Oops, seems I am 5 months behind schedule, still using the previous version LOL 

But the good news is that today I upgraded it all, including Hotkeys and other quirky settings necessary for Unattended playback with my RDT controlled set up. 

Oh Boy am I happy I did!
The SQ is clearly better now. Moving on to my new settings (see signature) I hear improvements "everywhere": Near-perfect balance between bass-mid-treble. Bass is deep and tight, with less "boom". Midrange is very open and organic, while treble is just "there" very well integrated.

Siri's Svale Band Blackbird is a great jazz recording. An instant classic in Norway upon release in 1990, which got worldwide fame after appearing on Stereophile R2D4 later on.

Frankly, I have tired a little bit of this album lately, but tonight it' like first love again. The recording is slightly dark tonally, and the double basses can sound boomy in many a system when played loud. But with my present settings all tracks sounds superb. Very detailed and open upper mids/treble, but still full bodied bass.

UPDATE:
Steely Dan 2AN/Janie Runaway in 24/96: Another stunner! The bass is so tight, deep and juicy.
Rickie Lee Jones/Pirates/We Belong Together: Same here - The famously (digitally) recorded kick drum is tighter AND more punchy than ever.

Summary: I think the resent XX version + W8 is clearly the best version so far. Especially because of the clean and tight bass. 

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Only beauty mark with these settings is a single short drop-out a few seconds into each track.

Thanks Mani.
I downloaded and installed your desktop background today 

XX has become a labyrinth with it's infinite possibilities of settings.
Peter says "try for your self and choose what you like the best". Or "read the forum and learn from the others".

But testing on your own is extremely time consuming. My occasional home-alone-hour doesn't even last through the Q1-dial attempts.

Reading other's advices is sometimes very rewarding, but can also be confusing, due to the variety of their equipment: Different PC, different motherboard, different soundcard, different DAC, different playback system and of course different listening preferences. Add the usual degree of placebo and uncertainness, and in the end I get completely confused. 

So, in order to regain my sanity, I have re-set the Q-settings to something very simple;
Q1 = 14 (my very own and trusty setting since the beginning of time)
Q2 = 0
Q3 = 0
Q4 = 0
Q5 = 0
Q1 factor = 1

And you know what? It sound very, very good:
Over all sound is tight and dynamic for all frequencies, but still resolved and open, and without any edge or colorations to speak about.
Fiddling with the remaining Q-settings might add some "smoothness" and "spaciousness", but might as well be heard as a over-smoothness and dulling.

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Just to cross-check my finding: Can somebody duplicate the Q1-5 = 14/0/0/0/0 (factor1), and tell me what you hear?


PS: Remaining settings per my signature, including lowest possible Clock=0,5ms and SFS=4Mb (needs 4Mb for unattended playback of Hirez files)

Yes, with "fx" activated in XX, I always get maximum upsampling for the different formats I have. I thought it to be the best, without further testing.

But now I will re-consider. :-)

Brian/Joachim,

Gentlemen, this is an interesting discovery! 

By default, I always used the "max upsampling" feature in XX, meaning that the system works at sampling frequency 705,6 (or 768kHz if multiple of 48kHz).

But trying some test tracks today in x8 times "only", I hear a slightly more "fresh" sound. There is slightly more sparkle in the treble, which increases the "snap and drive" even for bass instruments.

This occurs also with 24/192 material:
Miles Davis/Kind Of Blue/Flamenco Sketches
Ray Brown Trio/Soular Energy/Sweet Georgia Brown
Marvin Gay/Whats Going On/Whats Going On

I am gonna run the system like this for a while and see if it stands the test of long term testing.

The big question: What is the cause of different SQ?
-Is it the presence of added HF sampling noise when running on lesser sampling frequency, or is the system more "comfortable" when not pushed to work with max sampling frequency?

Whatever the explanation, the difference is noticeable, and in the magnitude of, let's say, what we hear when fiddling with different Q1 values.

You were correct. It didn't work out. At least I couldn't find any "off/disable" buttons.

This DID work! 

Unattended is playing.
But now screen is black and out of control until song(list) ends, so I gotta try to recall how to use the Hotkeys again! 

-Just programed button 1 for my iPad and button 2 for my Laptop. Took less than a minute and works great!

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Now, how do I get around my Windows Defender in order to get Unattended playback? (ref the other thread).

Yes, you are right. I never learned to use those "5+1 small buttons". 

Gonna look into it this weekend!

MICROSOFT REMOTE DESKTOP
MRD is free and it works very well on my iPad Air, controlling my dedicated music-PC. LINK: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id714464092?mt=8

The only "problem" is the awkward GUI of XX, making it difficult to reach all the various buttons and settings.
As a compromise I have re-shaped the XX GUI so I can reach most buttons form both my iPad and laptop.

TEAMVIEWER
This is a great program. I used it for several years connecting various PCs at work/home.

But I am not sure it is the best for XX  users, because Teamviewer only works with an internet connection as a function of its log on/ID/user control. It is also running in the background when not in use (checking for updates and who knows what else?).
For the (sound quality) purists, who wants to shut down as many processes as possible during playback, I am not sure if it's the best.

Yes, you are right. I mixed up some old memories.


OK, your prediction was correct: -I hooked up mouse, keyboard and screen and tried Unattended playback. Still the same problem.
Not only XX being shut down, but also another program (Windows Paint) was shut down. Also, I had to log on as a user with password to get back into the PC.

------------

Once, I was thrown out of a discotheque for doing something nasty. It seems XX is being kicked out too, when trying to do something impropriate (Unattended playback)   

It worked in W7, but never in W8. (PC and hardware is exactly the same since 3 years).

The RD (via laptop or iPad) works perfect as long as I don't use Unattended.

--------------------

1.
Screen shot: Loading a single 16/44 song and trying for Unattended playback with present settings; SFS = 0,2.

2.
Changed SFS = 100 and tried again for Unattended playback.

3.
XX gives me a "wait for services on top" notice, as is normal.

4.
The RD lose contact with the PC (as is normal). But no music...

5.
When re-connecting with RD I find that XX is turned off and I get this small error message at the far bottom right; Photo #2. (This message appears ONLY when logging on to the media-PC AFTER an failed Unattended play attempt).

Thank you, Alain. However, the control panel says "no updates installed" on my Win8 Pro.

Pls see below screen print of current settings: Any clue here?

Dear Peter,

My media-PC is connected to my WIFI router, and I control it from a laptop with Windows Remote Desktop software (RDT).

My XX is activated of course and running in "Minimize OS mode".

It works perfect, except that I am not able to use Unattended playback.
When trying for Unattended, I lose the RDT connection and XX seemingly shuts off. No sound/no playback.

What to do?

The settings in my signature gives me a more powerful upper bass. Try it!

High end audio components are often bought by heart. That’s why there is a market for ultra-expensive equipment, because love does blind and people fork out $$$ for products they desire in spite of astronomical prices not necessarily reflecting the performance.

You will certainly fall in love with the music making of NOS1, too, but the purchase decision is made easier when you know about its low pricing.

The NOS1 DAC is a bargain because you buy it “factory direct”. -Directly from the inventor and maker, without any dealer in between. Also, there is no mark up for fancy marketing or branding.
Actually there is not much mark up at all, since it is a labor of love by Peter and his wife Ciska. Even if you paid €20.000 or some ridicules amount for a fancy brand DAC, you would not get the same high music quality.

Also to be considered is the “timeless” nature of the technology inside NOS1. The weak link of traditionally DACs is the interface and the filter technology. Most DACs these days are made to work both with CD-drives and various kinds of computers. So, the manufacturers have to pick universal interfaces with a lot of compromises involved, sound quality wise. Also they apply conventional low pass filters as a kind of “one size fits all” solution.

With NOS1 you are free from such troubles because the interface is proprietary and light years ahead of the generic standards. And there are no filter issues because the NOS1 has no filters at all.

The NOS1 is like a pure engine with the “brain” placed inside the dedicated XX software.
So, the NOS1 is kind of future proof, because the technology updates mainly takes place within the software, not the hardware.

That’s why IMHO the NOS1 DAC is among the best “investments” in high end audio today. And the proof is in the second hand market, where you find all the famous stuff and yesterday’s models on offer for half price or less. But try searching for a 2nd hand NOS1 DAC and you will find none!