NOT ALL SORTED!

I'm having problems connecting with the computer name '169.254.108.156'.

When I thought everything worked OK, I was connecting using the name of the AudioPC (MAIN-HIFI-PC in my case) and not '169.254.108.156'.

Connecting via the name of the AudioPC works fine if the AudioPC is not in Minimize OS mode. But as soon as you go into this, the connecting PC cannot find AudioPC.

I cannot connect using the name '169.254.108.156' irrespective of whether the AudioPC is in Minimized or normal OS mode.

Any thoughts?

Mani.

ALL SORTED!

It was just a matter of sorting credentials out.

Mani

Hi all, I'm kind of reluctant to post this here, because it really doesn't have anything to do with XX, but I'm trying to get RDC working via bluetooth and am having problems.

The two computers see each other no problem. But RDC refuses to work. I will go online and do some research myself, but if anyone has an obvious fix, please let me know.

Cheers, Mani.

Peter, is there any theoretical reason that a faster playback drive (e.g. 10K SATA III vs. 7.2K SATA II) should sound better?

My super fast new SSD sounds bad, and my old Hitachi HDD very good and I just wondered whether I should think about getting a faster HDD for playback drive duties.

Mani.

Hi Juan, I think you should try to format the playback drive in the way you describe first. And then try it. It may work fine.

If it hasn't been formatted the way XX wants, you'll just get an error. In this case, you will have to use the command line and input format E: /fs:exFAT /q (taking E: as an example drive). BUT... I found that I had to run the command line in Administrator mode. To do this, I did a search for 'cmd.exe' in the Start menu and then created a shortcut for it on the desktop. I think went into Properties for the shortcut and set 'run as Administrator'. The format then seemed to work fine.

I have no idea what block size is created when you format from the command line but the drive definitely works OK as a playback drive.

Peter may have his own views, but quite honestly, I wouldn't go to the bother of reformatting the OS/XX drive just for a bigger block size if using playback drive solves any playback problems you currently have. If it doesn't, then maybe consider it.

HTH.

OK, I've just compared a few different scenarios and here are my initial thoughts.

Drives:

C: 2.5 inch 300GB 15000rpm Raptor SATA II HDD (with W7 and XX)
E: two 3.5 inch 2TB 7200rpm Seagate Barracuda SATA III HDDs (3.7TB striped volume) with music
F: 2.5 inch 128GB Vertex 4 Sata III SSD
G: 3.5 inch 720GB 7200rpm Hitachi SATA II HDD

I had to use the command line to format the playback drives, F: and G: (as described in the XX online manual), otherwise they would not work.

Sound Quality:

My order of preference is:

1. playback drive G:
This really surprised me because this is just an old Hitachi drive I had lying around - nothing special about it at all. There is a sweetness to the sound that the others don't have. Instruments 'ring' and 'resonate' just as they do in real life.

2. music drive E:
Doesn't have quite the solidity or the sweetness of 1. A little 'harder' sounding. But otherwise very good.

3. W7/XX drive C: (copy to XX drive)
Very close in SQ to 2. Maybe a tad flatter.

4. playback drive F:
Another big surprise. Much flatter sounding than 1,2 and 3. Instruments/voices are no longer separated. It's one homogeneous wall of sound. Hard to follow the music and really 'get into it'.

I'm quite disappointed. I have loads of SSDs lying around and bought this one specifically for playback duties. I'm beginning to think that SSDs just don't have any role in high-end audio. So my advice to everyone is to get hold of a cheap HDD and give 'playback drive' a go.

Mani.

I've just installed two new drives into Le Monster - an OCZ Vertex 4 and an old HDD I had lying around. I've just initialized both volumes (GPT and 64K) and am in the process of creating two simple volumes & formatting. Once this is all done (in next 30 minutes or so) I'll start comparing them. I'll report findings later this evening...

(I may throw a USB pendrive into the mix if I can be bothered.)

(Incidentally, I have two fanless power supplies fitted in Le Monster. One is dedicated to the mobo & CPU, the other to the  HDDs, the SSD and the optical drive. When I have the inclination, I might try powering the whole PC from just one PS and see if there is any degradation in SQ.)

Mani.

IE9 on my work PC and the standard template comes out blue. Not unpleasant, but not really to my liking. I can't get the orange...

Mani.

EDIT: Which of course exactly how you described it would look on IE9!!!

Yep, I'm also confused by what Stefano posted.

But FWIW, I'm hoping to try the 'Playback Drive' feature later this week, comparing a 'fast' HDD vs. a 'very fast' SSD as the playback drive.

No one should underestimate the importance of this feature. I believe once more people use it, it will prove once and for all that the location of the music files is of utmost importance in SQ. 'Copy to XX drive' already shows this, but I think using a dedicated playback drive to provide more consistent results.

Mani.

Here you go...

I'm really in two minds as to whether I want to post this... but I will anyway.

I was looking after my 7-month old son this morning, whilst my wife, Satty, was out doing something interesting (I'm sure) and my other 2.5-year old was at nursery.

Like many of you here, I'm fond of all sorts of music, from Beethoven to Bollywood (my Indian heritage helps with the latter) and this morning felt in the mood for some 'early music'. I loaded 'All' Improviviso - L'Arpeggiata' and just sat with my son listening all the way through. Something happens when I listen to beautiful music - I don't know, something awakens/stirs deep inside. But this usually only happens when I'm listening to music live. But this morning it happened, and it brought a tear to my eye. I don't know about you, but for me, although I'm not a musician, music is such an important part of my life. When I don't have access to 'beautiful' music, there is a void in my life, and I think this sits at a very deep subconscious level. I look around me, and all I have in life, but it doesn't feel totally complete. So, like many of you, I spend hours/days/months striving to fill the void. But this morning, with this beautiful music filling the room and one of my gorgeous boys sitting on my lap listening with me, life just felt so full... and I was totally grateful for what I have...

... including stumbling upon the Phasure website, I guess >4 years ago now.

Mani.

My 'red border' screenshot is here: http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=2156.0

Mani.

This was the tweak I really wasn't looking forward to, but I finally got around to taking all the fans out of Le Monster and installing the water cooler I've had sat around for the last 3-4 months. And I believe this has improved the sound. It seems smoother now, and less edgy. I know these sort of things are very subjective, but I'm pretty certain the bass is more prominent, which is very welcomed with Phase Alignment.

Why might the sound have changed? Well, there were 8 fans in total that I've just taken out. Although they ran at a pretty low rpm (and very quietly), they were all being monitored and powered from the mobo. Perhaps this was generating noise? I don't know, but I'm pretty certain the sound has changed for the better.

Mani.

Ha, I should just check what you and Peter have settled on and follow it! I now have SFS=2 and PA_strength=1 on both my systems. Last night it sounded too 'fresh', today it sounds wonderful. Maybe I need to clean my ears 

Mani.

I'm currently listening to my office system and these settings sound very, very good, and not "too fresh" at all! With SFS=60, the sound is indeed very 'analogue', just as Peter describes in his PA tutotial.

But I have to say for those who haven't managed to get PA to work yet, even without it, 0.9z-7 sounds great. I could easily live with SFS=280 and Q1=30 in this system without PA.

Mani.