[frankensmurf]

Apologies in advance for the long post, it's a complicated problem with my Antipodes CX; I haven't gotten great answers from Antipodes on this issue so I'm asking here.

ISSUE:
I am having terrible problems getting my CX back onto the network, EVERY time I have to power it down. As such I encounter the issue infrequently, but every time it happens the CX is so resistant to joining the network that I am close to throwing it out a window.

Is anyone else having this problem?

DETAILS:
cable co modem > home office wifi router > in-wall CAT7 > EtherRegen (with LPS1.5) > WireWorld ethernet cable > CX network 1; CX network 2 > Audioquest ethernet cable > EX network 1 > Audioquest USB > Antipodes P2 > PS Audio HDMI > MM Tambaqui.

CX is connected to a PS Audio P5 power regenerator via an old Van den Hul MainsStream power cable; EX is connected to the P5 via a PS Audio AC12.

Generally the problem is: when I reconnect power and ethernet to the CX, and flip the back switch to on, wait for the front light to go orange, and press the front switch, it flashes green, then turns solid green: at that point the CX is not connected to the network. I've tried it with CX network 1 connected to the EtherRegen 'A' side (gigabit) and 'B' side (10/100), and straight into my wall jack (direct to router), and with the EX ethernet cable connected to the CX or not. In every case I confirm orange and green link lights on both ends, in every case I confirm connectivity of other devices on the EtherRegen. I try booting, rebooting, disconnecting everything and rebooting, rebooting the EtherRegen, rebooting my stupid router; it just doesn't work, until it does, and I haven't been able to isolate the extraordinary special conditions that make it finally join the network. Once it joins the network everything is normal.

But perhaps all of the above is just a symptom: I feel like my CX simply does not power on quite correctly. On many occasions when i click the green light to power it down, it blinks green forever and won't shut down. Sometimes it remains blinking green when operating normally -- i.e. Roon is working but the light is flashing green. Earlier today I got a flash of network connectivity when I clicked the green button, it started flashing green for about 20 seconds *during whcih time it showed up on the network*, then went to orange and disconnected again. After today's 2-hr troubleshooting session, I finally have the expletive thing working, but it is Orange. Seriously. My CX is solid orange, I'm listening to high-res Qobuz via Roon, and my EX, which always works exactly as expected, is sounding great and solid green. It is a weird sight. SEE ATTACHED.

I'm listening again, and it goes without saying that given the trauma I endure every time I will not be unplugging this thing again any time soon, but it shouldn't [not] work this way. Any help much appreciated.

 

[Clive101]

Apologies in advance for the long post, it's a complicated problem with my Antipodes CX; I haven't gotten great answers from Antipodes on this issue so I'm asking here.

ISSUE:
I am having terrible problems getting my CX back onto the network, EVERY time I have to power it down. As such I encounter the issue infrequently, but every time it happens the CX is so resistant to joining the network that I am close to throwing it out a window.

Is anyone else having this problem?

DETAILS:
cable co modem > home office wifi router > in-wall CAT7 > EtherRegen (with LPS1.5) > WireWorld ethernet cable > CX network 1; CX network 2 > Audioquest ethernet cable > EX network 1 > Audioquest USB > Antipodes P2 > PS Audio HDMI > MM Tambaqui.

CX is connected to a PS Audio P5 power regenerator via an old Van den Hul MainsStream power cable; EX is connected to the P5 via a PS Audio AC12.

Generally the problem is: when I reconnect power and ethernet to the CX, and flip the back switch to on, wait for the front light to go orange, and press the front switch, it flashes green, then turns solid green: at that point the CX is not connected to the network. I've tried it with CX network 1 connected to the EtherRegen 'A' side (gigabit) and 'B' side (10/100), and straight into my wall jack (direct to router), and with the EX ethernet cable connected to the CX or not. In every case I confirm orange and green link lights on both ends, in every case I confirm connectivity of other devices on the EtherRegen. I try booting, rebooting, disconnecting everything and rebooting, rebooting the EtherRegen, rebooting my stupid router; it just doesn't work, until it does, and I haven't been able to isolate the extraordinary special conditions that make it finally join the network. Once it joins the network everything is normal.

But perhaps all of the above is just a symptom: I feel like my CX simply does not power on quite correctly. On many occasions when i click the green light to power it down, it blinks green forever and won't shut down. Sometimes it remains blinking green when operating normally -- i.e. Roon is working but the light is flashing green. Earlier today I got a flash of network connectivity when I clicked the green button, it started flashing green for about 20 seconds *during whcih time it showed up on the network*, then went to orange and disconnected again. After today's 2-hr troubleshooting session, I finally have the expletive thing working, but it is Orange. Seriously. My CX is solid orange, I'm listening to high-res Qobuz via Roon, and my EX, which always works exactly as expected, is sounding great and solid green. It is a weird sight. SEE ATTACHED.

I'm listening again, and it goes without saying that given the trauma I endure every time I will not be unplugging this thing again any time soon, but it shouldn't [not] work this way. Any help much appreciated.

Suggest you return to CX for repair clearly it is defective.
Two year warranty, three on registration hope you still are within time?
There is sequence of switching on the CX EX combo perhaps it is this?
CX on first for one minute then the EX, reversed when switching off.
Had a similar problem on a K30 on demo.
Let us know how you get on.

 

[andrewd01]

I leave my CX on 24/7 and have never had any problems. On the rare occasions I restart it I get the flashing green light for half a minute then solid green, after which I can find it on the network no problems. Your Cx sounds like it needs a service.

One test you could try is taking the CX out of the chain and running the network straight into EX. If this is 100% reliable, then that proves something is amiss with the CX.
The nice thing about a dual box solution is that you will still have a working music server while the CX is getting repaired!

 

[Progisus]

Yeah memory is needed for sure. You can try to reduce the max taps setting to if it'll get through that entire song. Not sure what the default is when you have only 16 GB.

I just checked the number of taps it chose for the two versions of Close to Edge that I processed. It was 821 million taps for the Steve Wilson remix. The DSD version on the AudioFidelity SACD came in at 2048 million taps (wow!). DSD processing takes a very long time and requires a lot of memory, but the processed files are much improved.

I was not getting much gain in sound quality over HQPlayer sinc-L until I tried MPD on the EX. I put the PGGB on the ssd in the EX and used Rigelian to control the playback. This routes the file directly to the MPD from the ssd. This was the lightbulb moment. I have ordered extra ram for our 10 core iMac and will probably go all in on a license as PGGB now runs natively on MAC Intel. I see from the AS forum the software is in a state of constant change with features being added daily. I think I will give it a bit before starting the ripping process.

 

[cczero17]

I was not getting much gain in sound quality over HQPlayer sinc-L until I tried MPD on the EX. I put the PGGB on the ssd in the EX and used Rigelian to control the playback. This routes the file directly to the MPD from the ssd. This was the lightbulb moment. I have ordered extra ram for our 10 core iMac and will probably go all in on a license as PGGB now runs natively on MAC Intel. I see from the AS forum the software is in a state of constant change with features being added daily. I think I will give it a bit before starting the ripping process.

Now this is getting confusing lol. MPD and PGGB!?? Using a CX/EX Solution with HQplayer and SSD in the CX.....how/what/where does MPD and PGGB come into play and can it be added/used with what I have?

 

[Whazzzup]

Kenny posted this, it’s beyound myself as a simple DX roon user but ray dude sure is serious about this stuff so….


Yup...it's listed for sale on Audiophile Style's classified section. I use HQPlayer for scaling anything that's not been processed with PGGB. PGGB is described here and it's really something special.

 

[Triode User]

Now this is getting confusing lol. MPD and PGGB!?? Using a CX/EX Solution with HQplayer and SSD in the CX.....how/what/where does MPD and PGGB come into play and can it be added/used with what I have?

PGGB is a new off-line upsampling application that works on Windows and Mac computers. A few of us have been beta testing it and it has recently been officially launched and is available for trial and purchase. See HERE for the website. There is also an Audiophilestyle THREAD dedicated to PGGB.

Initially it was thought that the best way of playing the PGGB processed hi resolution files might be HQP with all upsampling and noise shaping set to 'none', ie in a sort of pass through mode, because this was suggested by the team who had been alpha testing PGGB.

However I, and now a few others, have been finding that we prefer the sound quality of different players and in particular MPD (Music Player Daemon) in preference to the HQP method. With PGGB the audio files are pre processed on ones computer and then stored locally for playing to whatever DAC one has. Many of us use the Dave of course and it works exceptionally well with Dave.

PGGB has cropped up here because a number of us are using Antipodese streamers to store and play the PGGB files. I use a K50 and your CX/EX should work well with PGGB. There is a free trial license which allows up to 5 tracks at a time to be processed so it is easy to evaluate.

I admit there are big logistical matters to be dealt with when using PGGB (for instance one should allow about 20GB per album file size for the PGGB files) but there are many of us now having great fun and listening experiences with PGGB.

I will always keep the Mscaler for streaming and for most playback of ripped files but I use PGGB as a listening treat and for a bit of fun with my favourite albums.

 

[Ragnar-BY]

I will always keep the Mscaler for streaming and for most playback of ripped files but I use PGGB as a listening treat and for a bit of fun with my favourite albums.

PGGB processing sounds better than M Scaler?

 

[cczero17]

PGGB is a new off-line upsampling application that works on Windows and Mac computers. A few of us have been beta testing it and it has recently been officially launched and is available for trial and purchase. See HERE for the website. There is also an Audiophilestyle THREAD dedicated to PGGB.

Initially it was thought that the best way of playing the PGGB processed hi resolution files might be HQP with all upsampling and noise shaping set to 'none', ie in a sort of pass through mode, because this was suggested by the team who had been alpha testing PGGB.

However I, and now a few others, have been finding that we prefer the sound quality of different players and in particular MPD (Music Player Daemon) in preference to the HQP method. With PGGB the audio files are pre processed on ones computer and then stored locally for playing to whatever DAC one has. Many of us use the Dave of course and it works exceptionally well with Dave.

PGGB has cropped up here because a number of us are using Antipodese streamers to store and play the PGGB files. I use a K50 and your CX/EX should work well with PGGB. There is a free trial license which allows up to 5 tracks at a time to be processed so it is easy to evaluate.

I admit there are big logistical matters to be dealt with when using PGGB (for instance one should allow about 20GB per album file size for the PGGB files) but there are many of us now having great fun and listening experiences with PGGB.

I will always keep the Mscaler for streaming and for most playback of ripped files but I use PGGB as a listening treat and for a bit of fun with my favourite albums.

Thank you so much for taking time out to explain.

So, can PGGB be added to the CX then? Is there a procedure on how to add it and link it to the EX etc...and do I need MPD? Bearing in mind I still HQplayer.

Oh and I guess this is just for stored files, not for streaming Qobuz etc?

Sounds very interesting.

 

[Progisus]

PGGB processing sounds better than M Scaler?

Give it a try. I think you will be impressed. There are a few logistical issues though. The tap count is crazy high.

I see using it as a kind of jukebox. Store the files on a big drive and move them to the listening drive as required.

 

[Triode User]

Thank you so much for taking time out to explain.

So, can PGGB be added to the CX then? Is there a procedure on how to add it and link it to the EX etc...and do I need MPD? Bearing in mind I still HQplayer.

Oh and I guess this is just for stored files, not for streaming Qobuz etc?

Sounds very interesting.

You don’t add pggb to the antipodes. Pggb is an application you run usually on a stand alone computer to process the audio files. They are then copied over to where you normally keep your ripped files (Cx?) and you play them using your server/player software outputting usb to your dac.

You are right that this does not work with streamed music.

Have a read in the Pggb website link that I gave in my post.

Hope this helps.

It will not be for everyone and not for all ones listening but it is worth trying.

 

[cczero17]

You don’t add pggb to the antipodes. Pggb is an application you run usually on a stand alone computer to process the audio files. They are then copied over to where you normally keep your ripped files (Cx?) and you play them using your server/player software outputting usb to your dac.

You are right that this does not work with streamed music.

Have a read in the Pggb website link that I gave in my post.

Hope this helps.

It will not be for everyone and not for all ones listening but it is worth trying.

lol...im really trying ti understand but im not that technical, so please bear with me

My files are stored on the ssd in the CX, so struggling to get my head around that the application sits on a mac/pc. #scratchinghead. I sit not like hqplayer where the parameters are set and it just left in the background to do its thing when playing through roon?

And as DACs go, Im using an Aqua La Scala Optologic MkII, which is an R2R DAC

 

[Whazzzup]

I believe you transfer those files to your ssd, but frankly they lost me at 20 gig per album.

 

[kennyb123]

lol...im really trying ti understand but im not that technical, so please bear with me

My files are stored on the ssd in the CX, so struggling to get my head around that the application sits on a mac/pc. #scratchinghead. I sit not like hqplayer where the parameters are set and it just left in the background to do its thing when playing through roon?

You need to copy your music files off of your CX and onto a Mac or a PC so that PGGB can process them. PGGB will generate new better-sounding files. Once it completes you copy the files back to your CX and play them as a better-sounding version of the original file.

 

[andrewd01]

Just curious, what is the cheapest way to build a computer capable of running PGGB?
I was poking around on the Dell web site and it looks like anything with enough memory will cost ££££