I listen to a lot of 192 files (I purchase that whenever available) and have not noticed any sputtering or any other issues (my Tera is a little over year old and does not have the larger buffer).
goodvibes
Headphoneus Supremus
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It's all speculation as I haven't heard anyone complain of blips either. The buffer does need to store twice as much capacity to time buffer 192 as well as 96. We don't know how the player handles buffer under-runs (obviously gracefully if it has any
) and perhaps he just prefers the sound with a larger buffer. Shouldn't make a sonic lick of difference but if you've ever played with buffer size in informative setups, you'll notice some minor change.
suicidal_orange
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I like the swimming pool analogy and it's true, the slow card will be unable to fill the buffer quickly enough for smooth playback unless you buffer most of the track before playing, but the Tera plays everything straight away so this is not the case here.
I thought the bigger buffer was to enable faster cards to work - perhaps these cards use a "block size" (hard drive speak, not sure accurate for flash stodage) that's bigger than the old Tera's buffer, so a bigger buffer was needed so the whole "block" could be read in at once?
If this is what happens when using the same card in an old and new Tera there would be no decrease in the number of reads as one block would still take the to play. This is assuming the firmware isn't complicated enough to read two blocks if they fit...
Would be interesting to get one of each in a room and see.
I thought the bigger buffer was to enable faster cards to work - perhaps these cards use a "block size" (hard drive speak, not sure accurate for flash stodage) that's bigger than the old Tera's buffer, so a bigger buffer was needed so the whole "block" could be read in at once?
If this is what happens when using the same card in an old and new Tera there would be no decrease in the number of reads as one block would still take the to play. This is assuming the firmware isn't complicated enough to read two blocks if they fit...
Would be interesting to get one of each in a room and see.
Nirmalanow
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Great to see some Tera discussion again on here. I have not been keeping up as I am shifting my focus to another hobby for now. Sadly, this means my Tera is up for sale again on here in case anyone is interested. It is still the best source I have ever owned.
Edit: It just sold, so a new Tera owner should be very happy soon.
Edit: It just sold, so a new Tera owner should be very happy soon.
HiFlight
Headphoneus Supremus
Below is a copy of the email I sent to Charles asking him what the increase in buffer size accomplishes:
Hi, Charles...
Hey Ron,,
There has been a lot of speculation on the Head-Fi Tera-Player appreciation thread on exactly what the larger buffer actually used for.
If you care to share with me the reason that you have made a change to the larger one, and don't mind me posting the reason, it will for once and all stop all the speculation.
the double buffer was implemented because some SDHC cards have slow access time, which caused an occasional underrun when playing 192kHz files.
The larger buffer has been implemented in a way that does not increase the Tera's track access time, so that quasi gapless is still maintained (remaining gap is a function of SDHC card access speed).
I am sure that your reason goes deeper than just extending the lifetime of the blue light! :>)
The timing of the blue LED is not affected by the buffer size. It blinks whenever a new FAT access is necessary. Tera stores the number of up to 128 consecutive clusters, so in case of zero fragmentation the blue LED will blink once every 128 clusters are accessed.
So the frequency of the blue LED is an indication of playback speed, cluster size of SDHC card formatting, and fragmentation of data.
Once again, I would like to thank you for your superb customer service in fixing my loose contacts and also doing the updates!
Always welcome,
Charles
Hi, Charles...
Hey Ron,,
There has been a lot of speculation on the Head-Fi Tera-Player appreciation thread on exactly what the larger buffer actually used for.
If you care to share with me the reason that you have made a change to the larger one, and don't mind me posting the reason, it will for once and all stop all the speculation.
the double buffer was implemented because some SDHC cards have slow access time, which caused an occasional underrun when playing 192kHz files.
The larger buffer has been implemented in a way that does not increase the Tera's track access time, so that quasi gapless is still maintained (remaining gap is a function of SDHC card access speed).
I am sure that your reason goes deeper than just extending the lifetime of the blue light! :>)
The timing of the blue LED is not affected by the buffer size. It blinks whenever a new FAT access is necessary. Tera stores the number of up to 128 consecutive clusters, so in case of zero fragmentation the blue LED will blink once every 128 clusters are accessed.
So the frequency of the blue LED is an indication of playback speed, cluster size of SDHC card formatting, and fragmentation of data.
Once again, I would like to thank you for your superb customer service in fixing my loose contacts and also doing the updates!
Always welcome,
Charles
burtomr
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
Below is a copy of the email I sent to Charles asking him what the increase in buffer size accomplishes:
Hey Ron,,
There has been a lot of speculation on the Head-Fi Tera-Player appreciation thread on exactly what the larger buffer actually used for.
If you care to share with me the reason that you have made a change to the larger one, and don't mind me posting the reason, it will for once and all stop all the speculation.
"the double buffer was implemented because some SDHC cards have slow access time, which caused an occasional underrun when playing 192kHz files."
..........
Charles
Well, sounds like I won the 'What was Charles thinking' award......
goodvibes
Headphoneus Supremus
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It's not the cards which are all plenty fast enough for 192 but the overall interface with them. It's great that he addressed a seemingly marginal issue instead of ignoring or deflecting.
suicidal_orange
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How bizarre, I thought the whole point of flash storage was fast access times. Good work Charles!
Mimouille
Headphoneus Supremus
It's you Kiats? Now you should try with 1plus2...or even better, with SE5. Best pairing ever IMO.& A big thank you to you for that!
Indeed it is, Mike. Thanks to the patience and kindness of Daniel & the kindness of Charles.
Definitely! I just got a burnt in 1p2 and am jn the process of burning in the Ref 1. The heavens are aligned. I'll let you know my thoughts once I get my grubby hands on the Tera.
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Considering a move into ciem and the SE5 looks interesting. Can you give a bit more info on the sonic match Tera/SE5.
Synergy?
Review by AstalStorm says:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/spiral-ear-se-5-way-reference/reviews/6931
"Important caveat: many amplifiers and sources (even many dedicated headphone amps) cannot drive SE-5 correctly - very low output impedance is required."
Cheers.
Please all add here all the full size headphones closed or open that work great with the Tera.
Or you can PM the list and I will add it to the first post so everyone will have as much info as possible about Tera Player and the phenomenal SQ.
Or you can PM the list and I will add it to the first post so everyone will have as much info as possible about Tera Player and the phenomenal SQ.
Mimouille
Headphoneus Supremus
Astral Storm was the most full of crap person on the subject. He disliked the SE5 strongly after saying it was the best. Only three people tried this combo to my knowledge. Spkrs01, Lee730 and me. To me it is a refined and natural combo. It will be a bit intimate in terms of stage and not as extended in the highs as with 901 or AK240, but still well detailed.
This thread is very helpful for new owners. Can I ask a question in respect of combos that doesn't seem to have been explored thus far: what is the synergy of the Tera Player with Final Audio Design iems? Any experience would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Can I ask a question in respect of combos that doesn't seem to have been explored thus far: what is the synergy of the Tera Player with Final Audio Design iems? Any experience would be much appreciated.Thanks!
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