This topic is about the general environmental prerequisites;
For the technical prerequisites see
the Install Notes.
Edit October 17, 2008 :
Since the latest two or three versions a sub folder \Temporary Data\ is created within the XX folder;
When this XX folder is in \Program Files\ for Vista you don't have rights to that folder, and the program errors at startup or a first quit, and then can't be used.
Until this is solved in the next version, don't put XX in the \Program Files\ folder !Then, one other thing for Vista users :
Do not forget to slide up the digital volume slider, but be careful when you don't have a preamp connected. Try it carefully step by step in that case, until you're comfortable *your* files play without statics.
Also, be sure to have selected your sound device as the Primary Device. Currently Engine#3 won't play otherwise.
Next, if you are on XP, first of all please read the
general Helptext.
Operating SystemXXHighEnd runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP (32 and 64 bit), Windows 2003 server (32 and 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) and Windows 2008 (32 and 64 bit).
Windows Vista or Windows 2008 are the preferred operating systems, because XXHighEnd makes use of the WASAPI audio technology only available in Windows Vista and Windows 2008, and does this by means of Audio Engine 3 (1 and 2 can be used on the other operating systems as well).
Audio Engine 3 plays bit at all times.
Although the theoretical choice for the OS is there as decribed above, practically Windows Vista or Windows 2008 are the only operaring systems advised. This is because the audio quality (which is very explicit) can be achieved with Audio Engine 3 only. Although many say that XXHighEnd sounds better "than all" even with Audio Engine 1 and 2, there is really no comparison. It is Engine 3 you will want.
DirectXFor technical reasons, you should have installed DirectX 9.0c at least (you will have it if you have XP SP2). For Vista / Windows 2008 this will be okay always, for XP it might not. In
the install notes a Zip is added for it.
If you run DXDiag from the Startbutton - Run, you can check your current version. The version will show on the first page, the last line under System Information.
Playback device and connectionsCurrently, which means without extensive testing the very many configurations and possibilities, there are no requirements to the playback device / -drivers. Thus, it could be anything that connects to S/PDIF or USB. A few remarks though :
If you have an USB connected DAC, examples exist of such a DAC internally converting to SPDIF. This *will* cause a different sound, and I don't make judgements on better or worse. For that matter, do note that a conversion of this type not necessarily make things wrong, but that it *will* change (the amount of) jitter. What is the effect of jitter ? it makes the playback quality better or worse ...
The above is hard to explain, but try to think of jitter being present always, and *if* it's present (which is always
, a little bit more of it may give just
better results.
My current DAC, a TwinDAC+, is such a converting device, with the positive addition that it also can connect directly to SPDIF. For me it is very difficult to judge what is "better", which it is not difficult at all to heard the difference ! For this DAC I vote for SPDIF, but note that in any case the cable length -with very different cable topologies !- will imply differences as well.
Besides that I use a (SPDIF) reclocking external soundcard at the end of the SPDIF (coax) cable, which is impossible with the USB connection.
So why is the above in "prerequisities" ? well, to kind of explicitly indicate that SPDIF nor USB are prerequisites. Just not at all.
Many think an USB connection is the holy grail for audio playback, but to me there is no indication of that. But do note again, that I use the external soundcard (very deliberately and to keep that electronics out of the PC), and as said, it reclocks (= lowering jitter) the data.
For the holy grail thinkers : with a USB connection, there just is no soundcard involved. So they just can be right ...
One remark on USB : the type of USB connection used with audio playback (in general, so not dedicated to XX), is so called "isochronous". This means that the fed amount of data is kept steady with the harddisk as a source, and if
something happens that can't keep up with feeding (so in the area of the harddisk's data towards the USB-out from the PC), you'd just receive skips. So the consistency of the data is not garanteed !
To put this in perspective : when you copy data from an USB connected harddisk, the consistency of the data just is guaranteed, and the speed doesn't matter ...
With normal useage you won't have problems, but please think of the combination of above mentioned two types of USB operation, when your CD data comes from an USB disk ... Both will interfere with eachother and counteract !
Memory2 GB of internal memory is ok for 16/44.1 files.
This is different with the hirez files (XXHighEnd plays al types of them, up to 352800 DXD) where 3GB will be needed to play around a bit when the tracks are longer.
Since XXHighEnd is a pure memory player (for the good cause of SQ) the memory requirements are harsh. Note though, that any single process can not use more than 2GB in a Windows operating system, which is thus the limit for useage, and which implies that 3GB of physical memory really is enough.
Harddisk spaceDo not underestimate this !
In the beginning all looks nice with a 320 GB harddisk to store a bunch of CDs. But it's just "nothing" if you want to keep on playing different music for many weeks. Okay, such a disk can contain well over 450 CDs, but most of the time you won't like most of it, and then it's really too few. Also, DO NOT FORGET you need backups. Never mind you have all the CDs in your cabinet, it takes weeks to rip them properly, and you wound't want to do that again.
Type of filesCurrently XXHighEnd will accept uncompressed WAV, AIF, AIFF, FLAC and MP3 files.
Very special attention was put to the playback and sound quality of MP3, which may look odd for a high end player, but since people kind of require MP3 support (hey, I have some myself) why not let it sound the best of all.
The SoundcardThis looks strange as a separate paragraph, but maybe it is not;
First of all, many people will have the question which soundcard is good for decent audio playback, those people not having dedicated audio DACs, but having a Lynx or RME which is kind of top of the bill. Well, it is. It is for soundcards.
A dedicated audio DAC however, is a very different beast. I myself have an RME Fireface800, and believe me, it is total cr*p compared to my TwinDAC+ audio DAC, and the Fireface is only a little cheaper than the TwinDAC. It's made for a different task.
Just do not expect miracles from XX if you use the soundcard's DACs.
It *is* allowed however, to expect something not so bad at all from any non oversampling $100 DAC. XX was made having nos-DACs in mind, and if the quality of such a DAC is not the worse of all, it will be not so very hard to compete wih a multi $1000 oversampling DAC.
With the above I certainly don't say that a muli $1000 NON-oversampling DAC will make no difference to the $100 one. It just will. Generally of course.
Currently much will depend on the experiences of others ("you") on esitmating the value of me (and a few more) using the Fireface as an SPDIF passtrough device, reclocking the data in the mean time. We (those currently using such a configuration) know that this just gives VERY good results. We do *not* know, however, whether those good results can't be achieved by other means. Time will tell ...
Time will tell ? maybe that is not so easy, because how to make clear to eachother that "mine is as good - or better as yours" ?
For that matter I have one suggestion (not spending many words on it here) : when you find yourself without ANY standing waves at using XX, "yours is as good as mine".
Good luck !
Peter
