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manisandher
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« on: August 02, 2013, 09:30:24 pm » |
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Just read through this thread on CA: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/would-technical-explanation-why-software-players-could-sound-different-16991/Click on page 6 and scroll down to Peter's posts and you'll find this:
Tablet -> Audio Engine on diskless Win PC (W7/W8) -> DAC
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NAS etc./ File Server / PC with any OS of choice
With the explicit notice that during playback there is no network connection (and certainly no WiFi) anywhere. This is why the (^) is between braces. The "diskless PC" is also without without the OS on USB, might one think that. There's just nothing.Tablet controls the Audio Engine. The fun of this (and explicitly by design) is also that this allows to have a music PC (some call that Server) at first, while the "Audio Engine" PC is obtained newly to its best, while all you need to do is connect it and continue as you were. The above merely responds to someone who asked whether the NAS etc. could be shut off with caches etc. Well, that's an XXHighEnd feature for ages by now, but the latest version arranges for this all dynamically. Anyway, this scheme is my latest in the quest of eliminating all from the PC which implies noise. So no disks, no LAN, nothing.But now I am not completely honest because I am using an USB(3) connected DAC. Well, sh*t happens. Will get rid of that someday too. :-)Also, this PC runs on 470MHz (and a cpu usage of virtually 0% at 32/705.6 real time upsampling). Sounds better ... (The bold is all mine.) Wow! Looks like my computer audio dreams may soon be met... A couple of questions Peter: 1. Can the Audio Engine PC be a low-powered PC, something like an Atom, that can be run off a 12V linear power supply? 2. Will the NOS1 require any updates? (I mean, will the NOS1 need a 'true' USB3 connection, as opposed to its current USB2?) 3. When is this due for release????????????????????? Mani. |
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
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Jud
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« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2013, 01:15:22 am » |
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Just read through this thread on CA: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/would-technical-explanation-why-software-players-could-sound-different-16991/Click on page 6 and scroll down to Peter's posts and you'll find this:
Tablet -> Audio Engine on diskless Win PC (W7/W8) -> DAC
( ^ )
NAS etc./ File Server / PC with any OS of choice
With the explicit notice that during playback there is no network connection (and certainly no WiFi) anywhere. This is why the (^) is between braces. The "diskless PC" is also without without the OS on USB, might one think that. There's just nothing.Tablet controls the Audio Engine. The fun of this (and explicitly by design) is also that this allows to have a music PC (some call that Server) at first, while the "Audio Engine" PC is obtained newly to its best, while all you need to do is connect it and continue as you were. The above merely responds to someone who asked whether the NAS etc. could be shut off with caches etc. Well, that's an XXHighEnd feature for ages by now, but the latest version arranges for this all dynamically. Anyway, this scheme is my latest in the quest of eliminating all from the PC which implies noise. So no disks, no LAN, nothing.But now I am not completely honest because I am using an USB(3) connected DAC. Well, sh*t happens. Will get rid of that someday too. :-)Also, this PC runs on 470MHz (and a cpu usage of virtually 0% at 32/705.6 real time upsampling). Sounds better ... (The bold is all mine.) Wow! Looks like my computer audio dreams may soon be met... A couple of questions Peter: 1. Can the Audio Engine PC be a low-powered PC, something like an Atom, that can be run off a 12V linear power supply? 2. Will the NOS1 require any updates? (I mean, will the NOS1 need a 'true' USB3 connection, as opposed to its current USB2?) 3. When is this due for release????????????????????? Mani. Yeah, noticed it too, Mani.  Peter's been hinting around about this for months, if not longer. Of course you know the answer to the release question: When it's ready.  I want to know where he's hiding the OS, if he's saying it's a W7/W8 PC with no disks and no USB stick. |
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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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acg
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« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2013, 02:02:15 am » |
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Sounds like a tablet with a wired connection to the XX pc. Maybe the os is on a battery powered CF card like this one... http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wm_9sgCroP4/URc5pvfZWhI/AAAAAAAAAjk/wzgl1A_VjWk/s1600/PICT7386.JPG |
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Audio PC
Stealth Mach II with Xeon E5 2698 v4 20 Core 2GHz with Hyperthreading On [40 cores]/ 32GB Ram / RAM-OS / mobo USB port
XXHighEnd 2.11 RAM-OS (W14393 RAM)
Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Buffer 4096 / Q1/3/4/5 = 14/1/1/1 / xQ1 = 1 / Processor Core Appointment Scheme = Core 1-3 / PlayerPrio = Low / ThreadPrio = RealTime / ClockRes = 1ms / Not Switch during playback = off / Xtweaks Balanced Load = 43 / Nervous Rate = 100 / Cool when idle = 1 / Provide stable power = 0 / Utilize cores always = 1 / Time Stability = Stable / Time Performance Index = Optimal / SFS 0.90MB Max 120MB / Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect = on / Start Playback during conversion = off / Do not start playback at all = off / Copy to XX-drive by standard = on / Always clear Proxy before Playback = on / Stop Remaining Desktop Services = on / Stop Desktop Services = on / Stop Remaining Services = on / Stop WASAPI Services = on / Stop W10 Services = off / Keep LAN Services = on / Persist = off / Use Remote Desktop = on/ Arc Predict / Minimize OS = on / Peak Extend = off / Unattended
Audio Chain
Stealth MachII PC >> Lush^2 USB 1.1m >> NOS1a G3 B75, Driver v1.0.4 (4ms) >> Blaxius^2 >> 10Y DHT Preamp >> 6 way active horn speakers (Single Ended Triodes)
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AlainGr
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« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2013, 02:19:11 am » |
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Hi Anthony, I am quite sure that it will not ressemble anything we expect. It is always exciting ! Peter has a sense of drama that will surely "knock our socks off", technically and sonically I am rotten at predictions, so I am sitting here with a lunch, a sleeping bag and a roll of toilet paper - to besiege the place Alain |
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Desktop with ASUS Sabertooth X79 motherboard,Intel 3930k 6 cores (+ 6) at 1.2 GHZ,32GB ram 1333Mhz,Win 10 pro build 14386 64 bit with no updates,OS + XXHE on external Sata III SSD (Esata), music (WAV) on external 5200 rpm drive through network, OS MInimized, XX with engine 4 adaptive,4096 (buffer size), CPU with scheme 3,Player = Low,Thread = RealTime, Q1 = 14,Q345 = 1,1,1,Q1x=1,Clock res = (variable),Stop Desktop Services,Stop Remaining Services,Stop Wasapi,,LAN on,persist = on,all OSD off,SFS = 2,PE off,PA off, Arc Prediction,x16 Upsample, Straight Contiguous,Lush USB cable,Phasure NOS1a DAC,Meitner PA-6 preamp, Spectral Audio DMA-180 Power Amp, Tannoy System 15 DMT II, Tannoy St-100 supertweeters, Tannoy TS2.12 subwoofers (2). * On hiatus for a while...
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manisandher
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« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2013, 07:26:06 am » |
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I suspect he's using something like VirtualBox to create a virtual PC for the audio engine. I only came across the concept of virtual PCs yesterday and I can't quite imagine the configuration he could be using, so could be totally off.
For those of us who have played around a lot with PC hardware, and the affect the various pieces of hardware have on sound (e.g. the type of playback drive, etc), it seems obvious that getting rid of everything in the audio engine PC (including even the OS drive) can only be a good thing.
Some of us, led primarily by Nick's thinking, have doggedly pursued the idea of minimizing (electrical) noise in the PC by doing things like having only one HDD in the PC, removing all fans from the PC (including PS), disabling all USB drives except the one necessary for the DAC, etc, etc. I can see how using a virtual PC for the audio engine would take this thinking to the ultimate level...
Mani.
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
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Mamba315
Audio Loudspeaker
 Offline
Posts: 62
Ferrari NOS1a
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« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2013, 08:38:57 am » |
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I took the last part to suggest that the audio-engine-pc thing and DAC would/could be combined into one piece of hardware. Which makes tons of sense to me, if the goal is to have a user friendly piece that can achieve NOS1 SQ from any type of music library. I could be way off base though..
And of course, there are other variations that I believe Peter intends to tackle one day. ADC and 8-channel NOS1 (active crossovers in the PC Peter style), as well as a few other related things. If only we could clone the poor bloke! I don't know if he even sleeps.
In our little niche, he's Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak all rolled into one.
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manisandher
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« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2013, 09:27:20 am » |
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Nah, I think Tablet -> Audio Engine PC is bluetooth. Audio Engine PC -> NOS1 is currently USB3, but I think this might become bluetooth in the future too.
Really exciting stuff...
Mani.
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
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Jud
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« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2013, 02:23:01 am » |
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Puzzled about how a virtual OS/PC would change anything - still need hardware and drivers.
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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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