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In Reply to: RE: Help with PC setup please – SQ diminishes after one track! posted by Old Listener on May 21, 2015 at 09:12:15
Old Listener, Thanks for your input. I have been playing around so I could answer your questions. Played with BIOS, but I didn't know what I was doing and had to return to defaults.
> What are the settings for playback in JRiver?
Buffer 250ms; Volume iFi USB; Output Encoding PCM 352.8kHz or 4xDSD in native format; Bitstreaming: none; Prebuffering 6 sec; Play silence: None; Gapless; Seek: Smooth; Stop: Fadeout; Pause: Fade; Volume mode: Disabled; max Volume: 100.
> What are the settings in HQPlayer?
Backend: Asio; Device: iFi (by AMR) HD USB Audio; 2 Channels; SDM Pack: None; Buffer time: 250ms; DAC bits: default; No AltDSD;
PCM: filter-minphase; dither-NS9; Sample rate: 705600; Vol Max odB, Vol Min -6.0dB.
SDM: Oversampling-poly-sinc; Modulator-DSD7 256+fs; Bit rate-12288000; no Pipeline SDM; Yes Full screen; No Log file.
> Does the iFi DAC come with its own driver? Are you using it?
Yes, iFi HD USB Audio [Asio]
> Have you tried playback without upsampling? Do you hear the same drop in sound quality after the first track in that case?
Yes, not as pronounced but still there
>"Upsampling 44.1kHz to 352.8/705.6 or DSD." Have you tried a less demanding conversion such as 44.1 -> 96 KHz?
Yes, problem not as pronounced but still there
---
>You should not need to buy another laptop. You just need to do some troubleshooting. The solution might require that you change some setting
That's encouraging
FIDELIZER 6.7: I have been using this but running into problems. I can get clean playback on JRiver with 4xDSD - but not with Fidelizer active!
Thanks Frank
Follow Ups:
Your upsampling settings are extreme. You may need to examine what's going on in your PC to see how it is performing. The Task Monitor and Performance monitor tools in Windows let you see what's going on at the level of processes. The DPClat tool available on the web lets you see how your system is performing at the level of interrupt handling and Deferred Procedure Calls.
You might try the "Play files from memory instead of disk" setting. That takes disk I/O out of the picture.
"FIDELIZER 6.7: I have been using this but running into problems. I can get clean playback on JRiver with 4xDSD - but not with Fidelizer active!"
Get your problem solved before you mess around with Fidelizer.
I'd also suggest that you learn more about how your system is performing rather than making random changes.
my blog: http://carsmusicandnature.blogspot.com/
Old Listener
Thank you, I used DPClat tool, and found a conflict with Fidelizer and a Ralink RT WiFi Adapter.
However, there were also intermittent problems without Fidelizer, which also disappeared when the Ralink WiFi Adapter was disabled, with maximum latency not exceeding 350us.
Does the information above suggest changes to player setup?
I changed to "Play files from memory instead of disk" and it made no difference.
Old Listener, the SOUND QUALITY still deteriorates after one track, and recovers on restarting the player software. So further ideas/suggestions are most welcome. I have yet to play with Wasapi.
One other concern. With Ralink Wifi Adapter (and WLAN) disabled, I get the message below when I open a MS Office product. Will the product really become unlicensed if I don't enable the WiFi Adapter & WLAN within 0 days?
Many thanks again
Frank
Well, you are making some progress. You know something about how Fidelizer and the WiFi adapter are affecting your system.
Some ideas for more experiments:
- Try playing a long track to see if sound quality stays the same all the way through the track.
- Try playing a series of short tracks to see whether the change in sound quality still occurs at the start of the second track.
This might tell us whether the change is related to elapsed time or to the changeover from one track to another.
- Try using Direct Sound rather than the iFi driver. Set JRiver to output at the native sample rate/bit depth of the material that you are playing. This might tell us whether the iFi driver has a role in the sound quality change.
- The iFi DAC operates from a battery. It is possible that the battery does not deliver as much current after a few minutes. I believe that there is a feature for setting the power mode. You might try using different power mode settings.
my blog: http://carsmusicandnature.blogspot.com/
Thanks Old Listener
More good suggestions. I will do the further listening tests, but it will take a little while as I will be out of town.
You said, "The iFi DAC operates from a battery. It is possible that the battery does not deliver as much current after a few minutes. I believe that there is a feature for setting the power mode. You might try using different power mode settings." This may also be worth following.
When I restart the player software, this is the only thing touched. Volume control on the Micro is not touched. Stopping the track, exiting, restarting, and finding the track again, takes about 40 seconds. If there were a power problem with the iDSD DAC presumably the 40sec would be enough to sort out the batteries - temporarily?
I have always had a sense that on restaring the player software and returning to the track that it sounds a little louder than when I left it!
Not sure how to go about measuring iDSD DAC/Amp output voltage with a test signal to verify. Or how to measure the battery charge/output? Suggestions?
Cheers
Frank
maybe it's your ears playing up. Do you always start the track with nothing else playing in the background ? Expectation bias is a wonderful thing.
Try joining 2 smaller tracks into the same file to check if it is a physical track change issue.
http://mqnplayer.blogspot.co.uk/
If your physical layout requires the computer be connected to wi-fi then I suggest replacing the local wi-fi adapter that is causing the problems with a wireless bridge. The bridge will do the necessary wireless protocols and encryption, leaving the computer free to do its audio stuff.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Looks like Fidelizer screw up the system settings to such an extend it is not function properly.
Inherent imho to "optimizers".
They do something, not necessary optimal for all systems.
The Office problem is probably because you are not connected to internet when you disable WiFi.
You might try a wired connection if possible, in general more frugal on system resources.
WASAPI: it bypasses the Win mixer hence you get automatic sample rate switching and the audio isn't dithered by the mixer. I recommend to use it.
The Well Tempered Computer
Tony, Roseval
Thanks for your input. I'll figure out what a wireless bridge is soon.
However, I am out of town for the next week so it will be a while before I can get back to the system for more experimentation.
Strange about Fidelizer, because Fidelizer and JRiver are supposed to work very well together.
And I am always connected to the internet by wireless before employing Fidelizer.
I'll check with the Fidelizer designer. He may have an answer.
Cheers
Frank
I solved my bogus M$ Office licensing problems by going to Open Office. I have a few applications that I regularly use that don't run on Linux, otherwise M$ would be history...
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
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