Fidelia 1.5

[REShaman]

Time for good news!

 

Support got back to me with the next incremental steps. I guess they support with incremental steps. This time it worked. So that other members who may have a similar problem as mine will know what I was told to do to get Fidelia up and running. The important steps are as follows:

 

1. Delete the Preference Plist file which can be found by holding down the option key and clicking on GO in Finder>Library>preferences. Aside from the Preference file, I found a locked Preference file from 2011 when I first procured Fidelia. I was instructed to remove that file as well.

 

2. Delete the Fidelia Library file in the same main library Directory Finder>User Name>library>(but in the) Applications Support Directory>Fidelia>Fidelia Library file.

 

After deleting those two files, I launched Fidelia and added three Ahmad Jamal tracks (randomly chosen) to the Add Library list page and clicked on the first track on the list. Fidelia started up.

 

Gapless play of AIFF files which compose 99.9% of my music library. No DSD yet. Perhaps that will be a work in progress or not. There have been enough confirmation of Alac tracks in hog mode not playing gapless so I chose not to confirm that problem, which is not the same as supporting those who are experiencing that problem in obtaining the Support to make it work.

 

I haven't tweaked Fidelia yet, just wanted to report back to the membership. I thanked Support appropriately for getting me up to speed. I am noticing Fidelia will render volume compressed loud tracks with fidelity. Need to play examples of excellently produced albums such as those from Soundkeeper Records which sound about as good as it gets even when played through tin cans connected by string ?.

 

Our hobby drives between crazy when it goes wrong and crazy good when it goes right. Wishing a speedy solution for the other impediments articulated in this thread.

 

Enjoy the music,

Richard

[Marino Marco]

Thanks, Richard. AAC files still has the gap after trying all that. I have all sorts of files, if one type of file doesn't work then there's no point in using fidelia until a proper solution/update is provided.

 

They got back to me with this:

 

Hi Marino,

Thanks for the report. The engineers have been notified and we will get this resolved ASAP.

 

Best,

Corey Walo

[REShaman]

Thanks, Richard. AAC files still has the gap after trying all that. I have all sorts of files, if one type of file doesn't work then there's no point in using fidelia until a proper solution/update is provided.

 

They got back to me with this:

 

Hi Marino,

Thanks for the report. The engineers have been notified and we will get this resolved ASAP.

 

Best,

Corey Walo

 

Sorry for your troubles. Corey was helpful to me. Hopefully he will help you sort out your problem. Apparently, for some, gapless play can be touchy. Given that the problem is now quite public at least at CA, the attention needed to fix this impediment will be directed. In this way our problems spur the software player creators to improve their product. Getting there isn't fun for us.

 

Good fortune.

 

Best,

Richard

[Liam]

Is it just me, or does the beta 1.4 0b9 (13069325), for any one who has it, sound better than 1.5?

[mjb]

1.5.1 sounds excellent. Very happy with the update, and no problems with gap-less.

[Melvin]

For the sake of clarity, version 1.5 (website download) & version 1.5.1 (App Store) are the same. Here is a snippet from the Audiofile Engineering FB page:

 

[REShaman]

For the sake of clarity, version 1.5 (website download) & version 1.5.1 (App Store) are the same. Here is a snippet from the Audiofile Engineering FB page:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11360[/ATTACH]

 

Thank you for the clarification. And, neither the App Store nor the check for updates produced an update for 1.50.

 

Best,

Richard

[Melvin]

FWIW, regarding gapless, I deleted the plist file this morning and tried again .. no gapless. As to sound quality, I think it's the best build thus far.

 

 

edit: thanks to Richard for helping me locate the plist file with his provided info.

[orgel]

So far Support while earnest has not helped me discover the impediment to a working software player. I have been an early adopter since before there was an advanced program. But the edition before 1.3.1 stopped working and since then nothing recommended has repaired my inoperable 1.50. This is not meant to disparage Fidelia merely to represent my situation.

 

(If you've already done this, then please disregard … but let me know that it didn't work.) I had a similar problem with 1.3.1 -- somehow I screwed it up beyond repair, an unusual occurrence for me.

 

I would suggest:

 

• Make sure you have your license info noted somewhere outside of Fidelia. (If you have an account on the Audiofile website, you can retrieve it from there.)
  
• Use a Mac uninstaller (e.g., AppZapper) to nuke Fidelia and all related files.
  
• Do a clean install of 1.5.0/1.
  

--David

[REShaman]

(If you've already done this, then please disregard … but let me know that it didn't work.) I had a similar problem with 1.3.1 -- somehow I screwed it up beyond repair, an unusual occurrence for me.

 

I would suggest:

 

• Make sure you have your license info noted somewhere outside of Fidelia. (If you have an account on the Audiofile website, you can retrieve it from there.)
  
• Use a Mac uninstaller (e.g., AppZapper) to nuke Fidelia and all related files.
  
• Do a clean install of 1.5.0/1.
  

--David

 

David,

 

Appreciate your care and counsel. Did you read my post # 26?

 

Enjoy the music,

Richard

[orgel]

Did you read my post # 26?

 

Well, I have now, but not when I suggested a means to solve the non-working Fidelia issue. So apologies for responding prematurely, but maybe my "brute force" method will help someone else. I did confirm that it worked on my screwed-up 1.3.1 installation (and 1.5 upgrade) when I got home yesterday, so maybe it will help someone else.

 

Like others, no luck playing ALAC files gaplessly in Fidelia 1.5.

 

Interestingly (to me, anyway), I did some listening comparisons between Fidelia (Advanced) 1.5.0 and Audirvana 1.5.12. I found that when I got my iZotope settings in Fidelia as close as possible to what I have in Audirvana (not as many adjustable parameters in Fidelia, as far as I could figure out), the two sounded remarkably alike when playing PCM files. I'd still give the edge in sound quality to A+, but I could easily see how someone could prefer Fidelia. Still, no DSD playback in Fidelia, so that's a deal-breaker for me.

 

One feature of Fidelia I find very useful on occasion is that you can use it to upsample files and save the upsampled versions.

 

FWIW.

 

--David

[REShaman]

Well, I have now, but not when I suggested a means to solve the non-working Fidelia issue. So apologies for responding prematurely, but maybe my "brute force" method will help someone else. I did confirm that it worked on my screwed-up 1.3.1 installation (and 1.5 upgrade) when I got home yesterday, so maybe it will help someone else.

 

Like others, no luck playing ALAC files gaplessly in Fidelia 1.5.

 

Interestingly (to me, anyway), I did some listening comparisons between Fidelia (Advanced) 1.5.0 and Audirvana 1.5.12. I found that when I got my iZotope settings in Fidelia as close as possible to what I have in Audirvana (not as many adjustable parameters in Fidelia, as far as I could figure out), the two sounded remarkably alike when playing PCM files. I'd still give the edge in sound quality to A+, but I could easily see how someone could prefer Fidelia. Still, no DSD playback in Fidelia, so that's a deal-breaker for me.

 

One feature of Fidelia I find very useful on occasion is that you can use it to upsample files and save the upsampled versions.

 

FWIW.

 

--David

 

David,

 

No apologies necessary. I thanked you for your care and concern, then merely referred you to my post that described what I needed to do to get 1.50 operational for my issues which may be very different from what others are experiencing.

 

As for helping others, isn't that a good thing?

 

As my music library is 99.9% AIFF, alas, I do not suffer the Alac impediment, which hopefully should be dealt with by Fidelia as I believe they have indicated their awareness of the problem.

 

SQ sounds a bit bright and I believe I need to make adjustments to tame that bright SQ. That will be next.

 

Enjoy the music,

Richard

[orgel]

SQ sounds a bit bright and I believe I need to make adjustments to tame that bright SQ.

 

I think you'll be able to get closer to the sound you're looking for by tweaking the iZotope settings in the "Advanced" tab of the preferences. There are some presets there that will get you headed in the right direction, I think.

 

--David

[REShaman]

I think you'll be able to get closer to the sound you're looking for by tweaking the iZotope settings in the "Advanced" tab of the preferences. There are some presets there that will get you headed in the right direction, I think.

 

--David

 

Any suggestions as I am not experienced with iZotope which I leave at default?

With appreciation,

Richard

[steadyshot]

Any suggestions as I am not experienced with iZotope which I leave at default?

With appreciation,

Richard

 

Try enabling dither 24mbit with shape: none , amount: normal.

 

Among the isotope presets select intermediate phase or minimum phase. They tend to give more natural results. The default is linear phase which is a little bit harsh and bright.

 

My personal preference : Dither settings as mentioned above. Exclusive access mode on, Memory play on and in the advanced isotope settings, I use a combination of gentle filter and intermediate phase, which is filter steepness 3, cut off scaling 1, pre ringing 0.5.Set your device sample rate to maximum supported, just to be sure isotope src is used. But try it also with match song.

 

Ideally pre ringing should be set to 0 to produce minimum phase results, though if you choose minimum phase filter( pre ringing is not desirable, because it is audible by our ears) you may experience a moderately reduced sound stage(maybe due to highs being more dark/less prominent) , at least this is how I perceive the final result.

[Liam]

"SQ sounds a bit bright and I believe I need to make adjustments to tame that bright SQ. That will be next".

 

Enjoy the music,

Richard

 

Richard now you're touching on one of the impressions I have about 1.5. I was trying to provoke some comments in my post #29. There is no doubt in my mind that 1.5 is more transparent than the beta 1.4 I was using prior, but seems somewhat light in body in the top end. Simililarly I feel the bottom end is lacking in weight and ultimate extension. I am prevented from being wholly convinced. Presently I am playing with mEqualiser plugin. Pink noise suggested a slightly rising response. I have inserted a small fall in top end response and a rise in the bottom end. I am on my iPad at present and will post a screen capture later.

[steadyshot]

 

Richard now you're touching on one of the impressions I have about 1.5. I was trying to provoke some comments in my post #29. There is no doubt in my mind that 1.5 is more transparent than the beta 1.4 I was using prior, but seems somewhat light in body in the top end. Simililarly I feel the bottom end is lacking in weight and ultimate extension. I am prevented from being wholly convinced. Presently I am playing with mEqualiser plugin. Pink noise suggested a slightly rising response. I have inserted a small fall in top end response and a rise in the bottom end. I am on my iPad at present and will post a screen capture later.

 

Actually Liam, I think 1.4.0b9 is brighter sounding...But definately 1.3.1 was the darkest sounding of all though less transparent.

[Melvin]

Try enabling dither 24mbit with shape: none , amount: normal.

 

Among the isotope presets select intermediate phase or minimum phase. They tend to give more natural results. The default is linear phase which is a little bit harsh and bright.

 

My personal preference : Dither settings as mentioned above. Exclusive access mode on, Memory play on and in the advanced isotope settings, I use a combination of gentle filter and intermediate phase, which is filter steepness 3, cut off scaling 1, pre ringing 0.5.Set your device sample rate to maximum supported, just to be sure isotope src is used. But try it also with match song.

 

Ideally pre ringing should be set to 0 to produce minimum phase results, though if you choose minimum phase filter( pre ringing is not desirable, because it is audible by our ears) you may experience a moderately reduced sound stage(maybe due to highs being more dark/less prominent) , at least this is how I perceive the final result.

 

Of course I realize you are replying to Richard but I wanted to thank you for sharing this. I will also try out these settings. While I've been using a filter between minimum and intermediate, I haven't played with the steepness and cut-off scaling.

[steadyshot]

Of course I realize you are replying to Richard but I wanted to thank you for sharing this. I will also try out these settings. While I've been using a filter between minimum and intermediate, I haven't played with the steepness and cut-off scaling.

 

You welcome! I hope you like it!

[Liam]

Well here are the mEqualiser screen grabs for what they are worth. The first is before and the second is what I am trying out at present.

 

 

[Melvin]

You welcome! I hope you like it!

 

Had a chance to listen using these settings .. very nice! If Fidelia would just keep playing I would be happy (except for that pesky gapless issue). I got through the first album ok but after 2 songs on the 2nd, I get silence. The display shows the song is playing but ..

 

This has happened a half dozen times now and I've contacted support.

[steadyshot]

Download fidelia 1.5.2. Works perfectly!

[Melvin]

Download fidelia 1.5.2. Works perfectly!

 

Won't download for me (error). Did you purchase through the App Store or through their web store?

[REShaman]

Attempted to install 1.5.2 from 1.5.0. Download/install crashes with dialogue box indicating an error occurred and to cancel the download. Once again time after time, with each new build I experience an impediment. Sent in a request for support, once again. Waiting to find out what the secret password is to getting the latest update installed. I thought I was clear free after the last problems. If they ask me whether my licenses are in order, I will...

Best,

Richard

[steadyshot]

Won't download for me (error). Did you purchase through the App Store or through their web store?

 

App store