My first Windows 8 experience

[PeterSt]

I learnt to appoint a MoBo sound device as the default. No amps connected to that ...

[BertD]

Bert, I don't understand what you mean. In Normal OS, the vol slider continues to work no matter what (see below). Exactly what did you do to deactivate it?

My bad... you should not right-click but left-click and open the mixer. In the mixer click on the device and then more options will show. You can turn of the device there (selection at the bottom).

See picture (in Dutch and not even showing the NOS1 but the principle is the same and should explain).

Bert

[boleary]

Mani, I hate it when that happnes!!!!! Not today but in the past it's happened 2x to me. Felt like a heart attack...

Joachim, I don't think the SQ differences between 7 and 8 are PC build related. I put mine together in April or may, 2012, and even with the latest 8 tweak, only desktop services off, the difference between them in my system remain substantial. In my system, the accuracy and transparent naturalness  of 7 is stunning--then add in the incredible pin- point though holographic sound stage and W8 doesn't come close (having only desktop services off is a huge W8 improvement.)  For the first time today after I applied the latest W8 tweak, I heard the difference in the sound stage bewteen the two OS's. Vocals in W8 are just too huge and puffy sounding!

Personally, I'm glad for the arrival of W8 and what it has meant  for the analysis between us of good sound via XX. It's times like these, when every log partially submerges when you step on it and feet inevitably get wet, that things are both frustrating and exciting. It's usualluy a sign of breakthrough being somewhere around the next corner. For me, I love being on the very cutting edge of computor audio and, because the actual experience of the wonderful sounds of music has so very far outweighed the few rough patches, I look forward to the "work' and can't wait to see whatever it is that lurks out there, around that corner. Time boys, gotta do the work and let it pass. It's worked so well so far.
 

[BertD]

AND I GET THE BLOODY START-UP SOUND!!!!!!!!

YES, I remember that one too (several times!!!).

My average heartbeat per minute is still 5 beats higher than usual!

Just turning off Windows sounds does not help, you should mute it completely!

Bert

[manisandher]

I learnt to appoint a MoBo sound device as the default. No amps connected to that ...

Yeah, but I'm getting into listening to Spotify and internet radio through the NOS1. This allows me to totally remove the preamp from the chain (in my office system), which is great. I'd really prefer not to have to continuously change sound devices.

Just turning off Windows sounds does not help, you should mute it completely!

Thanks Bert. At least this will help with heart attack prevention. But again, I'll have to keep switching this on/off when I want to listen to Spotify or internet radio (I assume).

If the bloody start-up sound on/off option would actually work everything would be fine.

Mani.

[PeterSt]

This won't ne worth much, but I think is worth while mentioning :

Yesterday at testing my new "tweak" for Minimized OS and underway of it (finally) working now, I told in a previous post about that strange effect I readily heard at sitting in front of the right speaker. Later I was in Normal OS and for the life of me couldn't find the track anymore where it happened. I thought I knew which one it was though. And yes, later again in Minimized it sure was "that" track. This is what I heard :

Nicely in the middle of the speakers, say 1 meter from the sealing, there was this background choir singing (a few ladies). As loud as the remainder of the music. I perceived the effect as strange because the sound was some 60 degrees to the left of me (sit in front of the right speaker and twist your head to see where the sound is) and merely it has a strange inverted phase kind of sound. Btw, notice that placement of sound in space from two speakes work with phase manipulation (investigate Q sound);

The point is : In Normal OS this little choir was nowhere ! Just NOT. And well, we (or I) can dedicate too much detail to it all, but a complete (though little  ) choir missing ...

[PeterSt]

Then I promised to compare Normal OS with all services shut down to Normal OS with all running;

It didn't come to that. I started out with listening to Minimized (and all shut off) and although I had the idea that things had improved perhaps (I had changed things) after one album I gave up.
I went back to Normal OS, but left alll services to be shut off;  I couldnt do this before in my situation or at least not to the extend I could now. The result ? not satisfied. Bearable  compared to Minimized, but I've heard better. No strange effects, image seemed OK, but too hard-grey. No dark background. No fat guitars; too much high frequency in them.

That's where I ran out of time and stopped.

Peter

[nik.d]

@mani (manisandher)

Win8 Startup Sound - it seems this is some kind of 'bug' in Win8 or perhaps some (hidden) administrator account can really disable it.
I did same as Peter did, in my case just defined motherboard's S/PDIF out as my default audio device - never used/connected of course.

In your case it's not right solution, perhaps this will do the job:
http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/6cde20/turn-off-windows-startup-sound-in-windows-8/

Will try it myself later today, first need to replace OS HDD, found several bad sectors developed on it

Brgds,
George

[manisandher]

Thanks George. It definitely disables the option of turning the start-up sound on/off (see below - check box is now greyed out and inactive).

BUT EVEN THIS DOESN'T STOP THE BLOODY START-UP SOUND!!!

Bert's suggestion of muting the applications' sound seems to work, though I still get a loud tick on start-up and don't fully trust it. Peter's suggestion is sure fire, but means changing sound devices from time to time.

Mani.

[BertD]

... though I still get a loud tick on start-up and don't fully trust it.

This tick isn't that the static tick coming from the DAC (like a capacitor unloading)? Because thát tick has nothing to do with software...

Bert

[PeterSt]

... which isn't capacitor unloading, but DC changing. Happens once in the XX times (the PC not controlling USB correctly) ...

But undoubtedly Mani will know about this particular tick.

Peter

[BertD]

... which isn't capacitor unloading, but DC changing.

Probably not but it sounds like that, like a "spark".

Bert

[manisandher]

No, it's got nothing to do with the NOS1 or XX - I never had this issue with W7.

Edit: To make it clear, I know there's a tick when the NOS1 is switched on. But I leave it on always, unless I need to disconnect it altogether from the system for whatever reason.

I've just tried a cold reboot now and there wasn't any sound at all. So it seems a bit temperamental - even worse from a heart attack perspective.

Mani.

[juanpmar]

Then I promised to compare Normal OS with all services shut down to Normal OS with all running;

It didn't come to that. I started out with listening to Minimized (and all shut off) and although I had the idea that things had improved perhaps (I had changed things) after one album I gave up.
I went back to Normal OS, but left alll services to be shut off;  I couldnt do this before in my situation or at least not to the extend I could now. The result ? not satisfied. Bearable  compared to Minimized, but I've heard better. No strange effects, image seemed OK, but too hard-grey. No dark background. No fat guitars; too much high frequency in them.

That's where I ran out of time and stopped.

Peter

Peter, so far I was testing the sound using an external hdd as Music Root. The sound is as described previously, clear, holographic, well positioned etc. Today I changed the Music Root to a partition in the same hdd where is also XX and the OS and the sound I perceive is very different, mostly because it is very hard to find the exact position of the voices and instruments, I guess that it is the effect you were describing. I makes me think if the place where the Music Root is (in an external hdd or not) has some influence in that effect.

So far I´m using an external USB 3.0 as Playback Drive but I´m going to test the Playback Drive in a RAMDisk placed in a partition in the same hdd where is also XX and the OS and see what happens. I´ll test the Playback Drive also in an external hdd as I have it in W7.

It seems to me that not only if the Services are on or off has an important influence in SQ but also how and where resides the music, the Playback Drive, the Galleries (in case they are used), etc. and that influence is different than the one in W7.  It seems obvious but it requires a whole work of test to be done again.

Juan

[PeterSt]

Yes Juan. A LOT of work ...

I´m going to test the Playback Drive in a RAMDisk placed in a partition in the same hdd where is also XX and the OS and see what happens.

But this seems impossible to me.
If you don't understand what I mean it was not a typo.

Regards,
Peter