foobar2000 foo_pggb_rt: A free real-time upsampler for foobar2000 [64 bit] using PGGB

[PaperBoat]

6 minutes ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

@PaperBoat I am moving your discussion to this topic, did you install the 64 bit version of Foobar2000?

 

We have had some issues in the past with the plugin on Win 11, but none reported recently.

 

@danmance^^

 

Yup... My Rig is currently running latest Windows 11 with AVX2 support and installed Foobar version is 64-bit. PGGB-RT is sitting in the Foobar components list but not available in the context menu!

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

1 minute ago, PaperBoat said:

Yup... My Rig is currently running latest Windows 11 with AVX2 support and installed Foobar version is 64-bit. PGGB-RT is sitting in the Foobar components list but not available in the context menu!

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, we will have to reach out to the person who helped us integrate PGGB into Foobar to see why this may be happening.  Have you tried disabling windows defender (or other areal-time protection) to eliminate them as a cause?

[PaperBoat]

27 minutes ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, we will have to reach out to the person who helped us integrate PGGB into Foobar to see why this may be happening.  Have you tried disabling windows defender (or other areal-time protection) to eliminate them as a cause?

Your work really makes difference to my ears. So please help me in this regard.

Presently Windows defender is disabled and no other security apps are installed.

I've tried latest/privious versions of PGGB-RT with Foobar stable/ beta versions combinations. But nothing works.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

20 hours ago, PaperBoat said:

Your work really makes difference to my ears. So please help me in this regard.

Presently Windows defender is disabled and no other security apps are installed.

I've tried latest/privious versions of PGGB-RT with Foobar stable/ beta versions combinations. But nothing works.

Since it is a fresh install, you may be missing VC++ redistributable, grab and install from here:
Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads | Microsoft Learn

[PaperBoat]

5 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Since it is a fresh install, you may be missing VC++ redistributable, grab and install from here:
Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads | Microsoft Learn

 

What installed:

• redistributable ✓

• AMD chipset drivers ✓

• .net frameworks ✓

 

Windows up to date? ✓

 

Please tell me what other dependencies are required to install?

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

52 minutes ago, PaperBoat said:

 

What installed:

• redistributable ✓

• AMD chipset drivers ✓

• .net frameworks ✓

 

Windows up to date? ✓

 

Please tell me what other dependencies are required to install?

I assume the problem persists?

[PaperBoat]

19 minutes ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

I assume the problem persists?

Yup. It's very strange that PGGB-RT was running smoothly on the same system (Windows 11 preview) before. Only Windows 11 has been installed freshly.

 

Is Hyper-V needed?

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

27 minutes ago, PaperBoat said:

Yup. It's very strange that PGGB-RT was running smoothly on the same system (Windows 11 preview) before. Only Windows 11 has been installed freshly.

 

Is Hyper-V needed?

Hyper threading is useful for speed but not required. 

 

In foobar, after start, select View->Console and post the text, it may have additional information regarding why it is not loading pggb-rt.

[PaperBoat]

13 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Hyper threading is useful for speed but not required. 

 

In foobar, after start, select View->Console and post the text, it may have additional information regarding why it is not loading pggb-rt.

After two sleepless nights and three restless days, I finally discovered what was causing the turmoil with my computer. It turns out that the AMD chipset drivers were not installed properly, and I'm not sure why they aren't working in the dual boot configuration. Currently, my computer is running smoothly with the latest default Windows 11 on NVMe. However, if I install a second operating system on a separate SATA SSD, the AMD chipset drivers don't work. At the end of the day, I appreciate your cooperation and support. A BIG thanks to you for your great work that elevated the output of my budget audiophile rig (JBL 305p MKii + IFI Zen V2 + high-quality cables) to another level. This world is awesome! 🤘🏻

[PaperBoat]

@Zaphod Beeblebrox

PGGB-RT in Mac?

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

25 minutes ago, PaperBoat said:

@Zaphod Beeblebrox

PGGB-RT in Mac?

Not planned for now

[Iving]

4 hours ago, PaperBoat said:

I'm not sure why they aren't working in the dual boot configuration ... if I install a second operating system on a separate SATA SSD, the AMD chipset drivers don't work

 

The following may be relevant / help. If not – may be useful to someone else.

 

AMD issue

 

Installations whether auto or manual can result in MS "Standard NVM Express Controller" being replaced with rogue "AMD-RAID Bottom Device"

 

Fix: In DevMan Right Click -> Properties -> Driver -> Update Driver > Browse > Pick from a list -> Select Standard NVM Express Controller

 

See e.g. here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/nvme-founddetectedrecognized-in-bios-but-not/688de030-05c7-4c31-b6bb-57e12697b6d7

 

it seems like the AMD chipset drivers install the AMD-RAID Bottom Device drivers. For some unknown reason, Windows defaults to those drivers and it shouldn't. It should be using the Standard NVM Express Controller. This is probably why people who do a fresh install don't see this problem since the AMD-RAID bottom device drivers wouldn't be installed. These drivers are only supposed when setting up a raid array using the amd raidxpert utility.

[PaperBoat]

On 3/10/2024 at 12:24 AM, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

I assume the problem persists?

 

    OR       OR  

= working fine.

 

 

 

 

 

  = static noise on the right channel.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

4 hours ago, PaperBoat said:

 

    OR       OR  

= working fine.

 

 

 

 

 

  = static noise on the right channel.

Thanks, could be a problem with Extended NS at 16bits. I would not recommend low bit depths at 8fS rates + NS, what DAC are you using this with? 

[PaperBoat]

29 minutes ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

what DAC are you using this with? 

Currently IFI Zen V2.

 

32 minutes ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

I would not recommend low bit depths at 8fS rates + NS

But it seems upsampling my collections to 8fS rates while downsampling 24bit to 16bit more 'analog'.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

1 hour ago, PaperBoat said:

Currently IFI Zen V2.

 

But it seems upsampling my collections to 8fS rates while downsampling 24bit to 16bit more 'analog'.

It is the opposite of what I would expect, with 16bits you are increasing the noise floor. But, if that works better for your system and preferences, you should also try dither. 

 

I am not sure what is wrong with the 16bit extended NS, I will test it when I get a chance. In the meantime, can you try it again but with the gain set to -3dB? Set Gain to 'Volume' and set the Foobar volume to -3dB. 

[PaperBoat]

4 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

It is the opposite of what I would expect, with 16bits you are increasing the noise floor. But, if that works better for your system and preferences, you should also try dither. 

 

I am not sure what is wrong with the 16bit extended NS, I will test it when I get a chance. In the meantime, can you try it again but with the gain set to -3dB? Set Gain to 'Volume' and set the Foobar volume to -3dB. 

 

I have tested PGGB-RT with my JBL 305p MKii, Kali Audio LP-6 V2, and Mackie MR524 monitors. The DACs used were IFI Zen V2 and Holo Audio May. I have found that when I lower the bit depth of PGGB-RT output and upsample to 8fS or 16fS, the sound becomes more musical, smooth, detailed, and well-textured. Lowering the dynamic range of the audio makes it sound more 'analogish'. I understand that this may sound subjective, but I have written what I heard.

I typically use some professional plugins such as Fabfilter Pro MB and Pro L2 in my consumer environment, but I'll definitely test PGGB-RT as per your suggestion.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

11 minutes ago, PaperBoat said:

 

I have tested PGGB-RT with my JBL 305p MKii, Kali Audio LP-6 V2, and Mackie MR524 monitors. The DACs used were IFI Zen V2 and Holo Audio May. I have found that when I lower the bit depth of PGGB-RT output and upsample to 8fS or 16fS, the sound becomes more musical, smooth, detailed, and well-textured. Lowering the dynamic range of the audio makes it sound more 'analogish'. I understand that this may sound subjective, but I have written what I heard.

I typically use some professional plugins such as Fabfilter Pro MB and Pro L2 in my consumer environment, but I'll definitely test PGGB-RT as per your suggestion.

Thanks for the information. With Holo Audio May, 16fS at 16 bits can have some advantage in terms of dealing with the DAC's nonlinearity and so I can understand the tradeoff there.

[PaperBoat]

2 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Thanks for the information. With Holo Audio May, 16fS at 16 bits can have some advantage in terms of dealing with the DAC's nonlinearity and so I can understand the tradeoff there.

 

You're most welcome! 

Unfortunately, my PC can't handle more than 16fS. I don't know why the cheap multibit IFI performing better with PGGB-RT at 16bit than KTE!

[PaperBoat]

On 3/17/2024 at 7:13 PM, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

can you try it again but with the gain set to -3dB? Set Gain to 'Volume' and set the Foobar volume to -3dB. 

 

I tried the same and PGGB-RT is working fine with 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

2 hours ago, PaperBoat said:

 

I tried the same and PGGB-RT is working fine with 

Thanks for confirming. The static was likely a result of pushing the noise shaper to its limits. Now that -3dB works, you can also try -2dB, -1dB, and -0.5dB. Backing off the gain prevents it from overloading the noise shaper.

[PaperBoat]

On 3/19/2024 at 4:02 PM, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Thanks for confirming. The static was likely a result of pushing the noise shaper to its limits. Now that -3dB works, you can also try -2dB, -1dB, and -0.5dB. Backing off the gain prevents it from overloading the noise shaper.

It seems -1dB is enough for my setup.