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Fostex HP-A4BL (the A4 with balanced output)
May 7, 2018 at 11:48 PM Post #241 of 401
Curious but which music player do the lot of you use on Windows with the Fostex? I've always been using Foobar and up until last night, I only realized I've been using the A4BL with the default primary audio driver which I assume was the Realtek audio driver of my Asus mainboard when listening with Foobar. Upon switching to the Fostex driver, I noticed that there is a 'lag' whenever I turn up or down the volume control of the Foobar, which is not present when I was using the primary driver.

However, I haven't had the chance to A/B test since it was getting pretty late last night but to those of you that had experiences, are there any notable difference in audio quality between the Fostex driver and the default Windows/Realtek driver? I also just realized r there is Fostex Audio player for download from its website. How does it compare with Foobar (or any players you folks are presently using)?
 
May 8, 2018 at 5:07 AM Post #242 of 401
I use Foobar 2000 and in widows sound devices have fostex dac properties set at 24 bit, 192000 Hz (Studio Quality) with Exclusive modes checked and in Foobar output DSD:WASAPI (push) : Dac/amp (FOSTEX USB Audio HP-A4BL)
 
May 9, 2018 at 2:27 PM Post #243 of 401
Hello everyone. Long time lurker here. Since I've never posted here in the past and I'm restricted from other areas of the site, I wanted to mention here that if anyone's looking to sell his HP A4BL then I'm interested in a unit for a reasonable price, roughly around the 300$-350$ area depanding on use and what not. PM me if you got an offer.

Thank you and have a good day =]
 
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May 11, 2018 at 7:51 PM Post #246 of 401
KingFiercer said:
For me FOSTEX ASIO Driver in foobar forcing bass. WASAPI (FOSTEX USB AUDIO) seems more neutral.
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When you say forcing bass, do you mean with foobar's built-in equalizer?
 
May 12, 2018 at 6:17 AM Post #247 of 401
No, I'm not using equalizer. Just noticed that ASIO have more focus on deepest lower bass. And for me WASAPI output sound is more neutral and comfortable.
 
May 28, 2018 at 1:25 AM Post #248 of 401
Stop_Whispering said:
I am sorry for the late reply, but I just purchased the HP-A4BL coming from the Schiit Fulla 2. I had the same problem especially in games. I went in the device properties under windows and turned off enhancements and forced the bit rate to 24/192. That solved my issue.
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I've been using my HP-A4 for months from the optical port on my motherboard because of the latency issues over USB but looks like some combination of the latest W10 patch, using Microsoft drivers dated 11/04/2018 and selecting 32bit-192kHz on the control panel fixed the issue. Thanks for bringing it up!

This means no 3rd party software installed, even if it's from Fostex, UAC2 might be working its magic here.
 
Jul 16, 2018 at 9:53 PM Post #249 of 401
KingFiercer said:
No, I'm not using equalizer. Just noticed that ASIO have more focus on deepest lower bass. And for me WASAPI output sound is more neutral and comfortable.
Click to expand...

Just noticed you have the the A4-BL connected to the AT-HA22TUBE. May I ask what do you think of the sound of Audio Technica tube amp from the Fostex? And is the set up from the Fostex through the RCA output selector to the RCA inputs of the Audio Technica? Hence the Fostex would act as a 'lineout/preamp" to the Audio Technica HA22Tube, am I correct?

My bad I'm a little fuzzy when it comes to these as I'm still pretty clueless when it comes to lineout/preamp connectivity and stuff.
 
Jul 17, 2018 at 1:23 PM Post #250 of 401
Yeah, RCA-output volume can be adjusted on Fostex, but I recommend to set it to max when using with external amp for best sound quality. But if you use something like AC amplifier (w/o volume control) you can easily use Fostex like preamp.
AT-HA22TUBE gives me what I want for Fostex sound upgrade - more openess, fluidity and macrodynamics. It's more natural and musical without any tube flavor.
 
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Jul 17, 2018 at 9:13 PM Post #251 of 401
KingFiercer said:
Yeah, RCA-output volume can be adjusted on Fostex, but I recommend to set it to max when using with external amp for best sound quality. But if you use something like AC amplifier (w/o volume control) you can easily use Fostex like preamp.
AT-HA22TUBE gives me what I want for Fostex sound upgrade - more openess, fluidity and macrodynamics. It's more natural and musical without any tube flavor.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'll try to see if I can sample these somewhere later in the year. Were you listening to them on stock tubes or have you rolled any? Any noticeable faults that I should know about? I noticed that the tubes are covered, doesn't this make it warmer than usual?

I'm looking for something that can pair well with the HD650 and the Fostex TH500RP; the latter being really picky.
 
Jul 19, 2018 at 4:23 PM Post #252 of 401
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Jul 25, 2018 at 3:27 AM Post #253 of 401
Well, I was finally about to get my hands on an HP A4BL after a friend of mine got back from a trip to Japan, since on Amazon Japan its roughly 100$ cheper than it is on the american one.
I only had an Audioengine D1 up until now but as far as I'm concerned, the A4BL sounds great, looks sexy AF and drives my HD 6XX with ease. I also use it as a dac and preamp for my LSR 305 and I've noticed an improvement over my D1. And on top of that, it has the magical button that allows me to switch between the headphones output and the RCA output for my monitors.

Overall, I'm happy =]

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Jul 27, 2018 at 8:20 AM Post #254 of 401
Purchased a Fostex HP-A4BL and can't find a source for the newest USB Audio Driver Version 2.21. I've spent hours searching. Anybody ideas?
I'm a new member so please tell me if I am in the wrong place.
 
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