[wshtb]

After reading on this forum, I finally realized that the reason for my DTS sound track file playing like white noise is because I'm not sending bit-perfect signal from computer to receiver!

I have two sound card, one Audigy Gamer the other USB Audigy NX. I need that Audigy for its 1394 port, but everything else on that card are disabled. I use SPDIF/Coax from Audigy NX to Pioneer VSX850.

After reading on this forum, I thought I need to buy a Chaintech. But wait, after installing ASIO4ALL, foobar successfully send DTS signal (44.1khz) to the receiver! However I got cracking sound when switch tracks, even after all buffer values maxed out.

After playing with it a little, I found out that by default "Device Control" for Audigy NX doesn't allow choosing 44.1khz for digital out. But after using ASIO4ALL for once, I can choose 44.1!

Then I switch back to kernel streaming. Wow! DTS file still play correctly! (Yes, I restarted foobar2000, I even restarted the machine!)

So for all your Audigy NX user, at 44.1khz SPDIF, there seems to be no internal upsampling, we can get bit-perfect signal!

By the way, I don't know whether this works with Audigy Gamer or not. But I'm happy enough.

 

[thomaspf]

Have you timed how long the DTS tracks are actually playing?

There is a way to pass the data through creative cards bit perfect but I was under the impression the cards simply do not run at 44.1Khz.

So, if you find that the playing time of your DTS songs is 44.1/48 * original playing time you might have repeated that experiment.

If you play a standard CD audio PCM WAV file, does your receiver display 44.1 as the frequency?

Cheers

Thomas

 

[wshtb]

I did the test as you pointed out with my wrist watch. I have only one DTS sound file, foobar shows 4:39. When played, it took 4:39 or 4:40. I did it again with a regular file, same result.

The receiver doesn't show any infomation when playing 44.1khz or 48khz but will say 96khz when I choose 96khz in the device control panel.

 

[thomaspf]

Sounds like you have this working

Congratulations

Thomas

 

[Edwood]

I have never gotten my Audigy 2 to light up 44.1 on my DAC ever.

Always 48 for me.

Then again, I haven't really tried that hard.

-Ed

 

[wshtb]

Out of curiosity, I tried Direct Sound 1&2: DTS signal get through correctly, as long as "allow hardware mixing" is enabled. Also tried waveout, receiver shows DTS logo but not making any sound. the "SB" indicator lights up occasionally, don't know what's that.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wshtb After reading on this forum, I finally realized that the reason for my DTS sound track file playing like white noise is because I'm not sending bit-perfect signal from computer to receiver! I have two sound card, one Audigy Gamer the other USB Audigy NX. I need that Audigy for its 1394 port, but everything else on that card are disabled. I use SPDIF/Coax from Audigy NX to Pioneer VSX850. After reading on this forum, I thought I need to buy a Chaintech. But wait, after installing ASIO4ALL, foobar successfully send DTS signal (44.1khz) to the receiver! However I got cracking sound when switch tracks, even after all buffer values maxed out. After playing with it a little, I found out that by default "Device Control" for Audigy NX doesn't allow choosing 44.1khz for digital out. But after using ASIO4ALL for once, I can choose 44.1! Then I switch back to kernel streaming. Wow! DTS file still play correctly! (Yes, I restarted foobar2000, I even restarted the machine!) So for all your Audigy NX user, at 44.1khz SPDIF, there seems to be no internal upsampling, we can get bit-perfect signal! By the way, I don't know whether this works with Audigy Gamer or not. But I'm happy enough.

You mean the Audigy2 NX? If that's the case, then you still cannot get bit-perfect output at 44.1kHz. And since that USB sound card lacks hardware audio acceleration, everything (including resampling to 48kHz to match the Audigy2 NX's hardware support) gets done in software, at the driver level. You'll never know what is being done - neither hardware nor software will tell you. In your case, the drivers convert your 44.1kHz audio to 48kHz and then back to 44.1kHz.

And your Audigy Gamer (is that an Audigy2 ZS, as well? Or is that card really an Audigy1, or a non-ZS Audigy2?) Well, none of the internal Audigy series cards could output 44.1kHz at all natively (in fact, all 44.1kHz audio going through those cards gets resampled to 48kHz in hardware), due to the fact that every one of the internal PCI Audigys could only handle 48kHz or 96kHz at their digital outputs. And the Audigy1 is hard-locked at 16-bit/48kHz (the non-ZS Audigy2 is locked at 32-bit/48kHz) internally, at the DSP level. That means that everything that goes through the original Audigy1 gets converted in hardware to 16-bit/48kHz (the non-ZS Audigy2 Gamer converts all digital audio to 32-bit/48kHz), regardless of the format of the original audio file.

 

[thomaspf]

Eagle_Driver how do you suggest this works then?

The 44.1Khz DTS stream is decoded by the sound card into PCM.

The multichannel PCM resampled to 48Khz and then reencoded into DTS before being send out on the digital interface?

Cheers

Thomas

 

[wshtb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver You mean the Audigy2 NX? If that's the case, then you still cannot get bit-perfect output at 44.1kHz. And since that USB sound card lacks hardware audio acceleration, everything (including resampling to 48kHz to match the Audigy2 NX's hardware support) gets done in software, at the driver level. You'll never know what is being done - neither hardware nor software will tell you. In your case, the drivers convert your 44.1kHz audio to 48kHz and then back to 44.1kHz. And your Audigy Gamer (is that an Audigy2 ZS, as well? Or is that card really an Audigy1, or a non-ZS Audigy2?) Well, none of the internal Audigy series cards could output 44.1kHz at all natively (in fact, all 44.1kHz audio going through those cards gets resampled to 48kHz in hardware), due to the fact that every one of the internal PCI Audigys could only handle 48kHz or 96kHz at their digital outputs. And the Audigy1 is hard-locked at 16-bit/48kHz (the non-ZS Audigy2 is locked at 32-bit/48kHz) internally, at the DSP level. That means that everything that goes through the original Audigy1 gets converted in hardware to 16-bit/48kHz (the non-ZS Audigy2 Gamer converts all digital audio to 32-bit/48kHz), regardless of the format of the original audio file.

The USB Audigy NX: if everything is done by software, maybe it won't resample to 48khz when the output resolution is set to 44.1khz, right ?

The Audigy Gamer: It is Audigy1. It seems you are correct. I cann't get DTS to work on this one. Maybe due to hardware resample as you said.

So if indeed neither Audigy Gamer, USB Audigy NX or TB Santa Cruz (this is the three card I currently own) can give bit-perfect output at 44.1khz, then I need to ask:

Is there any other sound card which support bit-perfect output and at same time have builtin 1394 connector on it?

It is kinda important to me because my computer has only 3 pci slot: One video card for TV-out, one extra ethernet card, and the audigy1 for 1394 port. A ethernet card with 1394 port will also do.

 

[wshtb]

Today I played with it a little bit more. Found out that "Digital Output Only" must be checked in order to get 44.1khz output. But then I got no output on the headpone jack. Not a big problem as I can always plug it to the receiver.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Does it or does it not produce bit-perfect output?
Still unclear from replies.

Thanks

 

[jiiteepee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver You mean the Audigy2 NX? If that's the case, then you still cannot get bit-perfect output at 44.1kHz. And since that USB sound card lacks hardware audio acceleration, everything (including resampling to 48kHz to match the Audigy2 NX's hardware support) gets done in software, at the driver level. You'll never know what is being done - neither hardware nor software will tell you. In your case, the drivers convert your 44.1kHz audio to 48kHz and then back to 44.1kHz. And your Audigy Gamer (is that an Audigy2 ZS, as well? Or is that card really an Audigy1, or a non-ZS Audigy2?) Well, none of the internal Audigy series cards could output 44.1kHz at all natively (in fact, all 44.1kHz audio going through those cards gets resampled to 48kHz in hardware), due to the fact that every one of the internal PCI Audigys could only handle 48kHz or 96kHz at their digital outputs. And the Audigy1 is hard-locked at 16-bit/48kHz (the non-ZS Audigy2 is locked at 32-bit/48kHz) internally, at the DSP level. That means that everything that goes through the original Audigy1 gets converted in hardware to 16-bit/48kHz (the non-ZS Audigy2 Gamer converts all digital audio to 32-bit/48kHz), regardless of the format of the original audio file.

He was using Asio4All with A2NX --> Asio4All uses only parts of Creative WDM drivers (KS) --> maybe not resampling @ driver level.
Depending on in which level resampling is done (driver/software)
--> if on driver level --> can this been bypassed by Asio4All drivers?

jiitee

 

[AdamWill]

If you're passing DTS through to the receiver, you're doing nothing special at all: DTS is an encoded signal, it will _only_ go through at the correct sampling rate. You're not passing raw PCM audio at all, the soundcard is doing nothing but sending a data stream on to a DAC further down the stream. If you're decoding the DTS on the card, then maybe you're doing something good.

 

[maarek99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWill If you're passing DTS through to the receiver, you're doing nothing special at all: DTS is an encoded signal, it will _only_ go through at the correct sampling rate. You're not passing raw PCM audio at all, the soundcard is doing nothing but sending a data stream on to a DAC further down the stream. If you're decoding the DTS on the card, then maybe you're doing something good.

But the card has no idea what it's passing through when you use foobar. It will handle a dts file the same as a sound file.

 

[AdamWill]

maybe I should rephrase and say that with the correct configuration you should be able to pass through DTS / DD correctly on _anything_ with a digital output: being able to do this does not imply that you are able to pass through a raw PCM stream at the correct sampling rate, that's not the same kettle of fish at all.