Disengaging iPhase - (minus) but with Allow Phase Alignment On made the Mahler´s 8 Symphony that before had stops now sound from the beginning to the end with no stops. I´ll repeat it tomorrow with other albums to see what happens.

Juan

Same problem here. The music stops somewhere between 3 and 15 or 16 minutes.

The message is:

Obtain Audio Device

Audio Device could not be determined

And


XXEngine3.exe has stopped working...

Juan

Ok, sorry I understand, the RAMDisck goes to memory.

I forget very often the technical issues, fortunately I have some mysterious help that reminds me all these things.

Regards,
Juan

Sorry Peter but I don´t understand...what I wanted to say is that I´m going to create a RAMDisk in the same hdd where XX and W8 are and use is as Playback Drive. What´s wrong with it?(besides my English of course  )

Juan

Peter, so far I was testing the sound using an external hdd as Music Root. The sound is as described previously, clear, holographic, well positioned etc. Today I changed the Music Root to a partition in the same hdd where is also XX and the OS and the sound I perceive is very different, mostly because it is very hard to find the exact position of the voices and instruments, I guess that it is the effect you were describing. I makes me think if the place where the Music Root is (in an external hdd or not) has some influence in that effect.

So far I´m using an external USB 3.0 as Playback Drive but I´m going to test the Playback Drive in a RAMDisk placed in a partition in the same hdd where is also XX and the OS and see what happens. I´ll test the Playback Drive also in an external hdd as I have it in W7.

It seems to me that not only if the Services are on or off has an important influence in SQ but also how and where resides the music, the Playback Drive, the Galleries (in case they are used), etc. and that influence is different than the one in W7.  It seems obvious but it requires a whole work of test to be done again.

Juan

When I listened XX with W8 for the first time I was amazed with the sound as I said in a post. I defined it as with a bass with weight (and detail), smooth, clear, delineated, even holographic and palpable sound.

My settings then were Normal OS due that I had no Activation code, the other settings I had, and have now, that I don´t have yet my new Activation code are the ones that I had in W7, but in this case:

- the Playback drive is in a USB 3.0 pendrive.

- Phasure Buffer Size: 8ms.

- Stop all Services, although I can see that stopping only the Deskstop services makes a little sweeter sound but less palpable. However I have to experience it with more time and careful listening.

- Q1=14, xQ1=1

- And the most important one: SFS: 2.0 I tested higher settings and there is no possible comparison with 2.0. SFS 2.0 is the way to go at least in my system as it was also with W7.

As I said with these settings the sound is the best one I ever heard: Palpable, realistic, holographic, reach, excellent soundstage and with the instruments and voices firmly placed in their positions. No strange or weird stereo image.

I´m going to play this way for a while before I ask for another Activation code to be sure that all is working fine.

Juan

What I did wrong I really don´t know, I probably gave up too soon but I got a little tired, well, no problem we know that´s part of this business.

About PayPal, yes they take 14 days and even more to return the money, so as I said if you could find a way to avoid to be sending money there would be great.

Regards,
Juan

Well, I did all what I could do in the wrong way. I deleted the XX folder when XX was in Minimize, so no way to make things work again, no sound device found, not possible to restart to get Normal OS again, etc. So I decided to reinstall W8 ONCE MORE!!. That's enough for today, moreover I have a wedding in a couple of hours, at least I'm not the groom, that would be really too much

That means also another Activation Code, I don´t have money enough for so many ACs!. By the way Peter, what they say in PayPal?. Wouldn´t you have other way to solve it, I mean to give us a permanent AC to the ones that already have one?. That would be great.

Best regards,
Juan

Same here, the only bmp file is the one called Wallpaper

Juan

I have exactly this same problem. Also the wallpaper that appears is not the one is being played but a previous one that is stocked in some place in the memory because must be probably the first one I played when I started XX, maybe even before the activation. It happens even after rebooting the system.

Juan

Hi Jud, to install .NET Framework 3.5 required for XX you don´t need to have any update installed in your computer, it is installed automatically. What we don´t know yet is if the updates in W8 play the same role as in W7, I mean the influence in SQ.

Regards,
Juan

Hi Ed, I´ve just finished my clean W8 installation from a DVD and I have not installed any update. I took the customize path for the settings and I have said no to all the requests Windows asked about internet. I can change my mind later if I want, but by now that´s what I did. I don´t want Windows 8 in my Music Pc but for playing XXHE so don´t need even internet. The great sound I got before was also with no updates at all.
There are other things that I´m not sure if I want like use of a network with the other computers I have at home, also with W8 (a Microsoft account is needed), not sure about the utility of this network for my Music Pc but I can keep off this pc from internet anyway. I also turned off the Windows Firewall and all the notifications.
Now after I finish the XX installation I´ll ask Peter for a new Activation code and will be able to use XX with all the settings. I´ll let you know about my findings.

Best regards,
Juan

Still playing with the no activated version but I´d like to point some appreciations:

-SFS 430: The sound is much more similar to the W7 one, a little soft and apparently backwards

- SFS 2.0: The sound is clearly more realistic, the strings, bass, voices, all has more body, not only more body it is also more defined and the sound image is much more delineated or as I said before more palpable, three-dimensional, holographic. Like more being there listening the real thing. Perhaps that palpability can be confused with more in front or more aggressiveness but listening carefully, in my system, the instruments, voices, etc. are located in the same place as they are with SFS 430, not more in front or backwards.

About the Metro UI layer or the explorer 7 shell, I´m not so sure that the 7 shell has better SQ, it is smoother but the Metro UI has more vitality and presence, more of the characteristics I used in the previous paragraph to define the sound.

If this could be different with horns...well, I don´t know and have not the possibility to test it but I´m interested to know what others think.

Please understand that these are only my first impressions and that I have not yet even the best basic settings (Minimize OS and Unattended).

One word of advice if I may, let your ears long enough to get used to the new "realism".

Juan

Thank you Jud for the link, I´ll see if I can do it with an USB key, I´m affraid I can´t cancel the DVD order but it is ok to have it anyway, just in case.

Regards,
Juan

After a new W8 installation and with no problems so far, let me tell you something: the sound with W8 is AMAZING!!. I haven´t even set everything as is should be, e.g. I don´t have yet a new Activation Code, so I´m playing without Minimize OS and Attended but I can´t wait to let you know this:

- The bass has weight, I mean is solid and palpable, big difference with W7 (the bass was great but not the way it is now)

- The middle tones are sweet, not in a colored way but in a musical and realistic way. So the highs. I can´t "see" holes in the middle in between the speakers or the music displaced to one side or the other. The stereo image is ok. Big sound stage. The sound is clear and clean but rich at the same time. In other words a pleasure to listen. If this stay this way there is no return to W7 for me. I know, I know...all the first impressions loose some of the emotion with the time but, isn´t it better a start like this?. Sorry if these words are so contaminated by emotion but for now my recommendation is, go ahead and try W8!.

My settings right now are the ones in my signature. SFS: 2.0. I´m using a pen drive as Playback drive. Music in a different hdd than OS and XXHE. I´ll post further impressions with other settings. Can´t go worse with Minimize OS and Unattended.

I have to change some important things like maybe to make a new clean W8 installation, now is an upgrade although without preserving previous files or programs (there is a windows old folder however). I asked for a DVD so in a few days I´ll do a new clean installation but if I discover a way to do it right now I´ll do it, then I only have to buy a new Activation Code (with refund  ).

So Peter, let me congratulate you again for this new jump ahead in SQ.

Best regards,
Juan