DPS 2.0 Testing (OSX)

[3rik]

xaqmusic,

I think that -for DAC users-, it would be nice to turn on the limiter on for all profiles 🙂

Eric

[Anonymous]

Been using the OS X beta for the past 2 weeks, and I think overall it’s great, loving the new UI, has a Windows Metro look and feel to it which I really like. It has come along way from the 1.0.7 version.

Been using it mainly on my iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009), and it runs great. No having to Re-sync audio buffers at all, no audio pops/cracks as was present in previous versions/older OS X versions. The “ask” plugin feature works fine for switching outputs, although one thing that just happened after using my headphones then unplugging and going back to my iMac built-in audio, was all the options under the menu bar icon are greyed out and I can’t click any, even to close the app. I can however open DPS back up if I search in spotlight but not everything works as expected, such as if I move the bass toggle up then click reset it doesn’t move back to the original position. Closing the app through activity monitor then re launching fixes it though.

The only other issue I came across is during installation. Having v1.0.7 installed, I uninstalled and installed v2.0 directly after, and had several issues. So I went back, did an uninstall, restarted, then re-installed and everything worked as expected, maybe that’s the way I was suppose to uninstall/install to begin with, not sure.

I’ll keep using it as new updates roll out, and inform of any other bugs/glitches/issues that I come across. Thanks for all the hard work and making such an awesome app! 🙂

[xaqmusic]

Based on your excellent feedback…

Version 2.0.0.11 is now available in Dropbox

2.0.0.11

• Fixed an issue with the Ask dialog where the app would stay in modal mode after dismissing the dialog.
• Fixed an issue with playing the sample audio files in the help window.
• Added the display of an info floater window while dragging in the EQ pads.
• Fixed the issue with the unnecessary appearance of the activation nag dialog.
• Removed the requirement to reboot after installing.
• Fixed the issue where the beta timeout was incorrectly invoked on certain systems.
• Volume boost is now turned off when DPS is turned off.
• The “preferences” url command now opens the app to the Settings tab.
• The EQ and stereo widening controls have limited functionality for the lite/free version.
• The beta timeout date is 6/1/2016 (June 1st, not January 6th).

We are testing a few items for functionality:

• Let us know if the remote control URLs are working.  Click Here for more info
• After installing this update, was audio and the DPSReflector working properly?  Newer versions of OSX should not require a reboot after installing the DPS reflector.  Please let us know if you find any issues.

[MtB]

change theme still makes click sound

output name changed to 81

still got insecure update thingie

check for update still not working

bass / treble only working in horizontal axis, cant change the freq. (I assume u guys already know it.) and yes ball is fixed thanks 😛

url’s seems working.

 

though, if dps can remember whether volume boost was on or off when turned off, then resume from that state, it can be less annoying. I can turn off dps menu bar, but in order to turn on the volume boost, need to go to the pref / settings…

so far so good guys, thanks 🙂

 

[hrvoje31]

Thanks for the great update. It is shaping up quite well.

I can confirm that beta timeout issue and Ask dialog box issues have been fixed. It switched to headphone mode and remembered it instantly. Good work!

One thing that took me by surprise was not being asked to reboot after install! 🙂 I thought my system was going nuts. I did it anyway because I thought it might have been bug until I saw this:

• Removed the requirement to reboot after installing.

This is on latest developer build (10.11.4).

Bongiovi DPS Remote Control controls (remote control URLs) work without issues here. I quickly tested it and it closed, opened, switched profiles… Using latest Chrome dev build.

Small delay when switching between the modes (plugging headphones in) but I assume that is normal.

The issues I can report are:

• Issue with log in window. “Application not responding” when presented with login window (registration). Still have to kill the process and application is registered nonetheless. It does not cause high CPU usage nor does it freeze the system. I assume this has to do with the update/registration system you are working on. Btw. this only happen when installing application for the first time. I do not get nags to register. I had 1.0.7 installed due to beta expiration issue
• Under Output for Built in Speakers and Desktop speakers, besides Built-in output option I get “62” (screenshot below)
• Volume Boost is disabled and does not stay on after qutting the application. So I have to check it every time when restarting computer/application.
• I tried changing themes and while I do not get “click” all the time, it has happened a couple of times, but it is barely noticeable.
• I do get thick border around “HOME, SETTINGS, MESSAGES, ABOUT” tabs when the application is active (screenshot below). But this could be display driver issue as well.
• Sparkle insecure update error upon application launch (I know this was explained)

Suggestions:

• Option to toggle spectrum on/off in main application window. For CPU’s sake I hope it is off while main application is not running. 🙂
• Monochromatic application icon. I am weird, but blue icon just sticks out among others. Prefer old behaviour black when active and grey when inactive.

Question regarding using shortcuts and application behaviour. I know that applications that run as processes and do not appear in Dock cannot be minimised, hidden… is this the case with DSP too? I do not know if I am asking this properly – common shortcuts CMD+H (hide), CMD+W (close) do not work. Only CTRL+Q (quit) and hitting big X button closes the window as CMD+W should do.

http://imgur.com/a/t5TcM

[3rik]

First of all, thanks for your work 🙂

Just installed 1.0.0.11

I have a new issue since freqs and gain are displayed for bass ans treble : can only move the vertical axis (for both bass and treble 🙁

As regards my Teac UD-501 DAC (plugged via USB), I STILL have distortion. Please turn the limiter on on at least one profile (mine is Paris speakers).

Thanks to care about DAC users 😉

Hope you’ll fix this in the next release 🙂

 

[xaqmusic]

3rik,

In preparation for the release of the BASIC version of DPS 2.0, the controls for EQ and Stereo are locked as you can see.   The PRO/FULL version will be available soon.  The FULL version will include all custom profiles and unlock the EQ.  The FULL version will be a paid upgrade unless you already own an activation for DPS 1.0.7.  All current users will receive the upgrade for free.

I checked into the Paris profile and the limiter is indeed turned on.   Can you check to be sure the Volume boost is turned off when you hear distortion?  It seems some users are seeing the Volume Boost get turned back on after reboot.  Let us know.

All,

The automatic updates are still not implemented in this build so you will see the Sparkle message.  This should be resolved next version (we are working on it as I type).

More responses to come soon…

[3rik]

Hello xaqmusic,

I’ve checked, the volume boost if off… I’m a bit sad because of this distortion. I’ve tried with my previous DAC (Cambridge Audio), the result is the same as regards distortion…

And I cannot try with other inputs, because there’s no optical output on iMacs 🙁

Eric

 

[xaqmusic]

3rik,

I’m sad too…this needs to be fixed!  Can you please tell me what music you are listening to when you hear distortion?   Also, is this with iTunes or some other player?  Are you using speakers or headphones?

I want to recreate this issue.  I will be testing with a M-Audio MBox as DAC.

[3rik]

xaqmusic,

I use Cantata 1.5.2, a Music Player Daemon player. I play all my FLAC library with replaygain album.

Just to be sure, I’ve played the song with VLC, and there is distortion too. I haven’t tried playing with iTunes because I do not want to use it.

I think that you’ll be able to reproduce the distortion with the VLC (I use the latest stable)

You can test with a song from Def Leppard : love (track number 4, from the” Songs for the sparkle lounge” album) : no need to wait, you can hear the distortion when the song starts.

Please let me know…

Eric

[xaqmusic]

3rik,

I had a thought.   Some DACs do not like to reproduce any audio that is 0dBFS.   They will create distortion even if the signal itself is not distorted.  Please test using the profiles in this Dropbox Link.

To install these profiles copy them into Mac HD/Library/Application Support/Bongiovi Acoustics/External.

These profiles turn the output down about 0.1dB.   If that does not work, please check your Audio/MIDI settings.  Take a look at the drivers for your DAC to be sure there is no boost (any value greater than 1.000) for the volume controls there.

Let me know what you find.  Thanks!

[3rik]

xaqmusic,

Thanks for your help ! I’ve copied the “new” Paris profiles, but the icons do not look like the others that are in /Library/Application Support/Bongiovi Acoustics/External : all the icons are black with “exec” written in green but the new Paris profiles that I copy there have a white icon. Dunno if it’s important, but the distortion is still here :'(

I’ve checked the audio settings, setting the volume down does not change anything.

Please let me know if the color of the icon is important (that is they should be black with “exec” written in green)…

The distortion disappears when I turn DPS off, but then it’s useless…

Regards,

Eric

[hrvoje31]

3rik,

I know your question was directed to xaqmusic. Because of time difference it might be a few more hours before you get a reply.

The reason icons are black with “exec” on them means that they are executable. If the profiles you copied are white means that they do not have proper file permissions and thus they cannot be executed. The easiest way to make them executable is to run chmod command in terminal.

So, copy profiles where instructed. Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app)

type in: chmod 755 /path_to_file/ and then press enter. You do not have to type in the path, simply type chmod 755, space, and drag and drop file(s) that you are changing permissions for. File should be executable and icon will be black with “exec” on it. Then try setting the new profile and see if you get errors.

Good luck!

[3rik]

Thanks for your help,

by using chmod I’ve made the new Paris profiles executable.

I’m sad to say that the issue is not solved :'(

Eric

[xaqmusic]

3rik,

Thanks for your patience as we sort this out!

I’ve done an in-depth analysis of the Def Leppard song and the effect of the Paris profile.  Using the MBox as a DAC I am not hearing any distortion that is not already present in the original recording.  However, it is possible the distortion you hear is related to some software/hardware issue.  Since I cannot reproduce that, I will address the distortion as I hear it.

Take a look at the audio in Adobe Audacity:

This is the original audio as it transitions from song 3 to song 4 of Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (I managed to find the flac version just to be sure).  There is a LOT of distortion all over this album though I don’t hold that against the engineers because that is used all the time for effect.  If you look very carefully at the right half of the image you can see clipping artifacts in the spectragram (that is the orange display below the green waveform).   You can see very faint vertical lines in the black area above the lower frequencies of the big power chord that starts the song.  Look at the area between 11:04 and 11:08 according to the timeline at the top of the image.

Here is the same passage with the Paris profile applied:

I am using Soundflower to record from VLC back into Audacity.  You can see the waveform is about 3dB lower due to headroom built into DPS Reflector so you can see there are no clipped samples due to DPS processing.   Take notice of the vertical lines in the power chord section.   They are much brighter!  Basically, the Paris profile is amplifying these very quiet elements and making them much more audible.  That translates (to my ears) as a crackle laid over the power chord.  Paris is a fairly aggressive profile that seeks to bring out all high frequency details for those speakers or headphones that need this kind of help.  Perhaps a less aggressive profile would be better for you to try?

And, to be super sure, I have added Paris -3dB profiles to Dropbox.   Give these a shot and let me know if these profiles have any effect on what you hear.

If the distortion you hear is more obvious that what I am describing, I will need to hear what you hear.  Distortion can have many different causes and I can usually pinpoint the cause if I have the opportunity to hear the issue.  You could even record the output from your DAC and some decent speakers with an iPhone and I should be able to discern the cause.  You can email an mp3 to xaqmusic@bmtdps.com or send me a dropbox link.

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