Chaintech AV-710 Setup Thread, Including True 44.1kHz Wolfson Output in XP
Jun 29, 2007 at 3:04 PM Post #76 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by allioxyzzy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Does this card just need really really beefy amplification from every single jack or should I be complaining? I don't mind buying a Cmoy or something but I'd rather not if it's not going to fix my problem.


It sounds like a dud.
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Which driver version are you using, and with which OS?

A few things to test: try switching to regular 2 Channel and plug into the green front-speaker output. Then, try switching to 2 Channel Hi-Sample rate output and plug into the black Alt. Out. jack.

Some people use their AV-710s with headphones without a headphone amp, so preamp volume shouldn't be an issue. You should definitely be hearing sound, both with computer speakers and headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by allioxyzzy
For some reason the only non-budget sound cards sold new in New Zealand are Creative ones. I've been resisting getting one for about five years but this may just be enough to make me pick up an X-fi
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Most of the X-Fi series has the CS4382 DAC. As long as you get one with that DAC or better, it should sound great.
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Jun 30, 2007 at 12:29 AM Post #77 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It sounds like a dud.
frown.gif


Which driver version are you using, and with which OS?



I tried 1.3a, 4.73b and 5.20a, all with the same results, in XP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif
A few things to test: try switching to regular 2 Channel and plug into the green front-speaker output. Then, try switching to 2 Channel Hi-Sample rate output and plug into the black Alt. Out. jack.


Absolutely nothing out of the alt. out jack no matter what I do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Most of the X-Fi series has the CS4382 DAC. As long as you get one with that DAC or better, it should sound great.
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I guess that's a plan then. Cheers! At least the AV-710 was cheap
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Jul 3, 2007 at 10:50 AM Post #78 of 512
Well, it's not a dud. The seller just replied and pointed out that the card was jumpered to line-out mode, which I assume disables the onboard amps. I moved jumper 3 and 4 to 2-3 instead of 1-2 and now all is well in the world, even from the rear jack directly to headphones.

Of course I had to have ordered an X-fi yesterday
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but maybe my plight will help somebody else.

Edit: oh my god, the sound just cut out from the rear jack and is now playing in slow motion from the regular line out. What the hell is with this card!
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I'm going to stick it in my Linux box to see if it behaves better...

Edit edit: stupid driver issue, all fixed.
 
Jul 3, 2007 at 8:10 PM Post #79 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by allioxyzzy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
the sound just cut out from the rear jack and is now playing in slow motion from the regular line out.


That sounds like a sample rate issue. It's probably (hopefully) software-related: either the drivers you're using, conflicts with old drivers, or the media player.
 
Jul 4, 2007 at 5:44 AM Post #80 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif
That sounds like a sample rate issue. It's probably (hopefully) software-related: either the drivers you're using, conflicts with old drivers, or the media player.


I think you're right; I used drivercleaner to wipe all the remnants and did a clean install of 3.24c (5.20a's installer is incredibly buggy for me) and it seems to be fixed. I gotta say, the difference in sound quality from a cheap cmedia card is incredibly noticeable and I'm only using HD 485s - not really renowned for their attention to detail
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The bass is even less boomy and bloated, miraculously - I had no idea the sound card was contributing to that.

Thanks for your help on all this.

While I'm answering questions that I couldn't find answers to before getting the card - yes, you can output from the rear jack directly to headphones (at least reasonably low impedence ones) plenty loud
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Jul 31, 2007 at 7:24 PM Post #81 of 512
Question:

"Plug your amplification device (ex. speakers, receiver, etc.) into the black Alt. Out. jack on the back of the card."

I don't have an amp, but I do have a pair of speakers that have a headphone jack on the front (Logitech X-230s). If I do this trick to use the Wolfson DAC, plug my speakers into the black jack and my headphones into the speakers' headphone jack, will I get better sound than just plugging my headphones straight into the green, non-Wolfson jack?
 
Jul 31, 2007 at 7:42 PM Post #82 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by Applebean /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't have an amp, but I do have a pair of speakers that have a headphone jack on the front (Logitech X-230s). If I do this trick to use the Wolfson DAC, plug my speakers into the black jack and my headphones into the speakers' headphone jack, will I get better sound than just plugging my headphones straight into the green, non-Wolfson jack?


Difficult to say. I found the output of the X-230s' headphone jack to be pretty awful, since it offers only passive electronics with no internal amplification. It might detract from sound quality. However, I don't think that the Wolfson and VIA sections (green and black outputs) can be enabled at the same time. You'll have to switch between them in software, which in my experience has been buggy--it required a reboot to switch between the two or else the output sounded like it had weird distortion or phase issues.
 
Aug 4, 2007 at 7:27 PM Post #83 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Here's my guide for Windows XP. This is if you're interested in getting true 44.1 kHz audio from the Wolfson DAC rather than using inferior and processor-intensive software resampling algorithms to upsample.

1. Install the card into a free PCI slot on the motherboard.
2. Plug your amplification device (ex. speakers, receiver, etc.) into the black Alt. Out. jack on the back of the card.
3. Download and install the Envy 24 Family Driver version 4.73b linked here. This version is the last one to support the following trick.
4. Once the drivers are installed, open up the Envy control panel using its tray icon on the taskbar.
5. Click 2CH if it's not already selected (not 2CH Hi-Sample Rate).
6. Go into the digital output section and enable S/PDIF output, selecting PCM as the sub-option. Click the Auto button under sampling rate.

Done! You'll now be capable of using Kernel Streaming in Foobar to directly send 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz audio content through your sound card's Wolfson DAC.




for number 3... what exactly am i supposed to click on to make this work? there are a ton of files to unzip and do things with... which one do i load?
 
Aug 4, 2007 at 7:28 PM Post #84 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Here's my guide for Windows XP. This is if you're interested in getting true 44.1 kHz audio from the Wolfson DAC rather than using inferior and processor-intensive software resampling algorithms to upsample.

1. Install the card into a free PCI slot on the motherboard.
2. Plug your amplification device (ex. speakers, receiver, etc.) into the black Alt. Out. jack on the back of the card.
3. Download and install the Envy 24 Family Driver version 4.73b linked here. This version is the last one to support the following trick.
4. Once the drivers are installed, open up the Envy control panel using its tray icon on the taskbar.
5. Click 2CH if it's not already selected (not 2CH Hi-Sample Rate).
6. Go into the digital output section and enable S/PDIF output, selecting PCM as the sub-option. Click the Auto button under sampling rate.

Done! You'll now be capable of using Kernel Streaming in Foobar to directly send 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz audio content through your sound card's Wolfson DAC.




um... which file is it? there are a ton.
 
Aug 4, 2007 at 8:22 PM Post #85 of 512
Just wondering if anyone's discovered a driver that behaves more nicely with KS when Windows tries to grab the soundcard to play audio from some other program. Currently it works great with KS, but as soon as something tries to play sound (eg. MSN), the KS output gets cut off and the other sound plays. I don't want to just disable all the sounds, is there a way to get this card to behave like every other card I've done this with (ie. ignore additional input until the KS stream ends)?
 
Aug 5, 2007 at 2:31 AM Post #86 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by basmatirice /img/forum/go_quote.gif
um... which file is it? there are a ton.


Unzip the files and run Setup.exe (Application) located in the Setup directory. This is pretty standard procedure for installing drivers, so I left the specifics out of the guide.
 
Aug 6, 2007 at 6:29 AM Post #89 of 512
Quote:

Originally Posted by Metaphysical /img/forum/go_quote.gif
what about playing 96khz audio files? wouldn't they sound better with the card in high sample rate mode, technically?


Yes... The majority of users don't have audio files above 48 kHz, which is why the regular output is recommended, but if you do have recordings at those higher rates or you like to watch a lot of DVDs, flip the setting over to the high sample rate mode.
 
Aug 9, 2007 at 6:18 PM Post #90 of 512
When I try to use ASIO4All with the AV-710 set up as per this guide (and I thik with other settings as well) this is what I get:

4kf5b8j.jpg


Any ideas on why Envy24 is showing up as unavailable? Does it matter if I select AC97 instead?

Am I displaying my ignorance re: sound cards, chipsets, codecs? I'm afraid I probably am!

Thanks in advance for any insights...
 

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