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Post by MartinT on Dec 22, 2015 14:14:12 GMT
Interesting subject perhaps a TAS meet up on this at some point? You're on! I've very much enjoyed listening to your progress to date and it would be good for a few others to hear just how good file-based replay can be*, not to mention the TAD speakers. *don't take my lack of desire for file-based playback as anything other than, for me, its lack of passion. A physical disc collection through which I can browse, make connections, look at the artwork and mosey around the collection pleases me. And no, a file-based player is not the same!
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Post by John on Dec 22, 2015 14:22:45 GMT
I am up for it too. Always good to hear how the server has developed Perhaps good to announce it in another thread when a date is agreed
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2015 15:55:36 GMT
Hi Clive It is horses for coarse's despite my father owning a recording studio I never really got the Vinyl thing, I had reel to reels and DAT (don;t laugh it is actually pretty good) Again with Vinyl if you can set up a deck correctly spend the time getting your VTA spot on it pays dividends (I use DR F adjust plus stunning tool never fails and channel separation measurable to three DP's are possible) With Bug Head there is more to be wrung out of it, if the chap spent the time making the individual components work as a whole it would be significantly more followed he could even get a kick-starter going?? For a true high quality FBA it is an all round process, not just software, hardware, emi/rfi considerations, but motherboard issues, BOIS set up's, ram selection (yes even different manufacturers ram sounds different as well, utterly no reason why it should, after all they are all manufactured the same ;-) ) The biggest issue facing FBA is the interface, which in itself can cause degradation of the sound if you have too much control within the playback software J River anyone Trying to balance performance, ease of use, simplistic controls and album art it not an easy task, always compromises the questio is for the masses where dso you make those compromises? For those that are seeking ultimate fidelity then that moot point is irreverent however I have found the lower the noise floor drops the more any possible interference or poor performance is obvious, thus taking you down another route to investigate those issues thrown up because of you now identifying them for first time after the noise floor drop. Is it self perpetuating to a large degree yes, I am very fortunate to have many tools at my disposal that you chaps do not and in some areas looking at problems is easier with a spectrum analyzer or high quality scope. That said a high quality optical playback device still takes some beating, but it is possible I do not rip or copy CD's I just have far too many, so my FBA is fed a diet of red book masters 44.1Khz and genuine studio masters from 24/48 to 32/705.6Khz of which the collection stands around 146TB The player sits in its totally stand alone bespoke network using it's own data transmission protocol (Ethernet based), no internet connection at all. Internal server uses four 1Tb Samsung 850 Pro SSD. That said you never stop learning my specialty is digital and power electronics plus some software coding, Martin's breadth of knowledge on server set ups and Microsoft products and interactions far exceeds mine It is a combination of tenacity, electro shock therapy, long hours and a genuinely looking outside the box has got me this far, others have their own ways. Quick story to finish, I have a very good friend who is a Physic's prof at a well known seat of learning, has asked last week what would I recommend for a software player for his first foray's into PC streaming etc. He runs a desktop not a mac I felt that JRiver would offer him a good GUI and respectable performance, other wise Foobar. Yesterday I received an email from said gent which went along the lines of "I have a PhD in Physics, and I was at my whits end, and WTF should I sign up to a forum of self obsessed geeks to find out how to get it to function correctly" followed by more than one or two expletives!! Not just the masses that find FBA challenging
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Post by MartinT on Dec 22, 2015 22:02:03 GMT
LOL!
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Post by Clive on Dec 22, 2015 23:49:51 GMT
I certainly agree agree that FBA and especially Bug Head are not for everyone, they are really very niche within a niche. I ought to describe the vinyl deck I use to compare with Bug Head to give some context. It's a Trans-Fi Salvation (John has one too), it has a 9kg platter riding on a magnetic bearing and it has magnetic levitating feet too. The arm is the Trans-Fi Terminator linear tracking air bearing with the latest "lobmod" tweak which absorbs the energy from my cartridge beautifully. The cartridge is a freshly re-tipped London Reference. This is a really fab deck, for Bug Head to get even close it is quite a feat.
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Post by John on Dec 23, 2015 6:19:42 GMT
I not heard the lobmod yet to the arm but by all accounts takes the Salvation to a new level of play back. Next year I be able to get the Salvation back up and running and will get the mod then I agree something like Bug Head will be a small niche its just to complex for most people. Like Clive I am prepared to put up with its quirks due to the SQ. Most people I would advise JRiver or Media Monkey as they make a lot more sense in terms of ease of use. However they do not have the same SQ and I rather have the SQ
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Post by nzlowie on Jan 8, 2016 22:35:25 GMT
Hi John Thanks for the notes you've been putting through. I've just downloaded this am I'm about to start playing...... I have an I5 laptop (limited RAM I think) so what should I start the settings at?
I know the process of finding the best sound takes time but sometimes I get too hung up in making changes to enjoy the music. I'd rather sit for 2 hours and listen to a 95% system than site and listen for 1/2 hour at 100% if you know what I mean...
I'd appreciate some basic settings to get me started, I've really just started to read up on this player and there seems to be a lot to get my head around!
This ACAC to clear the RAM is this real or snake oil?
I also read to allow burn in time, for real? How do you burn in a computer program?
The other question is around the sample rate of my files, I will have a few different sample rates (not even sure what I have) mostly .wav and flac. Do I need to keep changing player settings to suit these files or can I just set and forget?(Prefered option!)
Once again thanks for your time, I'm sure there are going to be many more questions coming your way!
Regards Dave
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Post by ChrisB on Jan 9, 2016 0:06:16 GMT
Hi Dave. Welcome to TAS!
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Post by John on Jan 9, 2016 6:02:36 GMT
Hi Dave Getting the ram to perform at its maximum is the key to getting the best out of this player What is the laptop you use as maybe you be able to upgrade the ram To adjust ram once you chosen your driver it will go into the second GUI this is the set up area See if you can adjust 6, 7 and 8 initially they will be in blue on the left hand side If you can adjust you will see the sound degradation on top of the right hand side go down in percentage 0% is ideal If you wish I can send you 5.90 beta 9 which is extremely well balanced and better imo than his current player of choice 6.03 To be honest I am not sure about his burn in theory The designer has a few strange ideas at times I really would follow the data rewrite protocol it makes a real difference and everyone who uses it likes it. I cannot get my head around why it works. You only need to do it when you start a listening session so I only use it when I start up my PC and do not bother with it when listening to the next album I only have have WAV but settings should stay the same as it can identify FLAC When going into the third GUI (where you choose the music) I keep it in the standard setting but below Galaxy35 you will see mmx go into this and in the first section tuning rewrite mmx click tune mmx plus x2 and then go into the hidden section to get into blank screen mode I add pictures if you need. Once you get used to it as not as bad as people think and the sound quality is better than any other player I heard and of course free Let me know how you get on and if anything does not make sense
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Post by nzlowie on Jan 9, 2016 8:18:18 GMT
Cheers John I'm at work for a few more days so won't be able to try it till I get home mid next week.... Can you please explain the data rewrite protocol, struggling to get my head around this. (Early days though....)
I've also downloaded the 5.9 from the Onedrive site, not sure its the beta version.
Anyway thanks again for your assistance, really do appreciate it. Speeds up the learning curve immensely!
Regards Dave
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Post by John on Jan 9, 2016 9:04:27 GMT
Hi Dave I can explain the process of the data rewrite protocol as for what it is doing I have no idea but it just makes the sound a lot more natural So I do All Cores any cures first Then go into Rewrite as administrator I then choose the driver in my case its ASIO4all which I downloaded If I am using a beta version I put all the relevant BugHead files in a folder on the desktop so the rewrite data can access easy As you using the beta version the protocol to access the bughead files is slightly different (if you need I add screenshots when you ready to try out) You need to go into user select just below exit button top right hand side Click ok go into your pc then desktop then whatever you called the bughead file in my case beta 9 then rewrite files. Leave 3 mins and then repeat process leave another 3mins and then exit and then All cores any cures No need to do this any more till next time you start your computer Let me know your beta version 8, 9 and 10 are all considered good I have 9 that I can share if needed
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Post by John on Jan 9, 2016 9:09:17 GMT
Its a bit time consuming and ott but results are worth the effort
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Post by nzlowie on Jan 9, 2016 22:28:36 GMT
Hi John What files are we rewriting? Looked at zip I downloaded but can;t find what beta it is, just says 5.9. Manuals are in Japanese too which makes things hard!
Will let you know how I gen on once I start playing.
Cheers Dave
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Post by John on Jan 10, 2016 6:25:33 GMT
It just rewrites all the files when rewriting Bug Head even stuff if does need to rewrite. It does not seem to doing any harm If I can I try and do a video tutorial but so far no luck in using a free movie player in W10
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Post by John on Jan 10, 2016 11:46:28 GMT
It shows how to use the rewrite data if using the beta versions the standard versions are a lot easier
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Post by nzlowie on Jan 10, 2016 22:13:13 GMT
Hi John
Found a machine at work to install it on to try before I get back home to run it properly.
I re-rote the data, then went to play the tracks and it re-rote each song again before it played. This meant a 5 or so second break between each song, is this normal?
Also it would only load about 5 songs into the play...
Admittedly this was a very short time to try the player, maybe I need more time to work it all out.
Thanks Dave
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Post by John on Jan 10, 2016 22:39:00 GMT
Hi Dave That is not normal might be the machine you are using It should play as a standard player and it just takes a bit of time to load the first song but after that no issues so no gaps between songs Next weekend I do a video tutorial around how to use Bug Head sorry will not have spare time till then John
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Post by nzlowie on Jan 11, 2016 3:18:53 GMT
John, no need to apologist if you don't get it done - time is precious for us all.
I'll see how it goes on a better spec machine in a few days.
Appreciate your assistance with this learning curve.
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Post by John on Jan 11, 2016 4:54:31 GMT
Unfortunately works takes over
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Post by John on Jan 16, 2016 13:36:29 GMT
As promised a quick video guide on how to use Bug Head
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