[ComfyGrados]

I've been told that lowering the Windows or Foobar volume while playing Foobar in WASAPI mode can impact sound quality, possibly by lowering bitrate. Is there any truth to this? Should I be leaving Windows and Foobar at 100% and adjusting volume solely with my Fiio E10's physical volume control, or is adjusting the volume sliders on the computer fine?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I didn't hear any big audible loss in quality with a lower windows vol with WASAPI but with DirectSound I did and it's particularly noticable if you compare say having windows vol set to something very low like 15% (and using an amp to get to normal listening volumes) and then switching between DS and WASAPI while playing a complex track with lots of instruments/stuff going on at the same time. However foobar2000 vol bar should be maxed though.
 
I'm sure some1 will come to lecture me that it will lead to dynamic range compression even with WASAPI but to me if it's audible or not is what matters.
 
But keep foobar2000 maxed as it hurts sound quality way more than windows volume bar but don't worry about Windows vol setting when using WASAPI with a soundcard, if you can use a higher vol without any issues (amp isn't getting too picky about vol changes) u can still strive to set it that way though.

 

[ComfyGrados]

Quote:

I didn't hear any big audible loss in quality with a lower windows vol with WASAPI but with DirectSound I did

 
This is with Windows 7? Because I've also been told Windows Vista / 7 improved the volume slider so it doesn't impact sound quality like the old XP one did.
 
If the Windows 7 directsound slider effects sound quality, I'll definitely switch full-time to simply adjusting volume at the headphone amp itself, regardless of how it behaves in WASAPI, as I can't use WASAPI while watching movies (UNLESS it's somehow possible to use Reclock + WASAPI / MPC-HC in WASAPI along with VSTHost so I can use Electri-Q and Isone Pro??? I don't see how this would be possible, but is it?) or playing games.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Not sure about the XP vs Vista/7. There's one way to use a VST EQ that is applied globally that works with DS or WASAPI but don't know of any way to get WASAPI globally used, would have to use ASIO for that probably BUT there's an alternative:
 
The only way which I know works to use a VST EQ applied globally to any sounds played on your computer and is loss-less streaming so it shouldn't result in any sound quality loss (I can confirm it sounded very much like using WASAPI with foobar2000) is to use:
 
1. Virtual Audio Cable (not free however, costs something 25~$50 or whatever but you can try it out for free if you can stand the annoying announcer spamming "trial" all the time haha)
2. A VSTHost to apply whatever EQ you want to use with your system, VSTHost is what I tested with and works fine
 
One downside with this particular setup though is that it:
 
a) Increases CPU cycles, but with modern CPUs there shouldn't be much of a performance issue/impact
b) It adds latency, you can control the "buffers" tho, the lower value you can use the lower latency but it'll start distort if you go too low, I could go down to like 525 whereas it was rather acceptable to me, even for gaming

 

[ComfyGrados]

I'm using Virtual Audio Cable with VST host right now to apply Electri-Q and Isone to movies and games. Does Virtual Audio Cable bypass the Windows K-Mixer?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

I'm using Virtual Audio Cable with VST host right now to apply Electri-Q and Isone to movies and games. Does Virtual Audio Cable bypass the Windows K-Mixer?

 
Appearently it does if checking the homepage description, also I'd say it does so validating with my ears, I have cases using my custom dolby headphone config where the treble part can be significantly more laid-back in a very loudly mastered and busy track (hardstyle climax parts especially) when using DirectSound vs WASAPI but using VAC it sounds like if using WASAPI in these parts, no "muted" treble parts.

 

[lee730]

I use cPlay with ASIO and at least through that program I don't detect any audible sound quality degradation. What I am noticing though is more detail (especially in the treble) throughout as opposed to Foobar, Media Center 17 & Media Money Gold. Keep in mind I'm using Asio with all these programs but cPlay seems to be the best of them. I also notice cPlay decodes the FLAC file and stores it in memory cache playing it in WAV which may also be a contributing factor in this sound quality difference. The improvements I notice lie in the treble, imaging and sound-staging. Media Monkey is my second favorite due to its emphasis on the mid-range when compared to the other programs.
 

 

[AKG240mkII]

Quote:

decodes the FLAC file and stores it in memory cache playing it in WAV

Unlike all other players that don't decode the FLAC and play the WAV ?
Also, audible differences between software-players ??
 
And whats with all this ASIO/latency nonsense ?
'Latency' during playback ??
NO, setting a smaller buffer-size (or none at all) does NOT improve sound-quality .

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Unlike all other players that don't decode the FLAC and play the WAV ?
Also, audible differences between software-players ??
 
And whats with all this ASIO/latency nonsense ?
'Latency' during playback ??
NO, setting a smaller buffer-size (or none at all) does NOT improve sound-quality .

I was under the impression other programs don't fully expand the FLAC files into WAV and store them into ram before playback. More so they do playback on the fly; therefore having an extra process going on during playback. I've noticed these inconsistencies not only on the PC but also on DAPs where WAV can sound slightly better than FLAC. What I gather is the discrepancy is during the conversion and having sound playback at the same time.