wildcatjw

Just a quick update to my prior post. I’m not sure what the issue was, but I’ve now successfully having HQPlayer and my ASIO driver working with AO optimization and stripping Windows. I actually decided to install the Threshold v1507 of Win 10 and everything is playing a lot better together in that original version for some reason, vs the latest 1909. I’m not sure if that is what made it work or if I just had a fluke in the current version of Windows. But nevertheless, it’s all working now and sounds fantastic. Thanks for the great product.

Hi, I am building a new PC and have successfully set up Roon and HQPlayer to work with my McIntosh MA8900 integrated amplifier (I believe it has an ESS Sabre 9016 chip) via McIntosh's ASIO driver (using Windows 10 Pro). However, when I install AO and then run the Strip Windows command, a service or something else is removed that prohibits HQPlayer from subsequently utilizing the ASIO driver. If I switch to the WASAPI driver, then it works again, but I can't get the ASIO to work. Do you have any idea what may have been removed or disabled that I would need to re-enable to get the ASIO driver to work again? Thanks. Jason

Yes, it's an atom chip.

Well, a clean install with only J River loaded is working fine! Problem solved. I think the issue was some services being installed on the computer when I set it up to connect to my Windows 2012 server so that I'd have automatic backups and the like. The reason I think it's a service is that if I close the WSE2012 Launchpad, it still has problems. Now perhaps it was something else (I did have Dropbox installed as well as a couple other things), but I'm betting on WSE2012 services install. So the only issue I have with my Carbon now is the touchscreen is basically unusable as it's so slow to refresh. It works if I load the Intel graphics driver, but then the whole system becomes unstable. Oh well, at least it's not an issue with audio, which is the important thing. Thanks all for the suggestions. That helped me work through solving the problem. Now on to listening enjoyment (listening to Britten's Orchestra with my 5 yr old son as I type this) in beautiful high resolution from Reference Recordings. Jason

Does anyone else use a DAC2X with J River? If so, which do you prefer, WASAPI or ASIO? And generally what settings do you find work the best via a via buffering and the like? I just received mine and am having some unrelated difficulties with my computer, but once I get those figured out I'm looking for suggestions on the setup to start with. Thanks. Jason

Yes, I think you are generally right. I wonder if it's the services Windows Server 2012 installs that constantly monitors the computer, updates, backups, group policy implementation, etc. I'm going to do another fresh install with just Windows and J River and see what happens. I'm also thinking I may try the Zuma build to see if that works better in my situation. I don't think my issue is with networking problems per se, but rather computer overhead from other services (probably from WSE 2012 as previously mentioned). Does anyone else use WSE 2012 and have similar issues?

Okay, spent a little more time this evening on this. Changed settings and had the kids listen with me for "pops" and "crackles" (to keep them quiet). If I use the Audiophile setting in Fidelizer, I continue to have issues, both with files directly on the computer as well as from my server. If I use the Extreme (but leave networking and user experiences), it works great for both direct and streamed from the server. I have yet to find an instance where streaming from the server has been worse than direct from the computer, with all other changes constant. I did notice a "pop" or two using the ASIO setting, so I changed to WASAPI (with the largest buffer size) and each time I've played my couple problem files, all has been good. I need to do more extended listening, but that's the conclusion I'm coming to. Now the question is, what the heck is this program doing to "fix" the problem? Has to be somewhere in it's stopping various services, but I don't know which. Man this computer is finicky. Does no one else have any issues like this? I'm wondering if I need to try for a more powerful build of computer?

You got me thinking, so I downloaded Fidelizer (never tried before but read about) and ran the extreme settings. Am playing one of the files from my SSD drive right now with no issues! So something in the background (service, program, etc) seems to be the issue? Anyone have any ideas? I need to try a lesser Fidelizer setting leaving me network capabilities to see if I can stream successfully from my server. Assuming that works, then will have to start trying things one by one. The saga continues...

Hi, I've tried that. I just copied down 3 files (2 wavs and 1 flac) down to the SSD drive of the CAPS computer. Speed was anywhere from 11-12MB/s as it copied them down. I then tried playing each in J River, and they still had the problem. It sounds kind of like a bad connection. However, I'm playing a CD file (44.1K sample rate) right now as I type and I can't hear anything polluting the sound. Very strange. Could the switching power supply be causing a minute, low level noise pollution that is only getting through the SOtM card when on high resolution transfer? Is that possible, that because of the higher sample rate or bit depth it picks up the noise but on regular CD's the resolution isn't high enough to pick it up above the background?

Hi, new to the forum and need some assistance from all of you that are much smarter than me. I've built a CAPS v3 Carbon edition. I used to have Win 8 installed, but just recently installed Win 7 trying to solve my noise issues. The video driver that I needed to install in Win 8 to get the touchscreen to be responsive seemed very unstable on my system, causing it to crash and various programs would start not opening. I recently upgraded to an EMM Labs DAC2X from the PS Audio Perfectwave DAC II. I have Pass Labs XA60.5 amps and Gallo Reference 3.5 speakers. I'm using J River Media Center 18 and serving the music from a Windows Server Essentials 2012 computer where I store all my files. The connection has to use an Actiontec ethernet over coaxial unit as I can't physically get a direct ethernet connect run from my server room upstairs to my listening room downstairs. My problem is this. With high resolution audio (typically higher than 92K sample rate), I experience some random noise (somewhat like electrical crackling or static - kind of hard to explain) in the audio stream from time to time. Typically worse when I first start the file playing. Also weirdly seems to be worse if I'm standing by the computer (so possibly electrical interference even from my body creeping into the audio stream?). Whatever it is, it's creating a "noise pollution" in the audio stream that comes and goes. It will create a small pop or crackle that is clearly audible and then disappear then to reappear seconds to minutes later. Totally random and not directly repeatable. I've tried WASAPI and ASIO with all sorts of underlying changes to the various settings with no luck. On WASAPI at the default settings, the computer also seems to "time out" occasionally. I can fix that by increasing the buffer and the ASIO seems to work better in the lack of skipping. But for the life of me I can't get this static type noise eliminated completely. I've also tried playing with streaming from memory vs the drives, but that seems to actually make it worse. If I use one of the direct USB connections vs. my SOtM tX-USBexp card, that also makes it worse. This has been an issue with the DAC2X as well as the PS Audio DAC. I also have an AudioQuest Dragonfly (can you tell I'm struggling to figure this out swapping around so many DAC's?), which was causing me problems under Win 8 (which has been documented) but in just now trying it under Win 7, it seems to be working fine without picking up any of this static. Note I have to downsample to 96K, so that may be why it's working fine. I just don't know. Need to play a little more with it to ensure the problem doesn't creep back in. So before I spend any more hard earned money chasing this problem, I'd like thoughts from the experts out there. Do I need to switch over to a battery power supply for my computer and/or SOtM card? Is this what Chris was referencing when he suggested the Red Wine battery supply? Do I need to introduce a separate USB to SPDIF converter to try to separate further from the computer? Do I scrap my computer build and start over with something with more power, like the Zuma (although I don't think this is ultimately a lack of processing power issue)? If I'm going to spend more money, I'd like to pick something and have it "fix" this issue once and for all. This is destroying my joy of the music and defeating the whole purpose of having my system!!! Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. I value all your opinions. Jason