I’ve been helping to test and evaluate the latest version of PGGB, which is now called PGGB-AP. Details on this can be found here.
I’ve been blown away by how much using extra precision actually matters. The difference is clearly audible on some tracks - particularly live albums. “Insane precision” (P128) seemingly reduces the noise floor while at the same time removing a restraint that had been holding back transients. The next step above that is “Ridiculous precision” (P192). This takes a ridiculous amount of time to process so I’ve not listened to much of it but the one album I processed has that je ne sais quoi that one hears from the very best vinyl. It just sounds right.
I’m a drummer so the realistic reproduction of percussion and drums has always been my chief pursuit. Insane precision has brought about a reproduction of cymbals that is more realistic than I think I’ve heard from just about any system. It’s insane, actually.
My K30 has been impressing me even more throughout all this. That I can so clearly hear the effect of this speaks volumes about how great this box is in practice. All of my listening to these files has been through Squeeze/Squeeze with the files stored on the K30’s drive. That we can play up to 768K using Squeeze on Antipodes is a big effing deal in my humble opinion.
Thanks Kenny for the heads up. I only have 40gb ram on my mac so I tried an album at insane. This took 9 hours to process but it is an 1hr 44min epic by Moon Safari. The result was definitely worth the time and I will be using at least that level for new albums. Higher levels show a real cut the tap length. There is NO comparison to my mscaler now.
It is insane how much of a difference higher precision makes. It’s also insane how much was done to get around RAM limitations. I think the last two digits in the PGGB version are 42. There was a heck of a lot of testing that lead to many enhancements. Early on I couldn’t process anything at P192 even with 128 GB of RAM.
I recall that @antipodes said he doesn’t like upscaling because it harms the music. I think he might be surprised by what he hears with these tracks. The noise floor is lowered so this stuff should really shine on the Oladra (assuming he has a DAC that supports up to 16FS). Not all upscaling methods are the same.
Hi, naive question here: I am experimenting with PGGB using 352 kHz, 24 bit conversion. I cannot seem to be able to play the files in Squeeze+Squeeze mode on my EX (my DAC certainly accepts them, I can play in Roon). Any idea what I may be overlooking?