SFS Sound Quality Experiences

[PeterSt]

It works fine (haven't compared the SQ yet though). The only thing is when I reboot, the name RAMDISK I gave, is lost and it becomes named "Local Drive". It doesn't keep the RAMDRIVE name. Any solution for that? 

http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=1409.msg13446#msg13446

First post second quote.
What I recall (and saw passing by through Search) is that it needs TWO reboots.

[juanpmar]

Thanks Juan, Georg, Peter!

@Juan:
4000GB should be 4000MB, 4GB I recon. 
It works fine (haven't compared the SQ yet though).
Stanley

Sorry, yes you´re right it is 4Gb and not 4000Gb.
Juan

[juanpmar]

Hi Peter,

Do you mean that we have to copy the XX folder to the RAMDisk?, I understand that it was when we were using the RAMDisk as the disk where XX was residing but now we only want to use the RAMDisk for Playback Drive. That seems a quite complicated process. If the only problem is to maintain the name of the Playback Drive I rather to write it again and create also the Folder inside each time I have to reboot the computer. Or I missing something?.

Juan

[Stanray]

Thanks for tips and tricks.
It works beautifully now. This is what I did:

- Bring back W7 from minimized mode
- Install .NET 4
- Install RamDisk sw and choose FAT32 and 4000 MB.
- Reboot (or maybe 2 times).
- Then you have image space (extra hdd) on your RAM.
- Then go to the second tab in RAMDisk, Load and Save, and press "Save Disk Image Now" and select checkbox "Load Disk Image at Startup"
- Reboot
- Then select checkbox "Save Disk Image on Shutdown"
- Reboot
- Rightclick mouse format HDD to NTFS and 512Mb.
- Rename “Local drive” to “RAMDisk”
- Create folder “Drive”
- Try in XXHE (choose “Drive” for 'playback drive')
- Engage 'minimize OS' again.

First impression is better SQ, but I have to test it better when I have time.

Stanley

[PeterSt]

Do you mean that we have to copy the XX folder to the RAMDisk?,

Juan, sorry, no. That is not what I should have implied with my links.

Regards,
Peter

[juanpmar]

Hi Stanley,

Thanks for completing the list, now it works perfectly.


Peter,

I´m receiving a message when XXHE starts to play:

ChangeWP

Error setting the Wallpaper: A generic error ocurred in GDI+

I can´t see anything wrong, so I don´t know what that does mean.

Juan

[phantomax]

Hello,
I've just installed the RAMDisk again and now is working after two attempts. Thanks Stanley for resume the process because it's a little bit tricky. Besides that I had to format the RAMDisk from the DOS console.
First impressions are that the sound is better. In my case I have been using an old 60 Gb Seagate Barracuda mounted on a LaCie USB 2.0 chassis that originally housed a 320 Gb HD ( BTW I have noticed that two of my external disks that I thought were broken in fact they weren't. The failure was in the housing. The LaCie housing that stopped working with the 320 Gb HD is working fine with the 60 Gb HD and the 320 Gb HD is working fine in a 500 Gb original housing)
But I digress. The question is that I think that the advantage of the RAMdisk against the external disks or the pendrives resides in the fact that it doesn't need any kind of physical connections.
So thank you, restless minds, who have rescued the RAMDisk concept from the past.

Maxi

P.D. Returning to the original subject of the topic, for me SFS at 2 and with this new XXHE version I could make the buffer size smaller.

[PeterSt]

I´m receiving a message when XXHE starts to play:

ChangeWP

Error setting the Wallpaper: A generic error ocurred in GDI+

I can´t see anything wrong, so I don´t know what that does mean.

It is the coincidental getting together of Phase Alignment engagement and the showing of the Wallpaper at first (I should have a protection against that in there ).
Change the SFS a little helps (you won't want that) and set the SFS Rounds to another value will also help (you won't want thet either. ).
Making the system more slow ?


Peter

[juanpmar]

I´m receiving a message when XXHE starts to play:

ChangeWP

Error setting the Wallpaper: A generic error ocurred in GDI+

I can´t see anything wrong, so I don´t know what that does mean.

It is the coincidental getting together of Phase Alignment engagement and the showing of the Wallpaper at first (I should have a protection against that in there ).
Change the SFS a little helps (you won't want that) and set the SFS Rounds to another value will also help (you won't want thet either. ).
Making the system more slow ?


Peter

I realized that it only happens the first time after a computer reboot, so no problem so far.

Thanks,
Juan

[nik.d]

...I realized that it only happens the first time after a computer reboot, so no problem so far...

Exactly the same here.
I thought it was something with new VGA driver I installed while PC was brought to 'normal', but now looks somehow RAMDRIVE related (?)

[juanpmar]

...I realized that it only happens the first time after a computer reboot, so no problem so far...

Exactly the same here.
I thought it was something with new VGA driver I installed while PC was brought to 'normal', but now looks somehow RAMDRIVE related (?)

Hey George (nik.d),

Would you please let me know your opinion about the use of RAMDisk as Playback Drive in your system?   

Juan

[phantomax]

After some exhaustive listening with some well known recordings with headphones I can assure that the SQ is clearly better in my system with RAMDisk.
But there are some issues:
   - some sporadic ticks. I had never had this problem except with very low Q1 numbers
   - sometimes the "lower the SFS or reboot..." message pops up again.
   - the known annoying waiting time when shut down or reboot. I had forgotten this.

Maxi

[nik.d]

Hi Juan,
 
The system I'm listening at the moment is not the one in my signature, my NOS1 is packed, waiting 'Lazy Me' to send it back to NL
for engine refreshing that will double the speed on the road. Some tuning, polishing and nice gadgets will be added of course 
 
At the moment I'm listening my XXHE PC with HIFIMAN or GRADO headphones through some DIY DAC and DIY Headamp.
Usage of RAMDISK as Playback Disk is great 'revamp' by Georg - 'listening'.

It is clear improvement above all solutions I used. And I tried several.
- Internal Hitachi 300GB SATA2 HDD. Good (better SQ than w/out Playback Disk) but nothing special.

- PCI-to-USB3 card plus Transcend 16GB JetFlash 700 USB3 flash disk. Improved sonics, a bit dry sounding.
   Big minus: have to wait for ages 'till music starts.

- Above PCI-to-USB3 was planned for fast, externally powered HDD, like the one Juan uses, WD's ABYX or new, FBYX series HDD's.
   I was planning to get one, big capacity not needed, but I think...
- I'll stay with RAMDISK. Perhaps Peter will add some 'extra spice' but me happy as it is 
  Big improvement. All instruments in recording(s) received appropriate, natural amount of energy.
 
NB:
I do not keep disk image (RAMDISK.iso) anymore thus have no delay in shutting down PC. You do not need this disk image at all.
Every time XXHE is closed, disk content (on Playback Disk) is deleted. You are keeping empty image. The only thing you have to do
after starting your PC and XXHE and before playback commences is confirming the warning message that disk content will be deleted.

If you have 16GB or more of RAM, there is no reason for not trying RAMDISK as your Playback Drive.

 

[PeterSt]

I do not keep disk image (RAMDISK.iso) anymore thus have no delay in shutting down PC. You do not need this disk image at all.

Thank you for this George. I wanted to tell the same earlier today, but since I didn't know anymore how difficult it would be to reinitialize it, I thought to better say nothing. Great that you did and explained.

Regards,
Peter

[juanpmar]

Thank you George for sharing your experience with the RAMDisk as Playback Drive.

I wrote about my experience using Playback Drive in RAMDisk versus in other hdd in a new topic but I better post it here:

Playback Drive in RAMDisk (4Gb, exFat, allocation size 512 bytes):
Smoother, a little veiled in some albums, not as a general rule, detailed but without emphasis in the detail, bass not so tight, easy listening if you're not paying close attention and you are listening for a long period of time. Beautiful sound.

Playback Drive in an external hdd (WD5003ABYX):
Detailed, with more presence, more controlled bass, a feeling of closer to the real thing. To listen if you want to hear what´s going on in the recording and how was it recorded. Sometimes the sound seems to be a little hard.

Both ways produce great sound and the differences are not night and day. The preferences depends on your system tendencies, if it is toward the cool side I´d rather the RAMDisk option, on the other hand if your system tendency is a little dark I´ll choose the external hdd. If you think that your system is quite neutral I´d take the external drive option also.

Other way to take one option over the other depends on the kind of music you are listening applying the same criteria as before.

Juan