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Kernel Optimization: "It's Not Just For Listening"

[2011-05-24: added link to identity of sample files]

Well... not content with just improving playback on the cMP machine, I wondered if the /TimeRes and /UsePMTimer switches could affect my DAW computer in a similar (positive) way.

This is machine optimized for pro-audio work (mixing, mastering, transfer & recovery from analogue) and is built on an Intel DP55WG/i7-860-2.80 GHz/4 GB RAM/Asus EN9600GT SILENT (video) platform running Win XP-SP3. ESI Juli@ and M-Audio Delta 1010 soundcards co-exist happily, with Juli@ serving as digital I/O between Benchmark ADC1 & DAC1 units.

Naturally, the OS is nowhere near as slimmed-down as in a cMP build, and so the question was "will it make a difference in such a busy environment ?". The short answer: YES !

Test Case 1: I opened up a recent mixdown project (Nuendo v4.x @ 44.1K_24-bit) and listened carefully to the live playback from the session. Yes, just as I remembered it.

Next, I applied the boot.ini tweaks, rebooted and listened again. Ya-HOO, the mix sounded "better". Perhaps not quite as dramatic a change as on the cMP machine, but any improvement in my production machine is a big deal for me.

In the past I made a disturbing discovery: a file rendered from an audio app does not necessarily sound "the same" as the live playback from that app. Yikes... think about the implication - when finessing tiny details in a complicated mix your choices can be smoothed over in the rendering. I hate when that happens. (another discussion for another thread)

Test Case 2: With this in mind I wondered if the "better" I heard with the kernel optimizations would survive the mix-n-render step. Well, instead of telling the whole story, here's a chance to play along... download these two samples from Dropbox and hear for yourself:

Sample1 -> http://db.tt/dB8A7op
Sample2 -> http://db.tt/62gTGKs

The tune is a single I recorded/mixed with some friends, which attempts to balance SQ against the need to compete with modern production trends. The only difference in the two files is one was rendered with kernel-tweaks, one without. Which one do you find is "better" ?

The Secret of their origin is revealed in the accompanying PDF document. (better not to spoil the fun by telling you here !)

Secret Identity revealed -> http://db.tt/77AlWR6

Conclusion: It seems to me the benefits of higher precision timing can be had in any Windows XP environment, with just a little editing of the boot.ini file. Whether the improvement is useful to your situation can only be answered individually, but it's nice to know the option is there.

I know my DAW output will now sound better, all other things being equal.

Cheers,
Grant

ps: Keep in mind that SP3 includes the hotfix from KB896256, and as such XP will run using the "new" ACPI processor performance states policy. I did not change this behaviour for any of the tests on my DAW machine. For a lengthy read on this, see -> http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/messages/8/88288.html

That's not a Toy... IT'S A TOOL !!


Edits: 05/24/11
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