0.9q ... no ....

[PeterSt]

This is not an official version but it may sound better than the others ...

It contains the controlling section for Vista/Engine#3 only and was meant to be a kind of debug version for some people encountering problems.
Also, it is a version which is near to the coming up 0.9q, although 0.9q is two days of development ahead (hence is different).

The reason why this 0.9pd version is provided, is I myself had a lot of joy listening to it, or IOW, "it has something". And, since changes in the controlling section influencing sound are out of my control (so far), I thought to share it with you. . I mean, before the SQ is destroyed again.

Well ... where 0.9pd "has something", 0.9q has something wrong. It does not have it, it has a flair in the highs IMO. More digital again.


If you don't agree, just say it. 

Peter

[Leon]

Hi Peter,

I was happy to see the q version on the list and was expecting it to support flac and maybe even MP3 under XP. Sorry to see it doesn't. at least not on my system. What I do get is this message (see attachment).

I hope it is something I do wrong and you can tell me what that could be.

regards
Leon

[PeterSt]

Hi Leon,

*Is* this MP3/FLAC ?

If so, that's the reason.
I don't check for that under XP (but I should).

Ok, I'll try to implement it in the next version.

Peter

[SeVeReD]

Well that was quick.  I haven't even dled this one yet.  I will later tonight and hope to give it a listen against .9PD.  I will try out the other features though... could make things a lot easier!

[Chris V]

Well ... where 0.9pd "has something", 0.9q has something wrong. It does not have it, it has a flair in the highs IMO. More digital again.


If you don't agree, just say it. 

Peter

Strange Peter, because I find 0.9q very enjoyable. I listen on 14 with invert unchecked.  For me the sound is relaxing and very detailed.
However, I may not be the best person to judge as I have made several changes to my system very recently including a  plug-in Firewire card, PS Audio Noise Harvester and PS Audio Power Plant mains regenerator.

The latter in particular is burning in and may have brought about the improvements I noticed.  Overall this is the best my system has ever sounded.

[PeterSt]

Hi Chris,

As I noticed earlier (Check your Firewire connection !) this can make a difference anyway ...

Further, this is a difficult one. So, indeed I did not change anything else (for settings), and also it could hardly be possibly to check all in a few hours of listening. But as often, it is the "first notice" thing that makes you decide;

In this case I re-heard the sound of 0.9p which desturbed me for a longer time, BUT, since I was playing MP3's with that only (checking the SQ) I thought it was a flavor of the MP3 compression. Now I don't think it was (but did not re-check).

This is a difficult one because it seems (to me) that the stage is wider and all is more spacious, but -as I found- this can be caused by micro distortions. So, in fact that already is (or might be) an indication that something is "wrong" (better : not enough reality).

To me it appears that more heavy music, though the better recorded - and our Anouk may be an example, gets ugly from 0.9q.
Also there is Emma Chapplin as a high key opera singer, singing through more heavy rockish music, and her voice receives a digital flair. Minor, but noticeable enough.
Keep in mind that I never have let go my boosted highs, so it's more easy to notice for me (and if something is wrong, it gets really wrong from it).

The flair in the highs might be appreciated as more fresh at first glance, but when you play various albums for a couple of hours, they all start sounding the same ... a typicle characterization of a flair ...

But as said, I never changed anything for Invert or Q1, so maybe it is necessary to do that.

If I only could find the relation between random SQ changes caused by a program completely unrelated to producing the sound ...
But I guess it's time to find a means to make all unrelated.

Peter

[Calibrator]

G'day folks

I'm tending to agree with Peter on this one .... version 0.9Q has lost a little precision compared to 0.9pd. This conclusion follows a day of solid listening to this latest version

As an example, for those who have Diana Krall's Love Scenes album, have a listen to the finger snaps at the start of "My Love Is" track. With 0.9pd there is a realism of someone in front of you clicking their fingers and you can visualise the middle finger hitting the base of the thumb. Try it yourself and hear how it sounds in real life. It should sound like a sudden 'snap'. With 0.9Q this precision is dulled a little. Not a huge amount, but enough to be noticeable for me. The soundstage of Diana and her backing artists also looses a little in precise location IMHO also.

To keep the comparison equal between versions I used the same settings for each, namely Q1 at 0 ( zero ) with invert ticked.

The journey continues ...

Cheers all

Russ

[Chris V]

Hi again Peter

If I am allowed, I would like to adjust my opinion of q

I had a long listening session yesterday and this gave me the chance to evaluate q on an additional set of criteria.

My first listening is often at what I call the conscious level where I listen actively and evaluate the normal Hi-Fi attributes such as soundstage, frequency extension, distortion, coherence of performance etc etc. This is what most of us do when we audition bits of new gear in the shop.

Prolonged listening gives 'signals' that enter the brain at a subconscious level. If there are failings then the following happens to me without any real thought.

1. I tend to track hop rather than get engrossed in a whole album.
2. I tend to turn the volume down rather than up.
3. After a few hours I find an excuse to close the system down rather than an excuse to listen into the night.

Well q failed at this subconscious level compared to earlier versions.

Hope this helps
Cheers Chris

[PeterSt]

So you had an early night Chris ?

Thanks.

[PeterSt]

I think (maybe you don't agree) that i a kind of way it's funny that when you say No changes in SQ to be expected.

That most of the time's it does.  :grin:What could it be that infects the SQ..... I'm very curious....

Not so difficult when you followed all a bit;
When I say (said) this, I did not explcitly work on SQ changes. But is is clear now (and this is only since 0.9pd where it's just easily proved) that things beyond my comprehension change SQ too.

[SeVeReD]

Well, I tried to evaluate tonight.  But my heart wasn't really into it.  I did a 45 min of going from Q to PD to M-1 to D and back through again listening mostly to  Frank Sinatra Nice N Easy (nice thumb snaps) and rock Miracle Fortress...but just didn't settle into it.  I'm pretty sure I felt Q was more strident/ragged on the top compared to the others and I think I relaxed more with PD (which sounds like D with the windows cleaned  hehe)... I didn't spend long on M-1, but should, cause I remember a few nights with it sounding very good.  My head? my system, just didn't listen well tonight.  I also wonder about shutting off/starting up/switching players... without a reboot between and how that might all affect the XXHE version following it... hmm, I only have a single core cpu in the laptop so I've left that box unchecked, (but did Peter hint that versions before Q may still be active?)  Fell asleep listening to Kristin Hersh (a limited copy live album she did released with a Throwing Muses CD...great stuff) using PD... woke up to post here in my live journal, ha. night all 2am here.

[PeterSt]

hmm, I only have a single core cpu in the laptop so I've left that box unchecked, (but did Peter hint that versions before Q may still be active?)

When you have one core only, there's no effect anyway.