Article: Audiophile Optimizer Raises The Bar

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[joelha]

Chris,

I'm happy you reviewed Phil's creation.

It's a remarkable and ongoing piece of work. I would also say it's a must for anyone using Windows who can afford the server software involved. In this hobby, the dollar for dollar return on investment is substantial.

Finally, Phil is a very good guy and it's nice to see good people get the recognition they deserve.

Joel

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Joel - I agree about Phil. He was very helpful during the setup process and is genuinely a nice person.

[Priaptor]

One bit of advice for those running in "shell mode" on a headless device.

 

Should you want to get to cmd line while running a shell other than windows (JRiver, Roon, etc) the keyboard command for the headless computer is:

 

CTL-ALT-END

 

Then you can access task manager of the AO headless machine to get control again. At least that is what works for me. Someone who "didn't read the 52 page manual"

[AudioPhil]

Hi Chris

 

Thank you very much for this nice write up of your experiences with AO. I am more than pleased, no I feel truly honored, to read such lines.

 

Thanks a lot,

Phil

 

P.S. Yes, switching back and forth to core/minimal-server/GUI mode is a very intensive and sometimes also time consuming process. Depending on the underlying hardware switching can take anything from a few minutes untill more than an hour. My AudioPC for example needs about half an hour, my development machine needs only about 3 minutes.

 

www.highend-audiopc.com

[ted_b]

Chris, I'm glad you've discovered what many of us have known for quite some time...that Phil is a great developer, a great guy (a new papa for the second time...although, to be honest, we only found that out two weeks ago ) and an unwaveringly patient customer service advocate. Even though I, and a few others, were alpha testers on AO back in early 2013, his attention to detail and his willingness to help has not waned..even when his customer base multiplied by an order of magnitude. AO is a necessary ingredient to a great Windows Server environment, and I look forward to seeing AO on Windows 10 in the very near term (if my poll results are any indication...hint hint).

[tranz]

Very good to read that you are now experiencing what many of us have been enjoying. And that OS, OS tweaks and fine-tuning, minimal processes etc. do indeed have an impact on noise floor.

[EuroDriver]

Now we just need the folks at J River to listen to WS2012 + AO

 

;-)

[Account Closed]

I guess this answers the "bits is bits" argument. It's how those bits are delivered that is really important and that takes great software. Hardware is also very important but it is secondary to proper software.

 

With Windows, we all need to remember that we are trying to optimize something that was not designed for us. AO is designed to do this and it does it well. The unfortunate side effect is the loss of functionality and a high level of complexity. Also, as more content comes from the web, as with Tidal and Qobuz, this functionality will need to be restored. The complexity can be dealt with in the future by the use of some automation and AI routines.

 

What we really all want is the functionality of Roon coupled with the sound quality of AO. We are not going to get it from JRiver. They have taken a "good enough" approach and their focus now seems to be mostly on the video side. If Phil could get AO to play well with Roon, his market would expand. This might be possible in a two PC approach with AO running at the endpoint.

 

If AO is beyond your available time, ability or money; try Fidelizer 6.8 Pro coupled with JPlay 6.1. It will get you a good bit of the way with much less of a time and financial commitment.

 

As Ted said above, AO with Windows 10 may make this all a lot easier and more accessible.

 

We can only hope!

[esldude]

So what is it AO does to make the sound different if the bits are the same bits?

[fritzg]

So what is it AO does to make the sound different if the bits are the same bits?

 

+1

 

I just don't get these software improvements of the sound. Seems to me like they're changing it in some way.

[AudioPhil]

So what is it AO does to make the sound different if the bits are the same bits?

 

Hi

 

You can get a brief overview here: Highend-AudioPC | Audiophile Optimizer

 

+1

 

I just don't get these software improvements of the sound. Seems to me like they're changing it in some way.

 

Hi

 

AO is at no point of time a part of the signal chain in any way (Remeber, AO is no Mediaplayer or a digital-Transport). So it's simply impossible to alter or change anything, even if i would like to. It's only optimizing of the OS itself.

 

Best,

Phil

[AudioPhil]

What we really all want is the functionality of Roon coupled with the sound quality of AO.

 

Hi

 

This does already work wonderfully. There are a few threads about Windows Server 2012 R2, AO & Roon on the Roon forum.

 

Best,

Phil

[DMelby]

Excellent review, and I whole heartily agree that Windows 2012 with AO provides outstanding digital playback, and a nice clear improvement over windows 7 or 8.1. Thank you for shining the light on this excellent solution.

Looking forward to hearing further details on the PC hardware used during the evaluation.

[ElviaCaprice]

+1 on Windows 10 AO. Never used AO, but will definitely be all over it with Windows 10. I am an avid promo video junkie, so JRiver is my go to media player for both audio and video. I would think a Windows 10 AO version would be a much bigger seller. Looking forward to Phil's new addition.

[kaydee6]

I am curious how a AO optimized computer compares to a dedicated player like the Aurender or the Auralic? Would it be better or under perform compared to a dedicated player?

[firedog]

Now we just need the folks at J River to listen to WS2012 + AO

 

;-)

 

If you've read their posts on this forum, I'd say they are a clear indication that: 1) highly unlikely they will show any interest; 2) even if they try it, they will say it made no difference - "because it can't"

[Sonic77]

Jplay.........that is all :~)

[One and a half]

I am curious how a AO optimized computer compares to a dedicated player like the Aurender or the Auralic? Would it be better or under perform compared to a dedicated player?

 

Mr. Connaker has listened to the Aurender W20 I think it was, but rarely makes a comparison between reviewed equipment, so we will never know that way He does get involved in making "best" statements with a period to conclude.

[zenpmd]

This site is turning into a snake oil pusher. Taken from the Optimisers website. Anyone who is endorsing Jplay cannot be trusted as Jp[lay is a complete joke

 

" Does not need JPLAY, but works exceptionally well together with it"

 

 

[dean70]

...bits are bits (once you minimize jitter, packet noise, RFI/EMI and other nasties) that finds its way through to the DAC.

[clipper]

This site is turning into a snake oil pusher. Taken from the Optimisers website. Anyone who is endorsing Jplay cannot be trusted as Jp[lay is a complete joke

 

" Does not need JPLAY, but works exceptionally well together with it"

 

 

 

You are 100% dead wrong about this.

 

It's no joke.

 

AO plus JPLAY is a great thing.

 

But it sounds like you've already made your mind up without listening first.

 

If you've listened to it, please explain why you think JPLAY is a joke and why anyone who endorses it can't be trusted. Are there little Jriver men inside your head controlling your thoughts?

[davide256]

as somone who has used Jplay, AO, and server 2012, its strengths are detail.if what you care to hear in music is someone scraping their chair or dropping a reed during recorded performance it will buy you that level of separation in low level sounds. But if what you care about is mid range purity, the harmonic difference between a stradivarius and a guarneri, these things are not as good as a UPNP streamer solution of equal investment

[panhead]

Have been enjoying Phil's AO software and it certainly works well. Glad to see it's getting some recognition!

[Windows X]

'Bits are bits' is one of the most misunderstanding terms ever used in computer audiophile. If having the same bits will make perfect result, Microsoft wouldn't have made MMCSS service with different tasks to handle multimedia in the first place.

 

Read more about bits are bits myth in this thread I wrote here

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/truth-about-bit-perfect-and-how-some-audiophiles-misunderstand-it-23583/