regarding the chipset. Anyway, in the "Advanced" tab I selected the "Integrated Graphics Config" and changed the "DVMT/Fixed Memory" from 256 to 128. That resulted in my being able to select any SFS, even 2000 SC, though I still had to start with the MC 200 SFS first. Clearly these huge SFS's were "fake." After playing around with things to try to get real SFS changes, about 40 minutes (turning off the minimize OS, several reboots, etc.), it started to "work" again: Going above a SFS of 400 resulted in a SFS error message and there was a clear difference in sound between a SFS of 200 and 400. What's really strange though is that XX now acts like the OS is not minimized: the first time playing XX after a reboot, with the OS minimized, the stop services screen takes forever to disappear, just like it did before the "Minimize" feature. BUT, I am able to get a SFS of 400 (anything larger gives an error) which I could only get with the OS minimized. Not sure what's going on.... Though I do have my good sound back.
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718
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: SFS Privileges
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on: October 04, 2011, 02:53:56 am
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[/q1) The setting that allows the “remapping of PCI memory” in BIOS. This was changed from ON to OFF. uote] Hi Nick, in my BIOS the memory allocated to the on board video card was already se to 32 mb. Couldn't find the "remapping of pci memory" anywhere. Was it in a subcategory of the video card? If so I don't seem to have that option.
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720
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: Z0.9-6
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on: September 29, 2011, 01:38:41 pm
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I don't see how this is related to the 64 bit OS ...
Hi Peter, I guess what I was thinking in response to Bigear's question about whether a 64 bit OS impacts the sound, was that with a 64 bit OS one can generally use higher SFS's (more memory) and that highers SFS's are "generally" better sounding. Even with Z6 I am experiencing changes in SQ with changes in SFS after minimizing the OS. Maybe I've been prefacing my listening sessions with too much herbal inhalation...... Though Z6 locks engine 3 into memory, am I the only one experiencing changes in SQ when changing SFS? (and not clearing Engine 3 from memory prior to changing the SFS) Hope this makes sense let me just say one more time that Z6 is the VERY BEST iteration of XX. The balance is just unbelievable, no more "forward" females! But that's probably not a good thing in the non-audio world
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