[beetledude]

Hi There.

Does anybody still have that file that sounded like a telephone dialing to test for bit perfect playback? If I recall correctly, your system is bit perfect if there were no anomalies heard during playback, but if you heard "sirens" or "aliens" in the background it was a sign that the soundcard was munging the bitstream.

I'd appreciate it if you could post a link to it (or send me a private message).

Thanks!

 

[lan]

I believe that udial file was for resampling anomalies not bit perfect playback. A DTS WAV file + receiver can test for bit perfect playback.

 

[breez]

That's what I remember too. I have the file, how can I attach it to a post?

 

[thomaspf]

DTS and DD encoded 16/44.1 wav files are at

http://www.sr.se/multikanal/english/e_index.stm

the udial track is at

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...showtopic=9772

However, playing Udial.wav on a system that has bit perfect digital output is still a good test. The DAC in my home system plays this track with a dead silent background, while the DAC in my office or the Echo Indigo on my laptop have very low but audible levels of the sirens in the background. In every case I use ASIO to play back the data. With resampling I also get the sirens on my home system, so the resampling does turn into an audible effect on this track given the right system. I just turned out lucky that my home system was clean. If I ever buy a new DAC this will be one of my tests.

Cheers

Thomas

 

[Mr.Radar]

WARNING about udial: Listen to it at low levels because you could damage your hearing otherwise. udial contains very high frequencies that you can't hear, but will damage your hearing if played too loudly.

 

[breez]

What frequencies they are? Because I swear I heard (or at least felt) them with my Chaintech (no resampling at any point). I think it was somewhat easier to detect it with resampling (foobar). It wasn't a mess like with Soundstorm + AC97 codec which probably does some bad resampling.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Radar WARNING about udial: Listen to it at low levels because you could damage your hearing otherwise. udial contains very high frequencies that you can't hear, but will damage your hearing if played too loudly.

I totally concur. That file is totally useless. Why anyone would risk harming their hearing to "discover" artifacts not audible with MUSIC (you know, the reason why we have headphones and this forum) is totally beyond me. The frequencies you are hearing is up around the 17-20 khz range toward the end of the file. It is more of a feeling (and not a good one if played loud). Bit perfect playback is a necessity if you want to pass DTS digitally to a reciever. I can understand tests for that, but use your ears to determine if upsampling is for you or not. Benchmarks do not mean squat, only your ears. If benchmarks were used as "The Audiophile's Gospel", there would be a lot less tube users.

Sorry for the rant, I just believe that music is qualitative not quantitative.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadtonowhere08 Sorry for the rant, I just believe that music is qualitative not quantitative.

I agree with you on that sentiment on most aspects of audio, but for most people it just makes sense to be able to verify that their computer is outputting a clean bitstream. Bits are bits. They're either transmitted right or they're not. There's nothing subjective. (I consider jitter to be a wholly separate issue to bit-perfect transmission, and indeed jitter is a subjective issue you need to use your ears for.)

"udial.wav" can be used safely. Play your favorite recent rock CD; virtually all are mastered with only 3dB of headroom these days. Adjust the volume to a comfortable level. Now play back "udial.wav". Just don't turn up the volume while you're doing it. The ultrasonic tones will be virtually no louder (within 3dB or so) than the CD you just played.

I personally prefer the DTS/DD playback test, but "udial.wav" is useful to people who don't have access to home theatre receivers.

 

[roadtonowhere08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy I agree with you on that sentiment on most aspects of audio, but for most people it just makes sense to be able to verify that their computer is outputting a clean bitstream. Bits are bits. They're either transmitted right or they're not. There's nothing subjective. (I consider jitter to be a wholly separate issue to bit-perfect transmission, and indeed jitter is a subjective issue you need to use your ears for.) "udial.wav" can be used safely. Play your favorite recent rock CD; virtually all are mastered with only 3dB of headroom these days. Adjust the volume to a comfortable level. Now play back "udial.wav". Just don't turn up the volume while you're doing it. The ultrasonic tones will be virtually no louder (within 3dB or so) than the CD you just played. I personally prefer the DTS/DD playback test, but "udial.wav" is useful to people who don't have access to home theatre receivers.

3db of headroom is a damn shame. I own mostly CD's from the last 20 years, but some of the older ones (early 90's) have so much more dynamics and CLEAN bass, it's not even funny. Almost all of my newer CD's sound like rice crispies when they are at or near clipping. I really want to meet these mixers and make them listen to the garbage they put out these days. Songs I love are having their mixing (or butchering) brought to the surface more apparently with my 1212M. It's obviously not the fault of MY equipment, because older recordings sound magnitudes better with the 1212M. I just rediscovered Pearl Jam's "Ten" all over again. Granted, it's not the pinnacle of audio quality, but it sure as hell beats my Ozzy Re-Remasters released a DECADE later. If I were president, I would give every US citizen a decent rig and play them the garbage being put out. Everyone with two working ears and a mouth would be crying foul. Joe Shmoe's need to understand that amps are their friends, not compressed CD's that are monotonous and fatiguing.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadtonowhere08 3db of headroom is a damn shame. I own mostly CD's from the last 20 years, but some of the older ones (early 90's) have so much more dynamics and CLEAN bass, it's not even funny. Almost all of my newer CD's sound like rice crispies when they are at or near clipping.

Very well put! This is one of my pet peeves too. It's nuts. I have CDs that are completely unlistenable because they're mastered too hotly. The worst part is that there's no reason for it. Some claim that it's intended to make the albums radio-friendly, but radio stations use compressors and re-compress the audio anyway. I personally suspect that some mastering engineers are getting accustomed to the "crunchy" and "edgy" sound and have started intentionally creating it.

 

[Czilla9000]

Arg....I downloaded the file and its an APE.

I cannot locate the DTS wav.


If I understand it correctly I can burn the DTS wav to a CD? Can I use iTunes? I am a Mac user.

I want to test my Philips 763SA SACD player with my stax system. The philips has built in DTS decoding. Will the downconverting to 2 channels hurt it?

 

[Wodgy]

You can burn any of these files to CDs, but sometimes component CD/DVD players have a "DTS enable" flag that must be set in the configuration menu before they'll play back these kind of files.

Nevertheless, why bother? These files are basically only useful for verifying that all the various software and hardware options are set properly in your computer so that it acts as an accurate transport. Component CD/DVD players should all just work.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy "udial.wav" can be used safely. I personally prefer the DTS/DD playback test, but "udial.wav" is useful to people who don't have access to home theatre receivers.

I might as well add a warning to the DTS/DD playback test also. If it fails, you will hear this aweful white noise. Best you reduce your volume there just in case.

 

[itim100]

uh, how does the DTS/DD test work? I'm hoping i can recreate it without dlding the humongous files (dial up user).

 

[thomaspf]

If you are interested in any of these titles

http://www.dtsentertainment.com/music-featured.php

you can also simply go to a record store with a larger collection or order these DTS encoded Audio CDs online. To your PC or CD player their content looks just like an ordinary audio CD. If you play them via analog output you will get ear numbing static. But if you play them over a digital output connected to a DTS decoder and the bits are intact you will get 5.1 sound.

Cheers

Thomas