Hi Nick,
Getting more cores helps mostly when you have your files stored as flac. More cores convert those flac files faster to be played by XXHighEnd.
I don´t think that to have more cores has anything to do with SQ.

Best regards,
Juan

Hi Peter,

I have in my computer a Corsair AX750 power supply and it has some important advantages mostly about running in a silent mode. In this case the size is important because that means that using below the 20% of the load the fan in the power supply is 0 rpm and below 50% of the load the fan is running in quiet mode producing just 16db or less. That means that using 375W this power supply is almost inaudible and it was an important part when I built my pc.
Of course also if for any reason or at any time you need more power you get it but again the most important reason to choose my ps was the almost negligible noise at normal use. There are also some fan-less ps but I don´t trust them as much as a ps with a built in variable speed fan.

Please see the Hybrid Silent Fan Control graphics in Tech Specs : http://www.corsair.com/professional-series-gold-ax750-80-plus-gold-certified-fully-modular-power-supply.html

Best regards,
Juan

I post here a list of some of my favorits classical music albums:

Schubert - The Final Sessions Volume 1 - Claudio Arrau
Powerful D.894. You can listen Arrau breathing while playing the piano.
S**.M***
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/2465499/a/Claudio+Arrau+-+The+Final+Sessions+Volume+1+-+Schubert.htm

Jan Sibelius. Symphonies 1 & 4. LSO. Sir Colin Davis
No 4 is my favorit Sibelius symphony. Enigmatic, can be relaxing or threatening.
S***. M***
http://lso.co.uk/page/3313/Sibelius-Symphonies-Nos-1-and-4/138

Chopin: Etudes Op.10 and Op.25. Maurizio Pollini. Testament
Great performance and piano sound
S***.M***
http://www.testament.co.uk/shop/product/sbt1473.aspx

Schumann, Grieg: Piano Concertos. Murray Peraia. BRSO Colin Davis.
S**.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Schumann-Grieg-Concertos-Murray-Perahia/dp/B0000026PL

Mozart: String Quintets K 515 & 516. Tokio String Quartet
Pace and rythm
http://www.allmusic.com/album/mozart-string-quintets-k-515-516-w56694

Verdi: Messa da Requiem /Quattro Pezzi Sacri. Giulini
Magnificent
S**.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Messa-Requiem-Quattro-Pezzi/dp/B00005AVMO

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 " Emperor ". Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Guilini. W.S.
Imho the best "Emperor" ever. Michelangeli sensibility is pure emotion.
S**.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Concerto-No-Emperor/dp/B00000E3FN

Strauss: Four Last Songs. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Solti. L.S.O.
I´m never tired of listening Im Abemdrot. Schwarzkopf, one of the best voices ever.
S*.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Songs-Orchestral-Recordings-Century/dp/B00000GCAE

I hope you enjoy it!

Best regards,
Juan

I´d like to post here some of the albums of my collection that I like most . Some are well known, others probably not so.
It's a classification based and rated just on personal taste. I rate the list for sound and music as:
S*: Good
S**: Very Good
S***: Excellent
Same for music but with the letter M.

They are in the list in no special order.

Zoot Sims. Smooth and Intimate.
S***. M***
http://www.amazon.com/Quietly-There-Plays-Johnny-Mandel/dp/B000000YZG

Boulevard des slows Vol.1
S***. M**
Recopilation from different artists.
http://www.musicme.com/Compilation/Boulevard-Des-Slows-(Vol.1)-5099746692124.html

Man in the long black coat - Barb Jungr sings Bob Dylan
S***. M**
http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-man-in-the-long-black-coat.aspx

La Passione. Chris Rea
S***. M***
http://www.amazon.co.uk/La-Passione-Chris-Rea/dp/B00000AOSY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1334748529&sr=8-4

Cristina Branco
Murmurios
S**. M***
http://www.amazon.com/Murmurios-Cristina-Branco/dp/B0000253HZ/ref=sr_1_13?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334750865&sr=1-13
S**. M***

Cristina Branco
Canta Slauerhoff
S***.M***
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canta-Slauerhoff-Cristina-Branco/dp/B00006691P/ref=sr_1_10?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334751025&sr=1-10

Frank Zappa. The Yellow Shark
S***.M**
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Yellow-Shark-Frank-Zappa/dp/B0000009VU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334751197&sr=1-1

Jazz a Saint-Germain. Various Artists
S***. M**
http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Saint-Germain-Angelique-Kidjo/dp/B000009RNT

Mi Buenos Aires Querido. Barenboim
S***.M***
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Piazzolla-Mi-Buenos-Aires-querido/dp/B001EZDIWW/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk_alt

Michel Petrucciani. Both worlds
Sound***.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Both-Worlds-Michel-Petrucciani/dp/B0000061VC

Joan Manuel Serrat. Cansiones
Sound***.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Cansiones-Joan-Manuel-Serrat/dp/B00004YLN8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334752495&sr=1-1

Smooth Jazz Festival
S***.M**
http://www.amazon.com/Smooth-Jazz-Festival-Various-Artists/dp/B0009G3B1U/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334752602&sr=1-1

Tony Rich. Words
S***.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Words-The-Tony-Rich-Project/dp/B0000013GL/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1334752724&sr=1-1

Sadao Watanabe. Elis
S***.M***
http://www.amazon.com/Elis-Sadao-Watanabe/dp/B000002H6G

I´ll post some more of my favorits once in a while.

I hope you like it!

Best regards,
Juan

Hi Nick,

Just a quick try with the Scheme 1 give me a sense of sharpness but I loose a little of the beautiful smoothness of the scheme 3 that on the other hand is also very, very detailed. Also the voice seems more "human" or "real" with the scheme 3. I need more time to verify it though.

Best regards,
Juan

With the PCI Nec USB 3.0 card I get the best sound ever (so far  ) . Clearly better than using the mb USB 3.0. The computer is working flawlessly. I installed the card using the driver recommended for Nick (thanks again Nick).

My PCIe card is the same as the Mani one and I connect it with the molex to the power supply (I haven´t tried it without that connection but it sounds so good that I don´t feel like to try it): http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004S0Y9FK/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

The driver is this one: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Other-DRIVERS-TOOLS/MSI/MSI-990FXA-GD65-Renesas-USB-3-0-Driver-20340.shtml

I turned off the USB 2.0 and Legacy in the bios.

All my setting remains the same as can be seen in my signature, including SFS.


Best regards,
Juan

Finally I could connect the NOS1 using an USB 3.0 cable. It was the previous cable that was defective because with a couple of new cables from a different seller and other cable brands it was working perfectly since the first moment.

I appreciate minor differences in relation with the USB 2.0 cable in the USB 3.0 port, maybe a subtle improvement in the sound scape size. I also can tell some difference, minor again, using the blue adapter with the proper cable seen in the pic in place of the other one. There is some more presence and bigger sound stage with the blue adapter. It lets me think again that there is some kind of influence of the cables.

Anyway, I still think that the sound is better coming from the USB 3.0 port than from the USB 2.0 port. It doesn´t seem to me that this is a distorted sound.

http://www.cablematic.com/Cable-y-adaptador-USB-3_dot_0/Adaptador-USB-3_dot_0-a-USB-2_dot_0-_open_parenthesis_B-Hembra-a-B-Macho_close_parenthesis_/?pag=83

http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B004Z56TSS/ref=oh_o00_s01_i00_details

Best regards,
Juan

What a hard work in front of you, so many things involved and questions to answer...

Just for curiosity, have you tried to connect the NOS1 from the USB 3.0 port in the PC with the standard USB 2.0 cable?. As you know I´m unable to use the USB 3.0 cable but still the sound is great and there isn´t any crack at all.

Best regards,
Juan

Connected using  an USB 3.0 cable or the USB 2.0 one?.

Best regards,
Juan

Maybe the people with older mobo can get a more important jump in sound quality, relatively speaking, using a PCIe USB card, but the ones with more modern mobos with native USB 3.0 ports, as myself, get a very notable improvement in sound quality, even as in my case are only able to use the USB 3.0 port with an USB 2.0 cable.
As I said in other post I can perceive a fuller sound, I mean the sound is filling up the room in a bigger way and it is done with a great sense of continuity and without empty spaces in the imaginary soundstage. Also the sound is very relaxed like someone else said (Paul I think) and it is more evident than ever that the standing waves have less presence, if any.
In few words, the sound is bigger, more relaxed and cleaner. And it is noticeable.

Best regards,
Juan

Hi Peter,

Something like a USB 3.0 monitor? I never saw that before, I´ll try to find it. When I reinstalled the OS I tried to connect the NOS1 even before I installed the XXHighEnd and I couldn´t find the NOS1, nor after XXHighEnd was installed.

As the use of the USB 3.0 port is a clear improvement I wonder if wouldn´t be necessary an upgrade in the NOS1 to make it able to take the full advantage of USB 3.0.

Best regards,
Juan

Hi Nick,

Thanks for your links, your USB 3.0 cable looks great.
Today I´ve reinstalled the OS with the hope of fixing it up to use my USB 3.0 cable/adaptor. No way, I don´t know why but with this cable in either USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 ports it´s impossible to find the NOS1. And I don´t think it is a problem of my cable but who knows, could you install yours with no problem?.

Best regards,
Juan

Hi Nick,

Thanks for answering my question. Please post some images or links.

Today I´m going to reinstall all the OS in my music Pc and thus eliminate the partition I have in the main hdd. I want to keep things as simple as possible and btw see if I can solve the problem with my USB 3.0 connection.

Well another issue arises, if the USB 3.0 makes a difference in the sound quality why not could have an influence also the different kind of USB cables, as Joachim (Christoffe) said?

Best regards,
Juan

Hi,

Does anyone tried to connect the USB 3.0 port to the NOS1 with an USB 3.0 cable (with an adapter)?.

I wonder if you have the same problems as me to find the NOS1 with this kind of connection.

Best regards,
Juan

Hi Peter,

Ok, the NOS1 can´t be found. I unplugged the USB 3.0 cable, turned the NOS1 off, plugged it again etc. and no way to find the NOS1. I did it in all the possible ways...
When I use a USB 2.0 cable in place the USB 3.0 cable the NOS 1 is there since the first moment.


I use only one a standard USB 3.0 cable as it is sold in the store with no modification at all and an adaptor.

Is there any other thing I can do to "find" the NOS1 when I use the USB 3.0 cable?.

Best regards,
Juan