XXHighEnd

Ultimate Audio Playback => Your thoughts about the Sound Quality => Topic started by: leifchristensen on January 25, 2009, 08:15:51 pm



Title: 0.9w-9
Post by: leifchristensen on January 25, 2009, 08:15:51 pm
Hello Busy P 8)
Just installed w-9 and it sounds richer than w-6-8.
Very nice.
Thxs a lot
Have a nice evening
Best
Leif
Norway


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: PeterSt on January 25, 2009, 08:32:23 pm
That is quick !
Thank you Leif.

PS: I think it can be true that for SQ (leaving the new Q parameters at 0) things can be back to some older version where things started to workout, say, worse for SQ. I mean, I obviously applied some things wrongly somewhere in 0.9w and these things have been reversed now. This certainly would apply to Attended Playback.


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: leifchristensen on January 26, 2009, 11:36:03 am
hello P
have played with the w9b and it stillsounds very good
tried to fiddle with some of the ohther Qs and the only difference I could detect(so far ) is the last one seems to add more 3 d the higer I slide it?
any explanation 4 this or am I out in the fields? :scratching:
best
Leif home with a soar throat


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: PeterSt on January 26, 2009, 12:39:55 pm
Quote
Leif home with a soar throat

You tried to sing along, right ? :)

Assuming that you at least set Q2 itself to something other than 0, sure it can. Or at least that is what all was intended for. But right now explaining why more 3D would come from it ? :nea:

The point is, I tried to put in the experiences of the "unintended changes" (and afterwards knowing what could have caused it) into all of these 4 sliders, not knowing at all how they interact if it comes down to SQ changes. So, we have to learn this, and the more with some experience after a while, the more it will become clear what really does the trick. Btw, I put all the known influences in there except for one. This would require another slider, but since the implementation of *that* experience -meaning the remapping of it to some practical mimicing- is a very difficult one. Think in this case of why 0.9w emerged in the base : using the memory the way I always wanted it, kind of knowing that the standard way is not the best way. And, since this sure made a difference, mimicing this is in my thoughts of a next slider.

We must be careful; from some theoretical point of view we might be at some optimal stage already. If this would be true indeed, any additional slider useage (the existing ones) can only destroy. But of course I don't take it as a fact that we reached this optimal stage.

Leif, just because I want to check your 3D findings, what are the settings of the other sliders ?


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: leifchristensen on January 26, 2009, 01:37:47 pm
q=4 others nothing
best
Leif


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: Fidelio on January 26, 2009, 03:44:44 pm
WHOA! What happened to the bass in w9? It is much more powerful in w9 than in w5, regardless of Q settings.

Timing and coherence is nearly as good in w9 as in w5, and much better than in w8. w5 is stil the rythm king though. And w5 has that element of knotting the instruments together, call it musical coherence (or sheer musicality), whereas w9 splits them up. They still sound good, but not as coherent.

w9 seems to have better spatial information (looooove it on well recorded chamber music), but the rythm and snap of w5 is still more enjoyable presentation-wise imo.

But that w9 bass, omfg. It is more sloppy, not as well defined and (and this is not a subtle change) much more powerful. Objects in my room started vibrating with w9, they don't do that with w5. I like mye bass tight as tights (duh...), and my speakers are extremely tuneful and tight in the bass department, but the w9 bass is weird and opulent. I am back with w5.

I love XXHE, having a number of versions to fiddle with is like having a bunch of really good CDPs to try out for about one millionth of the money.

Just my initial thoughts. For now it is w5 ftw! But I like Naim gear so maybe it is just my tastes that are esoteric.

By the way Peter, when will we be able to change songs via remote in XXHE?


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: PeterSt on January 26, 2009, 04:00:23 pm
q=4 others nothing
best
Leif

You mean you adjust Q4 only, right ? then the whole lot shouldn't be active ... I checked these things in advance, but I will recheck.
If you play Attended, anything is possible. Like the position of a random slider on the screen ?  :blob8:
Pfff. No ...


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: PeterSt on January 26, 2009, 04:09:07 pm
But that w9 bass, omfg. It is more sloppy, not as well defined and (and this is not a subtle change) much more powerful.

Hmm ... at least that I have noticed too. Not more sloppy btw, but just more powerful.
Be careful that more powerful doesn't incur for other things, like room anomalies now getting profound.

Anyway, if you left the additional Q sliders at 0, this would be an example of an unintended change.
For fun, you could set Q2 to max, and Q4 also to max, and look whether this makes a difference. What could happen is : bass will be more sloppy, and therefore less profound (but as you see I don't talk with the same terms as you, and I use sloppy to deteriorate the bass -> to my belief it won't go the other way around !).

But let's see ...
:)


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: Fidelio on January 26, 2009, 04:23:07 pm
With sloppy I mean the bass transients get blurred - bass starts and stops less articultately, if you will.


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: PeterSt on January 26, 2009, 05:34:54 pm
Of course. But what I meant (derived from my own experience) is that (for example !!) bass transients can be so high that various things can't follow. This can be anything needing current, or just the speaker driver.

So the workout of bass being stronger can be opposite of what you think of it. Can be, I don't say it is in your case. But since in my case it seems that bass transients just got *better* it may be a matter of things which can cope and which can't. For example (and you know it I think), if one thing can cope in my situation it is the DAC.
As usual, I don't want to be right. Just trying to determine what's happening. :)

Peter


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: PeterSt on January 26, 2009, 06:37:39 pm
q=4 others nothing
best
Leif

Hi Leif,

Apart from that you will have meant Q5=4, I just rechecked, and with Q2 at 0 you can do with the others what you want, just nothing happens in that case. So the fact that the sliders are there may influence sound (Attended) but their position really can't do anything with Q2 = 0.
And if that would be so afterall, it is time to find a more predictable job here !
hehe


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: leifchristensen on January 27, 2009, 07:41:55 pm
q1=4 q2=4   varying q5 :)
best
Leif


Title: Re: 0.9w-9b
Post by: SeVeReD on January 30, 2009, 04:57:29 am
again
.9w-9b
I am really liking what i'm hearing.  I have not had a lot of time this week to tweak the Qs; they've basically stayed on
4,5,1,0,2
Right now I'm listening to
Roxy Music - Siren
an old rock album that I've never considered recorded well, but awesome music, if you like rock.  I've had the LP and now this cd/wav, and it's sounding better than I've ever remembered it sounding (SQ wise).  If I just leave Q1 at 4 and all the other Qs at 0, it loses a lot of the magic I'm hearing... so thank you for the added Qs.  A lot of exploring to do, (I've decided to leave a pencil/pad of paper by the computer to record Q combos and impressions), but we're off to a great start here.  I think I'm playing stuff louder than ever now too.... I have to watch that. hehe


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: leifchristensen on January 30, 2009, 08:41:49 am
S:
what amplifiers and speakers do you use?just to place your impressions in a context
best
Leif


Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: LydMekk on January 30, 2009, 01:23:39 pm
Tried W9b here now. Compared it with W8.

W9b has that special "something" compared with W8! Difficult to describe it, more of a pleasure to listen simply put.

Not that big diff. in bass between these two versions IMO. Maybe more grunt in the sub-region on W9b but not much more.

Leif said it best over, more "flow" and more musicality to W9b than W8 which was a little dull in comparison.

IMO.

Will listen some more later. Compared only a few songs here now. Tried some Q-settings but not much difference.



Title: Re: 0.9w-9
Post by: SeVeReD on January 31, 2009, 03:18:00 am
S:
what amplifiers and speakers do you use?just to place your impressions in a context
best
Leif
Here's a link to pictures in my system... horribly bad pictures because the point&shoot cheap camera was dropped ... but, you'll get an idea.  I listen to a lot of psychedelic/rock, bluegrass, classical, jazz ,,, ya that's it.
http://gallery.AudioAsylum.com/cgi/view.mpl?UserImages=6645&invite=