Fun with Pink Noise

[manisandher]

I thought I'd try helping along the burn-in process of my Orelo speakers by playing a 'pink noise' track on repeat for a couple of hours.

Firstly, I have no idea how to repeat a track with XX. Is it even possible? (Please let me know if it is.) So I decided to use HQPlayer for this burn-in process.

I downloaded 3 pink noise tracks: 44.1K (10 seconds), 176.4K (30 seconds) and 192K (30 seconds). All three tracks play perfectly through Foobar on my office desktop PC (with a Juli@ card).

HQP through the NOS1 plays only the left channel of these tracks! Even with no upsampling, only the left channel plays. And also on the desktop PC in my office, HQP only plays these tracks on the left channel.

So, I decided to try XX just to see what's going on. Well, XX plays both channels (phew!), but with constant silent interrupts. The duration of the interrupts is dependent on the SFS and whether AP is used or not.

I have a 16/44.1 pink noise track that I ripped from one of my  test CDs. Both XX and HQP are perfectly happy playing this track in native or double-octo form.

I'm tempted to download Foobar on my main music PC just so that I can play the hires pink noise tracks back (the higher frequencies might speed up burn-in?).

Before I do this, does anyone have any idea why XX and HQP are not happy with these files, and why they are playing them back so differently?

Mani.

[PeterSt]

LOL

Mani,

Without the new driver (and that is not available yet (unless for W7)) you can't use any other player than XXHighEnd.
Having said this, it will work once XXHighEnd has set the sample rate base (like 44.1 base vs 48 base).

This is nothing related to Left Channel as such; assumed that HQP worKED properly at 16x, it should still work unless Miska changed something or you don't have the settings right (which should be the same as for XXHighEnd playback, unless that was not so in the first place for HQP).

In XXHighEnd, click the track to play, click the little [ A ] and [ B ] buttons under the counter at the bottom respectively ("Full track selected now shows) and press play (just in Attended Mode).
Possibly "scratches" wil be heard in between the stop/start boundaries of the track but if so this is because the end and start of the track is not properly aligned.

Chosing hires or normal won't make a difference if only the output rate is the same for both.

Whether pink noise will really help the break-in of the speakers ... for the bass section hardly. For that use a 26-28 frequency track and play it loud enough (just that some fair excursion emerges). Or if you get deaf by that, take (inaudible) 23Hz but watch the excursion and keep it down to say 5-7mm peak to peak. Your normal playback level should suffice (read : not necessary to make it much louder and keep in mind you won't hear it).

If needed I can send you a test signal.

Regards,
Peter

[christoffe]

Hi Mani,

The Isotek CD was the best what I found so far. The playing time is appr. 1 hour.
Peter will give us an advise how to repeat a track with XX, I hope.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/isotek/cd.html

Joachim

Edit: On this CD is a track of 30min for systems with a subwoofer.

[manisandher]

Thanks Peter.

In XXHighEnd, click the track to play, click the little [ A ] and [ B ] buttons...

Ah, so it is possible to repeat a track in XX. Great!

Without the new driver (and that is not available yet (unless for W7)) you can't use any other player than XXHighEnd.

HQP still works perfectly with the current driver and the NOS1a, right up to double-octo... but only with the 44.1 base rate. All 48K base rate files still work but are played back more slowly. I guess it is this that will be fixed with the new driver.

Chosing hires or normal won't make a difference if only the output rate is the same for both.

Really? Feeding the tweeters with >22KHz won't help them? OK, if you say so.

Whether pink noise will really help the break-in of the speakers ... for the bass section hardly. For that use a 26-28 frequency track and play it loud enough (just that some fair excursion emerges).

The woofers move around 5mm p-p with the pink noise track, at the volume I'm playing it. But, I've got some LF tracks on my test CD that I'll try.

Thanks again...

Mani.

[manisandher]

The Isotek CD was the best what I found so far.

Thanks Joachim. I think my current test CD has all that I require for now. But I'll keep the Isotek in mind for the future.

Cheers, Mani.

[PeterSt]

Mani,

If the HF as well as the (very) LF will be in that test signal, then of course it will help. And regarding the "hires pink noise" it never slipped my mind that this could also contain more HF pink noise. But why not and of course.

Regards,
Peter