Download is at the bottom. Activate with your existing 0.9z-7 (and up) Activation Code.
Notice : In this version the small vinyl like ticks in between tracks (only for tracks with gaps in between them) exist.
There's also a small tick though some louder at the first "SFS Change".
For those already using Activated 0.9z-6, please look here :
How to Activate 0.9z-7 and up.
Release Notes to 0.9z-8 :Expected SQ changes : Severe.
But please notice : Most come from the new XTweaks and these only engage in Minimized OS Mode, which by itself needs the Activated version.
- Official support for Windows 8.
Please notice : Since this could not be tested here because of a not completed NOS1 driver, this is only about it working and nothing about testing SQ. NOS1 users will be notified when the driver is ready.
- Automatic Restore Points.
When the hop is made to Minimized OS a question will appear whether a Restore Point is to be created for you.
Watch out (sort of) : The question for this happens at the place where before the question "Reboot for Minimizing the OS" appeared. This goes quite unnoticed, and, by itself no real problem. However, once you clicked OK to this message you will be waiting for maybe a minute or two, thinking that the reboot doesn't work. It will though, but only after the Restore Point has been made and when the same message as before ("Reboot ... ?") appears. During the Restore Point creation a "Wait Cursor" will show. So you will know something is going on.
- Recovery from bad Minimized OS shape.
As was discovered, due to an anomaly in the (fairly complicated) code it could happen that no boot into Minimized OS was possibly anymore. The actual cause is an unfinished boot, but that should have been covered for while that did not. This is solved now.
Obviously a few suffered from this and needed a Restore Point to recover from the situation - which often was not available (not made - see above for the solution to *that*).
- It never was possibly to determine the absolute state of the OS (Normal vs Minimized). Now there is !
It could proove not to be 100% waterproof, but it will help in far most cases (actually we don't know of any where it won't work).
When the Minimize OS button shows blue the OS is in Normal state, and when it shows Red it is in Minimized state.
- XTweaks - Your new SQ era. Or Area. A whole new section in Settings.
Watch out : Use at your own risk. Get yourself a program which can sense and show temperatures of your processor.
- Read the "Help" link which is at the top of the section.
- Read the ToolTips per field in there, and notice that they also appear in the Help Area ([ H ] button at the top.
- Promise yourself to be careful.
Nothing will happen (will be applied) when
a. you are in Normal OS Mode;
b. you change something in Minimized OS Mode but do not press Apply.
BUT
When you hop from Normal OS Mode to Minimized OS Mode, all will be applied automatically and unavoidable.
Also notice that when you go back from Minimized OS Mode to Normal OS Mode all will be undone.
Although all fields work in Minimized OS Mode only, the buttons "Change" (for Windows 8 only !) and "Try Change" at the bottom work in both OS Modes.
- The Ph+ button has been removed; too difficult to get going as intended.
The combination with Inverted Phase (and Ph-) is there there, though officially no good (read : works, but works out in a fashion which can't be the intention ever).
- For Windows 8 an automatic feature has been introduced which changes your User Account Control setting when not right. Notice that this setting can not be applied via User Account Control as we know it from Vista and Windows 7.
You will be asked to approve this, but when you don't XXHighEnd will quit and you won't be able to run it.
If all is right this automatic procedure works for Vista and Windows 7 just the same, but was not really tested.
When a change of UAC is needed, a reboot will be applied (again, at your approval - but when you don't, a quit will be your part).
Edit : The above appears NOT to work, and it needs the normal manual setting of User Account Control first (see at the bottom). Also see here : 0.9z-8 and Windows 8 - first install not OK.
- 352.8 (2L) files did not play anymore in the previous version. This is solved.
- Alt-N (Next Track) and Alt-L (next Album) performed fairly slow since the introduction of the Playback Drive in 0.9z-7 in Unattended Playback Mode. This is now "on speed" again.
In the mean time it was noticed that when, say, more than 3 albums are loaded (Unattended) and Conversions are needed (like decoding from FLAC) things significant slow down which is related to memory limitations. This probably can't be solved.
- Anti Image Filtering for 48Khz tracks never (?) worked. Solved.
- Track Lengths could go wrong when switching between different file formats (like 44.1khz vs 96Khz);
If all is right this has been solved, but, not sure ! Please report (again) when this is not the case.
- The Persist buttons in Settings never worked (yet) and still don't. But know they have been removed (maybe later they come back).
- The problem with Peak Extension being necessary or otherwise distortion beyond the audio band (but still perceivable) would occur, has been solved. This is about the famous "compilation error".
Existing Activated users, watch out before you install :When you are in Minimized OS Mode when you apply the new version for the first time, and you loose your Activation (after a new Install you have to reactivate from off 0.9z-7), you will not be able to go back to Normal OS Mode. This may be inconvenient and therefore it is strongly advised to run the new XXHighEnd version for the first time in Normal OS Mode.
Before there was the restriction that a new XXHighEnd version had to be installed under Normal OS Mode. This restriction has been removed (because of the above subject).
Switch Off UAC (User Account Control) before any first attempt of starting XXHighEnd.exe !
However, if all is right this will be arranged for automatically per the 0.9z-8e version. Also see below.
Edit January 6 2013 : for version 0.9z-8e :An additional download is available for this version at the very bottom; Unzip this (3 files in there) over the folder you used for the 0.9z-8a version which latter you have to unzip first (first download link below). Reactivation will not be needed.
Remark : On the 5th of January a 0.9z-8d version has been additional to the original download. This has now been replaced with the 0.9z-8e version which solves error messages regarding the Wallpaper display which were in 0.9z-8d.
Release Notes to 0.9z-8e :- Although it seemed to do it, no Restore Point was made in Windows 8 when going from Normal OS Mode to Minimized OS mode. Now it does.
- Booting into Minimized OS Mode did not work in Windows 8. Well, it did, but then you were stuck in a black screen with nothing to do. Now this works.
- The automatic setting of proper UAC rights for Windows 8 did not work properly. Now it does.
Please notice that this was tested and to some extend "extensively" but that situations may exist that it won't work (properly). When this latter is the case you will receive error messages at the first startup of XXHighEnd and additionally other functions may produce error messages. Please report (in detail if possible) when you run into this.
Warning : Once XXHighEnd was allowed to change UAC settings (you will see it happening during the first startup), real Metro apps can not work anymore. When you want that, at this moment there is no other solution than going into the UAC (User Account Control) settings, move up the slider one step, move it down again if you want and reboot. Metro apps will then, but XXHighEnd will not; When an attempt is made to start XXHighEnd again, the same sequence of auto-changing the UAC settings will be in order as when you first started XXHighEnd.
- In Windows 8 no Wallpaper would ever appear. Now it does, but it is subject to not being "as complete" as it was for earlier Windows versions;
In the normal situation as how you would use it under eg. W7 no Wallpaper will appear. The OSD text (when switched on) will though. However, when you have an instance of File Explorer open at the moment playback is initiated (Attended or Unattended), the Wallpaper will appear (when set to do so) but the icons will remain on the desktop as well. Actually the "Desktop Services" will not be shut down in this case which is not for the better (SQ).
- As well known by now, 0.9z-8a (from the main download below) exhibit ticks at the lower SFS (Split File Side) settings like 2. This was improved upon by an "in-forum" 0.9z-8c download for the sound engine, but with fine resolving systems the ticks were still audible. Now this is completely solved.
Notice this is not applicable to any "first tick" or ticks which may be perceived in between tracks with gaps between them.
In the mean time you may expect a SQ improvement; the more "sluggish" your D/A converter for its slew rate, the more that will be - when you play at the low SFS setting.
- The original 0.9z-8a contained a bug which caused certain DACs not to play (error message appeared) when Stop and Play was used (so, any second Play attempt). This is solved now - and was already by means of an in-forum 0.9z-8b version.
- Mentioned 0.9z-8b version also restored the initially removed Ph+ (Phase Alignment Plus) option;
Although it seemed that nobody used it and could use it for the better, it appeared to be used by some (for the better) and thus now has been restored.
- Because of some sanity check it was not possible anymore to tweak the MinimizeOS button and Boot into Minimized OS while being there already. This has changed now.
Edit January 12, 2013 :Warning : This version appears to be incompatible with earlier versions than Windows 7. In this post there's a 0.9z-8f download for a solution :
Reboot Minimized OS issue on Vista.
