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Flecko
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« on: July 05, 2011, 10:47:44 am » |
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Last week-end I tested XXHE against an older version of Amarra. I used my normal setup and replaced my PC by an Apple macbook pro which had Amarra installed. The comparison didn't took very long because the difference in soundquality was quite obvious. XXHE on my PC was much better. I just had to listen to the first 3 seconds of Amarra playing and knew that this is not as good. It sounds clouded, like there is a nebular before the speakers. Especially clarity and "3Dness" was improved a lot by using XXHE. The comparison is not valid to judge the software alone because the hardware was changed too. But at least this combination can be ruled out if you want the highest sound quality possible.
Greetings
Adrian
PS.: There was another listener, the owner of the macbook pro. He thought the same about the sound quality.
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Software: Windows7 Ultimatex64SP1 | XXHighend 9z9b
Hardware: | Gigabyte X79-UD3 | i7-3820 | 16 GB DDR3 | OS on 128 GB Samsung SSD 830 | Music on 2TB WD Caviar Green | Seasonic X-660
XXHE Settings: | Engine 4 | Adaptive | Buffer=1024 | Q12345=[14,0,0,0,0] | xQ1=1 | Q5=3 | Scheme=3 | Mixed Contiguous with SFS=12 | 176.4kHz32bit | ArcPred + Peakextend | Clock=1ms |
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PeterSt
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« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2011, 11:45:53 am » |
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You can't be right Adrian. There's whole crouds using that !
haha.
Thanks ...
Peter
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For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13* (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).
For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10 (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.
Global Moderator
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Suteetat
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« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2011, 01:13:15 am » |
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I almost went Mac route a couple of years ago before I discovered XXHighend. I compared my dealer's Macbook/iTune/Amarra to my PC/MediaMonkey and it was obvious that Mac sounded better. So I started converting all my flac file to Aiff. Luckily during that time I discovered XXHighend and the improvement was significant enough that I did not switch to Mac. Then at the end of last year, I had another round of PC/XXHighend vs Macbook/iTune/Amarra both through Weiss INT202 and I preferred XXHighend also, perhaps not by a wide margin but I have to say that using iTune/Amarra with iPad as a control is very very tempting  |
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Intel i7 950 12GB DDR3 triple channel, Win7 64bit sp1 on SSD,
firewire -> Weiss INT202 -> Playback MPS-5-> ??
0.9z-4, KS-adaptive, buffer 256, Q1=1, no oversampling, SFS 100, straight contiguous,
minimum Clock Resolution, Scheme 2
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Flecko
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« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2011, 07:58:51 pm » |
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I don't know by hard which version of xxhe was released as you made the test last year. But I am sure that 0.9z5.2 ist the best sounding xxhe we had and that maybe explains the big difference. One year ago, I can imagine the difference would have been not so big. I have no idea if amarra has improved the sound quality with their newer version 2.x but they would have to improve a lot to compete.
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Software: Windows7 Ultimatex64SP1 | XXHighend 9z9b
Hardware: | Gigabyte X79-UD3 | i7-3820 | 16 GB DDR3 | OS on 128 GB Samsung SSD 830 | Music on 2TB WD Caviar Green | Seasonic X-660
XXHE Settings: | Engine 4 | Adaptive | Buffer=1024 | Q12345=[14,0,0,0,0] | xQ1=1 | Q5=3 | Scheme=3 | Mixed Contiguous with SFS=12 | 176.4kHz32bit | ArcPred + Peakextend | Clock=1ms |
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Suteetat
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« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2011, 12:03:15 pm » |
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I don't know by hard which version of xxhe was released as you made the test last year. But I am sure that 0.9z5.2 ist the best sounding xxhe we had and that maybe explains the big difference. One year ago, I can imagine the difference would have been not so big. I have no idea if amarra has improved the sound quality with their newer version 2.x but they would have to improve a lot to compete.
It was October-November, I think so it would have been 09z.3 or 09.z4. I Have not heard the latest Amarra. I also heard that new version of PureMusic is also much better than older one but have no inclination to try yet. Since then, I tried Qsonix music server (the one that Wadia helped designing) and XXhighend/PC is still better. Tempted to try the new Weiss media server but still a bit afraid of the cost I think xxHighend must be the best 79 euros I ever spent on my stereo |
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Logged
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Intel i7 950 12GB DDR3 triple channel, Win7 64bit sp1 on SSD,
firewire -> Weiss INT202 -> Playback MPS-5-> ??
0.9z-4, KS-adaptive, buffer 256, Q1=1, no oversampling, SFS 100, straight contiguous,
minimum Clock Resolution, Scheme 2
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PeterSt
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« Reply #5 on: July 08, 2011, 12:48:38 pm » |
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Haha, thanks guys. But wait until you hear what I am hearing for the last month or so.  Problem is : there is so much programming involved to let happen what I can do manually, that I'm hesitating to start on it for that same long month. |
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Logged
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For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13* (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).
For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10 (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.
Global Moderator
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