[Johmem]

I'm going to bump this thread with new questions because my equipment is so similar.
 
I also have an STX and a new Woo amp.  Right now I am using the RCA out on the STX to feed the Woo.  In the near future I will get a DAC (Bifrost?) so that I can plug my ProMedia speakers back into the RCAs.  I also intend on getting a gaming headset (PC 350/360) that will be plugged into the STX hp and mic jack.
 
I am trying to figure out the mystical world of bitperfect computer audio.  I keep hearing that ASIO or WASAPI will sound better than what I do right now.  I listen to CD ripped FLAC mainly but I want to try some HDAUDIO downloads
 
Can anybody comment on these questions?
 
It seems like I would need volume control to use the STX's hp amp?
Is ASIO/WASAPI needed for SP/DIF use when I get my DAC?
It would seem really inconvenient to have to switch sample rates in the ASUS driver every time I wanted to listen to a HD song, immagine if it was in a playlist?
 
Thanks for any help.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

It seems like I would need volume control to use the STX's hp amp?
Is ASIO/WASAPI needed for SP/DIF use when I get my DAC?
It would seem really inconvenient to have to switch sample rates in the ASUS driver every time I wanted to listen to a HD song, immagine if it was in a playlist?
 
Thanks for any help.

1) Volume controls are handy sure!
2) They are not "needed" but generally preferred.
3) If you use ASIO, the sample rate will change automatically.  You can try resampling also if you want many suggest they hear no difference either way.

 

[Roller]

While I do prefer resampling, too much of it actually lowers the output quality in a rather noticeable way, depending on the difference between original and target sampling rates.

 

[Johmem]

So, ASIO is convenient because it automatically changes sample rates, but inconvenient because I lose control of volume?
 
Maybe this doesn't matter if I were never listen to music (Foobar) through the STXs hp amp, only gaming.  My speakers and my Woo have thier own volume controls.
 
Regarding "needing" ASIO/WASAPI when using the SP/DIF, I know I don't need any of this stuff lol.  I was wondering if it was even a factor, or if digital out was unaffected by the OS by nature.

 

[Johmem]

OK, how do I Know that the STX is switching to the proper sample rate when I switch formats?  I am running the ASIO plugin in Foobar, and I downloaded a 96/24 album from HDTracks.
 
The Xonar audio center gives no indication of ASIO functions other than the volume control doesn't work.

 

[ManAtWork]

Beside of the hardware part, I would suggest to use the JPlay which comes with a plugin for foobar2000 and iTunes, it supports WAV, FLAC, AIFF and Apple Loseless formats. It sounds much better than the original foobar2000, the difference of SQ is significant because JPlay has some tweak and bypass the MS Windows which affect the SQ.
 
The JPlay costs money and someone may that not cheap, but the improvement of SQ makes me pay it immediately, it worth the money.
 
 

 

[ZorgDK]

Quote:

Beside of the hardware part, I would suggest to use the JPlay which comes with a plugin for foobar2000 and iTunes, it supports WAV, FLAC, AIFF and Apple Loseless formats. It sounds much better than the original foobar2000, the difference of SQ is significant because JPlay has some tweak and bypass the MS Windows which affect the SQ.
 
The JPlay costs money and someone may that not cheap, but the improvement of SQ makes me pay it immediately, it worth the money.
 
 

For kicks I just tried the Jplay trial for JRriver. I've used Foobar2000 with kernel streaming or wasapi for many years, but there something about Jplay that sounds better to me. Normally I would never pay money for a media player, let alone a plugin like Jplay, but I liked it enough to decide to purchase it. until I saw the price, holy moly 99€, they must be mad. It's a shame it isn't reasonably priced, cause it sounds good.

 

[Roseval]

[size=10pt]If the media player uses WASAPI the audio (bit depth, sample rate, channels) must match the properties of the audio device.[/size]
[size=10pt]Automatic sample rate switching in general works with onboard audio and USB audio but not with discrete soundcards.[/size]
[size=10pt]Probably this is simply not implemented in most of the discrete sound cards.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]If your media player send an unsupported format using ASIO to an audio device and it plays it means that somewhere resampling is taken place.[/size]

 

[eddiek997]

Personally, I prefer using USB to my Musical Fidelity VdacII. It's asynchronous and auto sensing of sample rate. This combined with MediaMonkey with wasapi is my preferred method for listening to my flac music.
I avoid the s/pdif (sony phillips digital interface for those who are interested) because that means the sound path travels one step further to the sound card and is then subject to unnecessary noise etc.
However, if you do decide to use digital output as opposed to usb, Optical would be better than coax digital because light does not transmit noise the way a copper cable would (especially ground noise)
 
You will find also, that using cheap interconnects from dac to amp will deteriorate and/or color the sound much more than you would imagine.