XXHighEnd Model 0.9w-1 (fast trackload for Unattended + AIFF support)

[PeterSt]

There are serious reaons to believe that this version is not the best for sound quality. If you are new here and want to experience XXHighEnd for sound quality, please go to XXHighEnd Model 0.9v-7.
The 0.9w series will be oriented towards the loading of music data and the speed of it, knowing that all has to go into memory first (Engine#3 only).

In this first version it must be stated that many thing have been changed in the area of memory management. Most of it is on behalf of something yet to come, but anyway. Might you suddenly run into (out of) memory problems where before you where ok, please report.
Also, when things seem to have changed according to gappless, or even errors occuring, again please report.

Might you encounter changes in sound quality ... it can ... but then it was unintentional.

• When you have a processor with two cores (hence acting as two processors), loading of tracks to be converted (like from FLAC) at UnAttended Playback will be achieved twice as fast now. When you have 4 cores, this will be 4 times as fast.
  When you use 2 or more cpu chips with 4 cores each, please say so. Currently this is not supported to this respect, but it can be just the same easily.
  All accounts for all types of conversion.
  
  
• Unattendted Playback : Since "caching" is performed on just earlier converted tracks (like from FLAC), the first track playing never was cached. Thus, e.g. changing the digital volume when still at the first track of a list to play had to convert the track again. Not so anymore and playback instantly commences now.
  
  
• Unattended Playback : In the Settings Area there's a new checkbox "Start Engine3 during conversion". Tick that and you are relieved from the misery of waiting for the whole selection to be converted, assuming it just had to (like 50 FLAC tracks selected to play).
  When the checkbox is ticked, right after the first track has been converted, playback commences.
  Note : Because also the processor core will will be used Engine#3 runs in (when appointed so), this just will influence SQ during the loading of the tracks. However, keep in mind that a. it won't disturb playback and b. the priorities as you assigned them will have been applied at that moment. This latter means that the Player Priority (being XXHighEnd) will be assigned as soon as Engine#3 (the Thread Priority) starts playing.
  
  
• Unattended Playback : The End After Track checkbox so far only worked at Attended Playback. Now it does also for Unattened Playback. Just bring up XXHighEnd, tick the checkbox (quit XXHighEnd or let it be) and the currently playing track will be the last one playing.
  
  
• It is now allowed to tick before mentioned checkbox even before Play is pressed and its setting is applied to the next (and now only) track playing. Before, playback wouldn't even start in that case.
  Note that while this applies to Attended Playback just the same, its importance unveils for Unattended Playback, where before it just wasn't possible to play one track only from the Playlist (ok, but the last one) in Unattended mode. So now, tick that checkbox and only one track will play.
  
  
• Apple .AIFF files are now supported, them being similar to uncompressed .WAV.
  Please note that this was tested on 16/44K1 only, which testing also has been rather briefly, and not on a various means of sources;
  As known from .WAVs this may differ very much, thinking of diverse ripping software, tagging means, and downloads from in fact unkown source. So :
  Please be careful especially if you are using the Digital Volume without preamp.
  AIFF albums appear in white text in the Library Area, just like WAVs.
  When an AIFF track plays, the Apple logo is shown (at the place where FLAC and MP3 icons will appear when in order).
  
  
• As it appeared, when using XXHighEnd for the first time, you might click "Yes" on the question to load Previous Settings, that producing some - in fact rather normal - error messages, but that sequence implying no proper presets for the useage of Engine#3 (amongst which not even selecting Engine#3 as the default Engine). An attempt has been made to solve this in a more useable manner.
  Also some messages were added, pointing out more what to watchout for, like the necessity to slide up the Digital Volume slider, which has a default so low that no (static) sound will be produced from it.
  From this, it also was determined that when you are used to install XX in a new folder for each new version, answering Yes to the question to load the Previous Settings will never workout as intended. At least that is how it looks like. On this matter (and if so indeed) try to get the habit of installing XX always in the same folder, after you saved the previous version into another folder. So, just the other way around. This most definitively allows for loading the Previous Settings at a new version (which still btw may produce errors on Settings which just weren't there in a Previous Version (hence they cannot be reloaded).
  
  
• Although not certain, most probably the combination of not running XXHighEnd as Administrator (running XXHighEnd as Administrator is advised for several reasons) and installing XX in a sub folder from \Program Files\ can give errors on the creation (or useage) of the TemporaryData sub folder in XX. Due to this, the TemporaryData sub folder is now created only when needed (which currently is about Logging (Settings Area) only), while then first some messages are presented to warn you about this phenomenon.
  
  
• When a track in the Playlist was clicked twice, it could happen that an error message about an illegal path showed. This has been solved now.
  
  
• Similarly, when the Playlist was quickly browsed an error message containing "DBNull" could appear. Also solved.
  
  
• When albums were addressed to from within XXHighEnd, like them being in the Playlist Area, they were locked and couldn't be renamed etc. from within normal Explorer. Now they can (but obviously will imply other anomalies, when they're at the same time known to XXHighEnd).
  
  
• As it appeared, from of the ever new Setting "Show Data" and on from there in subseqent XX versions, the Previous Settings couldn't be loaded at a new version. This has now been solved.
  Note that the Log Activities checkbox also reloads the settings now, of which earlier was explicitly stated it would not.
  
  

Do not download below zip, which contains a bug.
Please go to 0.9w-1a.