To reduce CPU use, am I better off increasing Q1 or changing buffer to a higher setting?

Thanks, Roy.  I ended up brute forcing it by deleting everything related to this artist on my entire music server and re-ripping it.  Problem solved! 

Peter,

What's a good target CPU usage?  I'm not getting any ticks but my CPU is at 24%.  My buffer size in XXHE and on my Lynx card is 32, and my Q1-Parameter is 16. 

Thanks,
Dan

Sorry, Peter... what folder and file am I looking for where?

I have one artist in my library where each album I rip ends up with the same album cover.  I rip with dbpoweramp and when I look in the resulting directory for each album the file folder.jpeg had the correct cover art, but by the time XXHE displays it, all albums for that artist have the same album cover.  What should I do?

I had the same problem with the music playing in slow motion when buffer size was set to 32, but when I set player priority to low and thread priority to real time, the music played correctly.  All the pops and clicks also went away when I set the priorities.   

Peter,

Thanks for the name change.  No longer "not normal", just special.  I think there's a lot to like in the new setting, even though you now call it wrong.  Are you going to tell us what's going on under the covers?

Dan

Sorry, Mani.  I am referring to XXHE's upsampling feature, as in QAP.  When I have it set to No Upsampling the breaking point between between Normal and Not Normal is consistently Q1=14/15.  When I use Arc Prediction at Quad setting, the breaking point is inconsistent. 

Dan

I find the transition point between normal and not normal is different when XXHE is set to no oversampling and to QAP. 

With no oversampling it is consistently between Q1=14 and Q1=15. 

With QAP it is variable.  I played the same song multiple times at Q1=6 and the first time it was Not Normal (blank), the second time was Normal (Yes), and the third time it was also Normal.  At Q1=5, the results were No, No, Yes.

I guess I'll stick with no oversampllng.

For me Q15 to Q14 is the transition point.  I am using a Lynx AES16 and a BADA with no oversampling.  I like "abnormal" mode, and as a result I finally like Engine 4.  I used to find the sound lacked stability, especially with vocals.  Now it has the sonic stability of Engine 3 with the frequency extension and finesse of the previous Engine 4. I think I even like QAP now, but I need to try a broader range of music before I draw any conclusions.  Good stuff!

Peter,

Can you explain what you mean when you say QAP adds to the emotional experience of the music.  It seems to me that you'd have to be describing a coloration that is being added to the sound.  What happened to the pursuit of an Absolute Sound?  I perceive that a coloration is being added with QAP, and it is that coloration that I'm perceiving as a an exageration of spaciousness resulting in vocals that are too diffuse to be natural.  Do you agree?  Maybe this is the way music is supposed to sound, but I've heard some pretty high-end rigs in my day and I've never heard the music I listen to sound the way it does with QAP.  Just my two cents!

Dan

This version works for my Lynx AES16/Berkeley Audio DAC. I didn't have to do anything more that choose Engine 4 and a different device which was clearly labeled with KS:.   I can hear improved detail in Engine 4 compared Engine 3.  So far I prefer Engine 4 without any upsampling.  To my ear QAP sounds artificial.  The spaciousness is impressive but the vocals lack focus and sound too "creamy". 

No Problem, Peter.  Thanks for the reply.  I swear Engine 3 sounds better in y5 than in y4. I'm listening with no upsampling and all Qs at 0.  I don't even mind the 16 clicks!

I still haven't had any luck getting engine 4 to work.  Has anyone had success with a Windows 7/Lynx AES16/Berkeley Audio combo?  I'm undoubtedly doing one (or several) things wrong.  I changed the name of the first playback device to Lynx_Output and now in XXHE it shows as Lynx_Output (Lynx AES16).  I still have to hit the OK button 16 time on the "Initialize  =19=" error box when I launch XXHE.  I still get the error "selected device not suitable for kernel streaming" 

Will the next release of XXHE attempt to solve these problems?  If so, I'm happy to sit tight and enjoy version 09-y4.  If not, and I therefore need to resolve these problems myself, can anyone lend a hand?

Thanks for your thougts,
Dan

Thanks.  That did it.