I did this over the weekend and pretty much experienced exactly what you describe. Hence, I'm back to DB=512, Q1=3 (128 samples) and clockres=Max. I think clockres seems to be making the biggest difference now. Anything under 5ms or so just sounds way too thin and edgy with the official SP1.

Mani.

I've been wondering whether upgrading the stock DVI cable connecting the NOS1 to the PC might make a difference. A copper DVI cable with better shielding than the stock cable might help. Of course, a fibre optic DVI extender would galvanically isolate the NOS1 from the PC altogether...

Mani.

Hey, aren't you supposed to be on vacation?

Anyway, settings are all as in my signature, i.e. Special, etc... BTW, 0.9z-4-1 works perfectly, as it always has.

Mani.

For anyone who's hearing a difference between 0.9z-4-1 and 0.9z-5, are you sure that the Q1 setting in 0.9z-5 isn't automatically being set to 14 from whatever setting you normally have? This would certainly change sound if (for the same device buffer setting) your Q1 setting is noramally much lower than 14.

Anyhow, this is what I seem to be experiencing. Anyone on 0.9z-5, please check and let me know if 0.9z-5 changes your Q1 setting. Cheers.

Mani.

With 0.9z-5, my Q1 setting keeps on defaulting back to 14 whenever I start XX or resume to Attended from Unattended. The biggest issue for me is that I have no idea whether XX is setting Q1=14 before Unattended playback happens. Judging from the difference in SQ between 0.9z-4-1 and 0.9z-5, I think this may indeed be the case.

I first thought this might be related to the new data folder stuff, but I'm not sure this is the case - all other settings seem to work as expected...

Also, I really like the 'LAN on' button - great for NAS users like myself. However, it's a pain having to remember to click this after Unattended playback. Could this not just happen automatically? I mean, have a button for closing LAN services during Unattended playback, with the assumption that they would resume automatically once Alt-X is activated.

  There seem to be some really interested developments on the PC, XX and NOS1 front, all of which I'm really excited about. Keep it up guys!

Mani.

Hi Brian,

I'm assuming your big new amp is a Sanders ESL? I also had quite loud buzzing from my Sanders Magtech amp when I first got it and was using it with my regular house mains. But the buzzing has totally gone since I installed my new isolated mains circuit - the amp is now totally, totally silent (and sounding wonderful).

If your DC blocker doesn't work, perhaps you'll need to think about installing an isolated mains circuit... I've found the sonic improvements to be quite substantial.

Mani.

Well I've just set the NOS1 to 48 samples, XX device buffer to 48 and Q1 to 16 samples (Q1=3)... and I'm getting a very, very nice sound indeed.

BrianG was over to my place yesterday to listen to the Magtech amp. We played around with a few things, including comparing my new AC mains vs. the PurePower. I really, really like the sound of my AC mains, but my main criticism has been a lack of 'sparkle'. The above settings bring the sparkle back... in spades.

I will keep the settings for a while and see if I can live with them.

Thanks for the tip boleary!

Mani.

I have nothing really to contribute to this thread other than... only a brave man/woman would take Peter on when it comes to computer audio.

Those of us who've been here for a while have seen many 'contenders' come and go, all defeated IMO.

But there's always a first!

Mani.

Although I can hardly believe this myself, with my whole system being fed directly from my new dedicated mains, there has been a marked increase in LF energy. The NOS1 now sounds very balanced tonally, and I have no desire for more bass. But as I've said before, I think the NOS1 really needs to be used with Special to get it sounding 'natural'.

OT: I would LOVE to know exactly what Special does to change the sound in such a drastic way. All glare is immediately removed and the bass increases dramatically. The sound stage gets pushed right back - the depth is incredible (especially with the NOS1). There is no longer anything 'in your face'. Everthing comes across as totally smooth... and sort of 'coherent' and 'whole'. The only down-side is that it may come across as less dynamic and/or exciting compared to Adaptive/Engine#3. But IMO, it's certainly way more musically fulfilling.

Mani.

Exactly two years ago I started a thread called "32Bit Floating Point / 192 KHz files" (http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=778.0). I had bought a DVD from 'Unipheye Music' with 32(fp)/192 tracks and was having trouble playing them. Well having abandoned trying two years ago, I just found the DVD in my basement and thought I'd give it another go. But XX still doesn't seem to like playing these files. Interestingly, XX is one of the players that Unipheye recommend on their website. Foobar is another, and has no problem playing them.

Of course, this remains a bit of a moot point - I mean, how many 32/192 files are there out there? But it would be nice to know that XX can play pretty much anything. Meanwhile, I look forward to the day I can hear these files through XX...

Mani.

Flecko, when that day comes, I'll be happy to help out in any way I can.


Praphan, how would describe the difference that these parallelled transformers make to the sound?


This sounds similar to what I've done. Except that I've gone for 10x Earth wires of exactly the same length (one for each component) exothermically welded to a thick copper ribbon, which itself is fed 1m below ground and exothermically welded to the 3m ionic electrode grounding rod. Like you, I am convinced that this 'star' arrangement makes a big contribution to the improvement in sound. The obvious point is that it eliminates all ground loops - they just cannot occur as all components sit at the same potential. But also, I think an ultra-low impedance grounding system helps remove noise from the sytem. I know it's a bit of a cliché in audiophile circles, but when playing music, the background really does seem to be totally black.

But even with this setup, I can easily just totally ruin the sound by switching to Engine#3 (WASAPI) or even Adaptive (which I used to really like). Only Special seems on par with my system now.

Mani.

As is often the case, my initial thoughts have changed having now spent a bit of time listening to my new mains circuit. I have to say that I'm getting pretty much the best sound I've ever had by feeding the PP2000 from my new dedicated mains circuit. The PP2000 brings the music to life. The sound is a lot cleaner and sweeter. Bass is much tighter and yet perhaps even more extended. So it's now not a case of having either the dedicated mains circuit or the PP2000, but rather a case of having the dedicated mains circuit and the PP2000. Why the change of heart? I don't know - perhaps I simply hadn't given the PP2000 enough time to warm up before evaluating it.

I asked Damian Janzen of PurePower a question about the electrical noise that the PP2000 injects back into the mains and here's what he had to say: "Regarding the PP2000 backwards effect into the Mains, your addition of an Isolation transformer with it's new low impedence ground will certainly minimize whatever effect it may have. All devices connected to an AC supply work to distort that source in some way. The better the source in terms of both purity and stiffness (resitance to distortion - mainly a factor of capacity) the less the load has the potential to distort it. That big isolation transformer is a good choice."

Perhaps this is why my system overall now sounds better with the PP2000 than it did before.

Mani.

Well, this is what "260lbs of iron and copper" looks like (Transformer.jpg below). I placed a CD on top to give you an idea of the size.


It's pretty much a DIY project. I 'designed' the total system myself and took all the major decisions, but got a qualified electrician to do most of the work. Fortunately, the guy I used is very experienced in installing massive AC systems for hospitals and lightening rods, etc. Apparently, my transformer is actually "quite small" compared to the gear he's installed. He was pretty expensive, but I don't think I could have done it without him. I had a number of electricians who came to give me a quote and all of them ran away. None of them understood what I meant by things such as 'CADweld'. But my man knew exactly what I meant - had used it many times before.

But even my man didn't really understand exactly what I was trying to achieve overall. The real objective was to get an ultra-low impedance and totally isolated 'star' grounding system.

Mani.

No reinforced floor - the transformer (actually 15KVA, not 13 as I first thought, and around 120Kg in weight) sits in the basement.

Well, the dedicated mains is now up and running. It's early days of course but I really, really like what I'm hearing. The sound I'm getting directly from the mains is now better than the sound I can get from the PP2000 unit in battery mode. I still don't like the PP2000 in regenerator mode - it seems to add a 'shiny sheen' to the sound, which initially makes everything sound more detailed. But I think this is false detail. Directly into the wall now sounds so beautifully 'woody'. Very nice.

Mani.

Very nice... Looks like Darth Vader's TIE fighter.

Mani.