[Sorensiim]

I recently got a HRT HeadStreamer but was extremely disappointed at first - pops and clicks all over the place, totally useless. Then none other than Kevin Halverson, CTO of HRT (and Head-Fi user) helped me out - By setting the lowest possible WASAPI buffer (50ms) I had flawless playback, just like when I used the Windows default driver fixed at 24/96 and thus upsampling everything. Using J River Media Center with WASAPI everything plays perfectly and the HeadStreamer has no issues jumping between bit depths and sample rates. Playing back the same files in FooBar, using WASAPI with the buffer set to 50ms, everything is fine - until I jump from a 16/44.1 file to 24/96. Then the pops and clicks are back, with a vengeance, like when the buffer is set too high. Asio4All output with Foobar is just all over the place with noise and pops and clicks. Atomic player sounds great with WASAPI as well. If I add the resampling DSP in foobar and resample everything to 96khz there are no problems and it sounds great. But it really bugs me to resample, especially when JRMC and Atomic gets it right. 
 
What am I missing here? Is there some secret trick to asynchronous USB bliss in Foobar or do I have to settle for the JRMC or Atomic GUI? The issues are the same accross 3 different host computers, I might add.
 
Edited for clarification: The HeadStreamer sounds brilliant! "Clarity" is the word I would use to describe its sound. Love it. I'm just having a hard time getting FooBar to behave properly.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

I recently got a HRT HeadStreamer but was extremely disappointed at first - pops and clicks all over the place, totally useless. Then none other than Kevin Halverson, CTO of HRT (and Head-Fi user) helped me out - By setting the lowest possible WASAPI buffer (50ms) I had flawless playback, just like when I used the Windows default driver fixed at 24/96 and thus upsampling everything. Using J River Media Center with WASAPI everything plays perfectly and the HeadStreamer has no issues jumping between bit depths and sample rates. Playing back the same files in FooBar, using WASAPI with the buffer set to 50ms, everything is fine - until I jump from a 16/44.1 file to 24/96. Then the pops and clicks are back, with a vengeance, like when the buffer is set too high. Asio4All output with Foobar is just all over the place with noise and pops and clicks. Atomic player sounds great with WASAPI as well. If I add the resampling DSP in foobar and resample everything to 96khz there are no problems and it sounds great. But it really bugs me to resample, especially when JRMC and Atomic gets it right. 
 
What am I missing here? Is there some secret trick to asynchronous USB bliss in Foobar or do I have to settle for the JRMC or Atomic GUI? The issues are the same accross 3 different host computers, I might add.
 
Edited for clarification: The HeadStreamer sounds brilliant! "Clarity" is the word I would use to describe its sound. Love it. I'm just having a hard time getting FooBar to behave properly.

Hmm, these problems sound troubling. What was the buffer before you adjusted it? 1000ms? I have problems with my own DAC in Foobar WASAPI if the buffer isn't set precisely at 1000ms. I was hoping to avoid these problems by switching to an asynchronous transfer system with the HeadStreamer...
 
I guess you'll have to see if the MS2 owners have had similar problems...
 

 

[Sorensiim]

Here's a funny thing... If I disable these two settings (Clear buffers), JRMC behaves exactly like Foobar...
 

 

[tomscy2000]

In the Advanced settings in Foobar, there's a 'Full file buffering up to (KB)' setting that you can set... maybe tweaking that might help?

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

In the Advanced settings in Foobar, there's a 'Full file buffering up to (KB)' setting that you can set... maybe tweaking that might help?

Worth a shot, I'll give it a try!

 

[Sorensiim]

Nope, no difference whatsoever. I'd rather listen to to FooBar through directsound, resampling everything to 24/96 that I'd use J River Media Center. I really don't like the GUI on JRMC.

 

[firev1]

Actually for playback you would like to set as large buffers as possible to avoid hiccups. If i'm not wrong, using the flush options will prevent data bottlenecks by flushing buffers to allow space for new data, leading to glitch free playback.

 

[tomscy2000]

Quote:

I really don't like the GUI on JRMC.

 
Me neither. I shudder at the thought of having to use JRMC in order to get problem-free playback with the HeadStreamer. I suggest you consult with Kevin Halverson again. He was pretty quick with answering my questions when I e-mailed him.

 

[melosoares]

I have a Music Streamer II and same problems with foobar...
 
Changed to MusicBee (www.getmusicbee.com) and everything is fine now. In fact foobar is the only software (wasapi/asio output) that doesn´t work with my HRT.
 
For what I´ve been reading on the web, this is a very common issue. It seems that there is some kind of incompatibility.
 
 
Because all other mediaplayers that I´ve tried work very well with HRT in wasapi/asio output, I´m not worried with this issue at all.
 
 
Regards,
JP
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Sorensiim]

I couldn't get Musicbee to play well with WASAPI, could you?
Quote:

I have a Music Streamer II and same problems with foobar...
 
Changed to MusicBee (www.getmusicbee.com) and everything is fine now. In fact foobar is the only software (wasapi/asio output) that doesn´t work with my HRT.
 
For what I´ve been reading on the web, this is a very common issue. It seems that there is some kind of incompatibility.
 
 
Because all other mediaplayers that I´ve tried work very well with HRT in wasapi/asio output, I´m not worried with this issue at all.
 
 
Regards,
JP
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

[melosoares]

Quote:

I couldn't get Musicbee to play well with WASAPI, could you?


 

Yes. It works very well.
 
With MusicBee everything is perfect.
 
What is not working well in your setup ?
 
Have you tried Asio ? or a buffer change ?
 
Maybe you should try also the .net4 version (http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=4960.msg31508#new)
 
 
Regards,
JP
 
 
 
 
 

 

[tomscy2000]

The thing is, I can't believe a company like HRT wouldn't test their USB-only product against software as popular as Foobar... it just seems terribly short-sighted to me.

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

The thing is, I can't believe a company like HRT wouldn't test their USB-only product against software as popular as Foobar... it just seems terribly short-sighted to me.

It works perfectly in Foobar as long as you stick to direct sound and lets Windows manage the sample rate. But using WASAPI or Asio4All screws everything royally over.

 

[Sorensiim]

Quote:

Yes. It works very well.
 
With MusicBee everything is perfect.
 
What is not working well in your setup ?
 
Have you tried Asio ? or a buffer change ?
 
Maybe you should try also the .net4 version (http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=4960.msg31508#new)
 
 
Regards,
JP
 
 
 
 
 

Nope, no luck either. 

 

[melosoares]

Quote:

It works perfectly in Foobar as long as you stick to direct sound and lets Windows manage the sample rate. But using WASAPI or Asio4All screws everything royally over.

There was a thread in foobar forum asking for the possibility of a lower than 50 ms buffer...
 
The request intended to adress some USB DACs issues, but foobar team said the problem was in the wasapi plugin, not in the software itself. Unless someone rewrites the plugin, nothing can be done.