tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-379361582024-03-13T23:21:21.647+08:00Can HTPC Beat CD Player?The purpose of this blog to store documentation and related information for building an Audiophile grade PC-based Hifi System. Anything that relates to computer-based playback or discussion can be included here.
Please feel free to post any information that I am not aware of!Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-26554039581982131072010-09-12T23:20:00.005+08:002010-09-12T23:29:50.514+08:00Latest HTPC Sep 2010AT3IONT-I Deluxe<ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Power Supply Include</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Unplug Wireless module</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Disable on-board Audio</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Minimum Video Setting</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Disable Hyper Threading</span></li></ul>WD Server Grade 500G w/ double shielded SATA cable<br />2G Kingston RAM<br />Lynx AES-16E<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pan.fotovista.com/dev/8/3/04899538/l_04899538.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 532px;" src="http://pan.fotovista.com/dev/8/3/04899538/l_04899538.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-62199432607267865432009-12-15T23:54:00.001+08:002009-12-15T23:55:19.441+08:00What is digital Sampling?A very good document on introduction of digital sampling:<br /><br /><br />Introduction to Digital Filtering with Audio Application<br /><br />https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/filters/filters.htmAppleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-85388426512614262112009-07-01T16:16:00.004+08:002009-07-01T16:22:21.254+08:00Should I replace my HDD with SSD?I have been thinking about replacing my HTPC's HDD with SSD. However, after reading an article from Tom's Hardware, the advantage of SSD's power consumption advantage over HDD is not apparent.<br /><br />http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hdd-battery,1955.html<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.bestofmicro.com/D/Z/111959/original/power-consumption.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 428px; height: 372px;" src="http://media.bestofmicro.com/D/Z/111959/original/power-consumption.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-37317018200556642042009-07-01T15:47:00.006+08:002009-07-01T16:30:49.818+08:00Latest HTPCI have decided to build a pure audio-only PC. Component as below:<br /><br />Silverstone GD-02MT case with touch screen and remote<br />PC Power & Computing Silencer 750<br />Intel E7200<br />Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 2G RAM<br />Asus P5QPL-CM motherboard, Underclock to 800MHz, RAM 3-3-3-5<br />Sine Louis Power Cord<br />Sine 2000W isolation transformer for the PC<br />Lynx AES 16-E PCI-E sound card<br /><br />Some notes here:<br /><ul><li>Don't buy this case if you want good sound quality. The touch screen is great but it drags power from mainboard and so affects sound quality. </li><li>The case is packed and I can't find any space for HDD. So I have to use thumbtek to stick the HDD on the PSU. This is crazy. </li><li>The PSU is very quiet and cool, and thus I am confident to put the HDD on the PSU. In fact, the HDD is much hotter than the PSU.<br /></li><li>It's pathetic that E7200, Asus and Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 RAM are extremely difficult to find now</li><li>CPU running at room temperature, I don't feel any heat when I touch the heat sink</li><li>I pulled out all "玄人志向" cards out, because it seems that the cards have TRADE OFFs on this new PC which is quite interesting. Sound seems to be more lively without these cards, but the sound stage moved forward. It didn't happen before with my old PC. I will test further and provide more findings.<br /></li></ul><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P0107090003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P0107090003.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-38020417585378226432009-02-06T02:12:00.003+08:002009-02-06T02:20:32.509+08:00Lynx ASIO settingsWhen IRQ is setup correctly, ASIO buffer size should be able to go down to 32 samples without any problem. (For ASIO buffer size, the lower the better).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/LynxASIO.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 280px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/LynxASIO.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-87945403020555159842009-02-03T01:37:00.002+08:002009-02-03T01:40:45.475+08:00Lynx AES 16e PCI-E SOund Card SettingsAt the moment I use dual wire and word clock output from Mytek 8x192. Channel 1+2 are used for WDM (Youtube, DirectSound, etc) and Channel 3+4 are used for ASIO (cplay or Foobar)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/LynxSettings.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 743px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/LynxSettings.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-75126769054604745572009-02-03T01:18:00.005+08:002009-02-06T02:19:04.585+08:00Asus P5Q Deluxe UNDERCLOCK SettingFollow the settings as shown on the screen shots below can set Asus P5Q + E7200+ HyperX 2x1G RAM to 1.2 Ghz in order to minimize the motherboard electric noise and achieve maximum sound quality. The difference is clearly audible on my PC:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080004.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080005.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080007.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P2812080008.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-72099693204742346942009-01-18T23:04:00.003+08:002009-02-03T00:01:53.748+08:00MY PC Feb 2, 2009Corsair HX620<br />Intel E7200 under-clocked to 1.2Ghz<br />Asus P5Q Deluxe (BIOS modded, see below)<br />Kingston HyperX 2x1G DDR2 800<br />5x 玄人志向 NO-PCI card<br />Lynx AES16e<br />Asus E4650<br />Lian Li aluminum case<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P1901090000.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 800px; height: 600px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P1901090000.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="border: 1px solid blue; z-index: 90; opacity: 1; position: absolute; left: 65px; top: 164px;" id="smallDivTip" src="chrome://dictionarytip/skin/book.png" />Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-84945346444988310712009-01-10T09:30:00.005+08:002009-01-29T23:12:48.954+08:00Dedicate IRQ for your Sound Card and Prioritize IRQIRQ Sharing between Sound card and SATA/Graphic/LAN/USB IRQ is a major cause of pops and clicks. You may swap the sound card to the right slot in order to achieve "dedicate IRQ". If it doesn't work, you either buy another motherboard, or buy a MAC (this is not a joke)<br /><br />Afterwards, Set IRQ priority for sound card:<br />1. Find out your sound card's IRQ,( Run msinfo32.exe and view hardware info)<br />2. In Regedit, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl.<br />3. Add a new DWORD, "IRQ#Priority" , and the "#" in between is the sound card's IRQ. E.g. If your sound card's IRQ is 21, then the DWORD is "IRQ21Priority". <br />4. Set Value to 1, then Reboot<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/IRQ2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 632px; height: 565px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/IRQ2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-30220471448037063402009-01-10T09:23:00.008+08:002009-01-19T21:41:41.742+08:00ASUS P5Q Series BIOS MODDFor those of you who have strong experience in upgrading BIOS, there are several BIOS modifications available for your P5Q Series Motherboard.<br /><br />I am using the "m" BIOS for P5Q Deluxe and I find it very stable. BOOT UP time is much faster than original BIOS.<br /><br />The link is as below:<br /><br />Link:<br />http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=200109<br /><br />Modded BIOS download link:<br />http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5UQRVLTKAppleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-64382850805659084492008-12-26T15:38:00.005+08:002008-12-26T20:40:36.070+08:00Factors that will impact PC sound qualityI assume Desktop PC, no game, very little HD video playback, but Web, BT and NAS can be used marginally.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hardware tuning:</span><br /><ul><li>Get the best power supply you can afford. PC- Computing 860, Corsair HX1000 makes clear sonic difference. </li><li>E7200 or E7300 for lowest power consumption</li><li>Underclock as much as possible. Using E7200, the difference between 2.53Ghz and 1.2Ghz is clearly audible. </li><li>Use fastest possible RAM at 3-3-3-9. RAM clock at 3-3-3-9 and 5-5-5-15 is audible difference. Prefer to get Kingston HyperX top model 4G RAM. </li><li>More RAM will help reduce pop/click. </li><li>Use as many 玄人志向 as possible</li><li>Use lowest clock and power consumption graphic card, e.g. ATI 4350/4550/4650 sound card only. </li><li>Best motherboard you can afford. I feel Asus P5Q Deluxe sounds better than Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L </li><li>Overvoltage South Bridge and North Bridge for about 5% </li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sound Card</span><br /><ul><li>Interface PCI-E better than PCI better than Firewire better than USB</li><li>Digital Output Interface: AES dual wire > AES > coaxial > Firewire > USB</li><li>Use computer as digital output only and use external DAC for analogue. </li><li>Use of Sound Card Analogue output interface is not recommended</li><li>Uses external Word clock > Sound Card internal clock</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Software configuration and playback</span><br /><ul><li>Smallest sound card latency (32 samples)</li><li>Deploy "Art of building computer transport" to clean up XP. Ie. take away all unnecessary services</li><li>For playback software, Cplay > Foobar. </li><li>Offline upsampler > online upsampler</li><li>Native 24/192 material > Native 24/96 material upsample 24/192 > Native 24/96 > 16/44 Upsample 24/192</li><li>Turn off Anti-Virus and firewall (at your own risk…) to prevent pops and clicks<br /></li></ul>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-88241844037649034792008-12-26T03:38:00.007+08:002008-12-26T20:57:15.095+08:00Optimizing XP for Music Playback with LAN and Remote Desktop (4)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Prioritize Playback Settings </span><br /><br />1. Download “THG Task Assignment Manager v1.0” from Tomshardware.com, set cplay to CPU 1, all the rest of all services (Firefox, BT, etc) on CPU 0<br /><br />2. Build a batch file to run Firefox at low priority mode “start /b /low k:\Progra~1\Mozill~1\firefox.exe" (no quote)<br /><br />3. Run cplay in realtime mode, create a batch file and run the following::<br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">@echo off</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">start /wait g:\process.exe -k cicsPlay.exe</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">start /b /realtime G:\Progra~1\cicspl~1\cicsPlay.exe %1</span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">exit</span>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-33826491456160635672008-12-26T03:36:00.007+08:002008-12-26T16:20:27.913+08:00Optimizing XP for Music Playback with LAN and Remote Desktop (3)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Optimize XP Run-Time, by (1) Optimize Control Panel and (2) Optimize Registry</span><br /><br />Note that these settings allow optimal Sound Quality while allows web browsing and other "light weight" jobs like word processing, etc. No games and No HD Video.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >(1) Control Panel Setting Optimization.</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Turn Off Page File:</span><br />Advanced -> Performance -> Advanced -> Processor scheduling set to “Programs”, Memory Usage set to “Programs”, Virtual Memory set to 0<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Optimize Boot Up Command:</span><br />Advanced -> Performance -> Advanced -> Startup and Recovery -> Settings, Change Windows startup command to : multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=alwaysoff /timeres=9800 /nodebug /pcilock<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable offline files:</span><br />Control Panel > Folder Options > Offline Files > Untick ‘Enable Offline Files’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable automatic restart, uncheck startup times and disable debugger information: </span><br />Control Panel > System > Advanced TAB > ‘Settings’ button in Start Up & Recovery<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable Automatic Desktop Cleanup Wizard:</span><br />Control Panel > Display > Desktop > Customise Desktop > Untick ‘Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">No mapping by Windows (Note that will turn off playback from MME e.g. youtube)</span> :<br />Control Panel > Sounds & Audio Devices > Hardware TAB > highlight soundcard > Properties button > Properties TAB > Audio Devices > highlight soundcard > Properties button. Check ‘Do not map through this device’.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable system sounds (If you don't need to hear music in IE or Firefox)</span>:<br />Control Panel > Sounds & Audio Devices > Sounds TAB. Set Sound scheme to ‘No Sounds’. Set Volume to max in Volume TAB.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable system restore:</span><br />Control Panel > System > System Restore TAB. Tick ‘Turn off System Restore on all…’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable remote invitations to other computer</span> :<br />Control Panel > System > Remote > Untick ‘Allow Remote Assistance Invitations to be sent from this computer’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable automatic updates: </span><br />Control Panel > System > Automatic Updates and tick ‘Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually’.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable fast user switching:</span><br />Control Panel > User Accounts > Change the way users log on or off > Untick Use Fast User Switching<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable Internet Synchronise Time</span><br />Control Panel > Date and Time > Internet Time > Untick ‘Automatically synchronize with an internet time server’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable error reporting:</span><br />Control Panel > System > Advanced TAB > Error Reporting > Click the Disable Error Reporting box (Tick the ‘But Notify Me When Critical Errors Occur’ if you prefer)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >(2) Registry Optimization.</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fine Tune Boot Up Registry</span><br /><br />Reduce boot RAM load (but will DECREASE boot up speed) by setting “0” memory pre-fetch (read ahead) thus reduce memory loading.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">HKEY_local_machine/System/Currentcontrolset/control/sessionmanager/memoryManagement/PrefetchParameters -> EnablePrefetcher </span><br /><br />Set to "0" to turn off pre-read. (Set to "5" to maximize pre-read cache during boot up to make boot up faster, but takes more memory load).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fine Tune Memory Management Registries :</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">\DisablePagingExecutive</span><br /><br />- Disable HDD as cache: Set dword to 00000001<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">\LargeSystemCache</span><br /><br />- Disable large system cache (4MB RAM) as cache by setting <span style="font-style: italic;">dword</span> to 00000000<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">\SecondLevelDataCache</span><br /><br />- Set L2 Cache size e.g. 3072 decimal (3MB L2 Cache) to match your CPU’s L2 cache size. “0” value to auto detect.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fine Tune NTFS Access Registries :</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem</span>\ntfsDisableLastAccessUpdate<br /><br />Double-click and set value to 1 (hexadecimal). This keyword may not exist. If so, right-click in right window pane select New > DWORD Value. Rename to ‘NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate’. Double-click and set value to 1 (hexadecimal)<br /><br />This change will disable NTFS Last Access Update, to prevent the NTFS log buffer in physical memory from becoming filled with timestamp update records (prevent memory from being filed with garbage data)Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-60614050951773048792008-12-26T03:30:00.000+08:002008-12-26T03:35:00.622+08:00Optimizing Windows XP for music playback with LAN and Remote Desktop (2)<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///G:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMP%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>2</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:spaceforul/> <w:balancesinglebytedoublebytewidth/> <w:donotleavebackslashalone/> <w:ultrailspace/> <w:donotexpandshiftreturn/> <w:adjustlineheightintable/> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:usefelayout/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:新細明體; panose-1:2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-alt:PMingLiU; mso-font-charset:136; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 137232384 22 0 1048577 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@新細明體"; panose-1:2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:136; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 137232384 22 0 1048577 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:新細明體; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} /* Page Definitions */ @page {mso-page-border-surround-header:no; mso-page-border-surround-footer:no;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1857383418; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-378385450 455140822 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-start-at:2; mso-level-tab-stop:18.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:18.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt;} ol {margin-bottom:0cm;} ul {margin-bottom:0cm;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:表格內文; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Improve Boot Up Speed</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /></span><ol><li style="font-family:georgia;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Run "msconfig" to turn off unused programs, services.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li style="font-family:georgia;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:100%;">Run Auslogics Registry Defrag: Download and run “Auslogics Registry Defrag”, in order to improve boot up speed. ( <a href="http://www.auslogics.com/en/">http://www.auslogics.com/en/</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Defrag using OO Defrag or other de-frag tool for comprehensive defragmentation.</span></span>
<br /></span></span></li></ol> Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-5588044960035680522008-12-26T03:14:00.003+08:002008-12-26T03:29:42.723+08:00Optimizing Windows XP for music playback with LAN and Remote Desktop (1)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Disable the following services (LAN and Remote Desktop function retained)</span><br /><br />Alerter<br />Clipbook<br />Computer browser<br />Cryptographic services<br />DNS client<br />TCPIP NetBIOS Helper<br />IPSEC<br />Messenger<br />NetTCP Port sharing Service<br />Network DDE<br />NEtwrok DDE DSDM<br />Print Spooler<br />Protected Storage<br />Routing and Remote acess<br />Secondary Logon<br />SQL Server Active Directory Helper<br />SQL Server Browser<br />Task Scheduler<br />TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper<br />Telephony<br />Telnet<br />Themes<br />Windows Firewall<br />Application Layer Gateway Service<br />Application management<br />ASP .NET state Service<br />Automatic Updates<br />Background Intelligent Transfer Services<br />COM+ System App<br />Distributed Transaction<br />Error Reporting<br />Extensible Authentication<br />Fast User Switching<br />Health Key and Certificate Management<br />Help and Support<br />IMAPI CD-Burning COM<br />Indexing<br />InstallDriver Table Manager<br />Logical Disk Table Manager<br />Messenger Sharing Folder USN Journal<br />MS SOtware Shadow Copy Provider<br />NB Service<br />Net Logon<br />Netmeeting Remtoe Desktop Sharing<br />Network Access Protection Agent<br />Network Provisioning Service<br />NMIndexingService<br />NT LM Security<br />Office Source Engine<br />Performance Log and Alerts<br />Portable Media Serial Number Service<br />QoS RSVP<br />Remote Access Auto Connection Manager<br />Remote Access Connection Manager<br />Remote Desktop Help session Manager<br />RPC Locator<br />Remote Registry<br />Removeable Storage<br />Security Center<br />Smart Card<br />UPS<br />Universal Plug and Play Device Host<br />Volume Shadow copy<br />Window Cardspace<br />Window Driver foundation<br />Window Firewall…<br />Window Installer<br />Window Live Setup Service<br />Window Management Instrumentation…<br />Window Media Player Network sharing<br />Window Presentation Foundation..<br />Wired Auto config<br />Wireless zero config<br />WMI performance adapterAppleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-29898554654651254272008-12-24T00:40:00.002+08:002008-12-24T00:47:37.974+08:00Questions and Answer about ClockingThe following questions are answered by DWS (Kent Poon), sound recording engineer who helped design Weiss products. <br /><br />AD = Analogue to Digital Converter<br />DA = Digital to Analogue Converter<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">appleteapot Q</span>: "If DA can do re-clocking and does not require any external clock source, why do we need word clock during AD (recording) stage? "<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DWS A</span>: We simply NOT necessary to use word clock. Most mastering engineering uses their ADC internal clock as the master clock, the DAW (digital audio workstation), DAC monitor, recorder are all slaved to the ADC.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">appleteapot Q</span>: "Therefore, if the AD clock can in sync with DA clock, AD clock error in theory can sync with DA clock error, then output will be even more accurate? "<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DWS A </span>: Okay, the practical way is usually use ADC as mastering clock during capture stage, and DAC as mastering clock during monitor stage. There is hardly a decision on what is more accurate. But you are right if you have a mastering clock that is accurate, then slave both ADC and DAC to the master clock will be a good solution.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">appleteapot Q</span>: "offlie upsampling like Izotope or Saracon, is sound card (clock) required?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DWS A</span>: No, they are offline SRC calculation, clock timing signal only affects real time transfer (AES, SPDIF) etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ackcheng Q</span>: "For the best results, the clock at DA should always be the master with everything else slave to it. This is my current setup :) But still, in DAW environment, word clock sync is needed. The question is why Weiss do not allow wordclock in its digital chain?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DWS A: </span>Right Right Right. DA should be the master with everything else salve to. This is correct. But not many DAC allows to work in this mode because it needs to set a correct sample rate to output. All DACs lock to the incoming clock but not verse vice.<br /><br />Why DAW needs a word clock snyc? If the Weiss is a AD+DA, then it maybe more reasonable because it is usual case to use ADC as mastering. Weiss ADC2 has wordclock output.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ackcheng Q</span>: "Before I used the master clock, I do can pops and clicks and I thought that was due to sync problem. No more clicks now."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DWS A</span>: Let say you have 2 digital audio card (RME + Lynx) you hook them together with digital AES. Now you playback a file with RME and capture the loop file with lynx, you will have to set the Lynx clock signal as "external AES". You cannot have 2 cards which are both set to "internal" under clocking.<br /><br />There is always only 1 source (timing) in a system.Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-16950630752302166092008-11-25T23:59:00.004+08:002008-11-26T00:23:24.667+08:00"Novice Guide" about building an HTPCLast week I come across a net-friend and he asked some questions regarding building of HTPC. I try to recap here:<br /><br /><ul><li>Underclocking CPU is a must and cannot be bypassed or avoided in order to achieve good sound.<br /></li><li>Lowest acceptable CPU is E7200 and highest acceptable CPU is E7300. Lower grade CPU is not powerful enough to upsample; more powerful CPU generates more noise, heat and requires more power.</li><li>Use the best RAM (e.g. Kingston HyperX) and PSU (PC Power, OCZ or Corsair HX1000)</li><li>Use a good motherboard (e.g. Asus P5Q Deluxe)<br /></li><li>CMP can be skipped, as I don't want to turn my computer into a simple wave file player. ( http://imageevent.com/cics/cmp )<br /></li><li>But AOBCT is un-avoidable. One has to perform OS optimization. The difference with and without AOBCT is clearly audible ( http://imageevent.com/cics/v03theartofbuildingcomputertrnsp )<br /></li><li>CICS player is our default wave file player<br /></li><li>The latest ATI graphic cards (E4350, E4550, E4650) has very good noise control and low power consumption, very good for HTPC.</li></ul>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-27560361242137226122008-11-25T23:53:00.002+08:002008-11-25T23:53:34.181+08:00Mytek 8x192 Picture<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P1911080000.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb239/appleteapot_m/P1911080000.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-89356859152184303102008-11-25T22:28:00.008+08:002008-11-26T00:13:15.476+08:00Mytek 8x192 - My new DAC<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mytekdigital.com/images/products%2072dpi/8x192adda-productinfo-72dpi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 585px; height: 125px;" src="http://www.mytekdigital.com/images/products%2072dpi/8x192adda-productinfo-72dpi.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />http://www.mytekdigital.com/products/8x192adda.htm<br /><br /><br />After a few months' consideration, I purchased the Mytek 8x192 to replace the Benchmark DAC-1. Benchmark has been my closest hi-fi comrade for 3 years. Mytek is not cheap and buying Mytek is not an easy process; I ordered it via online but it was out of stock, and I waited for more than a month. One of the Mytek's staff, Michal emailed me to ask for billing details and invoices, I then remitted US$ to their account and waited for another week before getting my new DAC.<br /><br />Well, at least I get the DAC eventually! After running in for a week, I think it should be a good time and I am excited to give it an initial comment:<br /><br /><ul><li>Very accurate sound from bass all the way to treble, wide and deep sound stage. A good DAC for symphonic music. However, female vocal is not as sweet as Benchmark. </li></ul><ul><li>Therefore, I still firmly convinced that Benchmark DAC-1 (non-USB version) has probably the hard to beat price-performance ratio in the DAC market.</li></ul><ul><li>CX797 clock further enhances the accuracy. Currently I am using Lynx AES16e sound card -> Mytek 8x192, but I also connect the clock source is from Mytek to Lynx and let Lynx to use Mytek's word clock. The result is even more accurate sound I cannot listen to music without it.</li></ul><ul><li>The dual AES wire option of Mytek further enhances the accuracy. </li></ul><ul><li>The headphone amp is excellent and it drives my Beyer DT990 very well. In contrast, Benchmark does not have enough power to drive DT990. Turning 24-step attenuator (volume knob) back and forth feels so good and sounds very good :) </li></ul><ul><li>Power is switchable between 110/220 makes it easy to take away to other countries. </li></ul><ul><li>8x192 has 2 option slots, makes it very easy to add options and future proof. I purchased the optional 1934 firewire module to maximizes its portability but I still haven't a chance to listen to it yet.<br /></li></ul><ul><li>I opened the case and took a look inside, the Mytek has a beautiful layout. The workmanship however, it not the top grade. Oh well, who cares when the sound comes out is just excellent.</li></ul><ul><li>I am surprised to see a small fan inside which generates a small hum when the unit is hot (believe the fan is auto switched). The brand of the fan is Sunon, a reputed brand for its reliability, but it is a bit noisy. In general, the unit is not hot at all, so I believe the fan is added "just in case" for Hong Kong's weather.<br /></li></ul><ul><li>I also purchased the 3x cable (AES, XLR IN, XLR OUT) for another $549, so I have one less worry about which (expensive) AES/XLR cable to buy. However, only AES cable is essential. There are two XLR analogue output ports.<br /></li></ul>In summary, Mytek sounds excellent, I believe I am buying a very good sound DAC for that price. Mytek 8x192 is a AD-DA so as a normal home user, I am using 1/8 of it's capability only.<br />After audited dCS, Weiss, Esoteric, Chord, Benchmark, Stello DACs, I firmly believe Mytek worths every penny :)Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-51927794498997445452008-11-25T22:21:00.002+08:002008-11-25T22:26:24.618+08:00Dither - Definitionhttp://www.weiss-highend.ch/medea/documents/medea_manual_000.pdf<br /><br />"Suppose a digital recording has been made with a 24 bit A/D converter and a 24<br />bit recorder. Now this recording should be transferred to a CD which has just 16 bits per sample,<br />as you know. What to do with those 8 bits which are too many?<br /><br />The simplest way is to cut them off, truncate them. This, unfortunately, generates harmonic distortions at low levels, but which nonethless cause the audio to sound harsh and unpleasant. The harmonic distortion is generated because the eight bits which are cut off from the 24 bits are correlated with the audio signal, hence the resulting error is also correlated and thus there are distortions and not just noise (noise would be uncorrelated). The dithering technique now is used to de-correlate the error from the signal.<br /><br />This can be achieved by adding a very low level noise to the original 24 bit signal before<br />truncation. After truncation the signal does not show any distortion components but a slightly<br />increased noise floor. This works like magic..... the distortion is replaced by a small noise – much<br />more pleasant."Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-27924156546028445222008-09-05T22:48:00.003+08:002009-02-03T01:33:35.675+08:00Digital Domain FAQA very good forum with many information on professional digital audio knowledge:<br /><br />http://www.digido.com/faq.htmlAppleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-84025950647918206862008-09-05T22:44:00.001+08:002008-09-05T22:44:46.104+08:00Which cable should I use for 24/96 transfer?<a href="http://www.digido.com/index.php?option=com_kb&page=articles&articleid=51&Itemid=67" target="_blank">http://www.digido.com/index.php?option=com_kb&page=articles&articleid=51&Itemid=67</a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-58610139120504781082008-09-05T22:33:00.002+08:002008-09-05T22:40:00.001+08:00Clocking Courses<b>Proper word clock implementation - Dan Larvy's forum on Clocking<br /><br /></b>http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/14324/0/<b><br /><br /></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Word Clock and Digital Interfaces</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.digido.com/index.php?option=com_kb&page=articles&articleid=105&Itemid=67" target="_blank">http://www.digido.com/index.php?option=com_kb&page=articles&articleid=105&Itemid=67</a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-80663548675708167742008-07-01T21:55:00.003+08:002008-07-02T00:22:42.136+08:00Underclocking your PC... for AMDIt has been repeatedly tested that underclocking CPU can improve focus and sound stage. It is believed that underclocking reduces noise level and thus achieves better sound quality. In addition, underclocking is environmental friendly and quieter. However, disadvantages are also obvious: programs run slower and hi-def movies are not playable.<br /><br />Underclocking AMD CPUs with Cool "n" Quiet technology, without messing with BIOS settings:<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_9485_9487%5e10272,00.html</span>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37936158.post-45420079701094722422008-07-01T21:37:00.016+08:002009-02-06T02:26:53.110+08:00CICS playerFor those who are familiar with computer settings, computer expert and audiophile "cics" offers 3 free tools for us audiophiles who further enhances our playback sound quality. These tools are:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">(1) The Art of Building Computer Transport: </span><br /><ul><li>XP SP2 optimization at system level. Disable all unnecessary computer components in order to achieve highest playback performance</li></ul><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span>http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=19242</span></span></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(2) cMP mini OS : </span><br /><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Turns XP into a simple player, and only the default music player (foobar, wimamp) is usable</span></li></ul><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=27041</span></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(3) cplay Minimalist Player<br /></span><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A Minimalist music player created purely to achieve best sound quality. Now at version b19. Not all versions sound the same but b19 offers highest resolution up till now. You may choose other version which have different sound charcteristics:</span></li></ul><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Download:</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=226826&package_id=274544</span></li></ul><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Main Page: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=pcaudio&m=31286</span><br /></li></ul><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102); font-weight: bold;" href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=226826&package_id=274544" target="_blank"><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p> </a>Appleteapothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164114695621044434noreply@blogger.com1