MQN

[Sligolad]

Kinda surprised myself as well at the different experiences with all 3 players, there must be a lot going on with the mix of hardware, clocks, power, DAC, amps, etc.

Up until recently I would always have put MQN ahead of JPlay but with version 6 in core mode on RamOS and Hibernate it was the first time i felt JPlay sounded better than recent MQN versions.
I had an MQN 30Mb max version as my default for quite some time and then Seb brought around a 30Mb minimum version recently and we compared to Jplay and I certainly felt and maybe Seb did that Jplay had a slight edge....very small mind you but that is where i fell.

Then on to Bug Head and this was ahead of JPlay6 for me in terms of detail, soundstage and particularly dynamics.

After posts here I went back to JPlay6 for a comparison again with BH and JPlay did sound closer to BH than i remember, I was seriously wondering if running BH for so long had done something to my setup as JPlay6 sounded really close to BH on the dynamics where before i thought this was the big gap.

When I say dynamics I mean that strikes on strings and percussion instruments really hit me with an almost physical as well as audible sense or reality, it took days to get used to it and I did find it a strange experience wondering if it was "right" or not.

I should add that I did move to a solid state amp a few weeks before going to BH and I thought it would be well settled but who knows!!!

I must go back and do another comparison with MQN now that I have gotten used to Bug Head.

[cvrle59]

Kinda surprised myself as well at the different experiences with all 3 players, there must be a lot going on with the mix of hardware, clocks, power, DAC, amps, etc.

Up until recently I would always have put MQN ahead of JPlay but with version 6 in core mode on RamOS and Hibernate it was the first time i felt JPlay sounded better than recent MQN versions.
I had an MQN 30Mb max version as my default for quite some time and then Seb brought around a 30Mb minimum version recently and we compared to Jplay and I certainly felt and maybe Seb did that Jplay had a slight edge....very small mind you but that is where i fell.

Then on to Bug Head and this was ahead of JPlay6 for me in terms of detail, soundstage and particularly dynamics.

After posts here I went back to JPlay6 for a comparison again with BH and JPlay did sound closer to BH than i remember, I was seriously wondering if running BH for so long had done something to my setup as JPlay6 sounded really close to BH on the dynamics where before i thought this was the big gap.

When I say dynamics I mean that strikes on strings and percussion instruments really hit me with an almost physical as well as audible sense or reality, it took days to get used to it and I did find it a strange experience wondering if it was "right" or not.

I should add that I did move to a solid state amp a few weeks before going to BH and I thought it would be well settled but who knows!!!

I must go back and do another comparison with MQN now that I have gotten used to Bug Head.

I am impressed with JP6 too, and I've been listening it exclusively in last little while. I haven't had time to set BH yet, the weather got nicer in this cold part of the world, but I will give it try soon.
JP6 sounds excellent, plus it is transparent for any kind of format, I like it a lot.
BTW, reading this post, I am even more confident that there is so much subjective in this business. What I mean is, that we may hear something today, and slightly different tomorrow, on the exact same system. I caught myself so many times in past, so I tried not to comment too much comparing different players anymore. I would be so impressed with something new (player or just version) thinking it so much better, but after awhile I come back listening previous setup, and I find it very similar, or not that much difference, I found in first place. It could be my mood, surroundings, how much wine I had, and so on...you can keep adding things here. It could be just me, it doesn't have to apply to everyone, but I don't get overly excited any more as I used be, learning myself through this process.
I am focusing more to collect more music, and to enjoy it rather than to "listen technology or devices"...

[Sligolad]

I would agree with all you said cvrle59 and if it came to the crunch and I had to choose only one player based on sound quality being as faithfull to original instruments and without access to the others based on that choice, then I would lean more towards Aleg's findings over my own based on past performance.

There are better ears out there than my own....I have learned that there are times when I am good at hearing differences and others when I am pretty useless....what constitutes better or worse is all about personal choice and the whole playback chain.

Its really has been a great 12 months for improved PC playback with improvements both on software and hardware....long may it continue!

[tony]

Gordon, if you're coming over to Maynooth, let us know and we'll have a big party in Tony's place.

That's very decent of you Ken can I come as well?

Gordon never heard of that Maynooth thing before. Sure we will check it out

[2channelaudio]

I've been using Bughead(Infinity Blade) for the past 2 weeks with Chord Asio driver and I'm finding it excellent in contrast to Aleg's experiences. I listen to a lot of 24bit and DSF material(as well as 16bit) playing on Jplay 6 using KS. I still think the bass is less flabby on BHE than Jplay . I think it's worth exploring , the MQN disciples are patiently awaiting the all-conquering ,all-sample-size version.

Gordon, if you're coming over to Maynooth, let us know and we'll have a big party in Tony's place.

Removed incorrect content.

[2channelaudio]

Hello Gordon
Did you make any new discovery or progress?
Thank you

been looking at asio, what are people's thoughts on the sq of asio ?

I always find ASIO has a more muffled, deadened sound than KS.
KS is more open sounding, has better clarity and ASIO is more 'warm' and muffled, less detailed.

I have never been a fan of ASIO and always feel KS holds the best cards.

I cannot understand why a BHE is solely built on ASIO.
After listening for a while to BHE, when switching back to MQn it is immediately clear MQn is far ahead of BHE in terms of (as I said) clarity, openness and details.

I have to say my asio yellowtec driver sounds pretty awesome.
Digital? muffled? Not my experience or subjective opinion.

[Aleg]

I've been using Bughead(Infinity Blade) for the past 2 weeks with Chord Asio driver and I'm finding it excellent in contrast to Aleg's experiences. I listen to a lot of 24bit and DSF material(as well as 16bit) playing on Jplay 6 using KS. I still think the bass is less flabby on BHE than Jplay . I think it's worth exploring , the MQN disciples are patiently awaiting the all-conquering ,all-sample-size version.

Gordon, if you're coming over to Maynooth, let us know and we'll have a big party in Tony's place.

Its my understanding (via some googling) infinity blade deliberately introduces jitter into the signal.
Why, well 'apparently' some DACs have been designed to see jittery PC signals..... and deal with them accordingly states Mr. Hiroyuki Yokota.

According to Mr. Hiroyuki Yokota's research these DAC's sound better to the ear with higher jitter signals.
Mr. Hiroyuki Yokota states Emperor is the superior playback package... as its made to minimise jitter.



Emperor is the more superior player.

I believe it is just the other way around.
The way I read it via a translator is that:
Infinity Blade has been built for the professional studio gear with absolute minimal (ultra low) jitter.

インフィニティブレードInfinity blade for Studio ※3コア以上のみ動作
スタジオ向けの超低ジッターバージョンです。Professional の環境で、フラットな傾向になり、低域の正確性、
中高域の描写力が向上します。評価環境に、真空管アンプ、モニタースピーカーを用いて、スタジオで要求されて
いる音質傾向が得られているか、確認していました。
おおよその判断として、USB-DACはジッターが起きないとする条件で設計されているものが必要です。

The bughead emperor has been built for the audiophile home user and has had introduces a 0.2 ms delay in the processing causing a little bit of jitter:

バグヘッドエンペラーBug head for Audiophile
オーディオマニア向けの極小ジッターバージョンです。インフィニティブレードから、ちょっとジッターを含ませる処理が入ること
によって、音が柔らかい傾向が生まれます。インフィニティブレードでは、オーディオメーカーが想定しない音のバランスになる
ため、サウンドチューニングが乱れてしまいます。バグヘッドエンペラーでは、それが解決されるように音を悪くして、心地良
い音のバランスになるよう調整しています。
このバージョンのジッターは、Windowsのイベント処理において、0.2msの遅延処理を挿入することによって、とて
も小さなジッターを引き起こしているだけです。

So a little bit more jittery signal may suit your setup better?

[2channelaudio]

I'm in between setups Aleg.. So I can't answer your last question...

My mistake....
I was going from memory...
I knew one package introduced jitter deliberately.
I personally haven't tried Infinity so I cant comment.
I just listen to music these days with a simple setup via headphones....

[Aleg]

I'm in between setups Aleg.. So I can't answer your last question...

My mistake....
I was going from memory...
I knew one package introduced jitter deliberately.
I personally haven't tried Infinity so I cant comment.
I just listen to music these days with a simple setup via headphones....

No worries.
It would be very nice if the author had a better grasp of english and could explain it a bit clearer in english.
Using a translator from japanese to english doesn't always give a text that is easy to understand either. So I struggle with his documentation as well.

I will try the emperor version as well sometime to see if my setup also likes a bit of jitter better. Though I find it hard to understand that more jitter would sound better than less jitter. I can hardly understand that DAC builders specifically build for a jittery signal?

------

I do notice that I prefer a Windows TimerResolution of 2.0 ms better, than a 0.5 ms or 1.0 ms, but I didn't think that introduced jitter into the signal, but just more CPU 'noise' and misalignment with buffer filling and emptying.

Cheers

[2channelaudio]

I will try the emperor version as well sometime to see if my setup also likes a bit of jitter better. Though I find it hard to understand that more jitter would sound better than less jitter. I can hardly understand that DAC builders specifically build for a jittery signal?
Cheers

I tend to agree Aleg.
Sounds like I should give infinity a try on my laptop.
Although I'm not positive my current setup would highlight a difference.
I'm simply running..... Laptop headphone out to Akg k712's...

I think I could safely guess the outcome of your test.... ;)