963
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: My first Windows 8 experience
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on: January 09, 2013, 02:17:25 pm
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Thanks Peter. It would not have been you and all you did and are continually doing, I would not have tried W8 with the same interest.
I did not allow myself to listen to the latest version with W7. I will restore a backup tonight (Mmmm... Be ready to see an activation demand again...). Looks like I really have the full name for it: Alain Grégoire, Activation Guy... AG all the way.
An OT remark: I never got an SQ increase more than with XXHIGHEND. No matter the cables I changed, the tweaks I tried, the "this" and the "that" - XXHIGHEND is by far my "best component" and the incredible thing is that each time it feels like I have a new system... Of course there has to be a minimum synergy with all components, but XXHE remains the "peripheral" that amazes me the most.
Alain
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964
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: My first Windows 8 experience
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on: January 09, 2013, 01:08:57 pm
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As Peter knows, I am not that good when it comes to describing details about a XXHIGHEND version. My sensitivity to SQ is far from ideal when I read what many can sense from different adjustements with the software and their sound systems.
For sure I have sensed differences with the last 2 upgrades (9-7 and 9-8), but for example I never heard ticks (apart from the beginning) but I have to add that I don't use PA... Can't explain why. Sometimes I enable it, but I am apprehensive of a sudden burst in sound. I know, this was happening in the early implementations of it, but still... I allow myself to change my mind with time.
I have tried W8 as soon as it was available last October. I felt that the sound was a little "brigthter" (a leftover of my years of listening to systems with too much treble - possible), but appealing. From this report from you Peter, it just confirms that I do not have what it takes to differentiate good sound from excellent sound. Wether it is because of my sound system, the acoustics of my room (too much echo), me or a combination of all this - the results are that I realize each time my review of something will be quite limited.
The test Peter suggested about the ticks had me listening to one of my speakers with the ear at 3 inches of the speaker grid. This and only this allowed me to hear some ticks at .5 SPF. My environment is not really silent as I use a noisy PC to access my music PC through bluetooth. I would be unable to tell the difference in SQ from a connected/disconnected CD reader/writer. I do disable it in the device manager, with a few other things, but to tell that I hear a difference...
Maybe I am lucky not to hear all these fine tuning adjustements, but if the conclusion is that W8 is not that good for sound, I will revert happily to W7.
But for sure, from all I have heard before, although I felt that with W8, some instruments were not as prominent as I felt they were before, I hear a lot more details before. This may have no relation to the fact that I use W8 though.
Alain
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965
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: 9Z-8d
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on: January 07, 2013, 11:35:57 am
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Peter, if I use my words to describe things... A lot has happened since 6c... I felt as if some front instruments were not as prominent as they were, but on the other hand, there are more individual details, more tones, more of many things I never heard before ?
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966
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: New download 0.9z8-d available
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on: January 06, 2013, 02:12:00 pm
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Thank you Alain.
That "insert DVD part" will be because of the necssity to install Dot-net 3.5 which is not automatically installed with W8 (4.0 is). But you should have received the same sequence at earlier (fresh) attempts ?
Regards, Peter
Ah... Sh*t ! I should not only read the fine prints, but re read them ! I remembered that I needed to install net 3.5, but instead I downloaded it. I had to retry quite a few times, with an error message telling that there was a problem while attempting to download it... But it finally installed, though I do not recommend it (because of all the failed attempts)... Thanks for reminding this... Next time (I hope there will be no next time)... To be on the safe side, I did an Acronis with XXHIGHEND activated, so I should be quiet with the activation process...
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967
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: New download 0.9z8-d available
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on: January 06, 2013, 01:40:14 pm
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Thanks for that feedback Alain. I just want to notice that including "your tweaks" -though generally- it still should have worked (think about the "Going back to YOUR original settings" message/question). So :
Can you remember and tell me what actually did not work. How it did not work, and whether it looked 100% the same as the 0.9z-8a experience you encountered at first ?
This is not crucial to know, but since I like it not to go wrong for anyone ...
Thanks, Peter
It behaved the same way as it was doing with 8a - no display at all. And yes it was with the files from 8d, because when I initialized W8, copied the XXHIGHEND folder back and started it, it was indicating "8d". During Christmas time, I exported all the original services in an excel file (to have a reference) and started deactivating many of them. After I exported that new list again and made an excel file with different columns to have a view of what was changed. At the end, I had a little under 20 services working, but I knew I would eventually run into problems when Minimize OS would work. I may have deactivated a service that was related to the restore function, because when I tried to Minimize OS yesterday, an error message popped saying that it was not possible to create a restore point. Nonetheless I decided to go forward. Then... At this point I should have used F8 but from what I experienced before, I decided instead to restore from an Acronis backup. It was a PITA to make F8 work, so I skipped this part. After the Acronis restore it was easy to initialize and I could verify that it was working well. The only surprise came from the fact that I had to insert my W8 installation DVD, because it seemed that some files were missing (?). Ah... And since I had deactivated the DVD reader/writer from the Device Manager, at first the initialization was not starting I had to activate it - something not to forget By the way: I haven't tried again the dongles for Bluetooth connection, but I will and report the results... It did not work the first time, no matter what compatibility I tried (XP, Vista, W7)... Alain
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968
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: New download 0.9z8-d available
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on: January 06, 2013, 05:34:58 am
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Hi Peter, All is working fine with Windows 8. I was able to MInimize OS with no problem It was all those services that I deactivated that created problems when I did my attempt today. I also had to get a new activation code (for the same reasons I guess). Regards, Alain
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969
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: New download 0.9z8-d available
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on: January 05, 2013, 09:25:27 pm
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Please not worry about me. I was not able to create a restore point, but I am quite sure I did something wrong long before I attempted to install the latest XXHIGHEND. I will simply reinstall from a backup and start from scratch. It's not a big deal I will post my results. And if it is tomorrow, no problem either Regards, Alain
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970
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: New download 0.9z8-d available
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on: January 05, 2013, 09:09:50 pm
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Well, WT. Did I forget about that in the Release Notes then ? Well no, not really (you did not forget). So I tried... Did not work... I am reinitializing the PC right now, because I did too much stuff before, so maybe this explains why it does not work still ? Anyway, I will keep you posted
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972
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: New download 0.9z8-d available
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on: January 05, 2013, 08:35:45 pm
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For 0.9z-8a, b or c users : A new 0.9z-8d is available for download. It is obtained at the bottom in the original 0.9z-8a download. Peter Sorry Peter, from the size of the download, I assume that it simply has to be installed over the last version ? Oups... Like you already told me, I forgot my new year resolution... Always read the small prints
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975
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: Test the resolution of your chain
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on: January 05, 2013, 02:49:22 pm
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Hi Peter,
I did not change the xxengine3 to do this test, but yes I can hear the ticks as mentionned, but with my ear quite close to a speaker.
It is the first time I am hearing this and my guess would be that it is a combination of things: - System not resolving enough - "abused ears" from exposition to loud music a long time ago... - SFS that I tend to put higher than 2 - Not a really silent environment - W8 and inability to connect with Minimized OS
Alain
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