Jump to content
IGNORED

CPU Load and Sound Quality


STC

Recommended Posts

3 hours ago, PeterSt said:

If you don't perceive differences, then your system must be way under par. Let's not forget that XXHighEnd is all (100%) about this, and the differences are huge (by means of countless settings combinations).

Btw, the CPU load is a virtual 0% at 32/768 (16x upsampling from Redbook in real time).

 

S.T.

With previous versions of Windows I obtained a worthwhile improvement by running Windows in Safe Mode, which reduces the number of background processes running, as well as prevents non essential programs from starting.

However, Windows 10 is a P.I.T.A. to do this..

Fidelizer by Windows X does similar  with Windows 10 as well.

If I wanted to create a poorer sounding audio file for comparison purposes I also ran  a full Security scan at the same time.

Even unplugging or switching off the cable to the Broadband Router resulted in a small but worthwhile improvement with Audio.

Alex

 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
9 hours ago, STC said:


I need to get a more powerful machine than the current i7-7700. Hopefully, one can handle twice the load so that I could utilize all the IRs. Maybe then I will probably concentrate on other tweaks. Frankly, I don’t see there is a need to limit a PC’s usage. These minor tweaks becomes immaterial for my setup. Not to say they won’t make a difference but those difference are not important when considering other errors. 

S.T.

My PC only uses an i7 -3770 CPU @ 3.4GHz with a 600W SMPS . (I also have an internal Asus Video card, and an internal Asus Xonar D2X Soundcard) However , I use additional; very low noise regulated +5V supplies for the 2 internal SSDs derived from the +12V rail of the PC. I also have 2 internal HDDs in this general purpose W10/64 P.C. The Audio side is catered for by using coax SPDIF from the Asus Xonar D2X to a highly modified Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
32 minutes ago, mansr said:

As it should be. An audible difference would be indicative of a pretty bad noise leak.

In which case, given the widespread use of programs such as Fidelizer, and others minimising Start up programs etc. , a facility that even Norton Security now provides,  there must be a lot of people worldwide with crappy computers.

 Neither should there be any need to play music from System Memory as many members have found for improved results, and neither would JRiver have been requested to provide this option by so many users if this wasn't a problem with REAL WORLD PCs/Servers, NOT just your theoretical world of Digital Audio.

Incidentally, STC has previously admitted that he hears many things differently to other people, which may, or may not, be a bad thing.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
23 minutes ago, STC said:

This started with gamers.  Audiophiles thought the same must be true and maybe some entry level PC would have benefited by turning off unnecessary processes

 

 Sorry STC, but this IS true and not just Audiophile folklore . Otherwise there would no longer be a use for programs such as Fidelizer still, even for Windows 10/64 . Other programs such as Ashampoo Win Optimiser also provide these kinds of facilities which also improves system response times , as does Norton Internet Security.

 You probably can't hear differences between files saved on different storage media either, when playing from System Memory either,  however many members are able to, as evidenced in Rajiv's massive thread in Music Servers where quite a few members are now even reporting an improvement in SQ when using higher quality (expensive!) wider temperature range System Memory.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
12 minutes ago, pkane2001 said:

 

I’ve done that and the result showed no real difference beyond normal, well below-audible threshold noise. This was between CPU being nearly idle and one overloaded with an intensive CPU stress test.

 

 Here we go again ! Measurements instead of actual listening on a well optimised system.:D

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
1 minute ago, firedog said:

IS true? Can you back that up with anything other than sighted listening impressions?  Archimago did measurements showing that all the stuff you mention made no difference to jitter, S/N, distortion, etc.

 

Here we go again. More demands for proof using non sighted listening when you will refuse to accept the results anyway if they don't go the way that you believe that they should.  Your hero Archimago is NOT infallible either. 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
11 minutes ago, pkane2001 said:

 

You can stop now Alex. I did both.

 

 If your system is so well optimised , and your hearing is so good, then why aren't you posting what you hear in John Dyson's research section where you are also a participant ?  Don't you have enough confidence in your listening abilities to post other than measurements ?

 This thread is going to end up just like many others, where neither side will ever change their entrenched positions.

 It's simply a waste of time further participating .

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
1 minute ago, pkane2001 said:

 

Huh? Your logic is impeccable, Alex. Do you really want to reach conclusions about my system quality or my confidence level based on my non-participation in someone else’s thread? Seriously?

Then prove it by participating with what you hear different between the various examples that John provides..

 John is doing his research for the benefit of future generations with archival material.

 John's results can only be as good as the actual listening feedback from the various participants, including both yourself and STC.

 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
21 minutes ago, STC said:


Alex, you can ask John about my contribution. Including about one of the version you praised so highly. 

 Your last reply was 9 days ago when you said the attached. Perhaps you have given John additional feedback elsewhere such as email ?  In fact, John took a break recently in his posting due to the lack of participation, which suggested that participants were losing interest in the project due to perhaps too many samples being provided ?

Quote

…….I am sorry that I have not been giving any feedback lately. It is not that I have no interest in what you are doing but I do not think if we are constantly exposed to various versions can be objective our judgment. 

Anyway, we are now well and truly OFF Topic ,and I doubt that any consensus will ever be reached on the subject of this thread.

In the meantime, quite a few members in another area of the forum are even reporting hearing differences between different types of RAM

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
33 minutes ago, Archimago said:

IMO, software like Fidelizer and JPlay are just silly:

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2015/08/measurements-audiophile-sound-and.html

 

 You are entitled to your own opinion, however many do not agree with you about them being just plain silly.(No, I don't use either)

 I would be surprised if you are even able to hear the differences between Audio files played from a PC's different storage medium, let alone the benefits of playing from System Memory, where JRiver reluctantly provided the option after numerous customer requests.

 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
6 minutes ago, fas42 said:

 

Alex, if one goes about it carefully, it's quite easy to hear variations in SQ depending on CPU activity, hardware arrangement, and the settings - this cheapo Toshiba laptop I'm now using is fairly recent, but still the tonality varies depending upon what I do - shifting some of the bits outside of the plastic, like the DAC, makes some things worse, and some things better; it's all part of a flux, I'm afraid 😉.

 

Yes, but you don't need to measure everything first before you listen to it or view it before deciding how it must look or sound , and for that matter neither does the OP of this thread normally, even though he is unable to hear differences with the CPU idling and under stress.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

Now listen to the difference with these both switch settings.

 Peter

  Expectation Bias is highly unlikely to let him hear these things, just like with Archimago and several others.¬¬

 He would need to go into another room behind a closed door, and have Mani repeat the exercise numerous times under NON sighted conditions while he performed the switching .

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Ralf11 said:

 

So, you're normal

 No, S.T. is a little different to most in this area, possibly you too . This partial quote is from another forum

Quote

I do not perceive things like depth and width as what most audiophiles describe......

 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
39 minutes ago, STC said:


I am normal because I don’t imagine non existent sound in stereo playback. ;) 

 Neither did you see the same  differences in some " colour" images that all the other participants did, and you also said this :

" I also don’t perceive height with binaural recordings with headphones. ;)

From this it is clear that you have different perceptions to many others, both audible and visual. 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
21 minutes ago, STC said:


Alex, I may have wasted my time giving feedback to the videos you sent. I stated the difference existed due to different frames and included different frames for you to compare and see where they are identical. Instead of looking at it objectively whether the difference existed because of you/we comparing different frames you used it to justify difference existed in the videos .

 Just as you wasted my time when reporting hearing differences just before the earpiece fell onto the floor ?

From an email you sent to me " I just finished listening with headphones and about to email. I think I could distinguish both files. However, I have to a proper blind test. This is interesting. I will download the files later before going to bedtime and give it another try. "

 BTW, did you ever get that GeForce Video card you were thinking about ?

 

 This is all completely off topic though  and has nothing to do though with the present thread.

 Perhaps you should as the OP, clean up this thread ?

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
39 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

The claim that everyone else's personal experiences are equally valid is absurd.

 

This may very well apply to someone like yourself where high quality Audio is concerned.:)

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
14 minutes ago, Blackmorec said:

No? Surely it depends almost entirely on WHAT they’re listening to? 

There are one or two folk have included pictures of their system, which comprise some fairly decent components; and some of the worst set-up I’ve every seen. Set-up so bad you can see why they can’t hear fairly major differences that would otherwise be obvious were their system decently organised. 

 

 

It's interesting to note that the more vocal Anti Subjective members never seem to show pictures of their systems. ¬¬

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
7 hours ago, STC said:

All high end system will sound more or less the same in the same room. 

Rubbish

 I have been able to listen to some very high end systems that a small group of friends own, some on loan from the dealer, and with systems even worth around Au$100K there can be very marked sound differences, with all components including expensive speakers .

 The best sounding ones were in most cases readily identified by the group under non sighted conditions.

 

I don't read the Hi Fi magazines these days so I can't comment on what they publish.

 I do have a copy of the review from Stereophile  of my old Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3 ,which got great reviews and had much better than average measurements, but all 3 of us who purchased them were highly disappointed in their performance, and all of us made major improvements in the PSU area where it was powered by an A.C. wallwart. We all modified them to be powered by an external Linear PSU with greatly improved results. 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
6 hours ago, STC said:

To listen to the original sound. Looking for micro details. 

 

A recorded capture of the sound of a system using microphones is a very poor replica of the original sound and only useful where the systems already sound very different. Even then......

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
7 hours ago, STC said:


IME, they find it out that the recording doesn’t sound like their system so most rather stick to the pictures. It is like chefs posting pictures of their kitchen. 

 

 Once again, that is rubbish. Dips and peaks in microphone response and positioning as well as limitations of the recording, especially from YouTube videos with heir compressed and low bit rate recordings make this a pretty well pointless exercise for the normal person, and this particular subject is best discussed in one of the threads that you have already started on that subject..

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

 

 

Besides being untrue, this sort of silliness assumes you can judge SQ by visuals.

 

Most members people will soon realise that a DAC in a photo  that retails for a couple of hundred $, or an SBT etc.   and cheap Loudspeakers will not be very revealing , and neither will an Oppo 205 into an affordable (by most) Class D amplifier and <$1,000 speakers in a poorly set up room .

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
41 minutes ago, daverich4 said:


I don’t know that I’m vocal enough for you but I certainly don’t hear all the differences you claim too. For what it’s worth, it took the setup guy from the Wilson dealer a little over four hours to determine the best location for the speakers. At any rate, per your request, here’s my setup....

 

 It looks nice, but what is the source of the music, the type of amplification etc. ?

 No, you don't come remotely close to the vocal members that I am referring to .

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment
3 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

Let's see YOUR system, Sandy

 My system is mainly DIY, and the internals as well as photos of my DIY Preamp etc. have been posted on numerous occasions already. These days I listen mainly on headphones due to other family members working mainly night shifts

Attached is an internal photo of my DIY Class A Preamplifier and 15W /Ch. Class A Amplifier. which like the rest of the system is Direct Coupled. i.e. NO capacitors in the signal path. They also use external toroidal transformers in a separate 2 rack case for best noise performance.

Current Class A Preamp 2017.jpg

15W Class A with new gen G.E. JLHs.jpg

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...