This is frustrating. I decided to not wait on the (moving towards 5 hour) cd rip to start configuring Foobar.. first step in the output, ASIO isn't in the drop down despite having installed ASIO4ALL already. So much for this being easy install and configure.. virtually every step of the process has been wrong so far.

Just figured out that playing music on my hard drive in Zune software was the cause of the super slow cd rips. Don't know how that would affect it, but at least it's going faster now.

First you need to add it to your components folder in F2k - which I am sure you did. Then you have to add ASIO4ALL to the output, and then map it to your F2k. This article shows how to with the older version of ASIO4ALL, but the mapping part is still accurate. Scroll down to the bit about installing to F2k, and you should be all set.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/as...nation-221237/

What do I add to components folder? I ended up just copying the contents of \program files\ASIO4ALL\* into the components folder and it still won't show anything.

Perhaps I was misunderstanding this post. I thought it was a guide to setup these programs step by step, but it seems I'm having to jump through all sorts of hoops to get anything done.

Nevermind. I figured out what to add. Working on it...

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You need to download optional asio ouput component from foobar2000 web site and drop its dll into foobar component folder. Leave asio4all install alone.

Sorry, I wasn't too clear there. The dll from here:

foobar2000: Download foobar2000 and optional components
needs to be in your components folder.

OK Well I seem to have something that works. I guess everything is set up correctly, but I have no clue. I ended up having to do just about everything in a different order than the OP instructed, but I have sound and I guess that's what's important.

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You can do this but it has no affect on the music, those settings are in ASIO4ALL.



2 Channels at 44.1 thru 96Khz upto 32 bit

Besides EAC & Flac, I use Foobar 0.9.6,with the plugin for Wasapi (just for Windows Vista, not for XP), and a Musical Fidelity V-Dac.
Because of the V-Dac and my laptop, the output on Foobar must be 16 bits (the USB input of the V-Dac, which is the only one I can use, must be 16 bits).
I find the sound is better when I select 'Dither' in Foobar's output options.
I know it's generally supposed to be so when output is 16 bits.
But I am wondering about the logic for this particular case.
From what I understand (please correct me if I am wrong), 'Dither' means that Foobar internally up-samples to 64 bits to introduce some useful noise for sound quality then outputs at 16 bits.
Now comes the V-Dac, which also up-samples, at 32 bits, doing I don't know what before turning the digital signal into an analog one.
So it's not obvious that these two up-samplings in a row should be good. Still, they are so to my own ears.
Do you folks have similar impressions?

I have always used the settings recommended by Benchmark in:

Foobar2000 for Windows - Setup Guide - Benchmark

The bit depth should be set to the maximum of your hardware.

For Maxvla that would be 24 bit as you are using the DACmagic - via spdif, 16 bit via USB.

If your DAC does not support 24 bit, leave it at 16 and set up your ASIO4ALL the way olblueyez says. Then you should be alright.

I'm trying to incorporate all these things you guys are bringing up.

Thanks

No, thank you, it's a good resource.

My comment above regarding 16 bit for USB was for Maxvla's DACmagic in particular. Other DAC's can accomodate 24 bit word length (including the Benchmark), so I would note that the bit depth be set to the user's individual DAC's capabilities.

Great guide, thanks!

Is it indeed generally true that, when Foobar's output is 16 bits (because of the soundcard capability), it is better to select 'Dither'? (And not so when Foobar's output is 24 or 32 bits)

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Foobar doesnt output anything guys, ASIO does. ASIO is the output vehicle that foobar uses and ASIO decides bit rate.

I don't really see why it would work particularly better with 16 bit over the others. Your best bet would be to turn it off, set voulme to max, and use an analog volume control to avoid truncation. (Use your amp to control the volume) If you don't use an amp, the dithering component inside F2k is pretty decent, as far as my ears can tell. You would still set F2k to the max bit depth your DAC can accept.

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So the DACmagic only does 16 bit through USB, but spdif can do 24 bit? I'll eventually get it setup properly. I'm still waiting on my XLR IC and my balanced headphone cable before I can hook up my LD MKVI so my rig is pretty odd atm.

Got the DACmagic hooked up via usb feeding my LDMKIII via rca, which is connected via RCA to my H/K receiver which is powering my speakers. On the plus side I've never heard my speakers sound SO good. I'm guessing I have everything set correctly because the audio quality is extremely good and I'm hearing things I've never heard before.