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Re: To ASIO or not to ASIO,that is the question?

Posted by Lynn (A) on March 8, 2006 at 17:20:22

In Reply to: Re: To ASIO or not to ASIO,that is the question? posted by Dawnrazor on March 8, 2006 at 12:45:43:

Hi,

I don't know why KS vs ASIO would make a difference, or different players for that matter.

I have also blind tested Foobar ASIO vs. Mediamonkey ASIO vs. Mediacenter ASIO, and oddly I can reliably hear differences. I actually wanted one of the other players to sound best since they are easier to set up vs. Foobar, but Foobar sounds the best to me.

I realize that programmers have different choices to make in the way they process data, but in theory well written software should perform the same. I suspect the differences may be due to the way the data is handled internally in terms of word size (64 vs. 32 vs 24 vs 16 bits), how it is buffered for output (to avoid pops, clicks, and jitter), and how the program hands data off to the output device. These factors can come into play for the playback software, the hardware driver, and the operating system.

Most players were not written with audiophiles in mind. I wonder if anyone has found playback software that has made a diligent effort to provide bit perfect output? It should not be hard to do, but does require some care.

I have heard that Foobar output has been captured and compared to the input and it passes. However, when you add different Foobar plugins written in the public domain (faders, equalizers, etc) it raises a question in my mind about data integrity.

I will have to AXCO a try, but I have Foobar fine tuned with album covers and such so that I am hesitant to make a switch.

Let me know if you get a chance to try Foobar ASIO again, and tell me what you think. Keep in mind you have to install ASIO in the Foobar components directory, re-start Foobar, then turn it on in the main Output menu item, and then configure your soundcard in the ASIO plugin menu item.

Be sure to set buffer size for the ASIO plugin to at least 11 on a fairly fast PC, higher for slower PCs. The higher the buffer size the less responsive Foobar's volume and other controls will be. At a buffer size of 11 the lag is a second or so, at 64 the lag is several seconds.

Lynn

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