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Author Topic: Quick(?) Playback Drive Question  (Read 7350 times)
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Jud
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« on: May 31, 2013, 04:05:37 pm »

I've been playing with XXHE running on Boot Camped Win7 on a MacBook Pro laptop in my main system.  Though I have a RAMdisk as Playback Drive in my desktop system, the laptop is limited to 8GB RAM, so I don't think a RAMdisk is a viable alternative. 

The music is on an external drive.  I use it as a Firewire Drive in OSX, but unfortunately Win7 refuses to recognize it over that connection, so it's hooked up as USB2.  (Though Boot Camp will run Win8, this particular mid-2009 MBP is limited to Win7.  And from experience with the desktop system, I doubt Win8 would do any better with Firewire anyway.  USB3 is out because - you guessed it - the MBP is limited to USB2.)

I am wondering whether setting up a partition on the MBP's internal SSD as a Playback Drive would make things better or worse?  If they might be better, is 10GB a reasonable size, or is there any reason it may need to be larger?

Thanks,

Jud
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Win 7 64-bit; i7-950@3.07GHz; 16GB RAM; OS on SATA 6GB/s SSD; AIFF files on external FW HDD; XXHE and Playback Drive on separate RAMdisks; no page file; Audioquest Dragonfly DAC/preamp; PSE Studio IV amp; Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers or Etymotic Research ER-4P in-ear monitors.  XXHE 0.9z-8-3a settings for the moment: Peak Extend; Arc Prediction; Redbook files upsampled 2x; KS Adaptive Mode; Phase Alignment off; buffer=512; Straight Contiguous; Playerprio=Low; ThreadPrio=RealTime; Unattended; OS minimized; all services off; Q1=17, factor=2; SFS=2.1; XXTweaks=Ultimate; Time Performance Index=Not the best.
PeterSt
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« Reply #1 on: May 31, 2013, 04:25:44 pm »

Jud,

Any Plaback Drive implies his own sound anyway, and trying it on the SSD might just as well work out for the better as for the worse. It is just for you to try out.
What's important though is the understanding that it is actually unrelated to your question. So, you can create a Playback Drive anywhere, as long as it is just that.

So ... create a partition on the SSD for it and have it a go.

But :

I think chances are fair it won't work at all. That is, if I understand it correctly that this is actually your OSX boot disk. I have, by accident, a same situation here, but it really needed tweaking to get it done. This is about
a. the Win partion on an OSX disk while the OSX disk won't let itself expand after all has been setup with Bootcamp (and sure not from the Windows side);
b. you can get it done through exFAT formatting IIRC which is compatible with Playback Drive usage.

Besides you can expect all sorts of problems with using it from XXHighEnd (you see soon enough whether it goes or not), it always hinders you during daily usage. Not every day maybe, but something can be the matter, and repairing it ... you will find yourself quite alone because nobody does these things, and when they try they fail to begin with.

So I wouldn't do it for these reasons ...
Peter


PS: But I never saw any problems with OSX.

PPS: What about a small USB hub ? that should work.
Logged

For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13*  (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).

For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10  (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.

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Jud
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« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2013, 05:12:34 pm »

Jud,

Any Plaback Drive implies his own sound anyway, and trying it on the SSD might just as well work out for the better as for the worse. It is just for you to try out.
What's important though is the understanding that it is actually unrelated to your question. So, you can create a Playback Drive anywhere, as long as it is just that.

So ... create a partition on the SSD for it and have it a go.

But :

I think chances are fair it won't work at all. That is, if I understand it correctly that this is actually your OSX boot disk. I have, by accident, a same situation here, but it really needed tweaking to get it done. This is about
a. the Win partion on an OSX disk while the OSX disk won't let itself expand after all has been setup with Bootcamp (and sure not from the Windows side);
b. you can get it done through exFAT formatting IIRC which is compatible with Playback Drive usage.

I'll see whether I can't shrink the OSX partition a bit (there's quite a bit of unused room there, but I'd like to leave plenty of spare, which is why I asked the 10GB question) and install a new NTFS partition in the spare space.  Otherwise may use exFAT, though I could also experiment with making it another OSX partition - I've got a proggy installed from Paragon that allows Win7 RW access to OSX volumes, and perhaps it would allow XXHE to see an OSX partition as a viable playback drive?

Quote
PPS: What about a small USB hub ? that should work.

USB hub for better sound with USB2?  B/c my impression at least was the 2009 MBP has no ports that will do USB3 on a hardware level.  Or did you mean something else?
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Win 7 64-bit; i7-950@3.07GHz; 16GB RAM; OS on SATA 6GB/s SSD; AIFF files on external FW HDD; XXHE and Playback Drive on separate RAMdisks; no page file; Audioquest Dragonfly DAC/preamp; PSE Studio IV amp; Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers or Etymotic Research ER-4P in-ear monitors.  XXHE 0.9z-8-3a settings for the moment: Peak Extend; Arc Prediction; Redbook files upsampled 2x; KS Adaptive Mode; Phase Alignment off; buffer=512; Straight Contiguous; Playerprio=Low; ThreadPrio=RealTime; Unattended; OS minimized; all services off; Q1=17, factor=2; SFS=2.1; XXTweaks=Ultimate; Time Performance Index=Not the best.
PeterSt
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« Reply #3 on: May 31, 2013, 06:08:50 pm »

You can't predict in advance how anything will sound. Can be USB2 just the same. It will be more slow though.

I forgot to answer the 10GB question :
Think how large an album can be, or better : how large all the tracks of your Playlist Area will be when played in one go, in expanded form (! - thus WAV).
10GB is then a little overdone, although a couple of 192KHz hires albums will imply that.

Peter
Logged

For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13*  (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).

For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10  (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.

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Jud
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Posts: 292


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« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2013, 07:57:57 pm »


I forgot to answer the 10GB question :
Think how large an album can be, or better : how large all the tracks of your Playlist Area will be when played in one go, in expanded form (! - thus WAV).
10GB is then a little overdone, although a couple of 192KHz hires albums will imply that.

Peter

I do have the Avison Ensemble's Vivaldi Concerti Opus 8 (includes The Four Seasons), 36 tracks in 192/24, so maybe 15-20GB?!  I have the space anyway....
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Win 7 64-bit; i7-950@3.07GHz; 16GB RAM; OS on SATA 6GB/s SSD; AIFF files on external FW HDD; XXHE and Playback Drive on separate RAMdisks; no page file; Audioquest Dragonfly DAC/preamp; PSE Studio IV amp; Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers or Etymotic Research ER-4P in-ear monitors.  XXHE 0.9z-8-3a settings for the moment: Peak Extend; Arc Prediction; Redbook files upsampled 2x; KS Adaptive Mode; Phase Alignment off; buffer=512; Straight Contiguous; Playerprio=Low; ThreadPrio=RealTime; Unattended; OS minimized; all services off; Q1=17, factor=2; SFS=2.1; XXTweaks=Ultimate; Time Performance Index=Not the best.
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