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227
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: 0.9 z3 ( X3PB log )
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on: October 26, 2010, 08:05:53 am
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hey there Peter, massive effort getting this new version out. At one stage on the weekend I was dreading you would release it just before the Korean GP commenced and my head would explode trying to decide what to pay attention to ... the GP or 9z-3  I noticed that the X3PB log is no longer being generated. Is that expected or perhaps something wrong I've done here? I tried with logging both ON & OFF and neither has triggered it. That log came in handy checking the latency as reported by XXHE itself that's all. Ta, Russ |
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229
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: RAMDisk
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on: October 12, 2010, 12:59:13 pm
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Back shortly.
nup ... still no go. The reason I didn't try a manual image load is there isn't an option to do that after reboot as I discovered. The system dies during the left/right/left green "Night Rider" lights phase of the boot process, and kicks me back to POST. As I said in original post, everything works fine if you don't tick the "use memory above 4 GB limit" which is on the "advanced" tab that appears when you have more than 4GB installed. I suppose a few batch jobs could be set up to copy the contents from the ramdisk to somewhere just prior to shutting down, and a similar one used to restore those files following a successful boot, but I would have thought that unnecessary if the program worked as intended. Surely there must be someone else out there running Vista 32 with more than 4GB ram installed, to re-affirm this bug? Russ |
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230
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: RAMDisk
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on: October 12, 2010, 11:56:02 am
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It's all a moot point now anyway, as I installed Vista X64 and that all works just dandy. Yes, for you that is.   haha ... I thought that might have been the reply. Tell ya what, I made a full system backup of my Vista 32 environment just before switching to X64, and I'll restore it to a harddrive and check out the ability to do an actual LOAD command. It means working through my supper time, but anything for a good cause  Back shortly. RGB |
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231
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: RAMDisk
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on: October 12, 2010, 10:53:00 am
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Reading through the manual for RamDisk I noted that if you are using a 32bit version of Vista/Win7 , that RamDisk will utilize any memory above the 4GB limit normally restricted to. Great I thought, stick in another 4GB in the spare mem slots of my m/b and I can then have my cake and eat it too !
Turned out this wasn't such a joyous endeavour. I have just spend several hours phutzing around trying to get RamDisk working with that additional RAM but have been unsuccessful.
I'm currently playing under 32 bit Vista with SP2 installed.
The issue arises when asking RamDisk to load the saved image at a reboot. I could never find a combination of settings that allowed this. It would create a RamDisk from scratch without issue, but as soon as you requested a reload the system would start to load but then die and kick you back to POST. A jump into SAFE MODE to delete the image file and change settings for RamDisk were the only way of continuing.
In the end I've gone back to working with a 1.5GB Ramdisk using mem under Vista's immediate control. This is sufficient to load 2 albums at a time, which is usually the most I ever do.
I would be interested to know if anyone running 32bit versions of Vista/Win7 with MORE THAN 4GB MEMORY, has been successful in getting RamDisk working correctly using that additional memory.
Also, those running 64 bits versions with more than 4GB ram installed, are you able to create RamDisks up to 4GB OK that survive a reboot intact?
Cheers,
Russ
Hi there Russ, I wondered ... Did you ever try to load/create the RAMDisk (of 4GB under 32 bits) just after the reboot ? Thanks, Peter hey there Pierre, I may not have ever tried pressing the actual "LOAD" command from within the GUI itself just after a boot. I was simply trying to get the automation happening correctly, but alas, it all kept dying. It would certainly CREATE a RAMDisk OK though with the extra memory. It's all a moot point now anyway, as I installed Vista X64 and that all works just dandy. Takes a while to write the image out at system shutdown though  Russ |
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232
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: SQ with XX on RAMdisk
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on: October 11, 2010, 07:19:35 am
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This afternoon I played Klaus Schultz's "Mental Door" track from his Picture Music album, and it is the first time I can truly say it sounded as I remember when I first heard it in my youth 35 years ago. Back then my hearing was a lot better, and I recall the cymbals and triangle's being very distinct. Well they did the same today Beginning at around the 9:00 minute mark through to 17:30, this percussion work is most prominent around the 12:50 mark. The clarity is very intoxicating! This track was eerily surround sound in nature, even though it is only stereo. I'm sure there is some phasing trickery employed by Klaus to give that illusion, and hasn't been very noticeable until today. For those that have the album, give it a spin again. Cheers, Russ |
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233
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Your thoughts about the Sound Quality / Re: SQ with XX on RAMdisk
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on: October 11, 2010, 12:18:51 am
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Less messy, far more resolution (and crispy), better defined bass (hence less bassy), and in the end just far better.
I started out with 512 for the Device Buffer and 64 for Q1, but since no anomalies are to be heard from that I guess it can be (way) lower.
IOW, KS Adaptive Mode doesn't cut it anymore.
Welcome to the wonderful auditory world of low samples KS Special mode I've been using 2 samples for quite some time now. Most of the time I could stick with 1, but ocassionally I would get a glitch so I've raised it to 2. I'm also only using 2X AP resample. CPU useage for the engine averages at about 30% with 2 samples. Using a Ramdisk has brought a noticeable improvement to the transient response and clarity, especially the percussion side, and I would like to thank you guys that had the epiphany. Cheers, Russ |
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234
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: RAMDisk
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on: October 08, 2010, 01:00:06 pm
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Also, those running 64 bits versions with more than 4GB ram installed, are you able to create RamDisks up to 4GB OK that survive a reboot intact?
Well I answered this question myself by using a spare drive and installing a virgin Vista 64 image on it. Creating a 3GB RamDisk within a 8GB total capacity was successful and should accommodate up to about 4 queued albums. More importantly there weren't any issues experienced after each reboot, although it was a little quirky getting it's act all together initially. Time now to back up the new build with Acronis True Image and transfer across to my Vertex 2 SSD. I can't believe how much slower normal drives are after using SSD's for a whle. I also run some quick read tests using HD Tune Pro while I was at it. The HDD used for this build was a 1GB WD "blue" and started out at approx 110 MB/sec transfer, the SSD was in the order of 250 MB/sec and the RamDIsk was a whisker under 3500 MB/sec with a burst speed of 4300 MB/sec !! Russ |
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236
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: RAMDisk
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on: October 07, 2010, 08:25:25 am
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Reading through the manual for RamDisk I noted that if you are using a 32bit version of Vista/Win7 , that RamDisk will utilize any memory above the 4GB limit normally restricted to. Great I thought, stick in another 4GB in the spare mem slots of my m/b and I can then have my cake and eat it too !
Turned out this wasn't such a joyous endeavour. I have just spend several hours phutzing around trying to get RamDisk working with that additional RAM but have been unsuccessful.
I'm currently playing under 32 bit Vista with SP2 installed.
The issue arises when asking RamDisk to load the saved image at a reboot. I could never find a combination of settings that allowed this. It would create a RamDisk from scratch without issue, but as soon as you requested a reload the system would start to load but then die and kick you back to POST. A jump into SAFE MODE to delete the image file and change settings for RamDisk were the only way of continuing.
In the end I've gone back to working with a 1.5GB Ramdisk using mem under Vista's immediate control. This is sufficient to load 2 albums at a time, which is usually the most I ever do.
I would be interested to know if anyone running 32bit versions of Vista/Win7 with MORE THAN 4GB MEMORY, has been successful in getting RamDisk working correctly using that additional memory.
Also, those running 64 bits versions with more than 4GB ram installed, are you able to create RamDisks up to 4GB OK that survive a reboot intact?
Cheers,
Russ
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238
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Chatter and forum related stuff / Re: Real Levels
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on: October 02, 2010, 04:10:21 pm
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In either case it is not adviseable to play this loud because it really hurts your ears.
haha ... no kidding Peter ! Perhaps a timely reminder for our uninformed forum members to show caution when playing music at high levels for extensive periods. Doing so will result in irreversible hearing damage A little cut 'n paste from a typical website explaining these issues: Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)
Of the roughly 40 million Americans suffering from hearing loss, 10 million can be attributed to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL can be caused by a one-time exposure to loud sound as well as by repeated exposure to sounds at various loudness levels over an extended period of time. Damage happens to the microscopic hair cells found inside the cochlea. These cells respond to mechanical sound vibrations by sending an electrical signal to the auditory nerve. Different groups of hair cells are responsible for different frequencies (rate of vibrations). The healthy human ear can hear frequencies ranging from 20Hz to 20,000 Hz. Over time, the hair cell's hair-like stereocilia may get damaged or broken. If enough of them are damaged, hearing loss results. The high frequency area of the cochlea is often damaged by loud sound.
Sound pressure is measured in decibels (dB). Like a temperature scale, the decibel scale goes below zero. The average person can hear sounds down to about 0 dB, the level of rustling leaves. Some people with very good hearing can hear sounds down to -15 dB. If a sound reaches 85 dB or stronger, it can cause permanent damage to your hearing. The amount of time you listen to a sound affects how much damage it will cause. The quieter the sound, the longer you can listen to it safely. If the sound is very quiet, it will not cause damage even if you listen to it for a very long time; however, exposure to some common sounds can cause permanent damage. With extended exposure, noises that reach a decibel level of 85 can cause permanent damage to the hair cells in the inner ear, leading to hearing loss. Many common sounds may be louder than you think…
* A typical conversation occurs at 60 dB - not loud enough to cause damage.
* A bulldozer that is idling (note that this is idling, not actively bulldozing) is loud enough at 85 dB that it can cause permanent damage after only 1 work day (8 hours).
* When listening to music on earphones at a standard volume level 5, the sound generated reaches a level of 100 dB, loud enough to cause permanent damage after just 15 minutes per day!
* A clap of thunder from a nearby storm (120 dB) or a gunshot (140-190 dB, depending on weapon), can both cause immediate damage.
Decibel Exposure Time Guidelines
Accepted standards for recommended permissible exposure time for continuous time weighted average noise, according to NIOSH and CDC, 2002. For every 3 dBs over 85dB, the permissible exposure time before possible damage can occur is cut in half.
Continuous dB Permissible Exposure Time
85 db 8 hours
88 dB 4 hours
91 db 2 hours
94 db 1 hour
97 db 30 minutes
100 db 15 minutes
103 db 7.5 minutes
106 dB 3.75 min (< 4min)
109 dB 1.875 min (< 2min)
112 dB .9375 min (~1 min)
115 dB .46875 min (~30 sec)I'll step down off my soap box now, but just wanted to have a quick word about this. My hearing is reasonable for my age, but it would be even better if I had headed warnings about listening to music at painful levels in my youth. Cheers all, Russ |
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239
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Chatter and forum related stuff / Re: A WARNING about SSD's ...
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on: September 30, 2010, 07:51:43 am
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Mani, an OCZ Vertex 60GB.
eek !! .... I bought a couple of those a few weeks back. ( Fingers crossed ! ) I should be safe though. Our electricity is reliably supplied with good old atmosphere polluting brown coal, unlike some countries that rely on windmills and the vagaries of the wind gods  Best of luck with the rebuild Russ |
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