I received the Blaxius^2 about 10 days ago.  Had a brief listen before heading out on a trip.  Returned, and have now been listening for a couple of days.

At first my feeling was "this is amazing, but I think I had this sound with Blaxius^1 as well."  So earlier today, as a test, I switched back to Blaxius^1.  I was utterly shocked at how much "flatter" the sound was. THERE IS NO GOING BACK!  Just like with the upgrade to Mach III.

I have to listen some more and write a more detailed report.  I really do not even know where to begin.  The overall impression is more "3D" and further immersion in the music.  I need to sort this out some more.  Still absorbing the sound.

Ramesh

Michael,

On Nov 5, Peter mentioned that he was still using (since Oct 29) a B^2 configuration of A: B-R B: B-R.  I believe this is the configuration he is using.

Ramesh

Peter,

Waiting for the B^2 to arrive so I can comment on my experience.  I have not experimented too much with the L^2 configuration since settling on what is shown in my signature.  I think I mentioned that putting in a dedicated circuit for the audio system helped.  I can turn on LED lights, etc. and there is no buzz/crackle like before.

Ramesh

Robert,

I'm familiar with underclocking the CPU, but have never tried underclocking RAM.  My guess is most people here have not tried underclocking RAM.  I might be wrong though.

Ramesh

The current setup (see signature) is SPECTACULAR!  It is now all about the music entirely.  Classical music is still I think the most demanding in terms of SQ--will spend some time on this next weekend.

One change is worth mentioning.  After being bothered by having to turn off certain dimmers, LED lights, etc. while playing (especially after Lush) because of ticks or scratches, I finally got a dedicated line for music put in. It could be my imagination, but music seems especially spectacular with the added dedicated line.

How many times have we said this: cannot imagine how it could get better!

Thanks again Peter for the continuous upgrades and improvements. 

Ramesh

Mani,

There might be a difference experimenting with the Mach II vs Mach III. My experience is that despite the big difference the Lush^2 can make, the most astounding improvement I've had is with the upgrade to the Mach III. There is no way to overstate how much the Mach III transforms the quality of SQ.

Ramesh

I have been meaning to start using Galleries, and only just came around to setting them up.  First, galleries are very easy to setup, almost easier than the documentation makes it appear!!

I have a question on how people organize the relationship between galleries and music library folders.  To give an example, I have jazz organized under music library folders as follows: Jazz/D/Dave Brubeck/Dave Brubeck-Time Out.

The mapping to a gallery called Jazz 100 (to keep reference to albums in the list 100 Jazz Albums that Shook the World) ends up as: Jazz 100/Dave Brubeck/Dave Brubeck-Time Out.

Additional Dave Brubeck albums will be under Jazz 100/Dave Brubeck.  This works better for me than having just one level so multiple albums by one band/performer (Coltrane for example) end up under John Coltrane.

Curious how others manage categorizing music libraries and galleries.

By the way, this is a truly amazing feature of XXHE that I was much TOO LATE to adopt.  I might end up reorganizing my music libraries with galleries in mind.

Thanks for this feature Peter!  I'm sure others have discovered this much earlier than I did.

Ramesh

Mani,

Did you try Peter's last config: A:B,W,R,Y  B: B,W,R?  I've been listening to this for a couple of days, and the sound is mesmerizing, and not at all unnatural.  At least two friends who have listened recently have looked around while the music is playing to essentially ask: where did that come from? 

More soon...

Ramesh

Definitely not a good idea.  I've just got everything set up again to try the various Lush^2 configurations.

Mani:

There is almost no variability in DC offset on my NOS1a.  The DC offset dropped after the G3 upgrade, but other than that values remain constant.

Ramesh

All,

A quick note to see how people are using the NOS1 with sources other than XXHE.  Specifically streaming Tidal without preparing with XXHE, and for HT.  The main question is if 44.1, and 48 sources sound OK without the upsampling XXHE does.  Of course I can try this with the XXHE filtering off, but wanted to learn about other experiences trying this.

Ramesh

Shreekant,

Are you using the default naming convention with dBpoweramp.  Have you tried changing the naming convention in dBpoweramp?

Ramesh

Robert,

Looking at you signature I see you are using Scheme 3-4; Peter has 3-5.

Ramesh

OK.  So went back to Mach II tonight.  Lush^2.  I was partly wondering how much of the improvement is the Mach III versus the Lush^2.  It's quite clear that the enormous difference comes from the Mach III.  There is something magical with the Mach III.

Mach II + Lush^2 sounds excellent in every way EXCEPT when compared with the Mach III.  There is something extra going on with the Mach III.  Not sure what it is, but, as I said before, the quality of the music is drastically different.

A conclusion first: the upgrade to the Mach III and Lush^2 result in the biggest jump in SQ compared to everything that came before.  I am quite sure everything that came before was necessary (G3, Blaxius, 2.10, etc.) but the Mach III and Lush^2 are completely transformative--the change feels qualitatively different, like the music is now in a different dimension.

I am actually at a loss for words, other than to say, music is much more REAL and palpable.  I know we've often said about the SQ "feels like the musicians are in the room" but this is a little different.  The music is now in the environment, like all other sounds, so that very often I found myself instinctively reacting "what was that?" like you would if you suddenly heard a sound in the environment--a glass being placed on a table, something dropping to the floor, a door closing, book falling in the bookcase, etc. 

Something is different at a bodily level.  Imagine you are in room and someone suddenly hits a cymbal, even though you expect it, the sound is startling.  The music now has this startling quality.  Again imagine someone suddenly starting to sing in a room.  Again startling even if you expect it.

I'll try to find words, but the biggest change feels to me like the music has now become a part of the environment, so the "real" sounds in the environment are not different from the "recorded" sound in the room.

I'm sure much more needs to be optimized.  But it feels like the foundation provided by the Mach III and Lush^2 are at a whole new level--I can imagine we are only starting to exploit what might now be possible.

Absolutely fantastic Peter!