ToTo Man

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my question in detail, Jussi, I appreciate it. Unfortunately Audirvana cannot upsample DSD content to higher rates so I am stuck with listening to DSD64 files at DSD64. So, even when outputting DSD64, Cyan 2's analogue filter is able to suppress ultrasonic noise shown in the image below to a satisfactory level? For PCM, Audirvana can upsample to Cyan 2's max 1,411kHz PCM rate and to DSD512. PCM 705.6kHz or 1,411kHz is my preferred choice for most PCM music (subjectively punchier impact) but for other music I prefer the more delicate and spacious presentation of upsampling to DSD256/512. I'd love to try HQPlayer but I don't think I'm able to unless I upgrade my macOS (I'm still running El Capitan!).

Apologies if this is a the wrong place to post this, but does anyone know if Audirvana 3.5 applies noise shaping when playing DSD64 files over DoP? You can adjust the "DSD Sigma-Delta Modulator Filter Type" when upsampling PCM to DSD, but there are no settings to adjust when outputting native DSD files. Does this mean that Audirvana 3.5 outputs all of the ultrasonic noise in DSD files without attenuation, meaning you must solely rely on the low-pass filter in your DAC to remove this noise? AIUI, being an NOS DAC, Cyan 2 does not have a digital reconstruction filter to remove ultrasonic noise. Is it safe to listen to DSD without noise shaping at high SPLs without damaging your loudspeakers/headphones?

Thanks for your help bazzvid. I'm running 10.11.6. I checked my settings and SysOptimizer is still enabled and all external processes are still disabled as recommended. I've tried lots of other things and think I found the solution, because I haven't had the problem since doing it. A long time ago I enabled custom forced upsampling in the 'Audio Filters' tab and basically told it to resample everything to 44.1kHz, because I often use random play and Audirvana would sometimes get stuck between tracks if there was a change of sample rates. I disabled this a few days ago and it has been playing ok since with the AU plugins enabled. No sticking between tracks, and most importantly, no ear-shattrering bursts of noise. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed I have solved the problem, but only time will tell. I'm still very nervous about leaving my amplifier at a high volume setting, especially between tracks!

The problem is also fixed if I change the SRC in the 'Audio Filters' tab from iZotope to Core Audio, this allows me to switch the AU plugins back on without getting the loud distorted screeching at the end of a track.

Audirvana+ 2.6.8 has just started given me problems out of the blue. When a track ends, instead of going to the next track it gets stuck and produces an excruciatingly loud distorted sound like a mix between square wave and white noise. The noise continues until I press the stop button. I don't understand why this is happening because I haven't changed any settings or updated any software. Turning off the AU plugins appears to fix the issue, but the plugins have worked perfectly for many months so I don't see why that would be the problem. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Anyone?

50% of my listening is done via Audirvana+, for which I use the parametric AU plugins to tame a problematic bass peak to very good effect. The remaining 50% of my listening is done through other apps, such as DVD Player, VLC, YouTube on Safari, or satellite TV which I feed into the optical input of my Mac and 'monitor' the sound using Audacity. DVD Player and VLC have very basic built-in EQ which is not much use to me, and when I watch YouTube or satellite TV I have no EQ facility at all. I am therefore looking for a system wide EQ that I can use when I'm not using Audirvana+. I'd prefer parametric but a 31-band graphic would probably do. It must be acceptable it terms of its sonic transparency (e.g. I find the EQ in VLC to be far more detrimental to sound quality than the EQ in iTunes). It doesn't have to be free, but the less expensive the better (assuming it gets the job done well of course). A brief Google search for free apps suggests the following two options: 1) AU Lab in conjunction with Soundflower 2) The app eqMac2 The first option seems a bit convoluted to me. The second option seems more straightforward but there are a couple of user reports accusing this app of being malware? Therefore I'm a bit hesitant to install it. I'd be grateful for some advice from those of you who use (or have used) a system-wide EQ app for the Mac. What apps have you tried and what would you recommend using? Thanks in advance.

Fabfilter Pro Q2 looks amazing. I've just watched the 8 minute video of it but am still trying to get my head around it! Does it do left and right channels independently? It's a pity is seems to be restricted to AU plugin, it would have been great if it could function as a standalone DAP like DiracLive, then I could route all my system audio through it, including DVDPlayer and VLC. The 40Hz-50Hz issue is caused by my room dimensions 4.2m x 3.8m x 3.25m which are very close to being a cube shape, therefore all of the modes are gathered together around 40Hz-50Hz. Speaker location doesn't help much, even before I added subs. Moving things makes a difference on the frequencies above 55Hz but very little impact on the biggest peak at 43Hz. I have my subs set to crossover at 25Hz at 24dB/oct so that they don't add to the peak (my main speakers are run full-range and have good output down to the mid-30s Hz, so I just use the subs to fill in the lowest octave).

@ToTo Man: The free Blue Cat Triple EQ mentioned by @Bob Stern in the EQ Plugins thread can handle seperated left/right in Dual Chanel mode: https://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Product_TripleEQ/ Of course the extended payed version ($99) provides the same feature. FabFilter Pro Q2 ($149) does this as well: https://www.fabfilter.com/help/pro-q/using/stereo Plugins that allow left/right equalization without integrated Dual Chanel mode can still be used - you simply have to load two instances of the same plugin (one for the left, one for the right chanel). This goes for example for the PSP Audioware plugins I've mentioned in the EQ Plugins thread. Functionality is basically the same but you have to use 2 AU plugin slots. Since Audirvana provides 4 slots this should be a non-issue, though. Since it's free Blue Cat's Triple EQ should be a good starting point to evaluate whether or not such a "workflow" is suitable for your needs. I had three issues with my sound: 1) a room mode causing +6dB peak from 40Hz to 50Hz; 2) an interchannel difference of 3dB from 2kHz to 4kHz, and an opposite interchannel difference of 4dB from 8kHz to 18kHz. I downloaded Blue Cat's free Triple EQ and applied a right channel -3db notch at 3300Hz and a left channel -3dB high shelf at 8.1kHz, and now my measured response is within 1dB between 500Hz and 20kHz and it sounds perfectly matched to my highly critical ears. I also engaged an AU parametric plug in (the one that's already built-in to Audirvana+) to reduce the peak between 40Hz and 50Hz by -6dB. All this took me a matter of minutes to configure and I cannot stress enough the positive effect it has had on my listening experience. There are probably more sophisticated plug-ins available to achieve this, and I may well investigate these in the future, but for now I am absolutely delighted with the effect of combining these two plug-ins. So thank you both for your recommendations!

Many thanks!

@damien78 Are there any AU plug-ins available for A+ 2.x.x or 3.x.x that provide separate parametric or graphic EQ for left and right channels? I need to apply different EQ to my left and right speakers to make them sound the same.

@damien78 Are there any AU plug-ins available for A+ 2.x.x or 3.x.x that provide separate parametric or graphic EQ for left and right channels? I need to apply different EQ to my left and right speakers to make them sound the same.

Problem now solved, - I had to remove and re-sync my entire library.

Just upgraded from 2.5.4 to 2.6.8 on my 2010 Mac mini running El Capitan and now it won't play, it just says "Loading first track...", but nothing happens. I've tried switching off Direct Mode, Exclusive Access, SysOpt, etc, but nothing I do can get any music to play. I've even tried changing A+ audio output from my USB DAC to the computer's internal speakers but even that doesn't work. What can I do to fix this?

Perfect, thank you!