[Ableza]

I think Roon works for music files the same way MusicBee does: it uses ASIO (or maybe WASAPI) to select the appropriate sample rate. BUT when you switch back to a streaming service or Kodi, they are stuck at whatever sample rate Roon used last (which is never going to be the 48khz that Kodi prefers). Am I missing something?

I'm beginning to think that this is a limitation of Windows that hardware can't fix until/unless every app I use uses ASIO.

Roon serves files and streaming content at whatever sample rate it is recorded at and in my system is seamless. Yes, I suspect your issue is being caused by Windows, and my suggestion to install a Roon server instead means Windows will not control the output.

 

[ronross]

Roon serves files and streaming content at whatever sample rate it is recorded at and in my system is seamless. Yes, I suspect your issue is being caused by Windows, and my suggestion to install a Roon server instead means Windows will not control the output.

Are you using a Windows OS device to serve your files and if so, are you using other digital sources output through the same DAC? For Roon to be a (very expensive) solution to this problem it would have to leave the sound card control panel at either 44 or 48 after playing, say, a 96khz flac (I'm assuming I'd have to quit Roon for anything else to work at all given exclusive mode). Then at least Spotify and Kodi would work albeit not perfectly (given that one is 44 and the other 48).

In any event, the discussion is academic because I'm not paying $$ for Roon in my setting. Thanks, anyway.

 

[artur9]

Apparently, flourinated silicone rubber tested the best in 72.

Now I am scouring Amazon for an assortment of cheap items to build some isolation/damping pads for my towers. I am looking at buying some sorbothane, silicone, corrugated rubber, cork, rubber screws & washers, and carbon fiber to play around with, to see what I can come up with.

Anyone have input on whether pucks or platforms is the way to go?

I like pucks because the platforms are always the wrong size.

Are you going to put your shingle out there and compete with the snake oil guys?

 

[artur9]

If this won't work the way I want it to, what's the next best thing? Thanks.

For the Mac there are control panels/apps that automatically switch the sample rate for you so you don't have to do it manually. Nothing like that for the Windows "OS"?

 

[ronross]

For the Mac there are control panels/apps that automatically switch the sample rate for you so you don't have to do it manually. Nothing like that for the Windows "OS"?

That would be handy but I can't find anything like that.

 

[Ableza]

Are you using a Windows OS device to serve your files and if so, are you using other digital sources output through the same DAC? For Roon to be a (very expensive) solution to this problem it would have to leave the sound card control panel at either 44 or 48 after playing, say, a 96khz flac (I'm assuming I'd have to quit Roon for anything else to work at all given exclusive mode). Then at least Spotify and Kodi would work albeit not perfectly (given that one is 44 and the other 48).

In any event, the discussion is academic because I'm not paying $$ for Roon in my setting. Thanks, anyway.

OK then. So back to other advice: don't use a PC sound card. Output via USB to a USB DAC. Try that.

 

[ronross]

OK then. So back to other advice: don't use a PC sound card. Output via USB to a USB DAC. Try that.

LOL, *that* was my original question! Will a USB DAC, eg Modi, solve the problem. Haven't got an answer yet. I sent an email to Schiit.

 

[Ripper2860]

Another Jazz Recommendation...

Album: 5000 Miles
Artists: Nils Landgren

Who got da Funk?! We got da Funk!! Nils Landgren (Trombonist) and his 'Funk Unit' do about as good a job of melding Funk and Jazz as anyone. A mellow and funky ride that will certainly bring about a toe-tap and head-nod (especially on Sisters of Arequipa). A very well recorded studio album that is certainly worth a listen.

Available on Tidal and Spotify.

 

[Rensek]

I like pucks because the platforms are always the wrong size.

Are you going to put your shingle out there and compete with the snake oil guys?

Haha no, this will be purely for my purposes. I don't think i have the time, desire, or marketing accumen to compete with legitimate and snake oil solutions.

I should also add my results will be 100 percent subjective, with aid of the scotch mod...

 

[Alcophone]

Tl;dr: I need a DAC solution that will switch between the different sample rates required by my apps transparently.

Good luck I use foobar2000 for my local files, often Spotify for streaming, sometimes Tidal as I'm trying to get rid of it, YouTube and more.

foobar2000 with ASIO or WASAPI drivers will set the sample rate as needed. Tidal set up correctly will set the sample rate as needed. The most feasible solution I can imagine is an app that monitors if these are running, and sets things back 44.1 kHz when they aren't running anymore. That would solve it for me.

The problem comes when I switch between sources on the pc. I use the card to output audio for Kodi (16/48), Google Play Music/Spotify (16/44) and my mp3/flac files via MusicBee (variable up to 24/192). I use shuffle on MusicBee so a playlist can contain different sample rates. The only way to get those sample rates to switch automatically is to use the Audiophile's ASIO driver and then MB works fine.

So you would require a solution that detects that Kodi is running and sets the output device to 48 kHz. If you're diligent about only running one of the apps at any point in time, you could create a batch file that first sets the required sample rate for Kodi/Spotify/Play Music, then starts the respective app. Change your desktop link or start menu entry or what have you to the respective batch file, and use that to start the apps.
That requires a command line tool that can set the bitrate for a particular sound card... wondering whether that already exists...

The problem is even more pronounced with Kodi. MusicBee's ASIO exclusive mode breaks Kodi's audio even after I exit from MB. I have to restart the pc and reset the sample rate in the control panel. If I forget Kodi won't work at all.

That is nasty! Are you sure MusicBee isn't still running something in the background after you "exit" it? Is there an icon for it in the systray (you probably know what I mean, but to be sure: bottom right on the taskbar, make sure to click the arrow as well)?

I want a solution that will play files up to 24/192 and switch between the various sample rates transparently. I thought about getting a basic USB Modi.

I don't think the DAC/sound card used makes a difference, apart from what drivers it supports (no native ASIO for Schiit anymore, at best ASIO4ALL).
Edit: though testing would be easier with a DAC that clearly shows the sample rate it's seeing.

 

[Ableza]

LOL, *that* was my original question! Will a USB DAC, eg Modi, solve the problem. Haven't got an answer yet. I sent an email to Schiit.

The answer you are looking for is "yes."

 

[Ripper2860]

Yep. That is the answer.

 

[ronross]

Good luck I use foobar2000 for my local files, often Spotify for streaming, sometimes Tidal as I'm trying to get rid of it, YouTube and more.

foobar2000 with ASIO or WASAPI drivers will set the sample rate as needed. Tidal set up correctly will set the sample rate as needed. The most feasible solution I can imagine is an app that monitors if these are running, and sets things back 44.1 kHz when they aren't running anymore. That would solve it for me.



So you would require a solution that detects that Kodi is running and sets the output device to 48 kHz. If you're diligent about only running one of the apps at any point in time, you could create a batch file that first sets the required sample rate for Kodi/Spotify/Play Music, then starts the respective app. Change your desktop link or start menu entry or what have you to the respective batch file, and use that to start the apps.
That requires a command line tool that can set the bitrate for a particular sound card... wondering whether that already exists...


That is nasty! Are you sure MusicBee isn't still running something in the background after you "exit" it? Is there an icon for it in the systray (you probably know what I mean, but to be sure: bottom right on the taskbar, make sure to click the arrow as well)?


I don't think the DAC/sound card used makes a difference, apart from what drivers it supports (no native ASIO for Schiit anymore, at best ASIO4ALL).
Edit: though testing would be easier with a DAC that clearly shows the sample rate it's seeing.

You feel me, brother

Honestly this is a PITA. I really prefer MusicBee to Foobar; it's much more plug and play and gives me 85% of the metadata bells and whistles of Roon. It will allow me to choose between DirectSound, WASAPI and ASIO but while both ASIO and WASAPI should change sample rates only ASIO works. I'm coming to think this is an M-Audio thing.

Ableza in his earlier post is suggesting that a USB DAC will give me what I want. Since I've gotten over ten good years out of the sound card I think I'll try a Modi. In the worst case, I'll keep the sound card connected and just use it for Kodi set to 48khz. And I'll use the Modi for local files and the streaming services.

 

[Alcophone]

Ableza in his earlier post is suggesting that a USB DAC will give me what I want. Since I've gotten over ten good years out of the sound card I think I'll try a Modi. In the worst case, I'll keep the sound card connected and just use it for Kodi set to 48khz. And I'll use the Modi for local files and the streaming services.

Well, I'd be surprised. To Windows, a sound card is a sound card. Internal, external, virtual, makes no difference. And I'm using USB DACs pretty much exclusively.

 

[Ableza]

Two of my Roon endpoints are PCs running Win 10, connected via USB to a DAC. Both of them switch resolution automatically (because the DAC does) and the Roon player doesn't care what source it is. YMMV depending on how your playback software might effect your system.