JC Audiophile optimization on win7, 2012, and R2.

[jesuscheung]

sorry. misled you. it is not "disable dll". it is disable/enable elevation of dll. something to do with permission.

i disabled all elevation of firewallapi.dll. didn't detect increase in SQ. restored. didn't spend enough time though.

[jesuscheung]

----TWEAK 36----
BEST CPU frequency (under any RAM speed under any level of OS tuning)
setup: 3770k. ram=1600Mhz 9-9-9, win2012/7/R2

i have backups of my OS each month. i have just relistened each one. about 5-10% increase in SQ each month.
my ghost backups are in order of win2012a.GHO, win2012b.GHO..... win2012j.GHO etc

1. at whatever CPU frequency, at whatever one RAM frequency,
ram timing is 12-12-12>11-11-11>...>6-6-6>5-5-5 in terms of details and uncompressed sound.
(please choose an appropriate RAM frequency to match the timing)

2. final decision: my RAM sounds best at 2000Mhz 12-12-12-21 at exactly 1.54v (no clean power)

3. the less the CPU frequency, the more easily SQ is analog at ANY LEVEL of OS tuning
for example:
from win2012a.GHO (untweaked) to win2012j.GHO(highly tweaked), the SQ remains decently analog with CPU frequency < 2.4Ghz

4. at ANY level of OS tuning
-CPU frequency from 2.0Ghz to 1.6Ghz, more more raw less and less refined/micro. analog level the same. sounds like a good radio. not elegant.
-CPU frequency = 2.1Ghz sounds best for downclocking. raw. analog. but lacks elegancy like expensive CD player.
-CPU frequency from 2.2 to 3.0 = less and less analog but only a little more refined

5. with badly tweaked or not very well-tuned OS
-CPU frequency from 3.1 to about 3.7 is MORE MORE digital.
-CPU frequency from 3.8 to 4.0 starts to gets better and better. more and more refined. still digital.
-CPU frequency from 4.1 to 4.8 gets worse and worse. you can kill yourself now.

6. with GOOD OS tuning
-CPU frequency from 2.2 to 4.0 stays analog/ more more refined with more more micro details. but you would still think a downclocked CPU sounds much better. because you OS is only well-tuned.

7. with highly well-tuned OS like win2012j.GHO
-CPU = 2.1Ghz (the best downclocked frequency) still sounds unbeatable in terms of raw and analog and steady. still feels like a high-end radio only.
-CPU = 4.0Ghz (the most stable overclocked frequency for my CPU) sounds very refined. like a good CD player.
-CPU = 4.4Ghz is super refined in micro-details especially noticeable in bass.
-CPU = 4.8Ghz is ultra refined in micro-details especially noticeable in bass.

8. knowing 4.8Ghz can be better, i still use 4.0Ghz
because: voltage requirement increases exponentially. bass/soundstage is better isn't everything. other things are worse due to lack of voltage. for example, without enough voltage, sound is dry/harsh. who can stand dry SQ for more than 10 mins?

9. all CPU frequency are tested under a best voltage. (best bios settings please refer to earlier post)
for example:
at 2.1Ghz, best voltage = 0.845v (CPU temp <40degree for music)
at 4.0Ghz, best voltage = 1.15v (CPU temp <40degree)
at 4.4Ghz. best voltage around 1.35v (CPU temp <40degree)
at 4.8Ghz, best voltage = unknown = something above 1.4v (CPU temp <40degree)

10. sidenote:
if you want 3D soundstage, please use RAM frequency that is 100:133 in ratio
for example, 1866Hz, 2133Ghz etc.

conclusion:
a. i like both 2.1Ghz and 4.0Ghz. style is different (stage/micro. steady vs dreamy). musicality is the same.
b. if high CPU frequency degrades you SQ, your OS/bios isn't well-tuned.

[jesuscheung]

listening to CPU at 4.8Ghz. that bass is incredible. for rock, overclocking is rock and roll.

that drums... that amount of vibrations in bass.... unheard of for a downclocked CPU.

with CPU=4.0Ghz, it feels like CD player.
with CPU=4.8Ghz, the rock performance is live.

[jesuscheung]

had enough fun.
with 4.8Ghz. sound is actually 1% compressed. huge boost in micro.
with 4.0Ghz. sound is 0.3% compressed. best compromise.
with 2.1Ghz. sound is fully uncompressed. lacks refinement lacks micro. stage is easily congested.

[jesuscheung]

----BAD TWEAK 3----
windows is just weird.
i only just disabled ntfs compression and encryption, the tune went dark.

if interested, try
fsutil behavior set disablecompression 1
fsutil behavior set disableencryption 1

if SQ goes bad, restore to default:
fsutil behavior set disablecompression 0
fsutil behavior set disableencryption 0

[jesuscheung]

----BAD TWEAK 4----
windows is weird again. turning off some debug makes soundstage unnatural

try
set ActiveDebugging=0 at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Script Host\Settings

[internethandle]

You ever heard of this tweak, JC? This is asumming a USB DAC. Sort of similar to the old cMP-era (apparently backed by PKShan) reg tweak of IdleEnable=1 for USB Controllers, at least in theory.... anyway:

Go to: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\ -> Under the VID Keys, search until you find the one with either DeviceDesc or FriendlyName identifying it as your USB DAC's driver. Then Go to the "Device Parameters" sub-key and add the following DWORD: "CapturePacketsPerUrb" - here's where you can experiment. The value number you enter for this new DWORD value represents the buffer size, in milliseconds, that USBaudio.sys requests from the USB stack, or at least per Microsoft. In Win XP apparently it was 10 ms by default, in Vista (and 7, may have changed with 8 or Server?) it is 4 ms by default. You can enter any number between 3 and 10, which means anywhere between 3 or 10 ms for the buffer size. I used to just set it to 4 to force Win 7 to 4 just in case it wasn't doing it automatically (never figured out how to tell without using this DWORD value...), but have since found that 3ms sounds better after all my OS tweaking - can be a little too immediate/harsh. Will probably be different in your/others' situations, though.

More info from MS:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953228

[jesuscheung]

internethandle,

thx for reminding me the forgotten tweaks. very useful

IdleEnable=1 means usb polling rate at 200 times a second
IdleEnable=0 (default) means usb polling rate at 1000 times a second
(don't ask me how i know. i just knew back in days of gaming)

with my logitech USB mouse, i can further reduce my mouse polling rate to 125 times a second.

less polling rate, better SQ.

i only have PCIe soundcard. someone is interested can try the CapturePacketsPerUrb tweak. thx internethandle

[jesuscheung]

----TWEAK 23 (continue)----
IGNORE THIS TWEAK FOR NOW. DISCOVER SOMETHING INTERESTING
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Executive
AdditionalCriticalWorkerThreads (from 0 to 16) affects soundstage+texture together
AdditionalDelayedWorkerThreads (from 0 to 16) affects vibration+richness+smoothness together.

if you have no goal in SQ, leave settings unchanged.

for i7 users:
delay+critical
16+16 = max 3D soundstage at expense of texture+vibration. smooth, mellow, airy.
16+6 = just enough critical threads to create a dynamic soundstage at expense of texture+vibration. smooth, mellow, airy.

delay<4 = sounds is thin
delay=2 = max vibration
delay=4 = a little less vibration but just rich enough.
delay>5 = vibration starts to go downhill

critical>5 = soundstage starts feel important. software player with natural 3D soundstage benefits the most. software with unnatural 3D only gets worse.
critical>4 = starts to loss texture
critical=4 = best balance between performance and SQ. soundstage itself is shy.
critical<4 = i recommend critical=0

i use 4+4 to achieve detail > soundstage

for i5 users:
good luck

for i3/dual-core/atom users:
you only have 2 real-cores. no point. likely worse off.

NOTE: if you are going for soundstage, you will lose something in this tweak. just like many other software players + software tweaks.

[jesuscheung]

finalized TWEAK 23