Improve your music playback

**greenhorn** · 18-09-06, 10:02 AM

This guide is mainly aimed at all those people who have an audigy soundcard, and to a lesser extent , those using their onboard AC'97 sound , and those who care to have good sound quality ( and by that i mean more detail in the sound , not better bass

) , and with speakers with a good high end.

Have you ever wondered why movies sound just right on your rig, but music not so? Well, the root cause of it is the mediocre quality resampling in the hardware. This is most obvious in the audigy series cards, and to a lesser extent , in AC'97's

to get an idea about it, check out the IM Distortion graphs at 44.1 Khz and 48 Khz The difference is pretty obvious !

at 44 khz

at 48 khz

original measurements

Thankfully, help isn't far away!

The cure involves using a much higher quality software resampling and output direct to the sound card( and in doing this ,we bypass the windows default mixer which removes one less component) .

note : using software resample eats up CPU cycles like hell so attempt this only if audio fidelity matters more to you

There are two ways ...

ASIO

ASIO stands for Audio Stream Input/Output , a low latency interface , which by itself has only the low latency bit as its merit, but combined with external resampling , proves to be just the ticket to audio heaven!

Kernel streaming

Unfortunately, all cards don't support ASIO, ( of course , there is always ASIO4all, a generic ASIO driver ) and thats were kernel streaming comes in. it works pretty much like ASIO functionally, and streams the audio direct , (bypassing the windows mixer) to the soundcard. the drawback being that KS tends to be buggy ( it didn't work at all on my Nforce onboard audio)

Now to utilize these, you need to use the appropriate playback plugin for playback

I'll talk about foobar ( actually i was a fan of QCD player , but its ASIO output plugin doesnt seem to work with my audigy ASIO , but it strangely has no issues with nVidia ASIO..)

Install foobar ( howto for winamp given at the end)

Setting up foobar

First of all you need the SSRC resampling plugin for foobar, as it is better than the stock PPHS resampler that comes with foo. Then you need the out_asio and if you're feeling adventurous , the out_ks plugins.

Extract the plugins to the foo plugins folder, and restart foobar

Enable the SSRC plugin, and set it to resample to 48 Khz.The higher the quality, the better ... but at the same time , keep an eye out for CPU. I use these settings as mine's an old barton

(20% cpu at these settings) ( if you have a 96/24 capable card, then set to 96K !audigy users: disable all the EAX, CMSS , speaker calibrator.. pretty much all the ear candyif you want 96/24 playback.... The audigy DSP engine runs at 48Khz )

also remember to add the mono to stereo converter as ASIO doesnt detect mono

now for playback. If you're going the KS route, all you have to do is choose the KS instead of DS in the list.

ASIO... you need to choose from the list of possible ASIO devices , and in case of the foobar plugin, you can custom map the channels. If you plan to playback multichannel files (say dts) you need to have all the channels mapped. Then choose the newly added ASIO device in the playback list. Enable dithering if you know what dithering means and intend to use it (and your card supports it )

Winamp: the basic idea remains the same... the options here are much more varied , as a number of plugins and ways exist to accomplish the same thing..

1)resample to 48 khz

2)output to ASIO or Kernel streaming , or if neither works , directsound

Links

ASIO 4all :ASIO4ALL - Universal ASIO Driver

FOOBAR

ASIO for foobar: http://www.foobar2000.org/components/foo_out_asio.zip

Kernel streaming for foobar : http://www.foobar2000.org/components/foo_out_ks.zip

SSRC for foobar: http://otachan.com/foo_dsp_ssrc_057.7z

Sercret Rabbit code Resampler : Secret Rabbit Code Resampler for Foobar2000.

Winamp

Kernel streaming for winamp : Assorted Steve Monks Related Stuff

this plugin does not resample by itself, you need to use another resampler like the

Hqsoft resampling plugin: HighestQuality Software Processing - Homepage

and then route it to kernel streaming output

ASIO for winamp : a) dll version : WINAMP5? ASIO??????? (dll version) - ??????MIDI/Audio???

b) exe version : WINAMP5? ASIO??????? (exe version) - ??????MIDI/Audio???

c) x64 version : WINAMP5? ASIO??????? (x64 version) - ??????MIDI/Audio???

scroll down to the 4th point to download the file

don't ask me the difference ... i have no idea

all these ASIO plugins support built in Sample rate conversion so configure them right and you're set!

And lastly for the faint of heart, a directsound plugin (very much like the default DS plugin , with added SSRC ) : http://nunzioweb.com/sawgstuff/wa/out_ds_ssrc.zip

DISCLAIMER : a few of these plugins are betas or (in some case ) alphas , so use at your own risk !

**superczar** · 18-09-06, 10:25 AM

nicely done mate!

**dipdude** · 18-09-06, 11:56 AM

Concise upto the point Guide. Not to forget you did not forget to add links to all the plugins

Keep up the good work, Greenhorn

---------

PS: One more great resource for Foobar related info is - Foobar2000:Foobar2000 - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase

**greenhorn** · 18-09-06, 01:23 PM

a few more tips for those winamp fans

try using a few alternative decoders like

in_ mad :Updated in_mad Winamp MAD MP3 input plugin - Hydrogenaudio Forums

in_mpg123: author's page

alternately, if you're a heavy Eq user, try the shibatch equalizer... it is more accurate. if you find using the shibatch UI very hard to use, give Quintessential Media player(QMP) a try.. it implemements a shibatch Eq and is much lighter than winamp (starts up like a breeze, free form skins , supports winamp dsp and input plugins , and takes much less resources

)

**zhopudey** · 18-09-06, 02:19 PM

Very nice

repped.

**stormblast** · 18-09-06, 02:59 PM

seems like a good guide. going to try it out in sometime & will let u know the results

**Vij** · 18-09-06, 03:43 PM

Good one.

repped

**thexfactor** · 18-09-06, 04:39 PM

excellent guide mate , will certainly try it out.

...repped

**greenhorn** · 18-09-06, 05:00 PM

:thanks!: :thanx: !

first of all, i'd like to thank all those little people

who appreciated this !

Hi little people

and then I'd like to thank

Chaos who started me down this path when i was crying about how good movies sounded an my audigy 2ZS compared to my music.

Also , dont expect the difference to be immediately audible. compared to what the EAX+EQ+CMSS settings i was using previously to compensate for the reduced fidelity. It first sounded less exciting. but over time , the reduced background noise , as well as the increased depth became apparent . the biggest difference was apparent during recording and playback of casettes (with their inherent hiss which was magnified)

**Smith** · 18-09-06, 07:31 PM

Excellent mate..simply awesome guide there.

May i add some steps for itunes addicts like me who would like to use the wonderful itunes UI with the versatility of foobar.

I recommend u download the multi-plugin for itunes (legal???

). Using this plugin, u can bypass the audio playback from itunes to the foobar player. You dont actually need to run foobar, itunes will automatically will play it thru the foobars player. So u can experience ASIO and other plugins while using the excellent UI that itunes offers.

use multi-plugin 2.3 with itunes 6.0.4 or greater (and lesser then itunes 7 which is pure cr@p)

i was able to experience the difference immediately

Link for Multi Plugin

mods..pls edit post if this is not confirming with board rules :S

**Chaos** · 18-09-06, 08:31 PM

Hey greenhorn... i must thank you here. All the while I was using PPHS thinking that there'd be no audible difference. After your post, i got SSRC today and tried it out... I'm surprised to say the difference in conversion from 44.1 to 96 which my dac likes between PPHS and SSRC is huge. I ran my standard hotel california bench. The intro of the song which always seemed to be a bit hazy to be before suddenly became so pristinely transparent and liquidy. The bass was way tighter and the impact of the bass drum was waaayyy better. If not for this article, I'd never have known that I have a software bottleneck in my system which could be fixed by paying nothing

. Hell this difference is much much more perceptible than the difference between my older cheapo chinese 2RCA and the new uber expensive Qunex 2 2RCA.

**Rave** · 18-09-06, 09:04 PM

excellent man, tried it just now, quite a noticeable difference

**H@rsh** · 18-09-06, 10:01 PM

Exellent giude greenhorn... just exellent.

**x86** · 18-09-06, 11:03 PM

nicely written repped ya

**greenhorn** · 19-09-06, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by Smith

I recommend u download the multi-plugin for itunes (legal???

). Using this plugin, u can bypass the audio playback from itunes to the foobar player. You dont actually need to run foobar, itunes will automatically will play it thru the foobars player. So u can experience ASIO and other plugins while using the excellent UI that itunes offers.

use multi-plugin 2.3 with itunes 6.0.4 or greater (and lesser then itunes 7 which is pure cr@p)

nice idea dude , i tried to do it , but couldnt due to many reasons

first of all, the installer said my iTunes 6.05 install was "an older version"

so i tried to get itunes 7 + multi plugin 2.4, but then found out that the foobar output doesnt work with 7

and the final nail was that even with iTunes 6.04 and MP 2.3, only foobar .8x versions worked and mine is a .9x install. I guess I'll try it sometime later when all the plugins are in place. Thanx for the info either way!

btw, anyone with an X-Fi tried a comparison of this S/W SRC against the new H/W "X-SRC" which creative was describing in superlatives?

I'm curious as to how it compares, whether CL has finally listened to what people have been screaming at them to do. I heard that some higher end EMU (CL's pro audio brand) cards dont have the SRC issue at all since their clock itself is switchable and can decode 44.1Khz natively.If only we could get some of that !

**apollyon** · 19-09-06, 08:33 AM

great guide greenhorn!

the src plugin works for me, but couldnt get the asio to work in winamp

(dont wanna use foobar)

**greenhorn** · 19-09-06, 09:03 AM

great guide greenhorn!

the src plugin works for me, but couldnt get the asio to work in winamp (dont wanna use foobar)

the weirdest thing is that a lot of things which didnt work on my audigy work on the Nvidia onboard ... funny how such a $$$ creative soundcard can get Pwned by the onboard

hey ASIO worked only at 48 Khz on my audigy 2ZS , but the volume control did not work

but on the other hand the out_ds_ssrc worked fine , even upto 96/24... give it a try.. its a tried and tested option for winamp users on the audigy 2ZS

and dont forget to turn off all the audigy's effects.. the CMSS , EAX, Equalizer, speaker calibrator even!

**stormblast** · 19-09-06, 09:14 AM

yes am using the ds_ssrc for winamp. works perfect. although using at 48hz as it sounded exactly the same as 96hz on the audigy 2 zs. dint notice any difference. also the asio plugin worked with winamp but as greenhorn said couldnt use the volume controller & also with asio in winamp it dint work at 96hz , it only worked at 48hz. but i am satisfied with the ds_ssrc cause it sounds same as the asio i tried on the aud2zs in winamp just now @ 48hz & is much better than the old ds plugin i used.

**greenhorn** · 19-09-06, 09:34 AM

the reason to go 96/24 is that it gives a much cleaner path to playback

thats the audigy2 zs architecture ..IIRC!

**stormblast** · 19-09-06, 09:43 AM

will prolly give it a try again.

btw in the winamp out_ds_ssrc plugin. what settings are u using for dithering & noise distribution

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