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Announcing beta-test of PKHarmonic VST plugin

ra7

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Yes, the tip to use setup.exe worked. It is installed and showing up.

A little more about my story: I use the RME ADI-2 Pro as the DAC and the DIY F4 amplifier, which is a power buffer and has unity voltage gain. Initially, I was driving it with the RME, providing all the voltage gain and it sounded great. Then I built a DHT preamp to provide about 18 db of gain and the sound became astonishing. An extremely clear understanding of the music and the soundstage was vastly improved too. By traversing the curves of the triode and changing the operating points, you can dial in the proportion and level of different harmonics.

Different level and proportion of harmonics produced different sounds:
1. Just 2nd harmonic at about -60 db with no other harmonics produces a very sweet sound, almost too sweet. The soundstage becomes muddy. Adding a bit of third vastly improves things.
2. Second at -80db, 3rd and 4th below, but higher order also visible above the noise floor. This sounds nice, but gets edgy with complex symphonic pieces.
3. Monotonically reducing second (-70 to -80 db), third, and fourth with no other harmonics. This is simply the best sound. You can keep turning it louder and louder and it becomes bigger and bigger with no perceived distortion.
4. No harmonics above -100 db. With some tube samples, you get very little distortion. I found that once you get below a certain threshold of THD, about 0.01% with no offensive higher order harmonics, you cannot "hear" the piece of equipment. I thought it would be better, but found that it doesn't sound better (even with the DHT pre in there), which was a revelation to me. So, there is nothing magical about tubes; it is the gain device's curves and the harmonics it produces that gives it the sound.

Nelson Pass has been talking about this for a long time. And if you read old Hiraga articles, he mentions that amplifiers with a bit of second and third and low higher order harmonics tend to sound better, even if the THD is higher.

Now, none of these observations are made with double-blind tests. I simply don't have the time for it. But I can tell you that the Hypex amps are not going back in the system and DHT preamp is staying in. I am looking forward to testing out the PKHarmonic plugin. If I don't have to buy tubes from the 1920s and can get the effect in JRiver, then all the better.
 

maty

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Complex recording as orchestral music or electronic, sounds better in my system with PKHarmonic VSTplugin: -100, -110 and -120 dB

Portapapeles02.png



Nathan Milstein, Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra Of New York, Bruno Walter - Mendelssohn: Concerto In E Minor For Violin And Orchestra Op. 64 (1945), Vinyl, Columbia Masterworks 2018, Europe

cover.jpg


DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR14 -0.14 dB -18.62 dB 11:15 01-Concerto In E Minor For Violin And Orchestra Op. 64, Allegro Molto Appassionato
DR15 -1.86 dB -21.20 dB 7:08 02-Concerto In E Minor For Violin And Orchestra Op. 64, Andante
DR15 0.00 dB -20.05 dB 6:11 03-Concerto In E Minor For Violin And Orchestra Op. 64, Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 3
Official DR value: DR14
 

maty

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Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphony - Jean-Yves Thibaudet & Takashi Harada & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Riccardo Chailly (1993), CD, Decca, Europe

covers.jpg


DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR15 -0.11 dB -19.60 dB 6:22 01-Introduction
DR15 -0.09 dB -19.37 dB 8:02 02-Chant d’amour I
DR15 -0.13 dB -20.10 dB 5:59 03-Turangalîla I
DR15 -0.51 dB -21.98 dB 11:13 04-Chant d’amour II
DR13 -0.03 dB -16.51 dB 6:34 05-Joie du sang des etoiles
DR12 -13.94 dB -29.16 dB 11:46 06-Jardin du sommeil d’amour
DR14 -0.14 dB -19.79 dB 3:48 07-Turangalîla II
DR14 -0.22 dB -17.64 dB 10:46 08-Développement de l’amour
DR13 -1.76 dB -24.85 dB 5:19 09-Turangalîla III
DR13 0.00 dB -16.44 dB 6:47 10-Final
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 10
Official DR value: DR14


I listen to Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphony again after two weeks but with PKHarmonic VSTplugin (-100, -110 and -120 dB) and much better. Now the sound is more pleasant, emotional ...

JRMC-DSP-PKHarmonic-100-110-120.png
 

BaaM

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Thank you so much, I love all your tools @pkane <3
Would you consider to do a Mac compatible version?
 
OP
pkane

pkane

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Thank you so much, I love all your tools @pkane <3
Would you consider to do a Mac compatible version?

Thank you! I would consider this, but the VST library I'm using isn't compatible with anything but Windows. Until that changes or if I can find a better, cross-platform library, I'm afraid this will only work on Windows.
 

maty

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Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Roots & Herbs (1961), Vinyl, Blue Note Tone Poet Series 2020, US

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Roots & Herbs.jpg


DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR11 -1.04 dB -16.75 dB 7:13 01-Ping Pong
DR11 -0.23 dB -15.65 dB 6:09 02-Roots & Herbs
DR13 -0.03 dB -16.71 dB 7:51 03-The Back Sliders
DR13 -0.03 dB -16.03 dB 7:29 04-United
DR11 -0.35 dB -15.48 dB 6:46 05-Look At The Birdie
DR11 -0.27 dB -15.63 dB 6:57 06-Master Mind
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 6
Official DR value: DR12


Better sound, more addictive with PKHarmonic VSTplugin (JRiver MC v27.0.66 64bits).

JRMC-DSP-PJHarmonic-97-107-117 dB.png
 
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pkane

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Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Roots & Herbs (1961), Vinyl, Blue Note Tone Poet Series 2020, US

View attachment 119355

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR11 -1.04 dB -16.75 dB 7:13 01-Ping Pong
DR11 -0.23 dB -15.65 dB 6:09 02-Roots & Herbs
DR13 -0.03 dB -16.71 dB 7:51 03-The Back Sliders
DR13 -0.03 dB -16.03 dB 7:29 04-United
DR11 -0.35 dB -15.48 dB 6:46 05-Look At The Birdie
DR11 -0.27 dB -15.63 dB 6:57 06-Master Mind
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks: 6
Official DR value: DR12


Better sound, more addictive with PKHarmonic VSTplugin (JRiver MC v27.0.66 64bits).

View attachment 119357

Hi Maty, do you find the same settings work well with all your albums and music genres? Seems like you've settled on one set of settings that work well for you. Do you ever find that you need to tweak them or they just work well all the time?
 

maty

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PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love - Demos, too much distortion!!! Better without PKHarmonic.
 

diyaudnut

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Is this expected to work on Win7 x64?
It crashes when I load the plugin into JriverMC27
 

GuyLux

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Helllo !
I'm running Windows 8.1 32bits
I tried to install, but this is the list I got in C:\Program Files\PKAudio\PKHarmonic32
What can I do now ?
Thanks !
PK_Install.png
 
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pkane

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Helllo !
I'm running Windows 8.1 32bits
I tried to install, but this is the list I got in C:\Program Files\PKAudio\PKHarmonic32
What can I do now ?
Thanks !View attachment 127312

Now you just need to use a music player or other software that supports VST plugins, and add PKHarmonic.dll as VST in that player. Configure it, and listen to as much harmonic content as you like :) What software do you use to play music and does it support VST?

Here's an example showing how to add it to JRiver MC:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...st-of-pkharmonic-vst-plugin.19063/post-704034
 

GuyLux

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Now you just need to use a music player or other software that supports VST plugins, and add PKHarmonic.dll as VST in that player. Configure it, and listen to as much harmonic content as you like :) What software do you use to play music and does it support VST?

Here's an example showing how to add it to JRiver MC:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...st-of-pkharmonic-vst-plugin.19063/post-704034

Fine, I'm using Jriver MC 25
Do you think I can compile on a computer W8.1-32b, and load to another computerW8.1-32b ?
I tried, but not succeed, it it a wrong to do this ?
I want to load minimum software on my Audio computer (Samsung NC10, 1.6Ghz 2Go)
Thanks
 
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pkane

pkane

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Fine, I'm using Jriver MC 25
Do you think I can compile on a computer W8.1-32b, and load to another computerW8.1-32b ?
I tried, but not succeed, it it a wrong to do this ?
I want to load minimum software on my Audio computer (Samsung NC10, 1.6Ghz 2Go)
Thanks

You don't need to compile anything, just install. Then, add it to JRiver as a VST plugin. It does have dependencies on Microsoft's .NET 5.0, so you need to run the Setup.exe that came with PKHarmonic installer to make sure you have all the necessary libraries.

You can certainly install it on a small computer, but it may require you to install some of these libraries also, if they are not already there.
 
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javieracoustics

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@pkane Any tips for installing on Windows 10 Audacity program? I have tried adding the .dll files to the Audacity plug-ins program folder but gives me "failed to register:" and "Could not load the library" error messages.
 
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GuyLux

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I had a similar problem running Jriver25 with w8-32bits
You have to install all the generated files in the same directory.
Have a look above..
 

javieracoustics

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Thanks @GuyLux
I have tried installing PKHarmonics in the audacity plug-ins folder and still had the same errors. I tried installing the plug-in on Adobe Audition 3.0 and I also can't get it working. Finally, I have downloaded goldwave and installed the directx plug-in and PKHarmonics is showing up.
Unfortunately, the plug-in does not work in real-time so I can't use the Bypass button. It will simply apply the effect to the file after I press OK.
1630624733337.png
 
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