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A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming


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Most important: please realize this thread is about bleeding edge experimentation and discovery. No one has The Answer™. If you are not into tweaking, just know that you can have a musically satisfying system without doing any of the nutty things we do here.

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1 minute ago, Johnseye said:

 

Thanks for the screenshots.  This helps.

 

Lee at SOtM said he can't, or maybe shouldn't use the sCLK for i2S.  I don't know if that's because it's not necessary or there is some incompatibility.

I am not sure what that means either, but just from my experience, the sCLK-EX clocked SU-1 does improve the SQ not so subtly, and once it is master clocked, the improvement is even more pronounced.  This is how I use the SU-1 I2S out to Spring...a bit costly, but with good benefit tho.

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3 minutes ago, elan120 said:

I am not sure what that means either, but just from my experience, the sCLK-EX clocked SU-1 does improve the SQ not so subtly, and once it is master clocked, the improvement is even more pronounced.  This is how I use the SU-1 I2S out to Spring...a bit costly, but with good benefit tho.

 

Do you also use a tx-USBexp and txUSBultra? How many taps are from your SU-1? 

 

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21 hours ago, LTG2010 said:

Looks like its linear powered at 9.3V with internal Supercaps and 18V charger/ energiser ?

It's not clear if the external power supply the new Hugo TT 2 uses acts like a "charger / energizer". Calling the external power supply a "charger / energizer" might imply that is has a switching banks of ultracapacitors. If it doesn't have a switching banks of ultracapacitors then the unit just uses the ultracapacitors in some other way.     

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16 hours ago, elan120 said:

I believe i7700T will have no problem upsample to DSD512 with *-2S filters, but can't do non *-2S filters.  The setting I use to upsample both PCM and DSD files to DSD512 is on the bottom, but not necessary have to have CUDA offload engaged.

image.png.65da649b32d8a718aa43b79b93f2f428.png

 

Just FYI: dither NS9 is meant for 176.4 / 192 playback while NS5 is meant for 384 playback. You should only use CUDA offload if you have an Nvidia CUDA video graphics card. 

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17 hours ago, Johnseye said:

I should have a Noctua fan on it tonight.  I was really hoping to avoid that.

I wouldn't lose a seconds sleep over this. My Noctua NH-C14S fan rotates at 600 rpm with Hqplayer upsampling running with the processor at 4.15 GHz. Get an elfidelity fan filter for the fan power input and use the Noctua LNA power cable. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Elfidelity-4-Pin-FAN-Power-Noise-Filter-for-PC-Isolation-HiFi-Power-Purification-/251894585428

 

Done this way, the Noctua is more then good enough and is certainly not contributing to a higher noise floor here.

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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17 hours ago, elan120 said:

On the main interface, I set to SDM...see below:

image.thumb.png.7d2d6e059e54f4dd0c62cbe4d9ae2be9.png

 

Nothing else to set in Holo ASIO control panel, other than I set the Buffer Size to minimum, but will work just fine with default setting.

image.png.9c0f081ae4b2b7c8531a0c0cbabc38b4.png

 

What does it mean by SOtM can't reclock I2S?

Does anyone know what safe mode means here?

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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6 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Does anyone know what safe mode means here?

 

I would assume that it means a forced higher latency setting (so called safe latency and are used in some Asio drivers) that avoids click/pops/dropouts.

 

 

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9 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

I would assume that it means a forced higher latency setting (so called safe latency and are used in some Asio drivers) that avoids click/pops/dropouts.

Yes, that is my assumption as well, but it's an educated guess.  I'm curious if anyone has the facts on the underlying mechanism at play.

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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1 hour ago, lmitche said:

I wouldn't lose a seconds sleep over this. My Noctua NH-C14S fan rotates at 600 rpm with Hqplayer upsampling running with the processor at 4.15 GHz. Get an elfidelity fan filter for the fan power input and use the Noctua LNA power cable. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Elfidelity-4-Pin-FAN-Power-Noise-Filter-for-PC-Isolation-HiFi-Power-Purification-/251894585428

 

Done this way, the Noctua is more then good enough and is certainly not contributing to a higher noise floor here.

 

Thanks, I just ordered one of those Elfidelity devices.

 

My 35w i7 7700T can not handle DSD512.  Even after increasing the buffer and playing around with some filters there still was stutter.  I ordered a 91w i7 7700K which should be here today.  If this doesn't do it then nothing will short of a new board supporting the latest procs.  I have no intention of putting an Nvidia card on this rig for both power and noise reasons.  I'm hopeful about the 7700K.  The additional 66w could cause problems, but I should be ok.

 

I sure hope DSD512 is worth it.  Initial comparisons between PCM 384 and DSD 256 show DSD 256 having a more collapsed sound stage and less dynamics.  The DSD is slightly smoother but the collapse of the soundstage drains the excitement from the music.  The difference between the Spring at 384 with REF 10 and the Audio Alchemy at 192 is startling.  It could all be the REF 10 at this point, I still need to add the AA back with it for a real comparison.  No judgement can be made yet, other than my system has taken a significant step up.

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8 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

Thanks, I just ordered one of those Elfidelity devices.

 

My 35w i7 7700T can not handle DSD512.  Even after increasing the buffer and playing around with some filters there still was stutter.  I ordered a 91w i7 7700K which should be here today.  If this doesn't do it then nothing will short of a new board supporting the latest procs.  I have no intention of putting an Nvidia card on this rig for both power and noise reasons.  I'm hopeful about the 7700K.  The additional 66w could cause problems, but I should be ok.

 

I sure hope DSD512 is worth it.  Initial comparisons between PCM 384 and DSD 256 show DSD 256 having a more collapsed sound stage and less dynamics.  The DSD is slightly smoother but the collapse of the soundstage drains the excitement from the music.  The difference between the Spring at 384 with REF 10 and the Audio Alchemy at 192 is startling.  It could all be the REF 10 at this point, I still need to add the AA back with it for a real comparison.  No judgement can be made yet, other than my system has taken a significant step up.

Hi John, agreed there is little benefit from a Nvidia card for two channel and the power implications suck.

 

The 7700k will do definitely do the job, if not something else is wrong. Let us know. Also have you run the scripts in the windows optimization thread? Are you running AO ultimate? Do you have the OS booting from an Optane card?

Pareto Audio aka nuckleheadaudio

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1 hour ago, lmitche said:

Hi John, agreed there is little benefit from a Nvidia card for two channel and the power implications suck.

 

The 7700k will do definitely do the job, if not something else is wrong. Let us know. Also have you run the scripts in the windows optimization thread? Are you running AO ultimate? Do you have the OS booting from an Optane card?

 

I'm using the Optane card for the OS right now. I am also using AO v2. 2

 

I haven't run any scripts. Never saw a reference to them. Will search today. Thanks. 

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4 hours ago, lmitche said:

Did you hear about the JVC Exofield headphone experience at Axpona?

 

The Japanese inventor took detailed measurements of my ears with various sound pulses by placing a microphone in each each ear. Once done I listened to a well imaged recording with distinct point sources of sound from left to right via speakers.

 

Next I donned headphones and heard the usual sound stage collapse associated with headphone listening. This has always been my objection to headphones. 

 

Next the Exofield effect enabled. Objections gone! The imaging was just like speakers but with headphones.

 

I followed with a ton of questions, mostly unanswered, but they did tell me that the product is solely software based, and is efficient enough to run in a smartphone. The cost of entry will be the expense of getting an audiologist to take the measurements.

 

The go-to market plan calls for packaging of the software solely with JVC headphones and three models good better, best. Rollout at the end of 2018.

 

The good news is that with this breakthrough we no longer will need big listening rooms for speakers to achieve the SQ we love so much.

 

Yeah, you mentioned it that evening at John's in Naperville. I'm really bummed I missed it completely. I'll have to check it out next time they're somewhere near me. As @auricgoldfinger mentioned, the other contender in this space is the long-awaited Smyth Realiser A16. And then there is also Darin Fong's Out of Your Head software.

 

I would love to see these software solutions be plugins to Roon, so we can select them as DSP options. Until then, you're limited to a computer as source.

 

It's an exciting time to be in 3-D headphone audio! :P

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20 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Yeah, you mentioned it that evening at John's in Naperville. I'm really bummed I missed it completely. I'll have to check it out next time they're somewhere near me. As @auricgoldfinger mentioned, the other contender in this space is the long-awaited Smyth Realiser A16. And then there is also Darin Fong's Out of Your Head software.

 

I would love to see these software solutions be plugins to Roon, so we can select them as DSP options. Until then, you're limited to a computer as source.

 

It's an exciting time to be in 3-D headphone audio! :P

Does the software work with any headphone? I don’t want to be forced to buy JVC headphones to benefit from this technology 

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47 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

I'm using the Optane card for the OS right now. I am also using AO v2. 2

 

I haven't run any scripts. Never saw a reference to them. Will search today. Thanks. 

My mobo supports Optane but I will need to upgrade my CPU from my current i7-6700 to i7-7700. Before I go through the hassle curious if you feel you heard any improvement from using Optane?  

12TB NAS >> i7-6700 Server/Control PC >> i3-5015u NAA >> Singxer SU-1 DDC (modded) >> Holo Spring L3 DAC >> Accustic Arts Power 1 int amp >> Sonus Faber Guaneri Evolution speakers + REL T/5i sub (x2)

 

Other components:

UpTone Audio LPS1.2/IsoRegen, Fiber Switch and FMC, Windows Server 2016 OS, Audiophile Optimizer 3.0, Fidelizer Pro 6, HQ Player, Roonserver, PS Audio P3 AC regenerator, HDPlex 400W ATX & 200W Linear PSU, Light Harmonic Lightspeed Split USB cable, Synergistic Research Tungsten AC power cords, Tara Labs The One speaker cables, Tara Labs The Two Extended with HFX Station IC, Oyaide R1 outlets, Stillpoints Ultra Mini footers, Hi-Fi Tuning fuses, Vicoustic/RealTraps/GIK room treatments

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1 minute ago, tboooe said:

My mobo supports Optane but I will need to upgrade my CPU from my current i7-6700 to i7-7700. Before I go through the hassle curious if you feel you heard any improvement from using Optane?  

 

So many changes it's hard to tell at this time.  I will be doing a comparison between the Optane and an Intel SSD soon and will share my findings.

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2 hours ago, lmitche said:

Hi John, agreed there is little benefit from a Nvidia card for two channel and the power implications suck.

 

The 7700k will do definitely do the job, if not something else is wrong. Let us know. Also have you run the scripts in the windows optimization thread? Are you running AO ultimate? Do you have the OS booting from an Optane card?

 

33 minutes ago, mozes said:

Here you go 

 

 

Are all the recommended scripts from the first post still relevant?  I did see a couple other recommendations in later threads, but no PS scripts like from the first post.

 

Are these commands relevant for Windows Server as well?  I'll find out shortly when I start running them.

 

Thanks for the info.

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17 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

So many changes it's hard to tell at this time.  I will be doing a comparison between the Optane and an Intel SSD soon and will share my findings.

Thank you. Though I must admit that just because of the nerd factor I will probably give this a try.  Now off to eBay to find a nicely priced i7-7700 CPU!

12TB NAS >> i7-6700 Server/Control PC >> i3-5015u NAA >> Singxer SU-1 DDC (modded) >> Holo Spring L3 DAC >> Accustic Arts Power 1 int amp >> Sonus Faber Guaneri Evolution speakers + REL T/5i sub (x2)

 

Other components:

UpTone Audio LPS1.2/IsoRegen, Fiber Switch and FMC, Windows Server 2016 OS, Audiophile Optimizer 3.0, Fidelizer Pro 6, HQ Player, Roonserver, PS Audio P3 AC regenerator, HDPlex 400W ATX & 200W Linear PSU, Light Harmonic Lightspeed Split USB cable, Synergistic Research Tungsten AC power cords, Tara Labs The One speaker cables, Tara Labs The Two Extended with HFX Station IC, Oyaide R1 outlets, Stillpoints Ultra Mini footers, Hi-Fi Tuning fuses, Vicoustic/RealTraps/GIK room treatments

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