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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: October 04, 2012, 04:54:30 pm
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Hello Peter, I'm still mulling over the matter and I wonder why everything works (almost) fine with non invert phase and doesn’t work at all with phase inverted. Premises: 1 – It’s PA related 2 - It’s phase invert related 3 - There is some kind of decompensation between channels inside the digital part of the DAC or before the DAC (due to the Phase Alignement way of working). This is shown in the panel meters of the soundcard when the music stops. 4 – This “decompensation” provokes after a while a total failure in the analog circuit of the DAC except with non invert phase and PA – that seems to counteract that “decompensation” and sounds wonderful. Besides, the failure is progresive with Phase inverted and PA -. Not so with phase inverted and PA+. I am not 100% sure but my DAC has something to do in all this. Above all the analog part. My knowledge is quite limited since I only apply ready recipes so I am going to resume the circuit behaviour if anyone could explain where is the problem. Although I think is a combination of both, the Phase Alignement and the analog circuit. It seems they are not compatible except in the forementioned cases. The differential balanced signals from DAC are "summed" up inside the tube stage. Each phase of the differential output of the DAC chip sends out two components: music and conversion errors. Other phase sends “minus music” and the same conversion error. The signals then are summed out of phase. The circuit offers common-mode signal rejection; this means that passes differential input signal ( music), but ignores what is common to both input signals. Common-mode signals are extraneous to the actual input signal and usually consist of hum, power-supply noise, and RFI. The point is scrub away the added electrical contamination Conclusions: - I am totally lost. Maxi
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127
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: October 03, 2012, 08:33:06 pm
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Peter, with 0.9z-7-3 all settings were running rigth (apparently). With earlier 0.9z-7 versions there was only the plop issue now solved. The problem is PA related: no problem with Iphase on or off at all when PA is not active. In fact the sound is fantastic ... and stereo ... I think. Regards Maxi
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128
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: October 03, 2012, 07:47:07 pm
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Peter, No, it isn't. I am wondering about the possibility that there is something wrong with the soundcard or the MoBo. This soundcard replaced one that was fried by accident (a poor electrical contact on the PC inlet). This is being an "annus horribilis" with hardware. I recently lost one 300B tube after a bias adjustment and so on... Maxi
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129
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: October 03, 2012, 06:06:53 pm
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Hello Peter, sorry for the delay but I've been quite busy and I couldn't try the Cambridge DAC yet. But I'd like to tell you a strange thing: except with Iphase off an PA -, that play without problems, when I stop the music with the other options the rigth channel replays the buffer and ends with the familiar plop, the left channel not. I don't know if it is the rigth procedure but I have deleted all the previous engine3 archives and I have placed the latest version in the Z7-4 folder. It seems that IPhase off and PA + plays properly except for the forementioned rigth channel problem . No way with IPhase on : PA + ends with the crack detect message and PA - with the distorted sound and crack. Maxi
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130
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: October 01, 2012, 03:40:38 pm
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are you sure you didn't mix up XXHighEnd.exe and Engine3.exe versions of different versions ?
Hi Peter, I am not sure but I think not. Anyway, how I can check that? Otherwise, can you, somehow, test with another D/A converter ? (could be mobo's spdif output)
I am using no usb or SPDIF because I am stealing the signal directly from balanced soundcard DAC chip legs (through coupling caps) to a tube analog circuit that works as buffer and converts the balanced signal in SE. Perhaps this is the differential fact with "normal" DACs I could try with a Cambridge DacMagic via usb or SPDIF but I think it works only 16 bits 48 Khz via USB and 24 bits 96 Khz via SPDIF. Maxi
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131
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: October 01, 2012, 02:54:18 pm
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Encouraged by the comments in the specific topic about the Z7-4 SQ, I finally took the plunge to try it again, this time trough an old pair of headphones ( I was so scared ). The question is wathever the buffer size and SFS settings, I can only play with IPhase off and PA- . All of the other three possibilities end after a while with horrendous cracking noises. I don't know because the new version itself improving or because, as Peter suggested, probably I had never PA working properly in my system, the question is that now the sound is SUPERB. The best so far. Maxi
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132
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: September 27, 2012, 12:12:12 pm
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Sorry Peter for bother with this but I have a lots of problems with 09.Z7-4 so I am going back to the safe side of 09.Z7-3. I am missing something probably because my low level english. I'll try it in the future after read carefully the questions involved.
Thank you anyway!
Best regards Maxi
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134
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: September 27, 2012, 10:18:48 am
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Hello Peter, first of all when you say that is something wrong with my settings/system for sure you are (have to be) rigth. I was just pointing that weird situation. I'd like to comment that with the same material and settings I think there were some inconsistency in the SQ, always very good but only sometimes magic.
You requested my actual settings:
- Attennuation level (without Normalization): mostly -9 because I have a gain problem not solved yet. But the problems persist with more attenuation. - The base material you play: 16/44.1 mostly FLAC but also some WAV and mp3 - SFS: 60. I only could down to 4 with the actual Dev. buffer settings. - Q1, Q1F, DevBufSize: 30, (x4), 1024. No plops at end with that settings but as I said before, I have a narrow margin there. - Your DAC Needs setting: 32 bits * - Your DAC Is setting: 32 bits 192 Khz * - Your upsampling rate: (x4) 176,4 * I recognize I 've never been sure about that settings, especially about bits one.
Regards
Maxi
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135
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Re: Normal Phase & Inverse Phase And PA +/-
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on: September 27, 2012, 01:04:22 am
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Hi Peter, I am playing the two versions with the same settings and the conclusions are: - With 9Z 7-4 I can't play with IPhase on whatever the PA is + or -. With PA- the problem is the related before: after a while the sound distorts and vanishes. With PA+ the following message appears: "24 bit second stage crack detect - 78174". With IPhase off all seems to be OK with both PA+ and PA-. - Re checked 9Z 7-3 and I have none of the above mentioned problems. And all signs suggests that PA is working properly. I haven't tried increase Q1xQ1FxDevBufSize total yet because I had a narrow margin to avoid plops . Best regards Maxi
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