A (better sounding?) alternative to Foobar2000 -OR- A musing in the realm of bit-perfect streaming

[donunus]

Is it possible at all that ASIO makes foobar seem to have a faster bass response than WASAPI?

 

[leeperry]

Is it possible at all that ASIO makes foobar seem to have a faster bass response than WASAPI?

The XXhighend coder(or cPlay, can't really remember) said that he really hated the sound of ASIO and really prefered WASAPI, he said there was a very clear color added to the sound. Ah well, it think it's about time we put an end to this pointless thread as noone here as the right gear to measure jitter anyway

 : try all the players, and pick the one you prefer:
-some can't hear a difference
-some find Reclock "tighter" and "clearer"
-some find foobar too harsh and amusical
-some like the sweet sound of uLilith
-some like the no-bs GUI of StealthPlayer
-some find cPlay to sound better than anything else they've heard before
-some say they can DBT XXHighEnd's different "modes"(they're all said to be bit-perfect BTW)...one thing's for sure XXH does something to the audio!

 

[regal]

Quote:

what about foobar asio vs foobar wasapi?

 
 
Foobar Waaspi was not bitperfect with my system/soundcard therefore not a valid comparison.    People just don't get that,  you don't know if you are bitperfect till you test it!
   Hence why I say Lee is full of BS.

 

 

[donunus]

Quote:

 
 
Foobar Waaspi was not bitperfect with my system/soundcard therefore not a valid comparison.    People just don't get that,  you don't know if you are bitperfect till you test it!
   Hence why I say Lee is full of BS.

 

I'm sorry if it has already been mentioned before. How do I test on my system if foobar/wasapi and foobar/asio is bitperfect? Does it involve just looking at the waveform recorded from audacity or is there a special software that just analyzes if playback has no loss, etc...?
 
And one more question, Is it possible in windows 7 to get bitperfect out of directsound?

 

[regal]

 
I don't know about Win 7,  but surprisingly the directsound usb driver from XP plays bit perfect on some USB transports, so I imagine in some cases yes.

To test bit perfect with I'd say about 99% accuracy  play a HDCD thru your software player and see if the HDCD lights up on your HDCD decoding DAC/reciever.  Or download a DTS encoded wav file  stream that to a DTS home theater reciever (static= not bit perfect,  music=bitperfect.)   Its a simple concept that must be done empirically (a big word for Perry so I better explain.)    YOU CANNOT DEDUCE ASSUME OR THEORIZE THAT YOUR SYSTEM IS PLAYING BIT PERFECT IT MUST BE TESTED.
 
 
 
Quote:

I'm sorry if it has already been mentioned before. How do I test on my system if foobar/wasapi and foobar/asio is bitperfect? Does it involve just looking at the waveform recorded from audacity or is there a special software that just analyzes if playback has no loss, etc...?
 
And one more question, Is it possible in windows 7 to get bitperfect out of directsound?

 

[leeperry]

Is it possible in windows 7 to get bitperfect out of directsound?

 
Nope, only on XP/2k when all the sliders are maxed out:  http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=49350&view=findpost&p=522247
 
Vista/W7 are so obviously major improvements in the audio department

 

[regal]

Yea if you licke clicks, glitches, and micro-second misses in your audio XP is GRREAT.   Why do you always resort to HydrogenAudio like its the Bible,  why is it so difficult for you to test your system first hand?  I don't get it. 
 
BTW your new avatar is much more appropriate to your personality.  Clint E. you ain't.
 
 
Quote:

 
Nope, only on XP/2k when all the sliders are maxed out:  http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=49350&view=findpost&p=522247
 
Vista/W7 are so obviously major improvements in the audio department

 

[donunus]

 
I downloaded a dts file with a wav extension and no matter if i played it using wasapi asio or directsound with foobar it was all static. vlc player played music. Is that saying vlc is bitperfect or is it just saying I am missing the codecs to play that file in foobar?

 

[leeperry]

I never get any glitches on XP, so I wouldn't know what you're talking about tbh

 
well, Dogbert existed before hydroponic-audio luckily, he's a major driver engineer that wishes to remain anynymous: http://code.google.com/p/cmediadrivers/
 
and yes, most hydroponic ppl seem pretty deaf to me...their forum is like a religion that likes to debunk audio myths(KMixer's distortion's inaudible, jitter doesn't exist, all the cables sound the same, yada yada)...why don't post about your "harsh sounding" digital coax cables there?

 

[regal]

Quote:

.why don't post about your "harsh sounding" digital coax cables there?

I never said it was,  but was asking if it is possible,  psychoacoustics isn't a physical science last ime a looked

 

[regal]

Quote:

 
I downloaded a dts file with a wav extension and no matter if i played it using wasapi asio or directsound with foobar it was all static. vlc player played music. Is that saying vlc is bitperfect or is it just saying I am missing the codecs to play that file in foobar?

You did the test correctly.  As configured   your system is not bitperfect output with VLC.  That doesn't mean we can generalize,  it is why I say everyone must test.  It also explains why you may prefer the sound of VLC over foobar (mastering could be being added behind the scenes.)   But it is not a good way to compare software players if one is bitperfect and the other not.  Catching on?   I am an old hat with this as my system requires true bitperfect output,  not "well the guys on hydrogenaudio set up the player like this and got bit perfect."

 

[Hybrys]

Don't you need the Foobar DTS decoder component first?
 
http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_input_dts

 

[regal]

No if you did that you aren't testing anything but your players ability to decode!   
 
Try to understand the concept of what you are doing when you do the DTS test.  If you need brushed up on the science behind it I can fill you in,  it will be a lengthly post.  I am glad that you are looking into it though thats better that half the buffons who claim bitperfect output from their computer.
 
Quote:

Don't you need the Foobar DTS decoder component first?
 
http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_input_dts

 

[donunus]

ahh ok so the only reason why vlc is playing the file is because it has these movie sound codecs built in and foobar doesn't. and I do prefer foobar over vlc by the way vlc is a little dark and congested in comparison

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

No if you did that you aren't testing anything but your players ability to decode!   
 
Try to understand the concept of what you are doing when you do the DTS test.  If you need brushed up on the science behind it I can fill you in,  it will be a lengthly post.  I am glad that you are looking into it though thats better that half the buffons who claim bitperfect output from their computer.
 

 

Well, I've done it before in other media players. (Not on this laptop, I don't have DTS/digital output capabilities)  It's passthrough testing, right?  But, I was fairly sure that VLC has an internal decoder for DTS; it's not just a passthrough.  Also, you need a digital output and a receiver that can decode/lock to DTS signals for this test, don't you?  Just to clarify.