[Windows X]

As old thread was dropped far behind and I don't want to bother searching where to dig back, I'll post a new version here.

Fidelizer is ultimate Windows optimization software that can bring the sound quality of Windows to whole new level without even affecting system configuration. Though Fidelizer won't tweak anything in system configration at all, I still recommend to use Fidelizer with proper tweaks though.

I recommend Windows 7 SP1 for best sound quality but Windows Vista users and later can get full coverage of Fidelizer's optimizations too. Only Windows XP will get less significant optimizations from OS design.

Changes in version 2.1
-Fixed bugs in process optimizations (wrong condition causing whole option malfunction)
-Fixed multi-core optimizations performance and stability (and fixed veiled/duller sound quality)
-Updated some notes to make sure people closing audiophile player before performing optimizations.
 
Download: http://www.windowsxlive.net/downloading-fidelizer

 

[Theogenes]

I realize this is an old thread, but I wanted to briefly give a heads-up to anyone experiencing the unspeakably irritating popping, crackling and audio imbalance issues on Windows 8. After a goodly amount of research, I found two things that helped me out: first, the DPC Latency Checker app (link: http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml), which graphs your system latency, and the Fidelizer app (link: http://www.windowsxlive.net/fidelizer). The Thesycon website says that the DPC Latency Checker results aren't accurate for Windows 8, but they were showing me between[size=14.666666984558105px] 1050 [/size]µs and 10,000 µs prior to running Fidelizer on 'Audiophile' mode, and consistently under 550 µs afterwards. 
 
From the reading I was doing, it doesn't look like this is an issue I'm particularly rare in having, so if you're having the same issue, give it a shot. And enjoy the miraculous reversal from you screaming profanity at your %^&*() computer to you serenely enjoying the wonderful sounds it makes . 
 
Hope this helps somebody out...

 

[Theogenes]

I just finished reading through the now-locked 13 page thread on Fidelizer, and it appears some people have very strong opinions about the efficacy of the program. My general take is that people who already have no issues in their audio setup experience little or no improvement, but I can say definitively that my audio experience was absolutely better-- and not in a "more lively sound" or other such non-empirical way, but in that pops, crackles, and audio dropouts which were very obvious are no longer there. This seems to indicate that there was something wrong with my setup before, and I'm guessing that probably was, in fact, the case. All I can tell you is that the annoying garbage noises I've been hearing more and more frequently for months are now gone. 
 
My only major request on the application would be the ability to turn off or revert its changes without requiring a restart. Kudos to the developer for creating this-- it sure helped me out, even if it didn't seem to help some others. 
 
JM2C, natch.