Hey all,
I have been waiting to post this until I was at least sure that things are not totally wrong, but still with the clear notice that possibly you (all) may judge it as wrong after all. Maybe I'm even asking for some help on this, but actually I am quite sure ...
In the latest XXHighEnd version we have the new Q5 parameter. This is what the Release Notes tell about it :
• The former working of Q5 (see under the [ Q ] button at the bottom of the main screen) has been changed in a more explicit SQ control parameter;
It engages at values other than 0 (though 1 should be avoided) and it will imply a very subtle but therewith important SQ parameter. It does not work on its own. For that and more extensive outlay, see the ToolTip on it.
The emphasis is not in the original Release Note but for today it is about that;
So ... 1 should be avoided. But why did I allow for it then ?
Well, because it is a very special setting with a very special purpose. And, I thought it could not work. But it can ...
Throughout time, and for me this was earlier than 0.9z-9 was release to you, I tried it a couple of times. My perception was always the same and looked like a "huh ? what !?".
But I never could proceed on it because playback would stop within the minute. Well, *that* was teasing. Seems to sound to good, but before you could really concentrate the sound stopped all together.
The soundI wish I knew how to describe it;
Something very strange is going on and it is in the realm of super coherence or something. Let me call it a 3 dimensional blending with maybe the 3rd dimension to make up, but I mean "from all angles". First there's a blending which is related to good old still strange Left/Right behavior of Windows 8 (so yes, this is about Windows 8 only) and next and more profound there is a blending in the transients. I think I can say that the transients at the higher level blend into a foundation for those transients.
With the "higher level" I mean not the finest details (like ultra short spikes) but how e.g. a snare drum is hit and how that now is surrounded with a means of envelope in the attack.
This was the technical description.
For "functionality" I'd say that all sounds sooooooo normal and not emphasized that I actually don't know what is happening;
Yesterday it came to me that I would write about "if *that* is not analogue than I don't know anymore" with the immediate addition "but analogue would sound less detailed".
There is also a most strange thing happening, which I could predict from former experiences on how certain recordings can change counter intuitive. The Beatles is such an example and in the more past I often referred to it. I don't know why, but something is in these Beatles recordings which can make them go from the worst 60's to the best 90's (I skip 2000 to not overdo it). Not that this is about The Beatles, but it could be recognizable for you;
No, I am talking about recordings which actualy lack highs and of which at leat I myself never can explain much why. It is easy to blame the recording, but such a recording being in the middle of others of the same time and even artist, those being ok, why.
Sorry for the stupid example, but Machine Head of Deep Purple is such a recording. No highs. But when you listen to this Q5=1 sound then in other recordings you feel that Machine Head is going to work. It is like the sampling rate has increased so much that all the highest frequency are suddenly not missed. And yes, now writing this I would dedicate the same to those higher level transients now having foundation; all the steps needed to get there (at the level) go in small steps, while otherwise it was a one-go.
I often talk about Get Yer Ya Ya's Out (Stones) because that too is such an intrigueing album which originally sounds sull and flat, while all guts tell me it can be better. And yes, it improved so much over time. But now listen to it. It went from still-somehat-flat to the most fresh and "uptodate" cymbals. Guitars have "scratch" while previously they had sound. All changed. All.
People might concentrate on "timing" (when you are good at this) because I feel that something odd may be going on there. But I can not tell it is for the better or for the worse.
How to get this goingWell, that could be a most tough thing for everybody. At least it took me months (of throughput time) to find out and all is so critical that it may not work for you.
Notice of some importance : My PC runs at 360MHz per processor core (x12). This is super low and still it works. This, while it can be regarded a crucial factor (the speed) which in the end I did NOT recognize as such. Nor could I get it going with any of the other Settings which I myself regard related. But this is the thing :
Reboot your PC and start playing.
Here, I can play for hours (infinitely ?) by means of only that.
Reboot and maybe play a little so the memory is allocated and such, stop playing and leave the PC alone for even 30 minutes does NOT work.
Because at first I tried other means (through XXHighEnd Settings) I accidentally ended up with these possibly important factors (I don't want to change settings anymore at this time) :
Q1 = 14
xQ1 = 1
Device Buffer Size = 4096
Driver Control Panel (NOS1) : 16ms
Clock Resolution = 0.5
Q5 = 1
SFS = 2 ( Max SFS = 8 )
Thread Priority = High (thus not Real Time)
Processor Appointment Scheme = 3
XTweaks (from top to bottom) : 53, 100, 1, 1, 1, Stable, Optimal
Show Wallpaper = Off
Edit : Logging = Off
Edit : Better not use this in combination with Phase Alignment (sound stopping may cause large thumps).
Notice that the SFS=2 can imply a stop right at the start anyway (after 1-2 seconds), which is not related to the possible issue of stopping with Q5=1. If you encounter a stop so quickly, just try again or trying another track may help as well. If this remains (stop within 1-2 secs) try SFS=4.
When it works "quite ok" you will notice because music keeps on playing forever BUT as soon as you do something like Alt-u music stops. Or Alt-z (put in Demo Gallery) - same.
When it works 100% you will notice that things like Alt-u work as well and when this is so you have a nice headroom when not using these (hammering) commands.
When it does NOT work, you will notice this because of sound stopping randomly between say 10 seconds and 5 minutes, but with the for this recognizable "Data did not arrive in time". Well, this latter I hope because in my version I changed a few things (not due to this) and you might not receive this message right away or it may even happen that sound interrupts all the time (with the version I have here it definitely stops and with this message showing right away).
Because of the internal "construction" of Q5=1 you will be able to notice one small buffer repeat (of something like 0.2 secs) when Alt-u/Alt-d is used.
PrerequisitesI did not test this all, but since I know how critical it is, this will apply :
- Minimized OS (thus Activated XXHighEnd);
- Unattended Playback;
- XXHighEnd in RAMDisk;
- Playback Drive in RAMDisk.
And because of the (for me) non-intuitive behavior, when you can't get it going, try mentioned XTweaks first "53" to vary between 42, 43, and something like 90 (so, 3 different values only).
Is there anyone who can get this going ?
And if so, what do you think about the sound ?
(please report here and not through email etc.)
Regards and have fun,
Peter
