When I first tried 0.9z-9 before activating, the output was very low (maybe 30dB lower than normal), even when the volume control was set to a regular listening value. As soon as I activated, the output increased to normal, without my touching the volume control at all. And all has remained well since.

HTH.

Mani.

Very early days here, but I'm really liking what I'm hearing. There seems to be more depth to the sound. I'm attributing this to simply more 'real' resolution, even with much higher SFS and Q settings than I normally have.

More thoughts later, but for now a real step up in SQ I think...

Mani.

I had exactly the same behaviour - monitor going dead and then two error messages appearing above XX on moving the mouse. I just pressed 'OK' to both of them and them pressed the 'Minimize OS' button again. Everything worked fine after this.

Mani.

Hi Mark, thanks for the link.

"Of particular interest was the Phasure NOS1 DAC ($4,500), an outstanding-sounding if curiously shaped device. While just about everything in this room was way out of my league, the sound was incredibly delicate, but still had that leather-wrapped-steel-hammer for bass. “Outstanding,” is what I wrote in my little notebook. I then underlined that word 25 more times."

Excellent!

Mani.

Thanks for the write-up guys. Shame I couldn't make it. It would have been interesting to see (hear) where my BD-Design gainclone monos came out in the comparison. IMO, they are seriously good amplifiers - in many ways as good as my Sauermann monos, though with a tad less warmth and body (attributes I just love). But still certainly better than any other amps I've previously owned.

Maybe next time...

Cheers, Mani.

Thanks Ed. I'll see if I can order one from them.

Cheers, Mani.

I've just quickly skimmed through this thread and would like to try the card myself. But the original eBay link is no longer current, and a general Google search isn't very helpful. So, where can one acquire such a card nowadays?

Cheers, Mani.

Nice job Nick!


And I'd be happy to bring along my BD-Design monos if you'd like. Could be an interesting gathering...

Mani.

Nice!

Kind of mirrors my own experience comparing the XX vol control to my Pass X1 preamp and also a high-quality passive controller. In terms of transparency, the XX vol control was similar to the passive - the Pass was way, way behind. In terms of dynamics, the XX vol control was easily the best - the passive was still better than the Pass. And to think that I paid well over £5000 for the Pass, ten or so years ago...

Mani.

I've just noticed that this thread sits under the 'Your Thoughts About Sound Quality' section, so here are a few preliminary thoughts:

Super, super smooth sound and subjectively deeper lows. I can understand why people can listen to this at high volumes for prolonged periods.

However here, Phase Alignment still sounds more 'real'. But I'd say without PA, the sound is almost more pleasant to listen to.

So, no concrete conclusions as yet...

Mani.

OK, there must be something wrong with my setup. I have XTweaks set to 'Ultimate' but my liquid cooler heatsinks stay totally cool to the touch. I'm assuming activation worked OK - I'm getting the red wallpaper border.

The sound is very nice, but SFS settings still make a massive difference here.

Any thoughts?

Mani.

Don't apply Phase Alignment???

Well, consider me totally shocked.

Mani.

PS. Bert, I want my money back on those caps you put into my amps ;-)

PPS. Will try 09z-8-3 with Peter's 'ultimate' settings (and no PA  ) when I get back home this weekend.

No takers? OK, here's another one from me...

4. XX now converts everything to DSD. If this were the case, I really would be "the most shocked".

Mani.

Hmmm... it's complicated...

Peter says we need PE 'on' in order for a truly lossless volume control. Certainly, with PE 'off' the sound is more lively and has more 'sparkle' - but is this the dreaded 'fake detail' that we can all get caught out by? Don't know.

As for HDCD, well it depends on how the Pacific Microsonics machine was set during the mastering. There are two HDCD processes; either, both or neither of which could have been engaged during the HDCD mastering. I'm not sure if the HDCD plugin that Peter uses (I'm assuming HDCD.exe) is intelligent enough to do the job of figuring out which of these three possibilities has been used. In any event, if either or both of the HDCD processes have been used, then HDCD should be 'on' in XX. Replaying these HDCD-encoded files without correct HDCD decoding just sounds wrong to me... all IMHO of course.


There are only a few things coming from you that would truly shock me:

1. AI is shown to be better Arc Prediction. (Nah, never.)
2. The VC is shown to be always lossy and you have started to advise people to use a preamp. Hmmm, could be possible. I still wonder if a totally transparent preamp (maybe passive) exists, in which case XX could be set permanently to the PCM1704s' ideal output level (-9dB?).
3. XX is no longer a true 'memory' player. Again, could be possible. Low SFSs are now working very well. Maybe the ideal is an SFS of zero?

Ha, this is fun. Anyone else with any ideas of how we are going to be "the most shocked"?

Mani.

Peter, another question about PE and HDCD...

Since 0.9z-8-2, I've been drawn more and more to HDCD recordings. I've said before that there's a 'sweetness' to them that I really like. I think my system is finally resolving enough to distinguish between good and bad ADCs used during recording/mastering. There's a lot of variability between the sound of various recordings of course, but HDCDs sound consistently good.

So what settings should be used? I've tried 3 different settings, with totally different results:

1. PE and HDCD on. Very laid back, smooth sound. Easy on the ear, but lacking a bit of sparkle.

2. PE off, HDCD on. Too bright and too forward. Slightly aggressive leading edges. (Might this be due to VC issues?)

3. PE on, HDCD off. The best sounding. Very smooth but with the sparkle intact. Maybe just a tad too 'holographic' sounding.

So, 3 is my favourite. But I'm worried that I'm missing out on the correct HDCD decoding.

Any thoughts?

Mani.