JC Audiophile optimization on win7, 2012, and R2.

[jesuscheung]

I hope people share their tweaks here. Whether they are good or bad for SQ. We could all test it.

I don't believe 2012 is better than 7 or vars versa. I am interested in comparing fully tuned OSs.

Today I was testing the Windows7 DAW 1.0 (Digital Audio Workstation OS). Made by XA. This is the first time XA sounds analog to me. XA is unfocus, unfull, undeep in my 2012 or R2. This 'new' OS changed my mind.

---TWEAK NUMBER 1---

Here is my first tweak. Only tested in this new 7 so far today.
1. [optional]Uninstall and delete you graphic driver (i have ATI) in device manager.
2. [optional]Now you should be using MS VGA driver.
3. Set resolution to lowest 800x600 and use color depth of 16bits.

In my case this will reduce graphic processing to a minimum, hence, boosting SQ, I guess. I have much more revealing sound. Sweet and airy and not harsh. If I only use color depth of 32bits, it is only revealing with added harshness.

I hope you guys test it too tell me if it is wrong. it should apply to 2012 and R2 as well.

I shall be posting regularly. I have quite a few tweaks, thx to google. I am more interested in the new tweaks..

have fun.

[nige2000]

more jc tweaks

disable HPET in bios
and disable "System timer" in "Device Manager".

That's it. all you need is one timer the "System CMOS/real time clock".

the following tweak i learnt from reading "Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2012" from msdn. i just export my registry below:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"SymlinkLocalToRemoteEvaluation"=dword:00000001
"SymlinkLocalToLocalEvaluation"=dword:00000001
"NtfsDisableCompression"=dword:00000000
"DisableDeleteNotification"=dword:00000000
"FilterSupportedFeaturesMode"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisableEncryption"=dword:00000000
"SymlinkRemoteToRemoteEvaluation"=dword:00000000
"NtfsAllowExtendedCharacter8dot3Rename"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation"=dword:00000001
"NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"=dword:00000001
"SymlinkRemoteToLocalEvaluation"=dword:00000000
"NtfsQuotaNotifyRate"=dword:00000e10
"NtfsMftZoneReservation"=dword:00000000
"Win31FileSystem"=dword:00000000
"Win95TruncatedExtensions"=dword:00000001
"NtfsEncryptPagingFile"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisableVolsnapHints"=dword:00000000
"NtfsMemoryUsage"=dword:00000000
"NtfsBugcheckOnCorrupt"=dword:00000000
"ScrubMode"=dword:00000001
"UdfsSoftwareDefectManagement"=dword:00000000
"UdfsCloseSessionOnEject"=dword:00000003
"DontVerifyRandomDrivers"=dword:00000001
"MaximumTunnelEntries"=dword:00000000


command to turn firewall off
netsh advfirewall set AllProfiles state off

[jesuscheung]

more jc tweaks

disable HPET in bios
and disable "System timer" in "Device Manager".

That's it. all you need is one timer the "System CMOS/real time clock".

the following tweak i learnt from reading "Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2012" from msdn. i just export my registry below:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"SymlinkLocalToRemoteEvaluation"=dword:00000001
"SymlinkLocalToLocalEvaluation"=dword:00000001
"NtfsDisableCompression"=dword:00000000
"DisableDeleteNotification"=dword:00000000
"FilterSupportedFeaturesMode"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisableEncryption"=dword:00000000
"SymlinkRemoteToRemoteEvaluation"=dword:00000000
"NtfsAllowExtendedCharacter8dot3Rename"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation"=dword:00000001
"NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"=dword:00000001
"SymlinkRemoteToLocalEvaluation"=dword:00000000
"NtfsQuotaNotifyRate"=dword:00000e10
"NtfsMftZoneReservation"=dword:00000000
"Win31FileSystem"=dword:00000000
"Win95TruncatedExtensions"=dword:00000001
"NtfsEncryptPagingFile"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisableVolsnapHints"=dword:00000000
"NtfsMemoryUsage"=dword:00000000
"NtfsBugcheckOnCorrupt"=dword:00000000
"ScrubMode"=dword:00000001
"UdfsSoftwareDefectManagement"=dword:00000000
"UdfsCloseSessionOnEject"=dword:00000003
"DontVerifyRandomDrivers"=dword:00000001
"MaximumTunnelEntries"=dword:00000000


command to turn firewall off
netsh advfirewall set AllProfiles state off

thx nige2000. think i only changed these.

REVISED AT:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2456&p=51020#p51020

---TWEAK NUMBER 2---

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
"NtfsAllowExtendedCharacter8dot3Rename"=dword:00000000
"NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation"=dword:00000001
"NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate"=dword:00000001
"DontVerifyRandomDrivers"=dword:00000001
"MaximumTunnelEntries"=dword:00000000



the others are default settings.

[jesuscheung]

----TWEAK NUMBER 3----
UPDATED THIS TWEAK AT viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2456&p=50315#p50315
HARMFUL TWEAKS IN THE MIX. DON'T USE IT

echo Turn Off Boot Debug...
bcdedit /bootdebug off >nul
echo Turn Off Kernel Debug...
bcdedit /debug off >nul
echo Set Boot Status Policy...
bcdedit /set bootstatuspolicy IgnoreAllFailures >nul
echo Disable Dynamic Tick...
bcdedit /set disabledynamictick on >nul
echo Turn Off Hypervisor Debug...
bcdedit /set hypervisordebug off >nul
echo Turn Off DEP...
bcdedit /set nx AlwaysOff >nul
echo Turn Off PAE...
bcdedit /set pae ForceDisable >nul
echo Turn Off Drive Loading Disaply...
bcdedit /set sos off >nul
echo Disable Integrity Checks...
bcdedit /set nointegritychecks off >nul
echo Disable Driver Signing Check...
bcdedit /set testsigning off >nul
echo Disable TMP Boot...
bcdedit /set tpmbootentropy ForceDisable >nul
echo Turn off hibernate...
powercfg -h off

Save above as bat file. Run as admin.

Above recommended by JIE player (JEPCFG.BAT). deleted "Disable PCI BIOS" as it can damage/improve SQ depending on system. Also added "Turn off hibernate", recommended by XA. XA also recommends "Turn Off DEP". That's all.

For 2012/R2/8/8.1, the most important ones are
1. Disable Dynamic Tick
2. Turn Off DEP
Big impact on SQ. If you don't like the others, no need apply them.

[iori]

Today I also installed the Win 7 DAW, a bare 5.2Gb mini OS (excluding pagefile.sys and hybernation file). Optimization was merely those recommendation from MQn and your earlier suggestion : disable HPET in bios and disable "System timer" in "Device Manager".
MQn 2.68sse4 intel was used to compare between WS2012 with CAD2.5 script and this almost clean installed W7.
In WS2012, the sound stage was the widest ever heard and amongst other players, vocalist image appeared a bit too large.
In Win 7, image was more precise. Difference in sq was subtle, possibly due to brief listening.
Thx for your effort, JC.

[jesuscheung]

Today I also installed the Win 7 DAW, a bare 5.2Gb mini OS (excluding pagefile.sys and hybernation file). Optimization was merely those recommendation from MQn and your earlier suggestion : disable HPET in bios and disable "System timer" in "Device Manager".
MQn 2.68sse4 intel was used to compare between WS2012 with CAD2.5 script and this almost clean installed W7.
In WS2012, the sound stage was the widest ever heard and amongst other players, vocalist image appeared a bit too large.
In Win 7, image was more precise. Difference in sq was subtle, possibly due to brief listening.
Thx for your effort, JC.

MQn is superior in 2012 and R2, i believe.

XA is surprisingly accurate with that OS. never heard anything like it. my GPU driver is giving me earaches+digial sound on 7. need to fix that.

when i got back in R2 and listen to XA, it sounds like a piece of s**t lol.

you better do all the win7 tweaks on his blog, nothing more or less. i don't know another geek who tests tweaks more carefully with his ears. you can 99% trust his tweaks have positive effects. however, i don't believe in his Aero tweaks- not working for me.

will try that 7 again on the weekend.

[jesuscheung]

---tweak number 4----

1. uninstall all .NET.
2. uninstall all Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package.

3. install Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate 2013. do a minimum install. (if you need a registration key, google it. i have msdn, when i download it, it has a static key, same key for everyone i think)
4. uninstall all the SQL craps that are installed along with that VS2013.
5. don't uninstall silverlight and anything else that came with that VS2013.
NOTE: after VS2013 is installed, wait til ".NET runtime optimization services" to finish in the background. better SQ will kick in after that.
you can uninstall all corresponding .net framework on server 2012 and R2 coz they already have .net framework.

6. install Intel® C++ Composer XE 2013 SP1 for Windows
http://software.intel.com/en-us/article ... or-windows

VS2013 will have all the latest .net and ms C++ packages. whatever you system has that uses those packages will get a performance boost. hence SQ increases.

MQn, foobar, jplay, youtube, mpc... should all get better SQ.

if you don't like the sound of Intel C++, uninstall it. takes two seconds.

the idea originates in the XA blog.

[jesuscheung]

---TWEAK NUMBER 5---

Win32PrioritySeparation

think XA recommends 28.
think jplay recommends 14.
think MQn is developed under 18. (2012 default)
7/8/8.1's default value is 26.

i use 18 in 2012 and 28 in 7.

18 and 28 are the same but not identical.

Example:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl]
"Win32PrioritySeparation"=dword:00000018

[jesuscheung]

---TWEAK NUMBER 5---

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile]
"NetworkThrottlingIndex"=dword:ffffffff
"SystemResponsiveness"=dword:0000000a

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Audio]
"Scheduling Category"="High"
"GPU Priority"=dword:0000001f
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:0000e2c2
"SFIO Priority"="High"
"Priority"=dword:00000001
"Background Only"="False"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Capture]
"Scheduling Category"="Low"
"GPU Priority"=dword:00000008
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:00002710
"SFIO Priority"="Low"
"Priority"=dword:00000008
"Background Only"="True"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000008

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Distribution]
"Scheduling Category"="Low"
"GPU Priority"=dword:00000008
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:00002710
"SFIO Priority"="Low"
"Priority"=dword:00000008
"Background Only"="True"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000008

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Games]
"Scheduling Category"="Low"
"GPU Priority"=dword:00000008
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:00002710
"SFIO Priority"="Low"
"Priority"=dword:00000001
"Background Only"="True"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000008

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Low Latency]
"Scheduling Category"="Medium"
"GPU Priority"=dword:00000008
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:00002710
"SFIO Priority"="Normal"
"Priority"=dword:00000006
"Background Only"="True"
"Latency Sensitive"="True"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Playback]
"Scheduling Category"="High"
"GPU Priority"=dword:0000001f
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000008
"Clock Rate"=dword:00002710
"SFIO Priority"="High"
"Priority"=dword:00000008
"Background Only"="False"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Pro Audio]
"Scheduling Category"="High"
"GPU Priority"=dword:0000001f
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:00005ab4
"SFIO Priority"="High"
"Priority"=dword:00000001
"Background Only"="False"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Window Manager]
"Scheduling Category"="Low"
"GPU Priority"=dword:00000008
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:00002710
"SFIO Priority"="Low"
"Priority"=dword:00000008
"Background Only"="True"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000008

This tweaks orginates in XA. Every setting has been tested by ears.

i modded a few things:
1. NetworkThrottlingIndex to no throttling at all.
2. Clock Rate=58050 for Audio. This is calculated and tested for for 24/44100 playback XA waveout. If you don't use XA, please use "Clock Rate"=dword:00002710. this is windows default 10000.
3. Clock Rate=23220 for Pro Audio. This is calculated and tested for 16/44100 and 24/44100 playback for MQn. If you use XA ASIO4ALL, please use Clock Rate=58050 while making sure the XA ASIO4ALL buffer size is set to 640 samples.
4. For MQn users, you could test between 23220, 46440 or 92880 for clock rate in Pro Audio. And see which one is best for you. These clock rates assume 16/44100 and 24/44100 playbacks.

[sbgk]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Audio]
"Scheduling Category"="High"
"GPU Priority"=dword:0000001f
"Affinity"=dword:00000000
"Clock Rate"=dword:0000e2c2
"SFIO Priority"="High"
"Priority"=dword:00000001
"Background Only"="False"
"BackgroundPriority"=dword:00000001

why have the priority at 1 ? documentation says if set to 8 it reverts to 2.