HELP

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colin.hepburn
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#1 HELP

Post by colin.hepburn »

Has anyone got a good link to some demos to test the differences in sound quality between the different sample rates to test my usb connected Dac
as so far running CD and some flac CD file 44.1 the music is flat and dead running headphones from the computer add in the USB dac only highlights the flat dead sound
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colin.hepburn
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#2

Post by colin.hepburn »

Well found out the sound problems with the usb connected DAC the flat dead sound is down to the software used for playback of ripped CD at 44.1
I was using VIC meda player this was flat and dead sounding with any format MP3 WAV FLAC I then tried Meda Monkey this was no better and added sibilance to the top end

I then ran foobar 2000 this was the worst of all flat dead and hard top end I could not believe how bad this software was
I then got rid of the windows Drivers for the DAC to clamed better drivers and found no change to the sound with the above software
So that left windows meda player that most people seem to right off without a second though

Well now I was not expecting much
here ether but to my surprise this is the best sounding player of then all so far just to verify this I went back to the Marantz CD player using the DACs coaxial input for a reality check

Only to find windows media player is very close to the Marantz result
It is not perfect but close playing CD from the computers drive and playing WAV/ FLAC file formats @44.1 all sounded much closer to the Marantz CD 67 So Windows media |Player is the winner by a large margin all listening was done with my Sennhizer HD650 and the NAD 352 Amp headphone amp out

Now I just need to try the full 32 bit 96 kHz I need to find a site that lets you demo the different file formats
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pre65
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#3

Post by pre65 »

Must admit I've not noticed any problems with Foobar on my PC, with or without a DAC.

But then I don't use a USB connection.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

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colin.hepburn
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#4

Post by colin.hepburn »

pre65 wrote:Must admit I've not noticed any problems with Foobar on my PC, with or without a DAC.

But then I don't use a USB connection.
Yep well I have to admit i am new and I dont know much about this computer sound files stuff yet but foobar is not good sound with usb my pc has a optical out as well so I have yet to try this for the wont of a long optical cable :(
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The Stratmangler
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#5

Post by The Stratmangler »

Windows PCs use Windows audio drivers.
If you use any other software media player then you need to get it to run without the Windows drivers.

Foobar has ASIO drivers (for XP), and WASAPI (for Vista & later), and these need to be installed to get the best out of Foobar.

It's the same with WinAmp - you need to install the appropriate drivers.

Can't comment on any other software media players, but in general you need the appropriate OS drivers.

Then there's the little issue of how many needless background programs are running - they all take up processor runtime, so finding out what's running and shutting down the non essential stuff can also improve audio quality.

Then there's the quality of rip to consider, and this will depend on whether your music has been ripped securely or not.
You need a ripper capable of performing secure rips - EAC is free, and more than up to the job.

If you pay attention to the areas mentioned then you should find your file playback is hugely improved.
Chris :happy3:
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The Stratmangler
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#6

Post by The Stratmangler »

Duplicate post.
Last edited by The Stratmangler on Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chris :happy3:
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pre65
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#7

Post by pre65 »

So Chris, when one downloads Foobar, do the proper drivers not come with it ?

I only remember downloading one file from Foobar, and it seems to work for me. (on XP Pro SP3)
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

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The Stratmangler
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#8

Post by The Stratmangler »

The relevant drivers do not come with the Foobar installer.
You can find ASIO and WASAPI driver downloads on the Foobar site.
Chris :happy3:
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colin.hepburn
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#9

Post by colin.hepburn »

That's what I said I am not using windows 7 bilt-in drivers the drivers are for the 7022 chip for foobar as far as i am aware
Now the thing I did overlooked was burn in time for the new DAC so now sounding better :)

The only info on the drivers I have is Audio CPL and ASIO CPL not sure where to find the installed driver info in windows 7
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The Stratmangler
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#10

Post by The Stratmangler »

colin.hepburn wrote:That's what I said I am not using windows 7 bilt-in drivers the drivers are for the 7022 chip for foobar as far as i am aware
Now the thing I did overlooked was burn in time for the new DAC so now sounding better :)

The only info on the drivers I have is Audio CPL and ASIO CPL not sure where to find the installed driver info in windows 7
Have you downloaded WASAPI drivers from the Foobar site?
Chris :happy3:
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colin.hepburn
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#11

Post by colin.hepburn »

The Stratmangler wrote:
colin.hepburn wrote:That's what I said I am not using windows 7 bilt-in drivers the drivers are for the 7022 chip for foobar as far as i am aware
Now the thing I did overlooked was burn in time for the new DAC so now sounding better :)

The only info on the drivers I have is Audio CPL and ASIO CPL not sure where to find the installed driver info in windows 7
Have you downloaded WASAPI drivers from the Foobar site?
Thank s Chris
Just downloaded and installed the drivers now but don't hear any difference the problem I seem to have is hard treble but this is maybe the DAC due the burning in
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The Stratmangler
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#12

Post by The Stratmangler »

colin.hepburn wrote:Thank s Chris
Just downloaded and installed the drivers now but don't hear any difference the problem I seem to have is hard treble but this is maybe the DAC due the burning in
The Foobar drivers work with Foobar only.
When you've installed the driver you need to go to file/preferences/output and select the WASAPI option for your DAC.
Your DAC needs to be connected.
Chris :happy3:
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colin.hepburn
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#13

Post by colin.hepburn »

The Stratmangler wrote:
colin.hepburn wrote:Thank s Chris
Just downloaded and installed the drivers now but don't hear any difference the problem I seem to have is hard treble but this is maybe the DAC due the burning in
The Foobar drivers work with Foobar only.
When you've installed the driver you need to go to file/preferences/output and select the WASAPI option for your DAC.
Your DAC needs to be connected.
Thank s Chris
Just downloaded and installed the drivers new but don't hear any difference the problem I seem to have is hard treble but this maybe the DAC due the burning in
I don't get this reset output with the wasapi but there are two wasapi drivers
WASAPI {push}: SPIDIF OUT {Teralink-X2Usb Audio Device
WASAPI {pull}: SPIDIF OUT {Teralink-X2Usb Audio Device

Now both of these work but if Pause or stop the track and press start again or select a other track I have to re boot the DAC each time for it to play the track and I get a pop up Unrecoverable playback error: Unknown error (80070015)

The Teralink-X2Usb is the other usb driver I downloaded from the website I found with info about the DAC the driver is said to be better than the windows 7 usb drivers
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colin.hepburn
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#14

Post by colin.hepburn »

Anyone know off a descent free media player as this foobar is a piece of shit its crashing my pc with blues screen if death it was to go :x
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pre65
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#15

Post by pre65 »

Foobar IS a decent free media player. :wink:
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

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