XXHighEnd

Hi,

I have been trying to reduce the noise floor of my PC and DAC, and came across a couple of BIOS settings that have significntly changed my sound quality.

Turn off C1E and E1ST speedstep in BIOS settings. They are both involved with slowing the cpu when there is not much load to save power. Its made a large positive  impact on  SQ.

It may be worth trying. Post back any thoughts.

Cheers,

Nick.

Ps Mani and Brian I think this could be one for you guys if you don't already use the settings.

EDIT just searched the forum and it looks like these settings have been posted on before (I missed it first time around  :( ). Anyway this might be a reminder to give the settings a go.

I can´t find E1ST in my Sabertooth Bios, could be instead Intel (R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech?

Regards,
Juan

Ok I get it. It is under Intel PPM Configuration in the Advanced tab. And yes it is Intel (R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech and Intel (R) C-State Tech. I´ll report about SQ changes. Thanks Nick.

Juan

Hi Juan,

I had to check for this myself and yes it is about the "Intel Speed Step" (EIST).

Regards,

Alain

Thanks Nick. Will post when I get a chance to give it a try.

Juan hi,

Yes E1ST is the SpeedStep setting.

Cheers,

Nick.

Hi Nick, I'm currently working out of the country but will give it a go when I get back this weekend.

Cheers, Mani.

Mani,

You are never at home man. Think about a discman or something.
If they still exist.

NOS1Man, also nice.

Happy travelling (btw, how can you while the weather finally went in the good direction over here).

Peter

A quick test tells me that the sound seems a bit clearer with C1E and E1ST disabled but it it hard to tell the differences having to reboot and enter in the Bios to make the changes, it takes time enough to make difficult to retain in the memory the differences. In any case they are subtle differences but this is what this business is about...

Regards,
Juan

As I get more time listening it seems more evident that the sound is clearer and the details can be better perceived with C1E and E1ST disabled. I think it's a step forward but I´m not sure if at the long run this sound so clean can tire the ear.

Best regards,
Juan

Yep, greetings from Houston! Unfortunately I have to go where my clients ask me to go. You know, having a zillion air miles and a Gold card nowhere near makes up for the time lost at home with my family... and of course listening to great music in the evening.

Knowing that I 'need' my music, last Christmas my wife bought me a Dragonfly DAC for my travels. I loaded XX onto my laptop and was getting a really nice sound coming out of my headphones. I mean really nice. But I have Windows Update set to auto on my work laptop and after one of the updates in Feb/Mar, XX stopped working with the Dragonfly. I just haven't had a chance to look into things again since then.

OT:

I'm not sure why but I tend to think a lot about my music system and what I want to do with it when I'm sitting waiting in an airport lounge. My latest thinking tends towards getting rid of the last SMPS in the system - the PC supply. It's already fed from its own dedicated 5KVA balanced transformer, but I'm aware that it must still be injecting a load of cr*p into the PE, some of which I'm sure finds it's way into the electronics. For now, the only solution seems to be a low-powered PC running off a linear supply. But this is simply a no-no with XX. Oh well, I suppose I should stop thinking and just wait for Peter to come up with a solution in time. Somehow I think he will...

Cheers, Mani.

Mani, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I mean, since I run my PC at 460MHz without issues ...
(still not comparable with a low powered cpu, but still ...)

Regards,
Peter

I don't think I ever mentioned it, but I always have had this off (for years I mean).

Peter

Even before it appeared in Bios ;)

P7P55D-E EVO.
But maybe I dreamt it. Also about a 3rd one in this same row of thingies.

And where in BIOS are these speedstep settings? I've just spent too long "clicking on everything."   :wacko:

Mani hi,

You are touching on a topic that is very current here. I just cannot believe the spectrum of noise im seeing coming from my pc atx supply and mother board. Paul is here on Saturday so I will get some comparative measurements with his pc and NOS.

The best news is that I now have PROOF of how the breakthrough music is being modulated in my system at -144db. After a year and a half of trying to understanding it !! You just will not believe what is happening.

Cheers,

Nick.

HI Nick,

I just hope that you will keep us posted about your discoveries. This has been a struggle for such a long time... To pin point what is happening and where will help a lot of us :)

Alain

I hear that.  Many years ago I used to bounce back and forth between eastern USA and Northwest Canada a lot (to the point where I rented a home in Canada to stop having to live out of a hotel), and the romance of travel paled mighty quickly.  Yep, had all the air miles and hotel points, and they were nice, but all in all would rather have been at home.

Anyhow: If you are in the New York-Philadelphia area, please let me know.  Would be nice to visit and say hello (recognizing that when you are on business travel your time is often at a premium).

 :offtopic:


Nothing against Houston, but I'd much rather be in the North East. Unfortunately I'm rarely there...

And likewise, if ever you find yourself in the UK, more specifically in Shakespeare's neck of the woods, do let me know. Would be good to meet up in person.

Thinking about it, I reckon we should organize an XX meet every couple of years or so. The venue would have to meet the following criteria:
- large international airport reasonably close by
- great hifi system
- lots of room in which to mull around
- access to good food & drink
- ???

Oh and a view over a lake or something would be really nice. Hmm... anywhere spring to mind?

Mani.

No airport or anything visible from this side !

I like this idea could be fun....

It would be funny to put you all a real face (down with the myths!) and so you could see my grey in person :yes:

Juan

We are ALL grey. Except for Mani. But that is because he puts his shaver in the wrong place.

Yep, forget dying. The best way to overcome grey hair is to simply shave it all off. Shame it doesn't work with wrinkles...

Mani.

I don't have to shave my grey hair it is just falling out anyway ha ha - natures very own shaver!!!

Roof down of the NSX and give it a fast blast. :yes:

I'm in!

Me too!  :)

Mine is a coupe and I don't fancy cutting the roof off. Of course if I had a beauty like the one in your garage, things would be different ;-)

Mani.

Did someone mention a get together  -  I'm in  -  never say no to a "knees up"



Paul

Mani, what about that story about driving in the rain with your NSX from London with the roof down all the way ?
Or was this not with the roof down and no Nissan likes rain ?

haha

I've only had the NSX for a couple of years and have rarely driven it in the rain in this time (have been caught out by the British weather on a few occasions though).

But I had a Honda S2000 for 9 years as my main car, and boy that was 'fun' in the rain... even more so with the roof down ;-) FWIW, the S2000 is a seriously underrated car. They can be had for peanuts nowadays and can put a smile on your face like very little else out there, certainly for the price. Oh, and in 9 years of ownership I never even had to change a light bulb. Nothing, absolutely nothing went wrong with it. Phenomenal piece of kit.

But the NSX is special... I'm not kidding, pretty much whenever I have it parked up (going shopping or filling up at the petrol station), someone will come over to me and start talking about it. It's not the fastest car (wouldn't even think about trying to keep up with Nick) nor the best looking. But the engineering task that Honda undertook at the time of its development was just breathtaking. Throw out the rule book and start from scratch. I really admire this way of thinking... when it's done properly.

Mani.

Aha. Then I guess I know the story from the Honda.


Then we really have to wait for that NOS1 owner to put up the picture of his GT-R.

Cars cars cars

The GT-R should pick on something its own size.

Mani.

But still no airport.

A heliport would be fine also no ? :)

No space for that !

Peter,

You should empty your pool once in a while...  :wacko:

Helepicoptors are fine here  ;)

Ah Nick, great. Any lakes around ?

Hi Mani,

I wouldn't dare picking on the NSX, it was a great car, and I actually owned a few Honda’s in the past (not the NSX though), I love those V-Tec engines. The fact they produced it for almost 15 years ..., and a new one is coming in 2015  :smile:

The GTR a is a lot more practical though and seriously quick, I also take it to the track (Spa-Francorchamps) about twice a year  :grin:

Boys and their toys ...
Diede

That's a nice view at your place Peter, no lakes here that I'v noticed  ;)

Ah, there it is !
Btw Diede, I resized your picture so now it's smaller than the other cars. Looks more fair. :swoon:


In the mean time ...
... yet another NOS1 customer has announced himself with a 580 Hp super car. Let's see whether he finds this and puts up a picture of it.

Nick, if you can mount a couple of floating boats under your heli there, we're all set !

But wait, I have a heli platform ... let me look for a pic of it.

Peter,

I can see how that could work haha. Alas the helicopter is not mine  :( it just dropped into our paddock on a visit a while ago.

The boatcopter may have to go untried  :)

Diede,

Love your GTR must be fun on a track  ;)

Nick.

Spa?  Woo-hoo, was there for F1 a few years ago, and wouldn't mind coming back at all, soon.  What a track.

Nick, just in case you will change your car for that helicopter :

This is your landing platform (just being docked here).

CU

Hum... Maybe an helicopter with blades that will fold just before landing ?

;)

Alain, you didn't get it. It was just being docked there. Look below. Although now it is occupied ...
And see ? as large as a sailing ship. No worries ...

Btw, this is what we call in Holland "The KLM". But occupied. So no option.

For those who don't know, this is the lake right next to Peter, Ciska and Paul's place. Apparently it didn't even exist before they decided they wanted a house with a lake-view... It's a bloody artificial lake that they had dug out for them when they had their (gorgeous) house built.

If anyone ever questions Peter's resolve to 'defeat' computer audio, he's like the bloody Terminator - just keeps going, and going, and going... EDIT: Until he get's his way.

Mani.

Ha ha ! I was joking... But I would love to watch a lake from the balcony, have a swim in hot days, or simply know that it is there...

That's outrageous  :) but just the sort of determination we need !

Nice one Peter, I assumed the lake just happened to be there next door as it were before your house was built. Now I understand the lengths you will go to ha ha.

Cheers Nick.

Ps there's nothing like gardening with a JCB  ;)