As I said, there are 46 pages, a lot of questions raised and many answers given. Interesting and instructive in many ways.
When you do try the software, as you announced you will, chose the 'purist' option, it will give you the most convincing results possible in free version.

 

No, I didn't. In context of my comment, you will understand I said the only way I would know is to try it myself.

If a dev can't provide at least screenshots of proof of test data, just statements, then I'm sceptical and wouldn't waste my time trying the software.
I ask again: is it not strange that the dev didn't even provide screenshots of his findings?

Well no you didn't, you just edited that bit in to your other comment 5 minutes ago!

 

I can measure if it works. Give me until tonight.

 

When you open page 17 of the forum I sent the link of anyone can see on the page bottom that the thead consists of 46 pages.
So I believe it doesn't matter if I mentioned that fact 'on time'. Those pages are there still. The point is that if anyone is deeply critical upon the fact if the software works, based on technical issues, he can find a plenty of answers there. It is not my intention to try to explain it better than the developer himself faced with his competent critics.
Personally, I do not have the means required in this case to do ABX test, and if there are people ready, willing and able, I would be delighted to see the results.
And, yes you are right, the only way you would know is to try it yourself. When I said 'announced' I believed you wanted to know. Sorry if I was wrong about it.

 

Yes I found it. But since it is off topic, you should start a new thread.

 

I have listened to your advice and you were right, it was a lucky choice. I unplugged my two USB HDDs, HID USB device, and disabled my optical drive (I rarely use it, and now enable it from Device Manager only when I need it). Also, no USB sticks.

 

so this goes to eleven...

Winamp user

 

Dont ever use the internal audio on a PC. Take the digital out to an external DA convertor.
Buy this DAC https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32960837911.html
$15.
Buy a transformer. 15-0-15.
Do not ever use USB power for audio. Do not use a switch mode power supply.
If you want to make the DAC sound better take out the 5532 chip and replace with a LME49720.
If you want to make it sound even better bypass the output capacitors.
Another fix. Turn the board over and put a .1uf capacitor between pins 4 and 8 on the IC socket. (5532)
Now you have pro audio.
Spencer

 

Last edited: Aug 25, 2020

Sorry but I prefer Infidelizer

 

Well an external audio card with its own (preferably RFI EMI filtered) power supply is a good start.
Then we come to fetching components and soldering. But, output capacitors electrically shunt the DC current, so they are necessary in order not to burn your analogue gear (including speakers).
AD 826 by Analog Devices was the best op amp for audio, as far as I know.
A tremendous fix is using two current diodes (like Vishay CR 220) between input and output pins to force the output into class-A regime.
You should also replace all electrolytic capacitors with film-type, etc.
And it is good, but still very far from pro audio, I'm afraid.
But here we talk about the CPU and the system software than can be tweaked in order to minimize the stress on it, and so contribute to the fidelity of sound output.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 25, 2020

Good, for all the infidelity you get rewarded that way.

 

I have worked in pro audio for 50 years in studios all over the world. Doing thousands of records film scores etc etc..
I have been exposed to some of the greatest techs in the world. I have followed so much of their teachings.
Now at 70 years old I understand pro audio.
Capacitors in the signal chain destroy audio. Just like Audio transformers and SMPS. To say nothing of tape.
If you have DA convertor chips with differential output you have no DC offset. So you need no caps.
I would like to bow out of the discussion at this point as every minute I waste is a minute I don't have left in my life.
Spencer

 

I guess foobar2000 is now much better than Winamp concerning the sound output quality.
If you use WInamp, you can set the priority of 'Winamp.exe' to 'Realtime' and chose its core affinity.
But WASAPI (event) output of foobar2000 is better than YASAPI/INT (pull).

 

I wonder what extremely pro people who won't waste even a single one of their minutes are doing on this site? It's not meant for pros only...

...'bypass the output capacitors' followed by "Another fix." in the next sentence - most probably means that there were some caps already soldered there, provided by manufacturer. And as a fix, you should bypass them.

And "If you have DA converter chips with differential output you have no DC offset." in the following post should mean that manufacturers waste their time and money into putting capacitors where they are not needed at all. That 'if' proves you started earlier with the wide spread fact that people do not necessarily have "DA converter chips with differential output"?

Since it is a well known fact that "capacitors in the signal chain destroy audio", people invented 'DC coupling', i.e. 'DC servo feedback' circuits.

That's because capacitors in signal path (or their substitutes - such as 'DC servo feedback' circuits) are a must except for very rare cases when you have practically no chance of DC happening in the signal path due to voltage differences.

So one must use 'DC servo feedback' circuit, which switches in when any DC current is produced in signal chain, instead of simply 'bypassing' shunt capacitors. Unless you are ready to risk burning something coming next outside your DAC.

For the same reason people use expensive styroflex or polypropylene capacitors, or 'complex' capacitors etc. - to minimize the damage that capacitors create when present in the signal path.

 

You are missing the point. When you reach 70 years old you have two things to do.
One pass on as much knowledge as possible.
Two as you are on the last leg of your life not waste time in useless pursuits.
The reason I entered this thread is to point out that you should not be listening to audio out of inbuilt audio systems on computers as this is so inferior and is no representation of what the audio really sounds like.
If you try and do a mix on internal computer audio your mix will not transfer to other mediums.
If you cant hear what you are doing to the audio you are just wasting time.

Regarding DA convertor chips.
Most of the chips until 2018 were designed at least 15 years ago.
Example CS4398 used in so many professional and hifi DACs.
Just about all these DA chips from that era had differential output.
The new breed of convertors are now starting to use chips like the CS43198 which have been designed in the last few years.
These chips are capable of giving you that true analog sound.

When a circuit is designed the lowest common denominator is used so as any thing you plug your gear into is protected.
This does not mean that the sound cannot be improved.
One of the forums on audio modifications has over 500 pages of changes to DACs using the ES9038 da chip.
This chip is from the latest generation of da convertor chips.

Chasing a better sound for your recording is not the plugins you have or the daw you are using it is being able to hear what you are doing.
In the 1960s we were chasing our arses around in circles in studios trying to get a better result. But the monitoring was hopeless.
If you listen back to records from that era the sound quality is just bad.
Take the Beatles music. They were successful because of the great songs not the great recordings.

I will leave it there but the reason for music on records and film sounding so good in the last few years is because of the advancement in the monitoring chain.
Spencer

 

Last edited: Aug 27, 2020

Since the advent of digital audio one is forced to monitor what one does in due course of audio processing by 'listening to audio out of inbuilt audio systems on computers'.

Having that in mind, you can hear what you are doing to the audio much better if you do whatever you can to bypass the shortcomings of 'inbuilt audio systems on computers'. Using Fidelizer is one of such things. Turning off/unplugging all eligible hardware peripherals is another, and proper setting the CPU priorities and affinities is the third. One can also use MinorityClean by Hiroyuki Yokota to balance the CPU usage as the fourth method. And so on...

You can not just dismiss/discard computers for monitoring the sound results in your work, all you can do is do your best to improve the situation as much as possible.

We just should not mix this issue with Hi-Fi systems performance quality.

 

Ah. So are you saying we are alright if we have an external A/D, D/A converter?

 

It is the best solution for an audio card (separate power supply and no exposure to closed resonances within the computer housing; also a plenty of room for HQ components).
On a non-dedicated hardware (let's say PC) and software (let's say Windows) - CD player, for instance is an example of dedicated hardware - you can lower the price of non-dedication to a degree by methods mentioned above.

 

Well that's understandable.
That's why anyone into audio uses a Marantz or a Denon.