We all fell in the W7 pitfall

[manisandher]

Yes, I get the idea, but notice this is nothing like you said before (that implied detachment of the 2nd SSD).

I've never mentioned or implied detachment of the 2nd SSD! In my first post in this thread I said:

... I installed the second new SSD in my main PC also. So, one SSD for the OS and the other for XX...

No detachment, just 2 SSDs. I think I've been totally consistent with this.

What's kind of frustrating for me is that it took me < 5 minutes to check the difference in SQ between XX sitting on SSD0 and SDD1. It's trivial to test, if you have 2 SSDs.


It kind of reminds me of the frustration I faced when I was trying to convince Romy (the Cat) to try slaving his Lynx card to his DAC - he just wouldn't try it, even though it would cost him no money and would take less than a minute, because he was convinced it shouldn't make a difference. But eventually he did, and you can guess what the outcome was.

But look, I have no doubt whatsoever that you're all right - that Vista is indeed better than W7. There is no question that I will try it...

Mani.

[manisandher]

I think I make a OEM version x64 (or x86) Ultimate, prepped for download.

Thanks Roy, that'd be great!

Mani

[PeterSt]

Haha Joachim,

Afterwards I have been thinking about this. I'm not sure ... I mean, I did try all my best to make it work for the better, and I think it sure has improved along the way. So, without that "challenge" that wouldn't have happened. Or not to the extend it has been done.
OTOH, it just can be the other way around : I didn't improve a thing for the Vista environment, while that just is the good base. That is, not explicitly, so when done explicitly it could have brought more, and in that case, yes, 9 months are a kind of lost.

Oh well ...
Peter

[manisandher]

... try to listen to music more, instead of the ever and ever tweaking...

Amen to that.

Mani.

[GerardA]

So back to Vista.
But what to to with the SSD.
I remember W7 was optimal for this, but can it be used properly in Vista?
Luckily I can stil boot from a harddisk with Vista, only have to do some tricks to get Bios-information on the rigth screen...
After this better put Vista to the SSD or leave it on harddisk?
Or only put XX on SSD or...

[PeterSt]

Gerard, I would think "technical" here (which actually is functional) : Put the OS as well as XX on the SSD just for speed (regading XX for the Galleries).

Peter

[PeterSt]

... try to listen to music more, instead of the ever and ever tweaking...

Amen to that.

Mani.

He he Mani,

I realize I sounded a bit harsh, and that quote was already out of context in my post. I merely meant :

Please switch over to Vista, so at last you can stop tweaking and listen instead.
So, nothing of the kind "don't bother, listen instead". This would be the most stupid.

Anyway, when I'm normally up and running I will sure checkout all the combinations.
(as will you, haha)

Peter

[Marcin_gps]

I think I make a OEM version x64 (or x86) Ultimate, prepped for download.

Wouldn't it be easier to share vLite settings?

About 2 SSDs, I think the better sound of XXHE being on other than OS SSD, comes from I would call 'exclusive mode'. Notice that SSD with OS uses it all the time and it maybe collide with XXHE processes. That's my theory.

And regarding sound in Vista, it's very smooth and detailed, but I get the feeling that bass is shy? Or it's supposed to be this way. I can listen very very loud and I see membranes' dance, but I don't feel the punch from W7. Perhaps I got used to 'wrong' reproduction of low frequencies from W7 and I need some time to get it right. Invert improves things a bit. Oh, and SFS value doesn't matter or has a tiny influence

Marcin

[AUDIODIDAKT]

Wouldn't it be easier to share vLite settings?

Yep, I think it does 

[PeterSt]

And regarding sound in Vista, it's very smooth and detailed, but I get the feeling that bass is shy? Or it's supposed to be this way.

Hard to tell. The only thing I know is the worse the bass, the louder it will be.
A pitty you didn't know this in advance (or maybe you created a dual boot ?), so you could have felt the woofer. Or you don't feel a frequency at all (lousy, louder bass) or you do (and you hear the strings vibe). A string instrument assumed of course.

Also, the better your system reproduces everything, the more it will be apparent that at tuning out bass, the (vibration of the) strings will be more profound. Nothing more than logic, but you need a reference for this. And the ability to "tune" the bass opposed to the rest (XOver stuff).

Peter


PS: And I don't say you are wrong. I didn't notice anything for the worse though, although it is a kind of hard to explicitly judge, because all sounds so totally different.

[christoffe]

Haha Joachim,

So, without that "challenge" that wouldn't have happened. Or not to the extend it has been done.

Hi Peter,

that is correct.

I heard for a longer time XXH with the KS adaptive mode (Q1=1, buffer 2048) and one hour ago I changed back to engine3 (Q1=5).
IMO engine3 sounds still better than any KS mode. The instruments are more natural and have a smaller footprint, the room has more depth.
My reference CD is from Christian Straube "Grand Cru". (the CD has a lot of acoustic guitars, bass, horns and cymbals)

best  
Joachim

[PeterSt]

Well, the "problem" is, Engine#3 *is* better. This has always been clearly audible whenever I tried. But KS "worked" better. One small problem (for me at least) : the moment KS was developed in full I used W7, and I now guess that W7 can emphasize the "sterility" of Engine#3.

So, the next listening session should be with Engine#3, right ?

Ok ...

[christoffe]

And regarding sound in Vista, it's very smooth and detailed, but I get the feeling that bass is shy?

Hello Marcin,

try engine3 with Q1=5, the others Q's at zero

best
Joachim

[PeterSt]

If all is right, the bass will only be "less" with Engine#3. But, way better defined. So, much better in my book. From the start this has been THE difference between the two sound engines.

... but that is also responseable for the more sterile sound.

[boleary]

Geeze, you guys are stressing me out! Think of me as "Joe the Plumber" or whatever term you use in your various languages to describe your basic guy whose not too well versed in electronics/computers (but who loves listening to music!). Really, I just want to come home from work,   smoke a good one, hit the play button on XX and enjoy! Having just "upgraded" from a laptop with vista 32 bit to a box store desktop with Windows 7, (WITH WARRANTEE!) you are now saying that I need to go back to Vista!!!!!!!   Okay, with that said, phew, let me tell ya what my ears say:

Fucking Vista sounds better than Windows 7......I think Peter described the sound of Vista as delicate. Here I would describe it as that also, but because of the wonderful separation between the instruments. Windows 7 sounds congested compared to Vista, though the base, as Marcin says, does seem to have more punch or heft to it in Windows 7. I am embarrassed though cause I ignored my initial impressions (we won't go into that) and thought Windows 7 was such an improvement...... I think that the operation of XX generally on the desktop, NOT ONE "ENGINE 3 HAS STOPPED WORKING" error,  is what got me......

So, I'm going to amazon to order Vista, any suggestions on what version? Home premium is what I would be inclined to buy so I could wipe my OS hard drive, (WITH WARRANTEE) and install Vista....   I sure hope that XX operates as well as it does now.

One last thing, I first noticed the differences regarding SFS using my laptop/Vista, so it doesn't seem likely to me that that discussion is over. Just sayin'!