Tremendous video. If that was a speaker diaphragm we would be horrified.

I have a couple of bits of kit like a DAC that run on 12 volt 'Wallmart' power supplies, but have very low power demands.

These power supplies seem also to be the switching type which get a worse press than the linear.

So I fancy going to battery power using say a rechargeable 7amp lead acid battery.

Here is my initial problem.

The power supplies deliver 12 volts but batteries normally deliver about 13 volts. Is this going to damage the DAC if so do I need to put a voltage regulator in the system?

You can count on it

Thanks for the prompt reply Peter. I had guessed that the later operating systems would have allowed you to get more from XX HighEnd, so maybe one day I will upgrade my computer.

But, its good to hear that the latest version will still operate with Vista, (albeit compromised from what you can achieve now), so I will give it a go.

Some of the manufacturers of kit I bought some 4-6 years ago have gone bust so I am pleased that you are still around. It seems a tough business out there.

Hi Peter

Its 4 years since I was here last, hope you're keeping well.

Anyway 4 years ago I took a decision to continue using XXHighEnd because of its great sound but to avoid all the stress of trying to keep up with the updates and testing. I just wanted to listen to the music without too much aggro.

So I locked down with version 0.9W - 9b which of course has several early development glitches. I have lived with this in order to keep the sound quality, but I admit there have been moments of weakness when I have contemplated going back to a CD player.

So to my question.

I have the same dedicated Dell computer for XX HighEnd with Vista Ultimate operating system. If I wanted to come up to date with XXHighEnd, which version would be best for me?

Thanks guys. There's a massive amount of info on this site now and a bit difficult to search around.

I did find some by trial and error but having a list is good.

Hi Peter, long time no speak. Hope you're keeping well.

I have been playing the w version of XX for some time and been very happy, but I would like to upgrade now to 9y-4 if my gear will take it. One reason for not upgrading sooner is that I was getting a bit bemused by all the computing talk that accompanies the later changes. But, I have bitten the bullet and am ready for a new challenge.

I have got Autokeys running fine but cant easily find a list of all the functional keys. Can you help?

Most importantly I see you have various upsampling options and would like to try the well reviewed Quad if my system can take it.

I am still using the Fireface 400 which you know well and the Tact DAC which claims to have input sample rates up to 192KHz/24bits. Is this good to go?

Hi Peter
This is a vital bit of info for new users who have not followed the history of XXHighend, as it avoids any possible damage to your speakers during this software development phase. Its never happened to me, but the warning needs higher profile than lost in this thread - perhaps in the Technical Workout section.
Happy new year, Chris

Hi Dennis, if you put your system in your signature it may help people in assisting you

It just occured to me that my Fireface 400 is about 18 months old. Does anyone know the latest versions of drivers etc.
I have:
driver version 2.73
hardware revision 1.63

Also does upgrading them affect SQ?

UAC can be found at Startbutton, Control Panel, User Accounts, Turn User Account Control (UAC !) on or off.
But you probably have done that long time ago because I created a topic about it back then.

I think I went for the option of 'run as administrator', but I will check.

Whether you have to remove programs from the PC depends on how persistent they are at restarting themselves at a next reboot. No general guidelines here, because it depends on the programs themselves. Especially laptops are prone to have lots of unnecessary stuff.

If I uninstall a program and it turns out to be critical, I need a contingency. Is it possible to first transfer a copy of a program to an external hard drive for possible recovery if required.

Btw, I would never go the route of installing a fresh Vista (if I were you) because each manufacturer adds his own propriatary drivers and things, and again with laptops this is excessive. This means that after such a fresh install (of a general Vista version ! -> otherwise it makes no sense in the firts place) you won't even have (e.g.) network access (propriatary ethernet driver is lacking) and you really have to be inventive to get all things, piece by piece, going. Note that everything will be downloadable from the internet, but *what* to download takes some experience (or name it skills). A good option would be to know in advance what you will need, which in the end may come down to saving the stuff concerned, in order to reload that as the first thing when something is running.
But  better don't do it !

Dont worry, I wont. I think you need to be a real expert like some of the guys on here

On the "Peter tweaks"  ... since I have the english version running now, I will redo the pictures in English. Ehh, sometime when I can find some spare time.

That would be excellent. Thanks

Be careful with "super anti spyware" and such, because ususally they work counterproductive (generate I/O's, stall the system). Besides that, you'll only know once you bought them and it makes hardly sense to listen to others because most people just can't judge it. I'd dare say though that if someone in here has an advise on this, it should be trustworthy.

Computer came with McAfee software which seems OK. I only use this Dell computer to download XXHighend and for very secure bank/building society transactions, so it doesn't come under a lot of threat.

Thanks Sev. I wish I was gifted in the art and could wipe my hard drive and reload fresh Vista, but on past form I would end up with a dead computer

I have turned off a few drivers, and will look at eradicating unwanted (Dell) programs. A question on this. Can I stop programs running or do I have to remove them from the PC.

I will also shut off UAC (whatever that is!) and have a look at defender.

I did start the Peter tweaks, but got lost in the foreign language (to me) illustrations.

BTW what does PW mean?   "I've never entered a PW on install of windows"

For those that were here early days this is the conclusion of a long running saga to remove glitches from my brand new audio dedicated Dell Vista computer bought in June 2007.

Service Pack 1 has been released for some time but was not until recently compatible with my computer which I guess had very early versions of Vista drivers.

A couple of weeks ago my computer informed me it was ready to take SP1, which I downloaded and YESSSSSSSSSS!!

I can now run the DPC latency checker and almost every reading falls into the green values. The read-out now says "This machine should be able to handle real time streaming of audio without drop outs" and its right.

As a consequence the Fireface can now be set on the smallest latency.

Everything comes to he who waits  -------- eventually.

Well it took that one just fine.
 
Thanks

Hi Peter

The talk on here has been a bit too technical for me lately so I have just been enjoying the music from XXHighend.

I have one or two things to comment on in various sections, but here is the question relevant to 09v-7.

Whenever I update the version, I save it to my desktop and overwrite the previous version. This has always gone without hitch, but upgrading from 09w-6 to 09v-7, I get the following error.

Unexpected error 0x80004005 and it refuses to upgrade changewp.exe. I have to skip it to complete the process.