ASIO4All Explanation - Page 3 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by zyxwvutsr

After some more tinkering, I noticed that I could still change the volume through the windows volume control by adjusting the master volume while using ASIO. Changing the volume in winamp and adjusting the wave volume has no effect though.
If I want to output bitperfect, should I just set the master volume to maximum? Or am I completely misunderstanding the problem?

You can adjust the volume without the signal changing. You will still have bit-perfect playback.

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by shoenberg3

I finally got my bithead to work with the ASIO4ALL! But there is still a small problem. When the music becomes quiet (or just before it starts) I can hear a high-pitch noise. By playing with the low-gain/high-gain switch on the bithead, and volume control, i minimized this tone to quiet levels. But it is still there...

BTW, will EQ defeat the purpose of ASIO?

Err.. I haven't got a TBH myself but I might be able to think of a few things that might be wrong.

1. You might be hearing a harddrive or another component (fan maybe) in your computer. USB devices sometimes do have this problem. Take it up with headroom. They might have a solution for it.

2. It could be that your are hearing white noise. If so this is caused by cheap components in the the TBH. I can't imagine that headroom put really expensive components in a $200 amp. (no offense - I think the TBH is a great amp) Once again. Take it up with headroom.

3. The Asio driver does not support the TBH well. Take it up with the guy who made asio. There is a forum on the asio4all website. You can post your problem there.

I think it has to do with either the first or the second thing I described. So you can try asking Tyll or someone else of headroom. Maybe they've got a solution for you.

EQ does indeed alter the signal. It will not be bit-perfect anymore. It might however not even be audible so if you think you need an EQ then just use it. If however you really want to use bit-perfect playback you can not use EQ.

Edit: Some soundcards have their own EQ. If this EQ is placed "after" the DAC you can use it without losing any quality since it is only changing the analog signal. This is not common for a soundcard though. Most soundcards have their EQ placed "before" the DAC.

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by xenithon

Nice post here! It might be worth adding to that, as good as ASIO4ALL (and ASIO2KS) are, they are still wrappers which at some point use the OS audio stack. If your device supports true ASIO it would be superior as it allows the application to talk directly to the hardware, bypassing any kernel interference.

I thought about it for a while. And this is what I came up with:

If you do not own a card which supports true asio you're ****** either way.

So your only option is to install a virtual device like asio4all. I will edit my post to make that a bit clearer though. Thanks for pointing it out.

cooperpwc · 02-07-2007, 02:35 PM

My Total Bithead also had never worked well with asio4all and I had given up on it and gone back to DS. I very much appreciate this thread which I have bookmarked. My Bithead is in for service but as soon as I get it back I will apply your knowledge and post back on how these settings work out.

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by cooperpwc

My Total Bithead also had never worked well with asio4all and I had given up on it and gone back to DS. I very much appreciate this thread which I have bookmarked. My Bithead is in for service but as soon as I get it back I will apply your knowledge and post back on how these settings work out.

I am working on this thread right now so do not be surprised to see some sudden changes. I hope you will get your TBH working.

Good luck.

xenithon · 02-07-2007, 03:56 PM

I thought about it for a while. And this is what I came up with:
If you do not own a card which supports true asio you're ****** either way. So your only option is to install a virtual device like asio4all.

Lol....point taken, but not entirely true. There is the commerical USB driver from USB-Audio, which replaces the generic USB driver and allows the application to talk directly to the hardware, bypassing the kernel, EVEN if the hardware does not have its own ASIO driver. Seems to give very good results, but I think it has limited compatibility (i.e., will not work on ALL devices with USB input). I think I will be trying it out (trial version available) and see how it compares to digital input.

Cheers,
X

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by xenithon

Lol....point taken, but not entirely true. There is the commerical USB driver from USB-Audio, which replaces the generic USB driver and allows the application to talk directly to the hardware, bypassing the kernel, EVEN if the hardware does not have its own ASIO driver. Seems to give very good results, but I think it has limited compatibility (i.e., will not work on ALL devices with USB input). I think I will be trying it out (trial version available) and see how it compares to digital input.

Cheers,
X

Do you happen to have a link to that? I am interested in trying that.

xenithon · 02-07-2007, 04:55 PM

Indeed. USB-Audio. You can download a trial for whicever OS you use which I believe beeps every 30 seconds. If you buy it you get the unlocking code which eliminates the beeps and gives access to future updates IIRC.

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 05:10 PM

Thanks. I am trying it right now.

EnOYiN · 02-07-2007, 05:40 PM

I made a mistake since I am too, learning while I go. I am sorry if I confused some people with previous answers.

You CAN adjust the volume and can apply EAX effects. This will not affect the digital output signal.

Once again. Sorry for that.

Edit: I edited the post about the volume question above.