9Z-8a and SFS

[PeterSt]

Nee, tijdverpesterij !

[PeterSt]

Anyone who feels he receives ticks once in a while (at low SFS that is, like at 2), can unzip the below over his current 0.9z-8 folder (only that !).

It solves the ticks occurring from format changes.

I'm almost sure there's more situations that imply for the ticks. So if you receive them, please try to describe what you are playing but especially what you were doing before playing the track where you now receive the ticks. Could be Stop, could be just a format change after all, could be ... I don't know. Attended / Unattended.
Please remember, when I can mimic it it still is difficult. Without that it's regarded impossible to solve.

Thank you all,
Peter

[boleary]

Sure hope you are having a beer now and NOT WORKING till after the new year! Thanks so much for all of your time and hard work.

[boleary]

On the off chance you might be reading this ( ) the ticks are 85 percent better on the Allison Krause track, SFS of 2, with the lateset Engine3 exe. Need to listen again, make changes and restart the track, etc, to really see what happens.

[BertD]

It solves the ticks occurring from format changes.

Hi Peter,

The new engine did not cure the ticks I hear. Repeatable track is "Bill Miller -Reservation Road (track 1)" which you have within your collection. Attended, unattended, volume settings and such does not remove this added "skipping noise". The only thing that changes is to increase SFS from 2 to about 12 as minimum, then the flute does not "stutter" anymore.

I hope this one helps... 

Bert

[BertD]

BTW, here it is a Flac file, not sure if that has anything to do with this...

Bert

[PeterSt]

Hey Bert - Thanks.

Is this with logging being Off ? I did not try it myself yet, but it could make a difference (not that I expect it to ).

Without you telling much, I already feel it is the same as that Alison Krauss experience. Maybe I should try that too with the higher SFS ...

Peter

[Scroobius]

For what its worth I not had any ticks since installing the new engine#3

[BertD]

Is this with logging being Off ?

Yep and for what it is worth, FLAC or WAV gives the same "skipping".

Bert

[PeterSt]

Bert, you are crazy. Crazy avatar by now too.

Ok, at first, from a distance, back and forth brought me nothing. Then, back at SFS=2 again and after close to 2 minutes into the track, I heard the exact same ticking. But, by now I was with my ear in the horn. Very VERY faint.

But now watch this :

I stopped, killed Engine3, and restarted the track. No ticks anywhere. So I was on to asking you to do the same ("does killing Engine3 help ?"). But wait ...

Now I heard foot tapping. But what to foot tap for ? And hey, on the rythm of those ticks ? nah ...

The foot tapping, which I did not notice when the ticking was there, occurs at the decay of the flute. So, not in the envelope phase, not in sustain phase but at decay. Each time exactly the same. And for me 100% sure at the interval of the ticks (~ 3 times per second).

Because already yesterday I found that the ticking is not at a constant level - can start to occur in the midst of the track and more variations of the matter, I have already been thinking about what can cause these *variations*. And I know of nothing. Well, one thing exists which makes it dependent on "time" and this is the buffer filling towards the DAC. Something like streaming becomes active already before the first real music data is sent and when that is sent depends on the responsiveness of the PC.

That something in there causes the anomaly in the first place seems clear to me (another bug) but how it works out must be dependent on something else. So, each time I send 100% the same data or at least that has to be so when first Engine3 was killed right in advance. But how it works out seems to be related to something else which happens and which may be unavoidable. Like we could peceive crackling when the mouse is moved - that sort of thing. This is how logging is to be Off - it implies writing to disk at the same interval and it could be audible.

I'm afraid that we just found ourselves a coincidental means of being able to judge how sound is influenced in general by means so far out of our reach. So, cause the ticking to be audible and see how it can change ticks into foottapping, but envision such a thing happening throughout as a general sauce.
Also notice that this tick can be something which lasts a few samples (when mapped on to time) though it may be smeared somewhat because of analogue response. That foottapping though lasts way way longer and merely comes down to hundreds of samples. This, while the samples did not change (and for sure not in length of the happening) which makes it a most odd thing to me.

Although it may not be appreciated as such, to me it looks like the finding of the year. And for those who just switched - 2012 I mean.

Peter

[PeterSt]

Bert, like in your first post about this, you again describe it as some skipping. I wasn't able to hear just that, but it may be so.

But what about ticking or otherwise like I described it. Do you hear that as well ? Or *can* you hear that, now knowing what I hear ?

Btw, my Q1 is at 14, Q1F=1, DevBufSize = 4096, NOS1 buffersize = 4ms. Normal OS and Attended.

[BertD]

But what about ticking or otherwise like I described it. Do you hear that as well ? Or *can* you hear that, now knowing what I hear ?

I hear several different things excactly the same (your settings or mine did not change anything).

I always start to play using the same track, killing engine 3 and starting over does not change anything here.

The noises I get:

1) At start before the music starts I hear the static "tack" which could probably be prevented by using different settings. The same tack after a while when PA engages...

2) At the moment the track starts to play I hear crackling static noise for a brief moment (hardly as loud as the initiating "tack").

3) When the music starts (the flute) then the skipping sound appears (louder when the signal gets louder and not in the rythm of the music).

4) At the parts being more silent there is always some other noise present too (very soft crackling noise not in the rythm of the music but softer than at the start of the track).

The other sounds you describe is something I have to listen for in a moment and hear if I can find the same as you hear.

Bert

[Jud]

Happy 2013!  

Getting improved sound but ticking with SFS=2, I installed -8c01.

So first: Thank you for bringing back "my" XXHE.  Yes, with -8 there was improved sound, and when I tried SFS=2, aside from the ticking it was as good as I've heard this version.  With the XTweaks, though, there was always a sense of too much changing with adjusted levels of the tweaks, practically like tone controls, and that could never be right.  From the first moment when sound came out of the speakers with -8c01 it was right.  Yes, I'm sure it can be tweaked and "dialed in," but now there is a good solid base to work from.  (Music was "Delilah" and "Tell Me What You Want" from Teddy Thompson's - Richard's son - album "Bella."  Have a glass of wine and a dance with the wife over these tunes, is my New Year's recommendation.)

As I said, I was getting ticks with -8a, so I installed -8c01.  No more ticks on RedBook rips.  But switching to a 24/96 HDTracks download ("Dawned on Me" from Wilco's "The Whole Love") brought horrible distortion - volume fluctuating back and forth from normal to way too loud, and washes of distorted music, as if from ripped speaker cones.  Restarted XXHE and no more of that distortion, thank goodness, but light tick sounds on the 24/96 track, one say every 10 seconds or so.  No matter how often I restarted XXHE or rebooted the computer, no ticks on Redbook rips (which I have XXHE convert to 24/88.2), but always ticks with that 24/96 track.

By the way, played with the Q1 factor and a multiplier of 2 sounds better than 1 or 3 to me.  Q1 setting = 14.

[PeterSt]

Thank you for the feedback Jud.
Have been working on it today again and found nothing else than ticks can be there. No idea how it starts or what can end it. Well, if that were ticks only. Sound can just change and when you're not focused on the phenomenon it could just be great sound.

I'm in the stage of reverting to whatever version to see whether it's not in there as well now I know how it can be perceived.

Again, thanks. Bert too, and others.
Peter

[Jud]

Translating your latest message a little further, I'm guessing what you are saying is that nothing you did in -8c01 should have affected the sound, other than removing ticks (at least from RedBook).  So it's possible I was just in the right frame of mind to hear -8 with what are still a relatively new group of settings, or my new desktop speakers, still in their first hours of operation, are rounding into form.

Whatever the cause might be, the result is that I'm pleased with the sound of -8 right now.  Good luck with the hunt for the source of the ticks!