I finally had time to implement and listen to Toolbox 2. First I like to thank soundcheck for making it so easy for us to test this for us self. Before I post my impression I should point out that I'm member of the camp that do believe buffer size is something that are dimensioned to aether work or not work. I might still be but I'm surely converted to also believe buffer size can be adjusted for tonal preference.
My setup: SB 7.5.3 on a Windows XP SP3 1GB memory and media WAV files on USB hard drives. Setup on server as Soundchecks recommendation but I still have cross fade activated on the Touch. Stock Touch -> S/PDIF coax Belden 1694A from BJC -> Audio-gd DAC-19DSPv5 (stock DSP setup) -> Audio-gd ACSS 3' stock cable -> Audio-gd C-2 -> Audez'e LCD-2 with stock cable. Day one: After 'ttinit' and reboot sound is now more laybacked and relaxed. Not so edgy as it was stock. I did't listen very long but 'is it dull?' popped into mind. I decided not to dwell at this stage as I was chasing the WLAN parameter that was my initial goal with this mod. As far I can see 'ttinit' will disable 'plughw' and change several schedule parameters in the kernel at boot. Therefore some changes in SQ we should expect I guess. I wish soundcheck would document this better and not send users to read all the flame wars these discussions have made through the years. I activated all mod except Screen and Alsa buffer with only digital out active. Sound is very detailed and relaxed. I let i stay there for several hours to climate before I would tune the Alsa buffer. 'ttbuffer 4000' wait for reboot - WOW what happend? There is way more tremble here. Are there more details also? 'ttbuffer 20000' wait for reboot - Yes, it is true. The smaller buffer had way more treble present. On purpose I find a CD I hate the sound on to listen for details. Find a part where we can here the air pressure true the saxophone. 'ttbuffer 3600' and listen over same part again. Yepp, the air sound is more present with more details. But is it artificial? Day two: Buffer is stable at 3600 (*) and I have now done several A/B test between stock size and the small buffer. I've still not decided if the added details is authentic or if it's more like a EQ effect (treble turned up). Sound is good with both settings but there is a big difference and for someone who is chasing brighter sound (I'm not) I would recommend to give this mod a go. I'm still not sure what I like best and I should tell you a short story as to why. Many years back there was a big hype on the net where DIY interconnects should be done without screen. This supposedly added more air to the sound. And it truly did when I had twinned my silver layered copper wire with teflon insulation. The sound difference I now hear with the small buffer is very similar. When I replaced my DIY cable a year later with a industry specked coax cable with screen I was stunned as to how relaxed and balanced my stereo sounded. After that experience I always go several rounds with my mods, and never ever trust my ears and brain at first impression. When typing this short review I'm listening to Jan Garbarek - I Took Up the Runes from 1990. This album is very percussive and well recored. With stock buffer size this album sound balanced and relaxed. Buffer size at 3600 give cymbals an more edgy sound that is fatigue on my system after a few tracks. These are my initial impression and I've not landed yet so don't put word in my month saying I dind't like the toolbox's alsa mod course I actually do. It is nice to have this option to tune the sound. Last a small tip to Windows user for easy SSH connection to your Touch. Create a new shortcut to Putty with this command string. "C:\Program Files (x86)\putty\PUTTY.EXE" -ssh -pw 1234 root@192.168.1.161 Adjust program path, password and IP address to fit your setup (*) I tested this with the server under heavy load just to see if the network buffer would hold up. PS: My '/etc/motd' file now display this screen when I log into the Touch: __________________________________________________________________ soundcheck's SB Touch Toolbox 2.0 __________________________________________________________________ Commands: ttstat | Current system status ttbuffer 4000 | Adjust buffer between 3600us and 20000us (default) ttscreen | Disable the screen on the fly ttout | -d (digital) -a (analog) -u (usb) -n (normal/all) tt -w | Toggle wlan on/off tt -s | Disable the screen permanent tt -m | Store your mods - once you're finished tt -d | Disable all mods tt -e | Enable all mods again __________________________________________________________________ -- zzzap ------------------------------------------------------------------------ zzzap's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=31947 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84742 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
