Who's used the Audiophile Optimizer for Windows 2012 Server or Windows 8?

[PewterTA]

Technically that's for a single PC, you'd really need two of those licenses for dual PCs.

[preproman]

Is anyone using the Berkeley Alpha USB? If so was the drivers easy to install? I know for Windows 8 and 8.1 you have to install the drivers using Windows 8 compatibility mode. You have to select the compatibility tab then run the program in compatibility mode - then check and select Windows 7 then run setup.exe. This is so you can use the drivers in Windows 8 or 8.1.

 

Will this some compatibility mode work with AO?

[AudioPhil]

Many drivers need Win7 compatibility mode to be installed on windows server 2012/R2. Some don't work with Win7 Compatibility mode, to install those i included a little batch file in the AO Tools folder called install.cmd.

 

This script will help installing even those drivers which won't let you install them with compatibility mode. Please have a look at page 17 of my Guide: http://www.highend-audiopc.com/PDF/audiophile_optimizer_setup_guide.pdf

 

Many ask me for a compatibility list of DAC's/DDC's which work with Windows Server 2012. i never made that list. Why? It would contain hundreds of different DAC's/DDC's.

 

But i have another list, those which don't work. This is the list after more than 700 AO customer with about the same amount of DAC's/DDC's:

 

- CMedia Drivers for Shiit DAC's

[pjwd]

Technically that's for a single PC, you'd really need two of those licenses for dual PCs.

 

Thanks Pewter - I was under the impression that the eval copy ran 2 pc's and thought this was the same edition - looks like the most economical is 2 copies of essential unless there is a standard edition that runs on 2 - pretty hard to figure that out from microsoft blurb

[bpchia]

What impact do you guys think Broadwell will have on CPU selection for audio servers? Does it depend if Paul can do the clock mod for compatible motherboards? Broadwell seems to be excellent thermal wise.

[wisnon]

LOL yourself, Norman. You've said this several times now...and yet no, I still do not succumb to the hyperbole of "Chasm" unless you mean a $300 Arcam DAC vs these others. Chasm, wipe-the-floor, blow-the-doors-off. These are not what I hear when comparing great modern DACs. The differences are usually definite but subtle, often obfuscated by being system dependent, and very much horses for courses. I have heard the Lampi don't forget, and have a Directstream in my home in my main system as I type this. A properly set up Hugo is in the same league....not always better, not always worse, different (oh, and a fraction of the price). I know several MSB owners that say the same thing. They don't speak of chasms; on the contrary. YMMV.

 

Just get on over to NYC when you can and listen to his setup. THEN you will come to know what I had to find out firsthand. As a DSD lover you will be well rewarded for the effort and AL is a great host.

[k6davis]

Just get on over to NYC when you can and listen to his setup. THEN you will come to know what I had to find out firsthand. As a DSD lover you will be well rewarded for the effort and AL is a great host.

 

I have to mostly agree with Norman. I've sampled about 5 different modern DSD DACs and while some of them are in the same excellent neighborhood of sound quality, there are some that I didn't care for at all.

 

Further, I found that while my favorite of them all, the Lamipzator, didn't quite "wipe the floor" with it's closest competition, it did exhibit distinct sonic qualities with ease that were completely beyond the reach of the others. To say it in a much more informal way, it's like the difference between "Wow, that sounds fantastic..." to "Wow, I had no idea that it could sound like this..."

 

You mentioned, ted_b, that you've heard a Lampizator. I haven't yet heard the Hugo. Unfortunately, there are a huge number of both objective & subjective variables that impact our impression of any piece of equipment. My Lampizator is a Level 4 DSD only model, with balanced topology, volume control & Duelund caps - which I run direct to my power amp. The Lampizator you auditioned likely has a different configuration that may be more or may be less advanced. Then there's the preamp you use, or don't use, and everything else in the chain, plus individual hearing, not to mention individual musical & audio preferences.

 

With all of that, it's difficult to discuss sound with words, but as someone who is passionate about music and sound, I'm grateful to this site for all of the education & guidance I've received.

 

But, to end my rambling, like Norman, I have heard stark differences between well regarded modern DAC's. Most of them sounded great, a few I didn't care for at all, one was definitely the one for me.

[Ned Kelly]

Quick question for those who've installed the AO software recently before I start pestering Phil - did the sequence of events from the point where you started setup.exe coincide with the manual you downloaded after paying for the software ? My setup guide is tagged as version 1.26 but after installing the files in 'C:\AO' it didnt ask me the config questions - it simply exited. When I ran it again, it updated (or appeared to) and rebooted the machine. I went into ServerTool on the assumption that this would give me the opportunity of configuring my install, but that menu item only gives me the option to boot into minimal/core/GUI - I'll go back over the instructions in the morning.

 

For now I'm just going to see if I can get my DAC working in Minimal mode and call it a night - experience has taught me that this software and hardware both know when you're getting testy and will do everything in their power to make the rest of your night an ordeal

[k6davis]

Quick question for those who've installed the AO software recently before I start pestering Phil - did the sequence of events from the point where you started setup.exe coincide with the manual you downloaded after paying for the software ?

 

Running "setup.exe" only copies Phil's scripts and software to your hard drive - to "C:\AO", by default. In that directory, you'll find "service_tool.exe" and "audiophile_core.exe", along with everything else Phil provides.

[Ned Kelly]

Thanks for the feedback - as I mentioned earlier, I'll return to the setup guide when I've had more sleep.

[wisnon]

With all of that, it's difficult to discuss sound with words, but as someone who is passionate about music and sound, I'm grateful to this site for all of the education & guidance I've received.

 

But, to end my rambling, like Norman, I have heard stark differences between well regarded modern DAC's. Most of them sounded great, a few I didn't care for at all, one was definitely the one for me.

 

K6, I too have Lampi L4 PCM and DSD. In NYC at AL's house was the first and only time I ever heard a BIG7 and it was a wow experience for me...not whith Shizzzle but with ease and naturalness. It trounced my L4 (sonic memory must be accomodated for) in PCM. I have not heard all Lampi models, just L3/L4 and L6...now Big 7 too. Never heard a L5, Big 5 nor an L7

 

In any case, this audio get together in Queens used the same equipment and we swapped back and forth immediately to hear SQ differences with quality Headphones and amp. I never said the other dacs sounded bad, just that I could easily tell better from worse (it was not close and chasm is the best word I can find at the moment)...I did not expect this...I expected subtlety.

 

Final point. If AO/Win2012 makes Hugo sound a lot better, imagine what it must do for the other 2 Dacs that impressed me even more??? I cant imagine the nirvana. I would Love for Ted to heard them all at Al's place via AO and let me and you know what his impressions are.

[PewterTA]

Quick question for those who've installed the AO software recently before I start pestering Phil - did the sequence of events from the point where you started setup.exe coincide with the manual you downloaded after paying for the software ? My setup guide is tagged as version 1.26 but after installing the files in 'C:\AO' it didnt ask me the config questions - it simply exited. When I ran it again, it updated (or appeared to) and rebooted the machine. I went into ServerTool on the assumption that this would give me the opportunity of configuring my install, but that menu item only gives me the option to boot into minimal/core/GUI - I'll go back over the instructions in the morning.

 

For now I'm just going to see if I can get my DAC working in Minimal mode and call it a night - experience has taught me that this software and hardware both know when you're getting testy and will do everything in their power to make the rest of your night an ordeal

 

Ned, if you ran the setup, that just put everything in place. Then you need to get everything set on the computer the way you want (JRiver, drivers, etc.) run the service tool to put the computer into core/minimal mode (if you're going to use it). Once that's done and reboots, then you will want to run audiophile_core.exe, pick the advanced option in the beginning to get all the settings set that you want.

[Ned Kelly]

Thanks for the heads-up PTA - I ran audiophile_core.exe in core mode and it generated a second activation key despite my entering the original key at the first prompt - I'm already at 2 of 5 so I'm guessing I need to get this config thing right pretty smartly. I believe the notation folk are using to indicate their current sound sig/filter choice is '1B' - I chose that simply because the instructions suggested both were a good starting point. The defrag is churning away behind me so I'll leave any further discussion till the morning here in the Land of Smiles - 'night all !

[k6davis]

K6, I too have Lampi L4 PCM and DSD. In NYC at AL's house was the first and only time I ever heard a BIG7 and it was a wow experience for me...not whith Shizzzle but with ease and naturalness. It trounced my L4 (sonic memory must be accomodated for) in PCM. I have not heard all Lampi models, just L3/L4 and L6...now Big 7 too. Never heard a L5, Big 5 nor an L7

 

In any case, this audio get together in Queens used the same equipment and we swapped back and forth immediately to hear SQ differences with quality Headphones and amp. I never said the other dacs sounded bad, just that I could easily tell better from worse (it was not close and chasm is the best word I can find at the moment)...I did not expect this...I expected subtlety.

 

Final point. If AO/Win2012 makes Hugo sound a lot better, imagine what it must do for the other 2 Dacs that impressed me even more??? I cant imagine the nirvana. I would Love for Ted to heard them all at Al's place via AO and let me and you know what his impressions are.

 

That's pretty amazing Norman. I don't have PCM in my DAC. I use JRiver to convert everything to DSD128. But that aside, I would love to hear a sound that would "trounce" what I'm getting now. I can't imagine it, and can't afford it (LOL), but I'd love to hear it.

 

I can't tell from what you wrote if you're using AO/WS2012, but if you're not, you're missing out on something really special. I consider it essential now.

[DMelby]

With the release of Jriver MC 20, the Service Tool no longer has the option to set Media Center (MC20 specifically) as the shell in core mode. But this brought up a question I've had. Is there any specific advantage (sound quality, resource use, other) to setting Media Center as the shell in the Service Tool? Versus simply setting Media Center to run on windows start under the Jriver options?

If there is a specific advantage, is there a work around for setting MC20 as the shell under the current Service Tool release?

[AudioPhil]

With the release of Jriver MC 20, the Service Tool no longer has the option to set Media Center (MC20 specifically) as the shell in core mode. But this brought up a question I've had. Is there any specific advantage (sound quality, resource use, other) to setting Media Center as the shell in the Service Tool? Versus simply setting Media Center to run on windows start under the Jriver options?

If there is a specific advantage, is there a work around for setting MC20 as the shell under the current Service Tool release?

 

Hi

 

AO 1.27 respectively the new ServiceTool already includes the shell replacement function for JRiver MC20. Unfortunately AO 1.27 won't be released in the next few days. AO 1.27 will be a big release with a lot of new functions, many of them are not yet finished and others even need some more research to be done first.

 

In my opinion it's an advantage to have your media player directly as shell instead of having an "unnecessary" shell like the command prompt or even worse the desktop environment loaded first and then start the player on top of it. But that's a very puristic way of thinking...

 

To have JRiver MC20 set as shell, start the Task Manager (if you are in core/minimal-mode), then fire up registry editor. Locate [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] and replace:

 

"...\\J River\\Media Center 19\\Media Center 19.exe\"

 

with

 

"...\\J River\\Media Center 20\\Media Center 20.exe\"

[dtb300]

Phil....

 

With the new version coming, have you ever thought of having a screen/menu which would appear after selecting "A"dvanced Mode where you can select all your options then proceed (check box or radio buttons) Then AO would perform all your choices that are usually made manually but with the menu selections as your choices? Just a thought. Love the program and the results.... Not a .cfg file fan, but that too could be an option for "A"dvanced settings.

[AudioPhil]

Hi

 

i have a similar idea on hold yes. But it won't be included with 1.27, sorry.

[DMelby]

Hi

 

AO 1.27 respectively the new ServiceTool already includes the shell replacement function for JRiver MC20. Unfortunately AO 1.27 won't be released in the next few days. AO 1.27 will be a big release with a lot of new functions, many of them are not yet finished and others even need some more research to be done first.

 

In my opinion it's an advantage to have your media player directly as shell instead of having an "unnecessary" shell like the command prompt or even worse the desktop environment loaded first and then start the player on top of it. But that's a very puristic way of thinking...

 

To have JRiver MC20 set as shell, start the Task Manager (if you are in core/minimal-mode), then fire up registry editor. Locate [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] and replace:

 

"...\\J River\\Media Center 19\\Media Center 19.exe\"

 

with

 

"...\\J River\\Media Center 20\\Media Center 20.exe\"

 

Thank you Phil for the prompt reply!

[Eric Ventura]

Hi

 

i have a similar idea on hold yes. But it won't be included with 1.27, sorry.

 

I'm new to AO, just bought it last weekend - are upgrades free?

[AudioPhil]

Hi

 

The first public version of AO was version 1.20. All updates from 1.20 to 1.26 were free for everybody. AO 1.27 won't be free for the first time. I have not yet decided if buyers of AO 1.26 will get a free update or not. All users who bought AO 1.20 - 1.25 will have to buy the update to 1.27 or any later versions. Updates after 1.27 will be free again (for about 5 to 6 updates, not yet decided).

 

AO 1.27 will use a different algorithm to calculate the Hardware-ID. So you will need a new Activation-Key either way. The old Activation-Keys won't work on 1.27. The Upgrade process via PayPal will be fully automated, so right after you purchased the upgrade, you can download and activate 1.27 (download and activation portal will know if a user has up to 1.26, or 1.27 and newer). The Activation-Count of buyers of AO 1.27 will probably be set to 5 again, so no matter how many activations you already used, you will have another 5 then (but i haven't finally decided on that as well).

 

Sorry that i can't sell a printer and then deliver free ink cartridges for a whole live

[tboooe]

 

Sorry that i can't sell a printer and then deliver free ink cartridges for a whole live

I agree with that! Any idea on upgrade fee? Also, any audio improvements to 1.27? Given all your help and this wonderful product I am happy to upgrade!!!

[sig8]

Hi

 

AO 1.27 respectively the new ServiceTool already includes the shell replacement function for JRiver MC20. Unfortunately AO 1.27 won't be released in the next few days. AO 1.27 will be a big release with a lot of new functions, many of them are not yet finished and others even need some more research to be done first.

 

In my opinion it's an advantage to have your media player directly as shell instead of having an "unnecessary" shell like the command prompt or even worse the desktop environment loaded first and then start the player on top of it. But that's a very puristic way of thinking...

 

To have JRiver MC20 set as shell, start the Task Manager (if you are in core/minimal-mode), then fire up registry editor. Locate [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon] and replace:

 

"...\\J River\\Media Center 19\\Media Center 19.exe\"

 

with

 

"...\\J River\\Media Center 20\\Media Center 20.exe\"

 

Phil: Is it necessary to do a shell replacement through the registry editor as mentioned in the post, or I could just do the shell replacement through Service Tool even when I am in Core Mode. Please let me know. Thanks.

[AudioPhil]

I agree with that! Any idea on upgrade fee? Also, any audio improvements to 1.27? Given all your help and this wonderful product I am happy to upgrade!!!

 

Hi

 

The upgrade will be about 20€. It will contain a lot of new options, including the "ultimate mode" whill will offer even more wheels to play around with. ServiceTool and Guide will be updated as you all are used to. But i don't want to tell too much right now

 

if anybody has an idea or feature that he is missing very bad, it's a good time now to post ideas about what more AO&ST can do for you! :-)

[AudioPhil]

Phil: Is it necessary to do a shell replacement through the registry editor as mentioned in the post, or I could just do the shell replacement through Service Tool even when I am in Core Mode. Please let me know. Thanks.

 

the manual registry change is currently only needed for JRiver MC20. For MC17-MC19 you can use the ServiceTool. AO 1.27 will include the ServiceTool with MC20 support.