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

[One and a half]

I think I know just what you're talking about in terms of comparison between CD and computer playback. I would offer the following comments and suggestions:

 

In terms of placement, I prefer the more focused sound of computer playback. What sounds like "air" is often (for me) more haze, jitter and distortion of the image. That said, I understand your comment about a flat image with less illusion of separation. I use HQ Player as well, and to my ears AO restorees much of the true "air" and three-dimensionality. You could opt for the trial and see if you agree.

 

Secondly, and you may not want to hear this, I have tried both SSD and HD for my playback computer, and I strongly feel that SSD produces a cramped sound with a truncated top end and thinner bass, the result being very much what you describe with your computer playback. An HD results in a more natural, spacious sound to my ears. Perhaps there's nothing you can do about this, unless you are handy with computers and have the time and patience. One way to test this is to buy a 1 TB laptop HD and an inexpensive USB/SATA adapter, install W10 on the USB drive and try booting and running HQ Player from that.

 

Finally, when was the last time you tried the DAC straight from the computers USB port? Forgive me because it's a bit presumptuous, but sometimes you can start adding tweaks and gadgets and lose an honest sound. Feel free to ignore this part of them comment. :-)

 

Thank you zackthedog for the insight to what AO is capable of. I will keep reading the manual, BTW, typical of software manuals I do admit, in that it leaves out 40% of the instructions. Another post.

 

For SSD versus a rotating drive, the frame of the m93p doesn't allow a spinning drive for the OS, so I may not be able to swing this. The computer is about 1/2 the size of a mac mini in volume, and uses the smaller form factor SSD, oh well.

 

The last time I used a straight USB connection from PC a few months ago and it was unlistenable, very gritty and undefined. The fixers do have their place, but will try a gradual approach AO alone, see how it goes, and progress or retard from there.

[One and a half]

Downloaded the user manual for AO today June 28. I'm only interested in the Windows 10 install, so skipped the first 42 pages as irrelevant, pertaining to Server OS. I wouldn't know which section is the relevant to windows 10 or not. Guidance please for some commonality.

 

Pages 43 to 46 are relevant to the Win10 install - OK.

 

Page 47 talks about the Service tool. Fine, but how to launch? No detail. Oh wait, it's on page 56 under a FAQ.

 

Page 48 starts about converting Server edition to core mode. So what happened to the Win10 install conclusion, like reboot, have a coffee or wash the dog...?

 

Page 52 Shell replacement - Does it apply to Win10?

 

I'm really sorry to read this manual, out of five it's a 0.1 for the Windows 10 install.

 

I'm not prepared to risk a working pro Win10 install without knowing the full install procedures, since in the front of the manual on page 3, specific mention is made not to deviate from the instructions, which is fine, but if they are incomplete to begin with, who knows what to do?

 

As an aside on the topic of headless control, will rdp software such as RealVNC Server work and does it need to be installed first or later after the AO install.

[AudioPhil]

When do you plan to release 2.10 ?

 

...after the beta phase ;-)

[AudioPhil]

Downloaded the user manual for AO today June 28. I'm only interested in the Windows 10 install, so skipped the first 42 pages as irrelevant, pertaining to Server OS. I wouldn't know which section is the relevant to windows 10 or not. Guidance please for some commonality.

 

Pages 43 to 46 are relevant to the Win10 install - OK.

 

Page 47 talks about the Service tool. Fine, but how to launch? No detail. Oh wait, it's on page 56 under a FAQ.

 

Page 48 starts about converting Server edition to core mode. So what happened to the Win10 install conclusion, like reboot, have a coffee or wash the dog...?

 

Page 52 Shell replacement - Does it apply to Win10?

 

I'm really sorry to read this manual, out of five it's a 0.1 for the Windows 10 install.

 

I'm not prepared to risk a working pro Win10 install without knowing the full install procedures, since in the front of the manual on page 3, specific mention is made not to deviate from the instructions, which is fine, but if they are incomplete to begin with, who knows what to do?

 

As an aside on the topic of headless control, will rdp software such as RealVNC Server work and does it need to be installed first or later after the AO install.

 

yes there is certainly roon for improvement, no doubt...

 

The installation of the OS is very similar, so i don't see the need to further blow up the guide with that. AO and ServiceTool are for all OS's. Some parts are only for 2012 and some are only for Windows 10, those are marked as such. Everything not specially marked for either one or the other OS is for both of them.

 

Best,

Phil

[AudioPhil]

Just installed AO 2.0 on my Mac Mini running Windows 10 Home. My setup is very basic: HQ Player and ARCAM irDAC over USB with JPlay driver. Music files are on a NAS directly connected to the Mini. This is my first experience with AO. I read the manual thoroughly and have had no problems even with "ultimate" tweaks and Windows 10 strip-down. I also use this computer for watching movies on iTunes and downloading music files. I notice a few things need an extra step (like opening zip files with right click) but that's fine with me. :-)

 

The sound is quite something, extremely wide and smooth with wonderful instrumental details. Orchestral recordings especially display amazing separation of instruments. So far I am very pleased. I'm very tempted to invest in a dedicated PC and use the Mini for the other stuff.

 

One question: is it okay to run Fidelizer in addition to AO?

 

hi

 

So you don't think the manual is 0.1 out of five stars?

 

yes, Fildelizer is OK. If you like you can also use our ServiceTool's Shell Replacement Feature for Fidelizer.

 

Best,

Phil

[Anto]

Hello Phil, I ask if it is possible for users AO 1:40, upgrade to AO 2:00, with only 1 activation rather than 5, at a lower price to 37.50 CHF.

These are hard times for everyone! the money is never enough ...

Sorry to bother you

Greetings

Anto

[AudioPhil]

Just upgraded to AO 2.0.

Windows server 2012 R2

 

Roon Server 2.0 runs fine in Core Mode, I can play local media, but I get a transport error when I try to stream from Tidal within Roon. The error doesn't occur in Minimal Server mode.

 

Is RoonServer/Tidal supported in Core Mode?

 

hi

 

no supoort for core mode yet, but planned for 2.10. you must switch to minimal-server. Make sure your read the instructions very carefully: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f28-highend-audiopc-sponsored/roonserver-and-windows-server-2012-r2-minimal-server-mode-27426/

 

Best,

Phil

[AudioPhil]

Hello Phil, I ask if it is possible for users AO 1:40, upgrade to AO 2:00, with only 1 activation rather than 5, at a lower price to 37.50 CHF.

These are hard times for everyone! the money is never enough ...

Sorry to bother you

Greetings

Anto

 

i am sorry but there are some technical limitations on the back-end which prevent this :-(

[One and a half]

yes there is certainly roon for improvement, no doubt...

 

The installation of the OS is very similar, so i don't see the need to further blow up the guide with that. AO and ServiceTool are for all OS's. Some parts are only for 2012 and some are only for Windows 10, those are marked as such. Everything not specially marked for either one or the other OS is for both of them.

 

Best,

Phil

 

I see.

 

Please put this comment on the page after the index.

 

"Some parts of this manual are only for Server 2012 and some are only for Windows 10, those are marked as such. Everything not specially marked for either one or the other OS is for both Operating systems."

[AudioPhil]

Hi

 

would/does this small piece of information allready help you?

 

Best,

Phil

[jcn3]

@AudioPhil -- I'm currently using a CAPS v3 pc (Atom N2800mt processor) running 32 bit Win10. Does this PC have enough power to run AO 2.0?

[tboooe]

@AudioPhil -- I'm currently using a CAPS v3 pc (Atom N2800mt processor) running 32 bit Win10. Does this PC have enough power to run AO 2.0?

I've used Server R2 and AO 1.4 on my old Atom D525 machine without any problems. Not sure if that helps at all.

[AudioPhil]

Sure it does :-)

 

basically AO would even run on a 15y+ machine.

 

the only "requirement" AO has is the OS itself. It must be either Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 or Windows 10. As long as you can install one of these OS's AO will be just fine.

 

Best,

Phil

[Mikem1]

hi

 

no supoort for core mode yet, but planned for 2.10. you must switch to minimal-server. Make sure your read the instructions very carefully: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f28-highend-audiopc-sponsored/roonserver-and-windows-server-2012-r2-minimal-server-mode-27426/

 

Best,

Phil

 

Thanks for the quick response.

 

RoonServer, under Minimal Server, runs without issues. Your documentation

provided all I needed for setup.

 

Streaming local media to an Auralic Aires Roon Endpoint, AO 2.0

makes an amazing improvement to sound quality.

 

- Mike

[lamechops]

just wondering how come there's shell replacement for tidal, but not spotify?

[AudioPhil]

Hi Mike

 

you are very welcome and thanks a lot for the feedback.

 

Best,

Phil

[AudioPhil]

just wondering how come there's shell replacement for tidal, but not spotify?

 

Hi

 

A good question to be honest. I think this is mostly because there were no requests for it so far.

 

best,

Phil

[lamechops]

Hi

 

A good question to be honest. I think this is mostly because there were no requests for it so far.

 

best,

Phil

 

Hi Phil

 

Thanks for your reply. I always thought spotify is more popular than tidal. Looks like I'm wrong

[jcn3]

Sure it does :-)

 

basically AO would even run on a 15y+ machine.

 

the only "requirement" AO has is the OS itself. It must be either Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 or Windows 10. As long as you can install one of these OS's AO will be just fine.

 

Best,

Phil

 

my reason for asking is that i'm trying to improve the sound of the n2800mt based caps machine. currently using either jriver or foobar2000 fed from nas via minimserver.

 

tried jplay and it clearly sounded better, but brought the machine to it's knees -- would get dropouts with 16/44 and basically wouldn't play 24/192.

 

does ao 2.0 free-up resources enough to make something like jplay work on such a small machine?

 

thanks for the input. i look forward to trying ao 2.0

 

jim

[Octagon]

...out of five it's a 0.1 for the Windows 10 install

Hi One and a half,

 

isn't your statement a bit harsh?

 

One might not know the history of AO, so only the number of pages of the manual might frighten a Newbie. Many pages of Phil's manual touch parts which belong less to AO than to setup of OS, player software or hardware. At the beginning it was more an enthusiast's project using his professional knowledge for the niche of sound quality as a commercial project. That is what one still recognizes within the manual and the behaviour of AO's team, don't we?

 

And that has been at least one motivation I know, trying to do the trick again with a much easier available OS like W10. So let's be fair and see how everything improves step by step

 

By the way: R2 Core Mode still outperformes W10 Core Mode both full optimized with AO2.0. So if one is focussed on highest SQ reading the pages might be an interesting task and lead to some personal testing? Enjoy and have fun!

 

Just my 2 cents

Thomas

[Blueline]

This I have copied from the manual

”First of all, update your BIOS to the latest version available.”

 

 

Is it necessary to update Bios often.

 

Haakon

[AudioPhil]

my reason for asking is that i'm trying to improve the sound of the n2800mt based caps machine. currently using either jriver or foobar2000 fed from nas via minimserver.

 

tried jplay and it clearly sounded better, but brought the machine to it's knees -- would get dropouts with 16/44 and basically wouldn't play 24/192.

 

does ao 2.0 free-up resources enough to make something like jplay work on such a small machine?

 

thanks for the input. i look forward to trying ao 2.0

 

jim

 

hi

 

fair enough. Well, i cannot guarantee you will get rid of the hickups/dropouts. BUT, due to the nature of AO and its optimizations you can expect a significant drop in overall latency which will greatly help to get rid of the dropouts.

 

Generally speaking there are two reasons for hickups/dropouts:

 

- your just demanding too much from your hardware. Especially JPLAY (which i love) gives you a lot of wheels which allow you to overdo it. So there is a physical limit even AO cannot break trough. But as said, AO will greatly help to lower overall latency.

 

- bad coded drivers. Happily these can be found and either removed or exchanged. LatencyMon is a fantastic tool written exactly for this job -> Resplendence Software - LatencyMon: suitability checker for real-time audio and other tasks

 

if you use AO and chech/fix your possibly suboptimal working drivers you can expect to completely eliminate all hickups/dropouts. (Assuming your not over-doing it with JPLAY)

 

Best,

Phil

[Dev]

This I have copied from the manual

”First of all, update your BIOS to the latest version available.”

 

 

Is it necessary to update Bios often.

 

Haakon

 

 

 

Updating Bios is not always beneficial. Earlier the Bios vendor used to say don’t update if things are working fine - but with uefi bios, the updates are becoming more frequent. I had once some processor core options removed from updating AMI bios on a Asus motherboard. You need to carefully read the changelog and see if any feature benefits you. However, there are fixes which aren’t listed in the changelog too but the good thing is you can rollback to the previous version if something doesn’t work - keep copies of current bios as well as the latest is helpful.

[AudioPhil]

This I have copied from the manual

”First of all, update your BIOS to the latest version available.”

 

 

Is it necessary to update Bios often.

 

Haakon

 

Hi

 

no, not needed very often. But its a good point to do it before you set up a computer.

 

mostly vendors stop delivering new BIOS's as fast as possible, meaning only fee months after a mainboard was released. So you definitely won't have to update it "all the time".

 

best,

phil

[jcn3]

hi

 

fair enough. Well, i cannot guarantee you will get rid of the hickups/dropouts. BUT, due to the nature of AO and its optimizations you can expect a significant drop in overall latency which will greatly help to get rid of the dropouts.

 

Generally speaking there are two reasons for hickups/dropouts:

 

- your just demanding too much from your hardware. Especially JPLAY (which i love) gives you a lot of wheels which allow you to overdo it. So there is a physical limit even AO cannot break trough. But as said, AO will greatly help to lower overall latency.

 

- bad coded drivers. Happily these can be found and either removed or exchanged. LatencyMon is a fantastic tool written exactly for this job -> Resplendence Software - LatencyMon: suitability checker for real-time audio and other tasks

 

if you use AO and chech/fix your possibly suboptimal working drivers you can expect to completely eliminate all hickups/dropouts. (Assuming your not over-doing it with JPLAY)

 

Best,

Phil

 

thanks phil -- i appreciate the thoughtful response.

 

jim