Optimising a Windows computer for audio playback.

[MartinT]

There is a big effect in action here and one that is ignored by the 'digital is digital' proponents who believe that, because the data doesn't change, no change in sound can occur. I'm afraid they are completely missing the point, due to narrow thinking.

What happens in a complex digital/analogue system is that everything digital can have an influence on everything analogue by virtue of the power supply rails and RFI/EMI. The harder the DAC works with jitter, the harder the hard disk works with vibrations, the more hash ends up on the power supply rails. Therefore, a hard disk or DAC experiencing outside influences like vibrations or jitter can put more correction-based noise on the rails. In fact, the best thing you can do for a spinning hard disk is to enable the silencing (acoustic) feature so that a lower acceleration is applied to the heads which puts fewer spikes on the power rails. Remember that all signals are derived from modulating the power rails. What you don't want is for them to be modulated by the wrong things.

Tim is right and I would have thought by now that members would know that EVERYTHING in an audio component has an effect on the final result, and that includes computer and streaming solutions.

[Krisbee]

That's beautiful Chris and I have some of her other arias playing right now - thanks

"As With Rosy Steps The Morn .." is regarded by many as one of Handel's finest English language arias. I've not heard a better performance than that of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. She departed this world in 2006 aged just 52 and is greatly missed. We are lucky that Harry Bickett had the foresight to take her into the studio in a reprise of her role as Irene in Handel's Theodora. LHL had been sensational in Peter Seller's 1996 Glyndebourne production. I don't care for the modern staging, but the music is something else. It ends in a bitter sweet love duet as the characters Didymus and Theodora face death together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O0yGpBiPdI

I won't burden you with a long list of my favourite mezzo-sopranos and sopranos but they include Sarah Connolly, Alice coote, Carolyn Sampson, Rosemary Joshua, Lucy Crowe and Emma Kirkby. Long live wailing females.

[StanleyB]

Let me give you an example so that people who don't know about computers could understand:

You have a page in a forum. Let's call this forum "The Art of Sound" and the page "Optimising-a-Windows-computer-for-audio-playback".
The forum is hosted on a server in the UK in Scotland - Glasgow by Iomart Group Plc. The page is stored on a hard disk on one of their servers.
My computer is in south France, Montpellier.

There is a major flaw in the example that is critical in the case of an audio signal. The time it takes for the page to load is not critical. So if the HTML code loads first, followed by any pictures a few seconds later, it does not affect the final displayed page and no errors will be visible.
In audio however, time is critical. Each audio bit has to be in time and in place, otherwise drop out errors will be audible. Preventing or cutting down on obstacles that can combat drop outs is part of the exercise in this thread.

[Themis]

There is a major flaw in the example that is critical in the case of an audio signal. The time it takes for the page to load is not critical. So if the HTML code loads first, followed by any pictures a few seconds later, it does not affect the final displayed page and no errors will be visible.
In audio however, time is critical. Each audio bit has to be in time and in place, otherwise drop out errors will be audible. Preventing or cutting down on obstacles that can combat drop outs is part of the exercise in this thread.

Stan, the way you put it, is as if the HTML page and all its components (pictures etc) were transmitted as individual mono-blocks.
But it doesn't happen like this, unfortunately. The HTML page and all its components are transmitted, stored locally and processed on the low-level components as a series of individual bytes. The order of their arrival is as important as their values. Much like in audio. If one single byte is out of order (or "arrives out of time") or its value altered, the page cannot be possibly displayed correctly.

I see what you mean, of course, but the components that use streaming protocols (without aknowledgment and error retry procedures) are only reserved for specific parts in audio. Hard disks don't use such protocols, for instance.

[StanleyB]

I see what you mean, of course, but the components that use streaming protocols (without aknowledgment and error retry procedures) are only reserved for specific parts in audio. Hard disks don't use such protocols, for instance.

Hard disks read the table of content, before gong away to fetch the various fragmented data. Defragmenting the data on an audio hard disk is hardly ever mentioned as one important consideration. I actually use O&O Defrag to keep my audio HD free from broken up music files.

[MartinT]

Defragmenting the data on an audio hard disk is hardly ever mentioned as one important consideration. I actually use O&O Defrag to keep my audio HD free from broken up music files.

Indeed, big head seeks create large spikes on the power rails. Defragmenting a rotating HD (not an SSD) is important on a music server.

[StanleyB]

That's one reason why I like the SB Touch/PC combination.
I found out a while ago that the SBT will execute a resend request to the PC if the data is not properly read or fetched the first time round. The SBT uses its own buffer to take up any slack so that no breaks are heard. But of course if there is a lot of data resending required then you'll hear a buffer delay eventually.
The data resend request was extreme when I used the same router to direct the SBT data as well as any other network communication. I have since then fitted a separate N router that is wired directly to the SBT. My laptop is N compliant so I can push out audio data at a far higher wireless network speed compared to before.

[WAD62]

Hard disks read the table of content, before gong away to fetch the various fragmented data. Defragmenting the data on an audio hard disk is hardly ever mentioned as one important consideration. I actually use O&O Defrag to keep my audio HD free from broken up music files.

If the HD in question is only used to store music files, in a non volatile state, i.e. one's only ever adding new files, and the disk has sufficient overhead of contiguous free space, and is less than 70% full, one should rarely get any fragmentation IMHO

But as a general principle file fragmentation is indeed your enemy...

[NRG]

If the HD in question is only used to store music files, in a non volatile state, i.e. one's only ever adding new files, and the disk has sufficient overhead of contiguous free space, and is less than 70% full, one should rarely get any fragmentation IMHO

But as a general principle file fragmentation is indeed your enemy...

Yes, just checked my NTFS formatted drive and theres virtually no fragmentation. Keep your audio files on a separate drive and try to only add files. Of course you could go to Linux and ext4 or Mac OSX HFS+ which are both more resilient to fragmentation

[tannoydmt]

Well I downloaded the CAD Windows 8 Opimization script and ran it and it certainly disables a lot of services including my firewire connected TC Electronics 48 soundcard so couldn't playback any music, so glad I did a system restore point before running the script so I could return all my normal settings.