Wyred 4 Sound Recovery Review

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Vintage Pete

Hey Dan....just a quick question. Do you keep your Recovery in an "always on" state (its mini power supply constantly energized) or do you have it set up to power on with the rest of your gear when the system is turned on?

Pete.......The Recovery is powered with the PS Audio Dectet which is powered by the PurePower 2000 AC regenerator. The Recovery is energized all the time. It draws milliamps so I am unconcerned about its power consumption.

[Masterlu]

On my Grandioso Stack, mine is also energized all the time. In my other systems, I had switched outlets which only turn on with the system so I took advantage of those for the iPower.

[djwhog]

Same here, just got mine today and is connected through a non-switched PPP port so it is powered on 24x7.

In break in mode, will post quick 1st impression review later tonight

[djwhog]

All was fine before the RUR and then.....


UGG well connected RUR and no go at 1st

Looked in device manager and it sees it as a USB 2.0 hub and both lights are on, on the RUR and the power cord light of course is on too. Plugging and out you see device manager in windows 7 PRO 64 sees the device.

Next step I looked to make sure it was loading the Esoteric driver in device manger when plugged into the RUR, that was a go too!

I am running JRiver 20.xxx, anyway long story short, I was using a Waspi Esoteric driver connection in Jriver and the USB indicator on the KO3 was just flashing on the K03 disply with no connection.

I went into options and devices selected MORE and choose the asycn direct streaming Esoteric SPDIF driver.. WALA!

So Dan and others can you chime in, were you using the waspi driver or async direct stream drivers?

PS Side note, once it is working you can go back into Jriver and switch back to waspi, however, if you open the mixer in windows it is really using the direct stream driver settings but all still works, but it took direct stream to make it talk.

I disconnected and broke it deliberately for myself 3 times to prove it, and each time I had to go back to direct stream to make it talk to the K03, and then you can turn waspi if you like inside of Jriver, however as i mentioned above, it is still using the direct stream driver.


NOTE Direct stream had to be used back in the XP days, but in win7, 8.x 10 etc they both work. And in 7, 8 and 10 both drivers however do allow for direct hardware read writes, so as I understand it and I do not think in 7, 8 or 10 one may be better than the other, which was not the case in xp. I was also preferring waspi pre RUR.

I will post some mixer driver pictures from windows and jriver advanced settings as well.

Some of you may be able to offer some insight on those adjustment settings to. I did note that when running waspi you can go to Jriver>Options>device and you will see automatic for volume is the default setting and there are buffer settings etc too.

Also maybe someone else can chime in on waspi Vs Direct stream too
When you run direct stream the settings are not the same, I will post pics to describe the details,

thanks folks!

[ajdo]

Originally Posted by John Jordan

I am curious as to the degree of improvement of standard 16/44.1 ripped CD's to a Mac using ITunes AIFF opposed to an HD download at a higher "resolution." Thanks!

From Dan: "With the Recovery in the USB signal path even a 16Bit/44KHz recording sounds elevated and more analog when compared directly to USB playback without the Recovery"

John: , I'm glad to have read Dan's findings. I'm currently working on building a High-Res music library but for now my 35000+ music library is essentially MP3 and CD quality and I certainly "did" hear a difference in my sound since I inserted the Remedy into my audio system. I even hear a difference listening to Spotify via USB with Remedy into my DAC. To make sure I was not imagining new sounds I tested my MP3/CD music library with my new W4SDSDse DAC-2 and McIntosh D100 with and without Remedy and the sound improvement was there.
To be frank and upfront, I'm still not sure if I believe in "cable sound" differences yet, but I do believe every little thing helps, especially with the types of "better" audio system we all decide to purchase. Do I hear a significant difference adding the IFI Power 9 and WW Silver Starlight to Remedy, to tell you truth I don't know, but what I do know is less harmonics and less of other distortions going through my sound system has to improve sound somewhere down the path to my speakers. I think it would be a more drastic change if I remove every little improvement I added to my audio system... Just like every little tweeks that is done to a sports car to gain a few seconds or milliseconds during a race, remove the tweeks and you'll be at the end of the pack.
One thing is sure, I am even more happy with the sound of my Audio System since I added the Remedy and look forward to experiencing even better sound in the future...
So, do I hear a difference with Remedy and CD/MP3/Spotify sound ... Yes ! I also think the WW Cables and IFI Power 9 help squeeze every little drop of better sound before I decide to splurge for better amp, preamp and speakers. As Ivan explained when I started my "cable journey", no matter what I evolve to hardware wise, I will always keep the cables - or upgrade them
AJ

[jdandy]

Dave.......I am using the Esoteric USB WASAPI driver.

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Dave.......I am using the Esoteric USB WASAPI driver.

Correction - I am not using the WASAPI driver. JRiver is using the Esoteric ASIO driver.

Connected the Recovery inline and pressed play. Win 7 PC, running JRMC 21, USB to DAC

[djwhog]

Yep working for me too now is the Waspi SPDIF audio driver settings ( this is my preferred choice )

I don’t have a ASIO driver Not sure it this is a Esoteric, windows 7 Vs windows 10 and or a Toshiba issue? I suspect Esoteric. but ASIO would be a step better if we had that driver option.

It is strange, once I went to direct stream, then back to waspi, it is working perfect, but out of the box it would not hand shake, I would guess even thogh device manager looked fine, there was some sort or IRQ / memory conflict and it most likely was a laptop issue with something stuck in memory.

Note it is a very new upper end unit running a core i7, dedicated nVidia video, 2 1 Tb SSD drives, 16 gigs ram etc.


OK attached PDF of Jriver, driver types, options etc and the promised a few page back windows driver settings.

I think there is some good info here on SPDIF

[djwhog]

Ok I posted this info too a long time ago in a jriver thread, but I think it is WAY relevant here on the RUR, in fact i think something in the hardware design of the RUR helps to smooth out the USB DAC communication and hand shaking processes for windows based PCs.

Note you can increase values on Waspi to help with shutter, jitter, drop outs etc. But in the newer versions you have event style, if checked it is disabled, you want it unchecked and from there you can increase if needed. Note in the screen shot attachment I showed it checked, that was from an older laptop i used to use

Some detail about.
WASAPI

WASAPI is Microsoft's most modern method for talking with sound devices. WASAPI stands for Windows Audio Session API. It is available in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and newer. It allows delivering an unmodified bitstream to a sound device.

WASAPI support was first added to Media Center 13. Media Center 15 added event style WASAPI support.
For XP, ASIO is similar.

An Interact thread on the original creation of WASAPI can be found here: WASAPI output in Vista and above
WASAPI Modes

There are two main ways to communicate using WASAPI. Both deliver the same audio data and will sound the same. One may work better with specific hardware.

Terminology Changes IN 18.0.183 and Above
WASAPI is now just WASAPI. In the options (next item below the selection) you can check "Disable event style..." to get the output mode previously called "WASAPI", used mainly with older hardware. In other words, WASAPI now defaults to Event Style.

Versions prior to 18.0.183
WASAPI output mode pushes data from Media Center to the sound device. It works with nearly all hardware.

WASAPI Event Style lets a sound device pull data from Media Center. This method is not supported by all hardware, but is recommended when supported.
This has several advantages:

• It lets the audio subsystem pull data (when events are set) instead of pushing data to the system. This allows lower latency buffer sizes, and removes an unreliable Microsoft layer documented below.

• It creates, uses, and destroys all WASAPI interfaces from a single thread.

• The hardware (or WASAPI interface) never sees any pause or flush calls. Instead, on pause or flush, silence is delivered in the pull loop. This removes the need for hacks for cards that circle their buffers on pause, flush, etc. (ATI HDMI, etc.).

• It allows for a more direct data path to the driver / hardware.

• The main 'pull loop' uses a lock-free circle buffer (a system that J. River built for ASIO), so that fullfilling a pull request is as fast as possible.

Problems

Stuttering
Some devices (most commonly USB DAC's) will start stuttering during playback when using WASAPI. This is due to a bug in Microsoft's WASAPI system itself, or in the stock Microsoft driver, where the circling buffers get out of order. Stopping and restarting playback is required to reset the stuttering.

Using WASAPI - Event Style will fix this problem. (WASAPI in 18.0.183 or above)
There are more details here: Playback Stutter:Recorded Example

Hiccups using WASAPI - Event Style
The default buffering value for WASAPI is 100ms. With some hardware, and especially USB DAC's, a larger value is necessary. If you hear hiccups, select a larger value for buffering in Options > Audio > Output mode settings...

Playback won't start or playback stalls
Some hardware is very demanding about buffer sizes. You may need to experiment with different buffering values using Options > Audio > Output mode settings...

[djwhog]

MY 1st impressions after a lot ot tweaking and going with and without for 4 hours in running time, and with the factory power supply, the ifi power will be here next week.

I would say it seems to have overall better imaging, depth, and dynamics are better and it seems a tad crisper FROM 20Hz TO 20KHz in terms of accuracy (not brighter).

I measured the SPL and with or without the RUR, SPL is the same on my rig, so it is not better do to increased volume output perception. No trickery detected...


I have a few cuts of music on SACD and 96K flac, one could say maybe the SACD was done better than the flac 96k files I tested

There are 96k and 192k flacs from the same so called masters I like better than a few SACD, most cases the SACD is I would say better though than a flac when you can get it from the same so called master remix etc..


Well HELL this RUR despite all my skepticism has closed the GAP! .
Can I saw how much, well it is noticeable for sure and most of the same tracks are near SACD levels. I really think the main thing I am hearing is all over they are more clear, yes blacker blacks so to speaker, quieter and yet a tad more dynamics...

Using WW Platinum cables and a K03 let the 100+ hours begin.. OK All of you guys thanks! It has made the dac/usb/xlr path near as perfect as the sacd/xlr path.

Nice to get a bump at this level for a minimal investment. I have spent a heck of a lot more for less gain.

Some material I used.
Rattle that Lock 96k, Wish you were here 96k /sacd, Endless River 96k, On an Island 96k / sacd, and a few tracks from 192k To the Sun and the City, and 96k /sacd from Diana Krall Look of Love are my sources so far.

I am Saving Lee Ritenour and Clint Mansell for after more time has past

I go and will do more detail per tracks later, but I want to give it some time to break in.

PS Wife is out of town for 6 days! My 601s and JL F212 are smiling , power company is going to be happy too..