ah i see. a few more questions if that's okay (please don't feel like you need to disclose anything you don't need to):

1) what usb chip does the dac use and is the driver programmed from scratch or based on some conventional standard like the vhpd1394? how do you avoid the noise in the usb signal from the beginning?

2) how do you convert the usb to i2s?

Peter - would it be possible to describe a little more about the Nos DAC's approach with respect to ultimately getting signals nto the DAC's circuitry (which I believe requires ultimate conversion to I2S)? Do you recommend I2S direct via PCIe to the DAC (as I think it was originally supplied) or is the USB conversion within the DAC just as good now (with or without external USB SPDIF converter)? Is there any isolation involved? Sorry I have not been able to find any thread discussing this much. I read somewhere that usb/firewire controllers used to be added as an afterthought (Weiss actually subcontracts its firewire driver programming) so I was wondering how much attention was paid into the process for the NOS DAC..

Peter - CA just reviewed Alpha's USB converter here:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Berkeley-Audio-Design-Alpha-USB-Review
(not very well, might I add)

Again, they say the USB controller should not be inside the DAC because the conversion to I2S affects the DAC circuitry (although I do not understand why converting from SPDIF to I2S would not run similar risks).

so i have to ask - do you agree, and does the NOS dac 'prefer' a particular connection?

No problem I will just get more RAM this weekend and try again.

Peter - I am now able to play in Mixed and Mixed Contiguous modes, but I still can't get Straight Contiguous. I get the 'lower your SFS' error message until I get down to SFS=2, and then when I select SFS=2 or below I don't get any sound and the 'No Track Given' error message pops up.

Any suggestions? are my PC specs too low? I only have 2GB ram.

I feel that 09z 4.0 has a much more 'forward' character to it, in that solo instruments really jump out. As a result of this I am also playing music at about 10% lower volume than before. I would not describe the sound as particularly full-bodied even in adaptive mode (and don't believe that any of the previous versions ever were) and despite the fact that it's the most transparent sound with the blackest background and widest dynamic range we have managed to get out of our system to date. The only criticism I have is that it has a tendency to sound too crystal-like or clinical. I think I won't be the only one who thinks that manishandler's assessment of the NOS DAC1 could apply to the software. If there was a way that 'warmth' could be brought to the sound, it would be perfect.

That said it's still the best player.

By the way I switched from SSD to HDD and I have to say I found it difficult to cope with how long it took things to boot up etc. I haven't been able to compare the 2 however, as the SSD is 32 bit and the HDD is 64.

Ah that works now! thanks very much. MY PC is not organised in Chinese at all, and I was not able to find those characters when looking in the list of users to add. The funny thing is the 'Jules' is not in the list either, but there was one for 'Administrator' and 'Everyone', which I added, and it all works now.

Thanks for your help! I had to set the SFS to 20 to get it playing in special mode.

Here's an image of the lock page. The name in there isn't the one I used for login. When I log in I use 'Jules' as the log in name and there is a password.

I do get the 'privileges' message under mixed contiguous too.

Thanks a lot for your help! much appreciated.

Sorry I have not been able to get either of the 'Contiguous' modes to work (always get the 'privileges' warning). I've tried adjusting the SFS, playing in unattended mode, playing immediately after reboot etc. Is it because I am on a dual-core, 32-bit system?

Would upgrading to i7 / 64-bit help (I mean only with respect to SQ)? Any thoughts welcome.

By the way Peter, thanks for the recommendation for SP1. It is much much better than W7 in my system (more 'stable' - less glitches and prone to going all 'fuzzy' at low Q settings). I hope the final build retains this.

Hi thanks a lot for the reply. I have a few comments:

1. Astoundsound doesn't seem to work with upsamplers (or at least doesn't seem to play at higher than 44 sample rates). Is that something in the development pipeline?

2. I understand the Astoundsound's purpose but would you mind sharing a little more technical information on how it is done?

3. What is the difference between movie, music and gaming modes? How does the dsp differ in its treatment of the source in those modes?

I have been testing it on my system and am impressed with the improved clarity but with I think a lot of soundstaging gets lost (especially for high frequency instruments like the hi hat). I'm also not noticing any elevation.

Overall I think it's quite an interesting little plugin but, as I said, I think it introduces distortion (let me know if I'm wrong).

Has anyone tried this? http://www.astoundsound.net/

It's just an expander but is the best I've heard and works with XX. Maybe you won't need it if your speakers are already highly efficient and it would just make them sound too distorted with too many artefacts, but for my system it really does seem to improve clarity (with some sacrifice to the soundstage).

If anyone can be bothered to give it a go please share with me what you think (especially the more technically minded who can understand what it is doing to the sound).

Happy Early Christmas all!

I'm not sure I understand of power filters or conditioners when you can get an ac regenerator (see pure power 2000). I am about try one out myself.

one m ore question - will we finally be able to run convolver with the XXhighend - DAC solution? not that I believe that room correction will produce an even better sound, but because sometimes adjustments still need to be made for DIY multi-way speakers or 2.1 setups (correct x-overs!). Will it cost as much time to include the feature?

I'm sorry if I missed this... will the DAC connect via firewire? It would be great if I didn't have to buy a converter or soundcard and just run it straight from the PC (in my limited experience firewire is better than asynchronous USB)

If you're using a USB DAC (like the Benchmark) it's not necessary to go through any integrated audio devices. You can disable them and just plug the DAC straight into the USB port. You should then be able to run the Benchmark and the PC in KS mode. I currently have a similar set with my Weiss Dac, except that my connection is firewire.

I can understand people who need to get a separate soundcard for other reasons (such as the ability to run convolvers or if the DAC itself only accepts AES such as a the Pacific Microsonics DAC) but if you're not in that category then a soundcard is really not required. You'll have a sweet, short chain from PC straight to DAC.

In order to compare the Wavelength against the Benchmark you should just use the USB connections.