Happy Birthday and welcome AudiophileOptimizer 3.00

[AudioPhil]

Hello Folks

 

Today six years ago the very first public version of the AudiophileOptimizer went online, so happy happy birthday AO! 🎂 And here we are, six years and thirtheen versions later going for it one more time! 😎

 

But this is only the thirteenth official version, in fact between AudiophileOptimizer 2.20 and 3.00 more than 450 internal versions have been compiled while working on it for almost 10 months.The beta phase was around 4 months long letting the feedback from almost 100 testers further shape and finetune the final version of the AudiophileOptimizer 3.00. So as you can imagine this has been a lot of work and this post will highlight many details about it. We've put a lot of links to other posting where you can read much more detailed information about those specific topics.

 

AO 3.00 is faster than any previous version. It is actually a LOT faster. On systems with slow drives, lets say CF cards for example, it could be a pain launching up AO, it took very long time to start. This is a story of the past now... All this blazing fast speed is due to the new engine we have been working for months... This does not only make things much faster for the end-user, it also makes coding and testing AO much faster. Compiling all components (AO, ST, AS, Uninstaller & Setup) took around 17 minutes before the new engine. With the new way of things compiling all modules takes roughly 3-4 Minutes. Imagine you have to do this process a 100 times in a short frame of time...

 

The new engine will also help greatly in the future to adapt AO to new operating systems. As you know in the past a new OS versions always ment months of work to have all working again for the new OS and maintaning functionality for the old ones. With the new engine a new OS will be adapted much faster. Another advantage is that what has been achieved for one OS can now be easily and almost all the time be achieved for all the other OS'es as well. Example, AO 2.20 could enable Device Manger, but only on Server 2016 and not for 2012 R2. AO 3.00 uses the new engine and the result is that we now have the device manager enabled through setup.exe on all three supported server OS's, meaning 2012 R2, 2016 and 2019.

 

Microsoft makes each Server Core version tighter and smaller. This is for various reasons, they want to lessen the codebase which means less surface for attacks. It also means less downtime of server since they need less updates to be patched and so on. This process of making the OS even smaller and lighter has a price, and the price is functionality. So with each iteration of Windows Server in Core it got trickier to have your media player and especially the Audio stack working again. Bringing back the WASAPI Architecture to Windows Server 2016 was an adventure that took place over three years, so it wasn't exactly easy to accomplish that. With Windows Server 2019 the method of Server 2016 did no longer work and again a lot of time and effort had to be spent to make WASAPI in Core mode available again.

 

Windows 10 keeps changing every six months, for the good and the bad. Nevertheles the AudiophileOptimizer 3.00 is fully tested on Windows 1903 (Build 18362) which came out barely two weeks ago. So no matter what OS you are running, the upgrade to AO 3.00 is the right choice for sure!

 

 

So let's have a closer look at the change log.

 

Version 3.00, Major Upgrade
============================================================================
AudiophileOptimizer 3.00
- Massively improved sound quality for all supported operating systems
- Many drivers will no longer need F8 and disable driver signature enforcement during boot
  (Amanero, Pink Faun, FiraDisk & many others...)
- Parameter "-filter" lets you directly select Sound Signatures/Digital-Filters
- Extremeley improved load times and running much faster (new engine)
- Roon Support extended for HQPlayer & Spotify support
- Support for JPLAY FEMTO
- Enables WDM Drivers in Windows Server 2016/2019 Core Mode
- Enables Kernel-Streaming in Windows Server 2016/2019 Core Mode
- Enables WASAPI in Windows Server 2016/2019 Core Mode
- Enables RoonServer & RoonBridge in Windows Server 2016/2019 Core Mode
- AO disables automatic maintenance (Win10/Server 2016/Server 2019)
- Update of "Prepare Essentials Edition" feature for Windows Server 2019
- Ability to remove Windows Defender (Windows Server 2016/Windows Server 2019)
- Updated MediaPlayer support for Windows Server 2016/2019 Core Mode
- Added support for Windows 10 Build 18362 (Windows 1903)
- Added support for Windows 10 Build 17763 (Windows 1809)
- Added support for Windows Server 2019 RTM (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Added support for Windows Server 2019 Evaluation (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Removed Support for Windows Server 2012 (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Now also removes pagefiles other then C:\ drive
- Enables TIDAL Windows Player in Core Mode
- Minor changes, fixes and updates
 

ServiceTool 3.00
- Install HD Audio Drivers feature

  (does your driver need yo to press F8 during each boot to disable driver signature enforcement? no more!)
- Custom shell as shell replacement

  (out of our 35+ variantions of shell replacement you can't find one that fits your needs? no more!)
- Added command prompt as shell replacement
- Focusrite RedNet Control 2 shell replacement
- Added support for Windows 10 Build 18362 (Windows 1903)
- Added support for Windows 10 Build 17763 (Windows 1809)
- Added support for Windows Server 2019 RTM & Evaluation
  (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Removed support for Windows Server 2012 (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Added shell replacement for JRiver Media Center 25 (x86 & x64)
- Minor changes, fixes and updates
 

 

AudiophileShell 3.00
- Initial version of AudiophileShell
- Launch AudiophileOptimizer

- Launch ServiceTool
- Launch powershell

- Launch command prompt
- Launch SCONFIG
- Launch device manager
- Launch sound control panel (WASAPI only)
- Launch file explorer (FoD only)
- Launch disk management (FoD only)

 

 

AudiophileUninstaller 3.00
- Initial version of  AudiophileUninstaller
- Remove all files, folders, tools, shortcuts, etc.
- Reverse all changes and optimizations

 

 

Setup 3.00
- Big update of the Setup Guide
- New OS installation guides (Windows 10, Server 2012 R2, 2016 & 2019)
- Fix for shortcuts not always created properly
- Registry backup no longer overwritten through update process
- Minor fixes for the device manager
- High-DPI Mode for high-resolution displays (4K etc.)
- Enables Device Manager in Windows Server 2012 R2/2016/2019 Core Mode (en-US only)

- Added support for Windows 10 Build 18362 (Windows 1903)
- Added support for Windows 10 Build 17763 (Windows 1809)
- Added support for Windows Server 2019 RTM & Evaluation
  (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Removed support for Windows Server 2012 (Standard, Datacenter & Essentials)
- Adds link to Control Panel on desktop
- Minor changes, fixes and updates

 

 

Current AO users can get their update by visiting our download page found here -> https://www.highend-audiopc.com/download

 

To uprade to AudiophileOptimizer 3.00, simply run the new version of setup.exe over your current installation. Setup.exe can be run in  core,  minimal-server  and  GUI  mode. You don’t have to do a reset via ServiceTool before you run setup.exe. Once setup.exe updates your current version of AudiophileOptimizer, it will automatically launch the latest ServiceTool to make a full reset in the end. If you upgrade AO 2.20 (or older) to AO 3.00, setup will launch ServiceTool 3.00 at the end of the installation process to make that full reset. Since your old Activation-Key will no longer work for the  new  version,  ServiceTool  will  need  a  new  Activation-Key.  Do  not  close  ServiceTool, go to the self-service Activation-Portal and generate a new AO 3.00 compatible Activation-Key and activate ServiceTool with the Activation-Key; this will also activate AO and all other components.

 

Please feel free to ask anyhting you'd like to know. We really hope you enjoy the latest iteration of the AudiophileOptimizer and we also hope to be around for another 6 years!

 

 

Very best,

AudioPhil

 

 

 

 

[Windows X]

Congratulations on AO 3.00 release. I heard reports from clients running it smoothly with Fidelizer on Windows 10 v1903 today too!

[luisma]

Very good and constant work Phil, congrats

[AudioPhil]

On 5/31/2019 at 5:20 PM, Windows X said:

Congratulations on AO 3.00 release. I heard reports from clients running it smoothly with Fidelizer on Windows 10 v1903 today too!

 

17 hours ago, luisma said:

Very good and constant work Phil, congrats

 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

[JazzDoc]

AO3 provides a very significant upgrade in sound quality over 2.20 and is well worth the price of admission! It installed easily on both my Control PC and Audio PC. I have never experienced any difficulties with the reliability or stability of any versions of AO and the new version is no exception to this. I'm not a computer expert but I find AO very easy to use. The accompanying manual is easy to follow and Phil is very quick to respond to queries on this forum or the JPLAY Forum should the need ever arise. Congratulations of AO3.00 Phil! For anyone considering purchasing this software or upgrading from a previous version, the new version gets an unreserved recommendation from me!

[Blawre]

I had no issues installing a0 3.0 over last beta.

Sound quality seems better fir detail with a little lighter Bass.

Early days.

 

B

[highend-pcdoctor]

Once again AudioPhil’s magical Pixie Dust sprinkled on the AudiophileOptimizer 3.0 General Availability will uplift any Windows computer audio to a new high.

Phil’s dedication and attention to details has taken the computer audio community through the staged of betas which got better with each release, the final release of AO 3.0 is definitely a several steps above the last beta (38).

After listening into the early hours of the morning was so gratifying that you got deeply involved in the music, it was like being there, whether a studio or live performance.

This is what I hear in my system with AO 3.0.

The enunciation of the vocals sound so clear you hear every word without missing any of the “spoken word”.

Imaging/coherence/convergence of the instruments, plus a wider soundstage is jaw dropping.

The kick a$$ bass in Dobie Gray’s Drift Away track had me repeating the track, because it was such a pleasure to hear over and over.

Patti LaBelle If you Only Knew track with the percussion's and finite details is something to behold.

The Brook Benton rendition of Rainy Night in Georgia by Conway Twitty and Sam Moore put the icing on the AO 3.0 cake for me last night.

This is truly a magic carpet ride with AO 3.0

[FelipeRolim]

Our joint experiences have shown that even the software needs stabilization, they need a run-time to set and tap to their fullest potential. Based on what I've heard so far (since friday), the result is scary. I followed the updates of version 3.00 since the Beta tests began, I witnessed the improvements of some versions, the worsening of others, until in Beta 38 the sound was fantastic. But, I didn't imagine that between the last Beta and the final version there would be such an improvement. The sound is fantastic, real, natural, engaging, turning my computers into absolutely superlative tools. I'm very happy, and congratulations to Phil for the development.

 

I didn't need to use Audiophile Uninstaller yet, and everything worked extremely smoothly with Windows Server 2019 Datacenter Core. So I also didn't need to use some tools that I know are very useful, like "Install HD Audio Drivers". Anyway, everything I needed worked just fine, I get the impression that digital filters and sound signature are now even more evident, Windows processes and threads have declined further and the sound quality is impressive. I'm sure Audiophile Optimizer v. 3.00 is the way to go in digital audio scope.

[thuandb]

Deleted.

 

[thuandb]

Deleted.

[thuandb]

Running dualPC JPLAY FEMTO setup, I've witnessed and enjoyed tremendous SQ improvements since last year when Windows Server 2019 was introduced (the first SQ cornerstone),  then JPLAY 7 (AKA Jplay Femto, the second SQ cornerstone) arrived with a blast.  New breakthroughs in SQ almost always come with technical challenges and I'd been struggling thru all hurdles to achieve the SQ benefits that these two giants brought to the computer audio community.  Along the way, there have been other proven hardware components added that helped contribute to the overall increase in music enjoyment (JCAT NIC, control points, vibration and EMI/RFI control, cables, MUTEC/SOtM DDC, LPSU, optimized router/switch/AP).

Today I'd like to talk about the latest significant SQ cornerstone, AO3 or Audiophile Optimizer 3.0.  It's a sophisticated audiophile optimizer that offers:

 

1/ Ease of installation, customization, and use:  there's an up to date, detailed, in-depth, accurate PDF manual.  I just need to read thru it, follow the instructions, and things (OS setup and optimization, fantastic SQ) happen as expected.

 

2/  Rich and powerful features:  AO3 walks me thru seemingly tough tasks such as DAC/DDC driver installation, desirable KS and WASAPI injection, custom startup script execution, and more, making them seamless, effective, and producing predictable results.

 

3/ Sound quality:  Before even starting/attempting to repeat what other AO3 and JPLAY fans (in my case) are going gaga about how SENSATIONAL GOOD their systems are now sounding after the official AO3 installed and optimizing their setups, I can just say two things: a/ Their passionate superlatives are all true, I attest to that and more.  Those guys are most difficult to be satisfied audiophiles whom I've been honored to know, and admire, and learn a lot from.  b/ Words alone can't completely describe what the difference the AO3 makes to numerous systems regardless of costs and components.  As fas as I know, AO3 works wonders for not only JPLAY but also many more music players (ROON, HQPLAYER, JRIVER), audio output modes and drivers (KS, WASAPI, ASIO), and different Windows versions.

 

In closing, I wanted to offer a friendly heads up to AO3 veteran or newbie users alike:  don't attempt to listen to your favorite music optimized by AO3 before going to a date, job or doctor's appointment or any engagement.  Chances are, you're likely to be late or totally miss it.  It happened to me, today.

 

[Anto]

Hi everyone, My experience is that AO version 3.00 is the lightest and fastest proposal so far!
The sound is precise and natural, perfectly balanced! the right perfection between the maximum detail and an exceptional body.
Very easy to install, it makes the system very light and fast with granitic stability.
Great job Phil
Greetings
Anto 😉

[motberg]

AO 3.0 update went smoothly on both machines - Audio PC Server 2019 GUI, Control PC Windows 10 Pro.

 

Amazing the SQ clarity increase and additional blackness in the background (which I think is mostly attributable to the WIN 10 Pro machine which was formerly AO 2.2).

 

I recommend anyone that does not want to install Server (although Server GUI is almost indistinguishable from 10 in my opinion) , and wants to get the most out of a Win 10 system should give AO a try. The installation is simple, and the adjustments and options allow the user to adjust the sound presentation to the system characteristics and user preferences.

 

I have recently tested Euphony/Stylus on the same system - I much prefer the more substantial "presence" of optimized Windows with JPlay Femto.

 

Now off to read the AO manual...

 

Too bad I need go on an extended business trip tomorrow, I wish I had more time to review my favorites. Like someone mentioned above it is illuminating to be able to understand the lyrics, as well as the intricate interplay between the musicians and their instruments (as well as between each other), easily without conscious effort. Even when revisiting familiar pieces, one can only be astounded by the emotion possible to be conveyed by these artists' given gifts and resolute craftsmanship.       

[AudioPhil]

1 hour ago, magicknow said:

 when i tried this again with a fresh install  the Shortcut for Service Tool and Audio Optimizer appeared but not for Audiophile shell.

 

1 hour ago, magicknow said:

Phil  I am having an issue running Roon Server on my dual PC (winsvr 2019 on both) setup

 

when I run AO on both the Control and Audio PC it does not offer the option to keep Windows Management Instrumentation.

 

 

This is exactly as it's designed to be, nothing wrong with that.

[Gato]

I just do a fresh install of all my audio system software and this also include the brand new AO 3.0.

The AO 3.0 installs very smoothly. To be noted that Highend-AudioPC makes available a lot of very useful, well crafted and detailed installation guides / best practices (BIOS, OS , AO ...), so I wasn't alone in the "wild software world" searching for THE even better SQ.

With this AO 3.0, sound is now wonderfully detailed and deeply warm; sound has become clearer.
As Windows Server 2019 Standard Core is used, I also found very useful the many tools and shell replacement possibilities provided with AO 3.0. So my "core" audiophile life is more easy.

Used configuration:

• Audio PC Gigabyte GA-Z270X-UD3 INTEL CPU/CORE I7-7700K 4.20GHZ
  • Windows Server 2019 Standard Core, AudiophileOptimizer 3.0, Fidelizer, HQPlayer (using ASIO and all upsampled to DSD512)
• T+A DAC 8 DSD
• Controller: iMac Late 2015 4 GHz Intel Core i7: Mojave, Roon
• Storage lay on a NAS
• Detailed description: https://audiophilestyle.com/profile/30314-gato/?tab=field_core_pfield_3 

[wittao]

Congrats Phil 😉

[Chrisc10115]

AO 3.0 works very smoothly and very fast. It works in Windows Server 2016 in core mode and fidelizer without any Problems. I can use my HQ-Player in all versions, now-including 4.0 in combination with roon. 

I am just preparing everything to let it run on Windows Server 2019 in core mode. I hope, I can report my experience in a fiew days.

Phil, thank you for your outstanding work for so many yaers and your great support and congratulation for this great update. 

[FelipeRolim]

I took advantage of the fact that I never remotely access the Audio-PC with which I use JPLAY FEMTO and used Audiophile Optimizer to disable all network services. I haven't done this experiment yet with the Audiophile Optimizer v. 3.00 on Windows Server 2019 Datacenter Core (17763.379) and the only change I made, compared to before, was this. The result, once again, impressed. There's more precision in the bass, more spatiality, greater background silence and better scaling of all music. The sound looks beautiful. I kept the remote access enabled in Control-PC, but the desire is to disable it too, because the increment, besides gratuitous, impresses a lot. Certainly the Audiophile Optimizer is a fundamental part in the construction of audiophile level computer(s).

 

I'm quite certain that, over time, I will discover even more attributes that the Audiophile Optimizer is able to offer. I'm currently using the 4D digital filter/sound signature on the Audio-PC, and 1A on the Control-PC. The JPLAY FEMTO is in Kernel Streaming, ULTRAstream, 1000Hz and with Hibernate mode enabled. The best result I got so far, but there are still things to improve.

[Chrisc10115]

Diabling all Network Services by AO is really a step Forward in SQ. I tested this yesterday again and it is like you said. The AO is a great tool for this, too.

[satbaba]

34 minutes ago, Chrisc10115 said:

Diabling all Network Services by AO is really a step Forward in SQ. I tested this yesterday again and it is like you said. The AO is a great tool for this, too.

How do you connect the tablet to the control when you completely close the network services
I assume you use jplay femto

[Chrisc10115]

I am using roon as Server and HQ Player as Music Player. My remote control is a tablet. But you have to use fixed ip Adresse, otherwise it will not work.

[shinyc]

Happy birthday or should we say happy anniversary?

 

I upgraded to AO3.00 from the latest beta, turned off network services on the audio PC. The result? SQ improved further. Bass is less boomy. Highs are sweeter. Sound stage transparency increased. Overall more relaxed, less fatiguing sound. And smile on my face^^

 

Now my digital chain comfortably competes with my analog chain. I can no longer tell one is definitely better over the other.

 

Great job, Phil! 

 

 

 

[satbaba]

Can single pc network services be disable ?

[Chrisc10115]

Yes! But this has draw- back-you can not use a NAS.

[satbaba]

39 minutes ago, Chrisc10115 said:

Yes! But this has draw- back-you can not use a NAS.

Thanks.

I'm using a single pc with jplayfemto
If I close network services with AO
Can I control jplayfemto with my tablet  ( music library  usb external hdd)