It doesn't seem to be related to running RDC and/or XX in full screen (see attached). These were taken from the desktop PC in my office, which is what I normally use to RDC to the music server when listening to the audio PC in my office. I have never had an issue with scaling here. How can there be a problem now? I mean, the configuration is exactly the same, except the Mach II now connects to the NOS1a in my basement, not the one in my office. (Hey Peter, remember when I told you that HQPlayer seems to like one NOS1a and not the other, could this be related at all???)

I don't have an audio PC in my office right now but will try the Mach II back in the office at some point.

Mani.

I'd like to revisit this thread...

I'm having to close and re-start XX whenever I come out of Unattended, because the XX window comes back totally messed up, just as I showed at the beginning of this thread. It's getting quite tiresome now. I've also now ascertained that this re-scaling issue is unrelated to WASPI being on or off in the audio PC (contrary to my earlier earlier findings).

I can also now say that this issue is totally independent of audio PC hardware, as when my new Mach II is connected to my main system (stellar sound BTW... more on this at a later point), it exhibits the exact same behaviour as my previous audio PC ('Le Monster').

But for me, the really crazy thing is that this re-scaling only seems to happen in one of my systems. The issue exists in the following chain:

controlling PC (desktop/laptop) -> RDC -> music server -> RDC -> main audio PC

BUT... it doesn't exist in this chain:

controlling PC (desktop/laptop) -> RDC -> music server -> RDC -> office audio PC

In other words, when the Mach II was in my office, there was no re-scaling issue. Only when I took it into the basement did it start showing the same re-scaling issue as my previous audio PC there. Oh, and the two (Mach II and Le Monster) have the RAM-OS loaded from two totally separate hard drives.

Anyone else having this re-scaling issue whenever coming out of Unattended??? Any ideas how to solve?

Mani.

Listening to Henryk Górecki in my office right now (trying to concentrate on work)... with my eyes full of tears... Only music can do this...

Mani.

Edit: Now listening to KLF to cheer myself up...

Hi Alain.


Yeah, not bad for an office system, hey? I'm quite happy to experiment with different amps and speakers in this room (and probably will continue to do so going forward), but XX and the NOS1a are a permanent fixture.

My BIG dilemma right now is where to put the Mach II. I haven't tried it in my main system yet, and won't for a few more weeks. But I just know that I'll really miss it when I take it out of my office system. If this is the case, the only solution will be to order another one! Boy, running two systems starts getting very expensive. Having said that, it's just sooooo nice to be able to work with beautiful music filling the room as you do so. This is becoming almost more important to me than having a dedicated listening room...

Mani.

There's one guy who looks totally out of place - doesn't have the 'cool' gene.

Mani.

The Mach II has landed!

Very straightforward to set up - connected the monitor, mouse and keyboard first just to find the IP address via ipconfig. Once I had this it was a doddle to set the RDC up. Then removed the video card.

Peter must have been enjoying using it as it was still in MinOS! Had to go to normal OS to get my NOS1a to be recognized. But other than this, got into RAM-OS with total ease.

And the sound?

How can a PC make such a difference? I think for the first time ever I've now got 'real', deep, deep bass from my office system. Listening to Marley's 'Kaya' right now - I've always thought not the best recording, and generally lacking deep bass for a reggae album. But this just isn't the case, as I'm hearing it right now.

BIG smile on my face...

Thanks soooooo much Peter!!!

Edit: Of course, lots more thoughts about the sound over time...

Mani.

You're welcome Peter!

The 2660 Mach II should arrive here tomorrow. Fortunately I'll be around to receive it and should be able to set it up immediately. I'll compare it to my current audio PC (3960X, Teradak linear PSU, 3x Neutron Star mobo/USB clocks, etc) at some point, but it'd probably be best to wait a while to let the Mach II burn in - other owners (e.g. Scroobius) have reported that the burn-in process can take quite a while. As always, I'll try to give my honest impression of the sound...

Mani.

Perfect! Found what I was looking for immediately. Thanks Peter.

Mani.

The only way I can find what I want is to do the search in Tidal first and then to use the artist name exactly as it appears in Tidal in the XX search box. For example, if you put 'Beatles' in the XX search box, it will come back with nothing. I mean, nothing. Very frustrating.

I'm currently looking for 'Los Pajaros Perdidos' by Christina Pluhar/Philippe Jaroussky/L'Arpeggiata in XX. No matter what permutation of the title and/or artist I use, XX will not come up with it. Tidal finds it immediately using just Christina Pluhar.

HELP!!!

Mani.

I'd be very careful equating DR with SQ. Sure, a DR of 6 or so suggests massive compression, from which one might surmise that the mastering may also be pretty poor.

As an example, I have two digital versions of Brubeck's 'Time Out', one with a DR of 13, the other with 12. The former sounds absolutely terrible. I mean, really flat and lifeless. The latter sounds soooooo much better. (But then again, I still prefer the sound of my 45RPM vinyl version over all the digital versions I have.)

Recording/mastering is waaaaaay more important than anything else, and I don't think this can be 'measured' in any way... other than by listening.

Mani.

'Digital Black' is track 95 on the Alan Parsons Sound Check 2 CD. He describes it as "silence - all bits at 0". Yes, my 'digital black' and 'silence' graphs look almost* identical. With the former, I am playing back the digital black file on XX. With the latter, nothing is playing back (but the NOS1a is still connected to the ADC).

(*There is a curious spike at 46kHz, only visible when a file is being played back, i.e. not present in my 'silence' graphs. This spike actually seems larger with the Intona in place. But this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt because it may simply be a quirk of the ADC.)

So all in all, another 'failed' experiment. I'm starting to appreciate how Edison must have felt...

Mani.

Yes, we should always bear this in mind.

Mani.

Unfortunately, it seems my ADC simply isn't good enough to measure whether the Intona makes a difference or not... with the NOS1a, that is 

But on the plus side, the NOS1a really is quiet 

Mani.

Hi Alain, in your case the Intona has cut the ground loop by providing galvanic isolation - that's exactly what galvanic isolation means. Galvanic isolation does not necessarily lead to noise reduction - a common misconception. (But if you're using an isolation transformer, it probably does cut HF noise - unfortunately, it'll kill transients in the music too. This has been my experience anyway.)

Now looking at my iFi DAC graphs (not the NOS1a, because there's no with/without Intona), it's clear that the Intona is cutting noise, as well as providing galvanic isolation. So to my mind, the Intona does more than just providing galvanic isolation. Maybe some of what it does is actually destructive to the sound? Robocop seams to hear this, but for me it's exactly the opposite. To me, the Intona cleans things up, making music sound simply more realistic.

Anyway, this has inspired me to test things further with the NOS1a, with and without the Intona. I'll capture some digital black files and also a couple of 1kHz @-90dB files. If anyone can think of any other tests I could perform, just let me know.

Mani.

And finally, in case it's of interest, silence with the Intona feeding the NOS1a...

[The rise in noise after 45kHz is down purely to the ADC and not the DAC.]

Mani.