The strangest sound ever, or ? Q5= ...

[CoenP]

Since this "discovery" of Q5 =1 with low Q1 and very low SFS i've had some excellent windows 8 listening sessions.

On some instruments I percieve a slight loss of dynamics (like on the piano) while this is not reflected in the presentation of the "big picture". Music is communicated and the soundstage has more width than I ever heard on this OS. Instruments and voices are less dense than before, more like win7, but different. Best thing is that it sounds very natural and fares well with all kinds of music.

Time to leave win7? Well, win7 has still the edge on the emotional connection and "wholeness", though the latter may just be due to less fuzzyness in win8.

Regards, Coen

[pedal]

Hi guys, I just did a short listening with these new settings.

But first: My previous settings (see signature) is the best SQ until now. The bass is so forceful and "solid" that it makes my line source speakers sound like a big horn system. This comes through as something positive on all kinds of music. The "downside" is a slightly anonymous treble. But the treble doesn't annoy me at all.

However when trying Q5=1 settings, the treble blossoms and becomes more interesting and musically satisfying. Unfortunately the bass loses some of its power and rhythmic. Turning up a couple dBs helps.

Still I feel that my signature settings better communicate the fundamentals of the music. I don't know if I am willing to sacrifice this... It's almost like choosing between a horn system and electrostatic loudspeakers.

Anyway, this was just initial impression after 1 hour listening. :-)

TRUE STORY
A tear ran down his cheek. Yesterday, a visitor heard my system for the first time. The first track I played was Johnny Cash, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (American 4). He was so overwhelmed that he could not control his emotions.

I was moved too. Turning up the volume to about 100dB there was an all-time high “presence” and closeness to the music. We were glued to the sofa for 3 hours. Then a quick meal and another 3 hours of music. It was like being drugged. I couldn’t stop listening, I had to pull out another song and another song, and another…

Shortly put, the new Q5=1 settings are by far the best sounding version. It elevates my system to a higher level.

When evaluating Hi-Fi we rank what we hear relatively to our references. Today, with the SQ of the Q5=1 settings under my skin, my impression of previous Q5=5 settings (see signature) must be modified. The Q5=5 now sounds like a “one-trick pony”. The bass is truly awesome and forceful, but the rest is too anonymous.

The Q5=1 settings is a game changer. It removes a layer of noise from all frequencies, revealing a new layer of recorded details previously hidden beneath the dirt. It makes 16bit CD sound like 24bit. I hear more recorded space (acoustics). Sound is more fluid, more analogue, more natural. Micro dynamics are better. Macro dynamics are impressive too, if you crank up the level some dB’s.
Eva Cassidy’s albums are very well recorded, but always had a slight hard edge when she push her voice in the loud passages. This is removed (resolved) now. I can play these songs +5dB without any annoyance. Same with Eric Clapton, Old Love (Unplugged). A previous layer of “haze” is removed from his voice.

Moving from Q5=5 to Q5=1 settings are like having sex without condom. No latex between the fleshes!

We really had a thrill yesterday listening to old favorites:
Elvis stepped down from the skies, performing Crying In The Chapel (2496) in front of us.   
Hans Theessink, Build For Comfort (Live with The Blue Grooves) was simply amazing. The tuba rattled my room. Maybe the most realistic blues recording I have heard. (I have played it regularly since I saw him in concert in the 90s, but never realized the potential SQ which now is heard as reference quality).
Miles Davis, You’re My Everything (Relaxin 2496) was a time machine. The muted trumpet incredible present.

The new settings make for treasure hunting among old music. Taming hard edges and resolving new levels of recorded details makes even poor recordings sound surprisingly good.

(Reducing upsampling to x8 helps, but still there are a few dropouts. Looking forward to the update).

------------------

The Q5=1 settings is the final nail in my vinyl coffin. The last few years I have planned setting up a turntable. I even purchased an expensive RIAA. But after last night’s session there is no going back. Digital playback is my new absolute reference, thanks to XX/NOS1 DAC. The new settings remove the final layer of digital/electronic signature. From now on the SQ is limited to each and everyone’s system.   

Peter, THIS IS IT! If you ever thought about moving out of Beta-mode and into v1.0 this must be the moment.

 

[PeterSt]

pedal,

Thank you for such a great post. Of course I loved reading it.

By now I have one addition to the conspiracy theory of somehow samples being missed otherwise (no Q5=1) I talked about earlier :
By accident I played a 24/96 while trying something, just sitting on the floor; I noticed a sound not heard before and immediately thought "what ? is this digging out those higher frequencies, or what ?".
Of course out of all I shouldn't be telling *you*. But I do because I noticed it and still want to be honest.
I never really tried to listen to HiRes since, afraid that the conspiracy theory is true. Yep, that's me too.

Anyway, I don't see the Q5=1 disappearing anymore and am working on the last bits of annoyances, like (with my version now) touching a key on the keyboard already interrupts the sound. This by itself tells me other things, so I want to sort them out (and the version you all have out there won't interrupt the sound by that).

Regards and thanks again,
Peter

[PeterSt]

PS: SFS = 0.2 here (see sig); not sure whether that can work in your version.

[nik.d]

PS: SFS = 0.2 here (see sig); not sure whether that can work in your version.

Peter,
Are you saying you manage SFS=0.2 with Q1=14 ?

[PeterSt]

George, yes. But I changed a few things. High SFS is also possible (tried up to 120 anyway).
In your version it is as it is for now.

Peter

[Arjan]

Hi,
Just info. The lowest I can get is SFS=0.6 and q1=4. With SFS=0.2 and q1=1 there is no sound. In between random skipping sound.
Arjan

[boleary]

With Q1 at 14 Iv'e been listening with SFS of .2, but to get there  I have to reduce upsampling to 2x or 4x. Seems I have to fiddle around  between the two upsample values to get the skipping to stop. When it does stop at the 4x value the sound is wildly balanced and clear; it makes vocals with my gainclone almost identical to the sound with my tube amp. Hopefully Peter will get things sorted out so we can hear SFS of .2 with 16x upsampling!

[PeterSt]

May it help : By now I use Q1=6. Possibly now it is easier to achieve ? (here all works anyway)

[manisandher]

Hi y'all. I finally got a chance to try Q5=1 with the other settings suggested in this thread. Nice.

But I have an issue here. I think I've become addicted to Phase Alignment (+) again, with strength = 0. PA just transforms the sound in my system. Everything snaps into place. The top-end becomes super, super sweet. There is a perceived loss of bottom end, but I suspect this is due to less bloat than a lack of real extension.

I like the new settings in this thread, but I can't quite wean myself away from PA(+).

Mani.

[PeterSt]

Mani,

Without reading back I'm sure I advised to not use Phase Alignment, but at this moment this should only be about stops which may be unavoidable, which should be out of the way in the upcoming version. If you don't receive these stops (and thus also no tumps with PA) you can just use PA. If you are not sure you can always try at the lower volume (tumps being note severe).

Best regards,
Peter

[Scroobius]

I avoided trying these settings because so much else has changed in my system I wanted to let everything settle, get familiar with the sound and establish a "baseline" again. So now I have tried Q5=1 but the results were not what I was expecting.

The first thing to mention is that my PC struggles with Q5=1 with "stops and jumps". More in hope than expectation I put in some more memory (i.e. 24Gb rather than the normal 12Gb). I was surprised that this actually reduced the problem significantly.

This test was with 2 Dexa clocks which makes the sound very clear well defined and dynamic. I found that changing Q5=1 seemed to "smudge" the sound so some of the clarity was lost it also sounded to be a little constricted. I increased SFS to 4 and higher and found that the upper mid sounded odd maybe nasally the only word I can think of.

So not what I was expecting at this stage.

Mmmmm it always concerns me when I am "out on a limb" (or not getting the same results as everyone else) but for sure I would not chose Q5=1 here to listen to music with as it loses all its magic. It would be interesting to hear what Nick finds in his system with 2 Dexa's.

So Nick?

Cheers

Paul

[Nick]

Paul hi,

I'v been playing with "long latency" settings again because these a sort of known quantities (in give exceptionally good sound here) whilst trying other tuning stuff out.

I'll have another try with q5=1 again and post back.

Cheers,

Nick.