[kunalraiker]

Quote:

On my 7 x64 laptop hiFace through WASAPI on foobar2000 has problems with seeking within a song (buffer flush/refill problem?).

thanks for clearing that out, would you recommend hi-face in an audio gd setup,if yes then what are the changes you noticed in the sound  that would vouch the hiface price.

 

[upstateguy]

 
Quote:

I noticed an improvement with Win7x64 over XP with all my soundcards/usb's.  Even with Xp bitperfect.   There was an article on how the Win7 designers changed the way audio is handled.   Since the XP was verified bitperfect I really think that there were micro-second dropouts occuring that weren't distinctly heard but never the less degraded the SQ.
 

 

 
I did too, with 7x32.  Used WASAPI and was surprised that it sounded better than bitperfect XP.  The difference was not dramatic but it was noticeable....  better than XP > foobar > ASIO4ALL > the rest of my system.
 
USG
 

 

[FauDrei]

Quote:

thanks for clearing that out, would you recommend hi-face in an audio gd setup,if yes then what are the changes you noticed in the sound  that would vouch the hiface price.

If your music library is computer based - yes, I would recommend hiFace. Not only with A-GD gear, but with majority of nowadays DACs, even the ones with USB input.
 
Changes? You mean why do I reckon hiFace is better than any other interface I've tried for playback from my computers? This is pretty much already answered in thread you are reading right now, and also in another thread where various USB to SPDIF converters are compared.

 

[regal]

I noticed a big improvement,  but I think my XP was worm/virus infected it would skip a lot even with a quadcore &4GB Ram.  Win 7x64 is a great OS for computer transports.   I wish my laptop had enough memory to upgrade to Win7,   make sure you check the minimum system requirements.   And if you want some info on how to try Win7 shoot me a PM.
 
 
Quote:

Does the SQ bump was that huge for you also? Or minimal?
I'm sticking with XP at the moment with HiFace and KS, so if the SQ improvement is big I'm tempted.
 

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by regal /img/forum/go_quote.gif  
 
And if you want some info on how to try Win7 shoot me a PM.
 

1.  Download one of the old RC ISOs
2.  Set your BIOS clock to 2009
3.  Install
4.  ???
5.  PROFIT.

 

[stocklaz]

Spent a hour to test HiFace on my Win7 64bit tonight. Using Foobar 2000 with plugin.
 
Both KS and WASAPI work without any problem. Not sure if it is true but I "feel" KS sound a very little bit better that WASAPI, but that is a feeling only.
 
However using the DS in foobar resulted the same problem in last night: after 4-5 songs the skipping occur.  It seems that the driver still cannot solve all the problem.

 

[Pacha]

Ok thanks, so the improvement is here. Thank you very much for your proposal. I have a quad at 3.2GHz with 4GB or RAM (only 3GB recognized under XP 32 as it is 32 bits). Indeed I had several professional occasions to try 7 32 and 64 on different computers but never on mine with my audio setup though. I have both genuine version of 7 32 and 64 bits with volume licence keys for each before its public release so I could install it whenever I want to but I wasn't very pleased by 7 even though I find it better than Vista and quite fast running with better ergonomics, but SQ improvement may carry enough weight so that I upgrade.
 
 
Quote:

I noticed a big improvement,  but I think my XP was worm/virus infected it would skip a lot even with a quadcore &4GB Ram.  Win 7x64 is a great OS for computer transports.   I wish my laptop had enough memory to upgrade to Win7,   make sure you check the minimum system requirements.   And if you want some info on how to try Win7 shoot me a PM.
 
 

 

 

[FauDrei]

Quote:

However using the DS in foobar resulted the same problem in last night: after 4-5 songs the skipping occur.  It seems that the driver still cannot solve all the problem.

A couple of things to try in foobar2000 in attempt to solve skipping with DS:

1. Preferences -> Playback -> Output: increase Buffer Length to 2000ms (or more if it helps).
2. Preferences -> Advanced -> Playback: increase Full file buffering up to (kb) so that in majority of cases buffers the whole song in RAM (f.e. 32000 Kb).
3. Preferences -> Advanced -> Playback: increase Thread priority (1-7) to f.e. 6.

 
If any of those can not help, try raising priority of foobar2000.exe from Normal to Above Normal in Task Manager.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Does the SQ bump was that huge for you also? Or minimal?
I'm sticking with XP at the moment with HiFace and KS, so if the SQ improvement is big I'm tempted.
 

It was minimal, but noticeable. 
 
While I was setting up my wife's new laptop ( 7x32) I downloaded foobar etc. and plugged in the USB I used for my laptop.  Since it was just a computer swap, with all the same equipment, I didn't expect to hear any differences.  That didn't seem to be the case.  Over a number of days, the WASAPI - Win 7 laptop sounded better than my XP ASIO4ALL laptop.  Now I'm back to my laptop and what I remember was that WASAPI sounded Sharper, clearer..... better.  Placebo?  Maybe.
 
The rest of the chain went like this:  laptop > Blue Circle Thingee > North Star MKII > GS-1 > 650s/'03 880s.
 
USG

 

[Pacha]

Thank you for your direct comparison thoughts. I'm still a little reluctant to go with 7 right now, I'll see in the near future anyway.

 

[Zorlac]

I just ordered one of these. I plan to use Foobar and WASAPI for music w/Windows 7 x64, but I do play games too. Has anyone used this transport to play games? What are your thoughts on gaming sound quality? I figure since Creative Labs EAX is dead and even OpenAL is not getting much hype anymore...things should be okay. Seems like most gaming studios are using software based sound engines now.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

I just ordered one of these. I plan to use Foobar and WASAPI for music w/Windows 7 x64, but I do play games too. Has anyone used this transport to play games? What are your thoughts on gaming sound quality? I figure since Creative Labs EAX is dead and even OpenAL is not getting much hype anymore...things should be okay. Seems like most gaming studios are using software based sound engines now.

Where did you order from Zorlac? ''
 
USG

 

[Rudivanb]

Thank you all so much for recommending the hiFace. Even tracks that I have heard ad nauseam fascinated me, the hiFace brought the SQ with my Havana DAC to a whole new level. Marco from M2Tech gave the advice to use a USB hub that takes its power from an external power supply unit, which even to my not so golden ears sounds cleaner then plugging the hiFace directly in the usb port of the computer. So connection is now USB port -> short USB cable -> USB hub (ext. powered) -> hiFace -> BNC male/male adapter -> DAC. Luckily I have had no problems with my Win7x64 and Wasapi.

Have some of you compared above set up to a connection like: USB port -> USB male/male adapter -> ext. powered USB hub -> hiFace -> BNC coax cable -> DAC? Or maybe you have your hiFace ext. powered even without using a hub? In a few days a friend will lend me his Oyaide DB-510 coax cable, so I hope to test this way of connecting as well. Unfortunately I have no high quality USB cable, am I going to compare apples and pears? What do you think will be a better investment: a good USB cable or a good coax cable?

 

[SoFGR]

high quality USB cable ?  hell no,  a good coax cable  will make all the difference  imho
 
Btw I'm not sure if i understand what marco said about  "   a USB hub that takes its power from an external power supply unit " did he  mean something like  that -> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB-2-0-Hub-CARD-READER-UK-Power-Supply-/280471128854?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_LaptopAccess_RL&hash=item414d61cb16#ht_1720wt_991  or something a bit more sophisticated ?
 
edit : here's another one for the folks  with EU plugs  instead of UK ones http://global.ebay.com/USB_Hub_Digitus_4_Port/380077028312/item   
 
edit 2 : what do you  guys know about this  power surge ? http://www.audio-soul.gr/vovoxt4.html  I thinking of  buying one for the  digitus hub + 19mk3 + C2C 

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

high quality USB cable ?  hell no,  a good coax cable  will make all the difference  imho
 
Btw I'm not sure if i understand what marco said about  "   a USB hub that takes its power from an external power supply unit " did he  mean something like  that -> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB-2-0-Hub-CARD-READER-UK-Power-Supply-/280471128854?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_LaptopAccess_RL&hash=item414d61cb16#ht_1720wt_991  or something a bit more sophisticated ?    
 

I believe Marco meant exactly that - get your power externally if possible , rather than use the 5V coming from the PC via the USB cable. The better this 5V power is the better will be your sound up to the point at which the Hiface on-board regulators are the determining factor holding back further improvement in the sound i.e these regulators produce their own noise so improving the power supply beyond this noise level will not gain you any sound improvement - the only thing you can then do for further improvements is to replace these regulators with something better. 
 
Nice find on the externally powered hub - I wonder how good it's PS is?