Praise for xxHighEnd 2.01 and new filters

[charliemb]

All hail the magic of 2.01 !!!   

Version 2.01 deserves special praise for the sound quality and besides the sound quality because for me it is the first version of xxHE that really really works as intended for the way I use it (mostly!).  I'm sure it has worked well for others for many years but for me it hasn't.  Now, with a few exception, everything just works.  For example:

• Hitting alt-p after hitting alt-s or alt-e plays back correctly
• Playback does not randomly stop after a few tracks
• I can select tracks with control-click, skipping certain tracks or reordering tracks and it behaves exactly like playing an entire CD or folder
• The output mode (WASAPI vs. KS) does not change at random like it used to (actually it did but it is rare now)
• Etc.,  etc.

To me 2.01 is first version that I consider "production level" quality.  I can easily recommend it now to almost anyone.

Regarding sound quality,  2.01 with the new filters is so amazingly good that I will have to listen to my entire collection all over again.  Every single one.  It is one of those major shifts in sound reproduction.   Listening now for the first time to PCM with zero ringing is a revelation.  Recordings like Fragile by Yes that even at 96/24 sounded relatively complex, dense, and distorted before now sound simple, light, and clean.   The clarity is unbelievable.  Things I hear and never heard before are all over the place. 

The reason I mentioned "PCM with zero ringing" is because, as an alternative to xxHE, I used HQPlayer to playback with DSD which has little or no ringing and DSD naturally has a slow roll off as it has all day long to attenuate down by 5 Mhz (2xDSD).  That also sounds very good.  But the sound is relatively distant and less involving.

With xxHE I get a high level of immediacy and involvement.  Amazing.

I use the "High" custom filter of 384 (v2.01 has only two Custom Filter settings for 384: High and Low) and a Wyred 4 Sound DAC2 DSDse which is a 384 capable DAC.   I look forward to a Mid setting whenever it comes.

Charlie

P.S.  These comments should also apply to 2.02.  But I cannot confirm because I have not tried it.  I'm running Win7 and 2.02 appears to be more about Win10, which I'm not interested in.

[PeterSt]

Thank you so much for the super kind words, Charlie.

For others, might they not know, it was Charlie who motivated me to go this new path of filtering :
New Filter request(s)
So, nice that it worked out for you yourself (Charlie) as well. I myself am very happy with it.

Kind regards,
Peter

PS: The AI filtering is on my ToDo to be removed. I suppose this is OK now ?

[charliemb]

I'd say yes.

[music33]

For the novice, non-technical user - for a NOS1a owner how would the filters benefit me over using AP?  Do I set a filter per CD I play?

thanks,
dave

[PeterSt]

Dave - No. Just the one you like best for your system. But you can change when you want.

Peter

[manisandher]

A while ago, I wrote this:

I've just been playing around with HQPlayer... I still prefer the sound of XX's Arc Prediction to any of the filters in HQP. The two 'polynomial' filters in HQP have a similar sort of sound to AP, but not quite as 'full'. But some of the other filters in HQP have a lot more LF energy than AP, with a softer mid and high end.

And even earlier, I wrote:

... HQPlayer sounds more laid back than XX. And the 'reverb effect' isn't present. I've been assuming that the latter is an AP anomaly that I'm hearing. Maybe it isn't. As I said, it's actually very, very pleasant and really gives the music a 'recorded live' feeling.

With the new custom filters in 2.02, I think I have a better understanding of what is happening.

My first impression on listening to AP in 2.02 was "wow, there is REAL sparkle now". Perhaps too much sparkle. But really, really nice. But on trying 705600 Mid (as per Peter's sig), it was immediately obvious that what I had described as the 'reverb effect' above was actually HF distortion. With the custom filter, 'an artificial sheen' has been removed from the sound. Everything now sounds so natural.

I'll post more thoughts once I've had a chance to delve further into 2.02. (I haven't even installed the new 1.04 driver for the NOS1a yet.) But for now, I have to say that my early thoughts on 2.02 are as positive as any I've ever had in the last 7 and a 1/2 years of using XX.

Well done Peter!

Mani.