Fidelizer

[sidvee]

Has anybody tried this free software to optimize their music pc for music playback? Some discussions have been going on in other forums - both pro and con.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

I tried and it really works.....I installed the Professional mode and it made a huge difference in sound on my laptop......

Maybe the difference was huge because I connect my laptop directly to the amp with the Aux port.... the effect on clarity and detailing was very significant.......

But yes, it does make the laptop slower and although I am tempted to use the Audiophile mode, I do not want to risk making my laptop any slower....

But it definitely works....

 

[sidvee]

I tried and it really works.....I installed the Professional mode and it made a huge difference in sound on my laptop......

Maybe the difference was huge because I connect my laptop directly to the amp with the Aux port.... the effect on clarity and detailing was very significant.......

But yes, it does make the laptop slower and although I am tempted to use the Audiophile mode, I do not want to risk making my laptop any slower....

But it definitely works....

Thanks Panditji - few questions if you don't mind,
1. Do we have to turn on this program everytime the comp. is turned on?
2. Did it crash your computer at anytime?
3. If you use your comp. for other tasks, do you think this is interfering even when you turn it off - when you said your machine was slow?

Apologize if my questions seem elementary (I am newbie to this), and some people on other forums had some criticism and apprehension, specifically the way the program resides on the computer and makes registry changes etc - almost like a virus.

Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

Sid, even I am not aware of the technical aspects but it has slown down my computer....I think it makes the changes one time but I could be wrong...

1) I ended the program using the task manager yesterday....will need top connect it to my amp again to determine if there is any change to the sound thereby confirming if the program needs to be run again or the changes are made one time

2) No, the laptop did not crash .....
3) My internet became slow and so did the RAM as other programs like Outlook, Word, Excel took more time in opening than usual....

I will take me some more days to detemine how much of interference it makes and how slow the laptop is.....

But there is a huge change in the sound no doubt....

 

[panditji]

The change was so significant that it makes me want to compare a good configuration netbook installed with the software in Audiophile mode v/s an entry level DAC around the Rs. 30,000 mark ....... would be interesting to see the results....

 

[panditji]

As per the below discussion, you do have to manually start the program which is good as you switch it on only when listening to music through your amplifier......

AudiogoN Forums: Fidelizer


Anyone who uses a PC to listen to music needs to try this and hear the difference....

 

[sidvee]

Thanks Panditji,
I am a little apprehensive, but will back up my laptop and consider installing this. Since I am playing FLAC's, running Jriver MC on my fairly recent laptop - about 3 mos old - and running the USB to a m2tech Hiface Evo coax converter - some of the forums advice that I will not hear much of a difference, but I am tempted, never-the less and my laptop is dedicated to music playback, so really nothing to slow down. Will report back on this thread if any other users are interested.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[s_sachin]

Please report your findings sid. I am going to try this as well with direct analog out.

 

[sidvee]

Please report your findings sid. I am going to try this as well with direct analog out.

ok will do Sachin.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

I feel the difference with a DAC in the chain would not be much and would be more substantial if the sound is played directly from the laptop as the program optimizes the laptop/PC sound output...I don't think it makes any changes to the signal...

But I could be wrong....waiting for the results from your experience....

 

[sidvee]

In my setup, as I described I have a recent Sony laptop - 2 gig RAM running windows 7. It is feeding a m2tech hiface evo - usb to coax device - which is feeding the Ayon Cd2s coax input. I am using Jriver media center in a WASAPI event style mode. Further I have optimized my laptop per the attached.

Optimising your PC for audio on Windows 7 .: Focusrite Answerbase

So I will try to use Fidelizer to see if it can make any further improvement. Of-course the suggestion is to use the highest level - but I am concerned that I will crash my laptop, so will stick to audiophile mode.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[thevortex]

Sidvee - just came across this thread. Glad such things are being discussed here at HFV!

After having tried pretty much all of the options as far as audio players and optimizations available both in Windows and Linux, I remain impressed with only 3 options:

1) Standard foobar2000 with WASAPI and with ReClock configured

2) pkshan's foobar2000 mod version XA

3) Jie Extreme Player (JEP) - out of the world sound. Just do not ask me how the author does it.

Nor am I able to understand why it is that Chinese programmers seem to be at the forefront of all this .

Basically with Reclock installed and with pkShan's ReClock mods installed, you are basically in heaven.

From there, the differences - in a very resolving system - are minimal, but nevertheless present. Standard foobar2000 marking the bottom of the rung and JEP at the very top.

These do collectively leave CICS cPlay behind - which for some time now stays abandoned.

As for Fidelizer, I believe you do not need it with these optimizations. I did try this once before installing the ReClock and pkShan's mods for this. What I do remember is that the sound quality then was a far cry from what it is now.

Of course, take all this with a pinch of salt and feel free to hunt around and experiment. That is, after all, more than half the fun in this

PS - Links to all these resources are available directly through Google. Let me know if you run into some wall.

 

[longshanks]

I have been using Fidelizer for about a year i think,i use it on my pc which is connected to my headphone setup.

 

[panditji]

Longshanks, would be great to hear what you think about Fidelizer...Made a tremendous amount of difference to my PC sound....

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The internet is vast beyond our dreams, all powerful and ever present...

But, maybe it's because its late and I only looked at the first page of google, it doesn't seem to know what this thing does. In detail, that is, not just stuff like switching off services. Personally, I'd want documentation, even for the stuff I wouldn't understand, before I let anything free on my system. If it is going to change system services, I'd want to know which ones, please, and thank you very much, but keep your sticky fingers off my system until you tell me! EVen if the author doesn't want to, if there really is so much interest in the software, I'm surprised that someone hasn't analysed it.

And I don't trust anyone who wants to set my default home page to their site. It can keep its sticky fingers out of my browser settings too. Ha! It'll be installing a toolbar next!

ps... It's nice not using Windows anyway :lol:


PPS.. I am not questioning whether it works or not; just stating some of the things that made me feel very uncomfortable about it.


.

 

[sidvee]

In the audiophile mode I did not perceive an appreciable difference over my current configuration. My next step is to examine options on USB to coax converters. There are some discussions on this forum (suggestions of comparo. between m2tech and empricial audio) and in other forums on this device and many computer based users are convinced that better usb to coax devices really take the "computer as a transport" to the next level (No flames people - these are reports of real people who have gone through the expense and trouble of actually trying these devices - not theoretical conjecture why these should or should not work). Specific model suggested is the Berkeley Audio Design converter. I plan to have 1 or 2 of the devices in my system over the next few months and hear for myself against my m2tech evo (the BADA & Off ramp potentially).
cheers,
Sid

 

[thevortex]

The internet is vast beyond our dreams, all powerful and ever present...

But, maybe it's because its late and I only looked at the first page of google, it doesn't seem to know what this thing does. In detail, that is, not just stuff like switching off services. Personally, I'd want documentation, even for the stuff I wouldn't understand, before I let anything free on my system. If it is going to change system services, I'd want to know which ones, please, and thank you very much, but keep your sticky fingers off my system until you tell me! EVen if the author doesn't want to, if there really is so much interest in the software, I'm surprised that someone hasn't analysed it.

And I don't trust anyone who wants to set my default home page to their site. It can keep its sticky fingers out of my browser settings too. Ha! It'll be installing a toolbar next!

ps... It's nice not using Windows anyway :lol:


PPS.. I am not questioning whether it works or not; just stating some of the things that made me feel very uncomfortable about it.


.

And look at their website Thad. Makes me very uncomfortable. But I did give it a cursory try before uninstalling it.

End of the day, something like ReClock with WASAPI event mode makes System-wide sound improvements.

Lastly it is amazing how much you get today for free - as in beer .

Makes one wonder about the authenticity and value of stuff such as Amarra and JPlay among others.

JPlay's drivers (the one they give out for trial) caused numerous crashes in my system. Not a big fan of such software. Could have been my hardware, but I guess an ASUS sound card is passe' now in the Computer Audiophile world. And it should work.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

And look at their website Thad. Makes me very uncomfortable.

I did glance, and yes, there was a thing or two that caught my eye.

Lastly it is amazing how much you get today for free - as in beer .

Makes one wonder about the authenticity and value of stuff such as Amarra and JPlay among others.

Those of us who abandoned the Windows world have become all too familiar with getting stuff for free. We also tend to accept that lack of documentation (what does this really do, how and why?) is down to one or two people spending their time on coding and development ...but, hey, they give us their code, and if I can't speak C++ or Python, that's my fault, not theirs. There are some amazingly gifted and dedicated people trying to make Linux audio both better and easier, and whilst they are doing it for studio use, the rest of us are still welcome. Of course, not all Linux software is free, and nor do we expect it to be, but that, and the difference between the two cultures, is entirely another story!

many computer based users are convinced that better usb to coax devices really take the "computer as a transport" to the next level (No flames people - these are reports of real people who have gone through the expense and trouble of actually trying these devices - not theoretical conjecture why these should or should not work).

No argument on whether it works or not. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that some DACs have superior S/PDIF circuitry, and that USB circuitry in the DAC is very subject to the quality of the implementation. My theoretical conjecture, however, is that it is better, if going USB, to choose a DAC with a good USB circuit, or, if going S/PDIFF, to choose a good card with an S/PDIF output.

Which of us have never cobbled together connecting leads. used converters, adaptors etc, to achieve the required length or terminations? But wouldn't we all rather, even if the difference is only theoretical, use the right cable, end to end? I even get a twinge every time I have to screw the 1/4-inch jack converter onto my headphone plug!

But yes... to add to my "I don't use Windows," confession: I don't use USB or (at this time) S/PDIF audio either. I'm planning to give it a try sometime (my aim being a high-quality headphone amplifier which will will come with its own DAC) but have a lot of saving up to do first. So this is all theoretical conjecture

 

[gobble]

The internet is vast beyond our dreams, all powerful and ever present...

But, maybe it's because its late and I only looked at the first page of google, it doesn't seem to know what this thing does. In detail, that is, not just stuff like switching off services. Personally, I'd want documentation, even for the stuff I wouldn't understand, before I let anything free on my system. If it is going to change system services, I'd want to know which ones, please, and thank you very much, but keep your sticky fingers off my system until you tell me! EVen if the author doesn't want to, if there really is so much interest in the software, I'm surprised that someone hasn't analysed it.

PPS.. I am not questioning whether it works or not; just stating some of the things that made me feel very uncomfortable about it.

It is good to be paranoid. From the audiogon forum

For what it's worth a friend to a friend of mine, who is an avid audiophile himself, is a software programmer(as mentioned in my OP on this subject), and he's thoroughly tested Fidelizer to have a look at its "inner workings." From what I've been told nothing suspicious came of his conclusions that would warrant an alarming position with regard to the safety of using Fidelizer, and from all the posts I've read on people using Fidelizer none of them have expressed problems as in actually being confronted with problems from its use.

However people forget that trojans are activated on a signal at the appropriate time by a remote controller/handler. One might find nothing unusual about the behavior in normal times.

--G0bble

 

[sidvee]

!
My theoretical conjecture, however, is that it is better, if going USB, to choose a DAC with a good USB circuit, or, if going S/PDIFF, to choose a good card with an S/PDIF output.

Here is an excerpt on the BADA Alpha USB review from computer audiophile:
"There are a couple competing schools of thought when it comes to the best place for a USB interface. Just as in everyday life, there is no free lunch with either design approach. One school advocates for the USB interface to exist within the digital to analog converter. This allows the DAC chip to receive data using its native I2S protocol. In theory this design is capable of lower jitter if implemented without an intermediate conversion to S/PDIF before I2S. This USB implementation can also incorporate such methods as opto-isolators and grounding to isolate an internal USB interface from the sensitive DAC circuitry. The other school of thought insists USB interfaces must be completely separate from the chassis of the DAC. Physical separation allows for an otherwise unobtainable level of isolation between the noisy computing environment and the delicate digital audio environment. This isolation eliminates any direct electrical connection to the DAC's chassis and is required to reach the highest levels of USB audio performance according to proponents of the separate chassis design. In addition these proponents believe the benefits of a direct I2S data path are not worth the tradeoffs of reduced isolation and increased noise from a single chassis design. Needless to say Berkeley Audio Design believes strongly in separating the USB interface from the chassis of the DAC."

Given a choice, I personally would like to have the usb input as part of a single chassis in the DAC itself, but as you can see there is also a compelling argument for the opposing school of thought and I plan to test this out down the road.

Cheers,
Sid