[deviant03]

So I just followed Mr. Radar's sticky to setup the Chaintech AV-710 here:

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...aintech+AV-710

Couple of problems I am having, how come the volume is so low even when the volume is maxed out? Also how can I prevent mp3s from skipping (I am only browsing with IE along with foobar) - I have a athlon 1700+, 1.4 ghz.

 

[deviant03]

Basically with the onboard audio on my nforce2 mobo I only had the volume up to two bars and it would be loud already. With the chaintech I have to max it out all the way to get decent volume output and that causes more background noise since the volume is so high. I have it connected to the output next to the spdif out, labeled as alt out in the manual.

 

[NPoet]

Interesting, first of all, wha tplayer are you using, supposing you are using foobar2000 the av710's are amazingly picky about how they are set up between foobar and you via vinyl audio panel...

I'd also like to suggest that you get th enewer drivers, as the one glitch they have with the master volume is easily worked around

I can get my a900's to blistering levels that i wouldn't dare put on my ears with my chaintech / a900 without the CMoy in between (actually just going to give the CMoy to a friend) the three best options for setup, as I will quote off earwax yet again

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earwax 1st. - Waveout - 2 chan-hi-res - 24 bit padded to 32 - no software resampling 2nd. - ASIO4all - 2 channel (but still using the hi-res speaker #7&8 jack) - 24 bit padded to 32 - no software resampling 3rd. - Kernal streaming or ASIO - 2 chan hi-res - 24 padded to 32 - SSRC resampling to 96k ]

now if you are having skipping problems, my first suggestion would be to try wavout I think it's quite comparable to ASIO and the chance of it skipping I would say are incredibly low

now if you are resampling with slow mode for Kernal as radar's guide said it now doubt will leech an incredible amount off your CPU in comparison tot he other two options, takes about 20% of my 3200+, so if skipping is the problem with asio and kernal, then I would suggest wavout

as for volume you may want to check and see that you are maxed out, aka going in to control panel and opening "sounds and audio" in the audio tab. For "Sound Playback" select your Envy device and go to volume, then in the new window that's open go to "options" then "properties", it should bring up a window where you can choose what to display... might as well check them all off for the time being and then crank them all the way up and leave them that way.

with the version 3 drivers you of course have the bug with the master volume, though the workaround is in this thread
http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=76847

if that still didn't help at all, just get back to me or send me a PM if you wish and we'll try to get it straightened out...

if there's a typo in here, it's because I have a client in 5 minutes and am running out the door... I'll check over it when I get back

 

[Edwood]

Try without resampler and see if it skips if you haven't tried already.

-Ed

 

[NPoet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Try without resampler and see if it skips if you haven't tried already.

Damn I could have saved a lot of typing and just typed that

ah well, might as well have some kind of encompassing thing to troubleshoot

 

[Mr.Radar]

The reason the AV-710 is so quiet (without an amp) is because the 7/8 output is only a line-out with no amp on the card to drive your cans.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Try without resampler and see if it skips if you haven't tried already.

If you do that you can't use Kernel Streaming (though people have done A/B comparisons of KS vs. DirectSound and heard no difference). Also, for the skipping, try disabling the "Slow Mode" for the resampler first.

 

[breez]

What headphones are you using? The alt out is only line level I think and it may not be enough for high impendance phones. Also I don't recommend the alt out without an amplifier in general (gives earsplitting sound levels, but no good bass on my high sensitivity, low impedance cans).

edit: aah, a minute too late

 

[deviant03]

Thanks for all the quick responses guys. Mr. Radar and breez - I think you guys are right because Ive tried all the suggestions - turned of slow mode, tried without resampler and switched to wave out. Still getting very low volume and as breez mentioned, very low bass output from alt out. I assumed I didnt need a amp for these phones, guess I gotta sell the card or ship it back. Though the nforce2 sound pretty damn good already, just wanted to see what the fuss was about with this budget card

. So does the tutorial above apply only to the alt out to be able to use the card to its full potential? How about line out?

 

[NPoet]

hmph, my little write up was for the alt out, though it's odd that you can not drive the cans as I also have the exact same setup...

 

[Mr.Radar]

My graphical setup guide applies to the 7/8 output (referred to by breez as the "alt out"), and yes, to use the card to it's full potential that's the one you need to use. The front outputs I believe are amped and shouldn't sound too bad, you may as wel give them a try and compare them to your onboard audio before you send your card back.

 

[deviant03]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPoet hmph, my little write up was for the alt out, though it's odd that you can not drive the cans as I also have the exact same setup...

Yes, very odd.. also I am getting low volume on the line out too. Too bad cause for $25 I would keep it if it had decent sound.. if anything just to get rid of the slight background noise I have with the nforce. Gonna go try the newer drivers you suggested now.

 

[NPoet]

Yea, I mean also really scour over the Via Vinyl control panel, as there are some values that you can change in there that you can not change in in the normal volume control...

for example rear speaker, which is of course going to be what controls your volume if you are using hi-rez..

 

[imported_Matt_Carter]

Didn't chaintech just integrate via's integrated audio for its mother boards into a dedicated soundcard. Meaning it should be no better than last generation Via's integrated audio?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Actually, the Envy24 is not an original Via chipset design. It was originally designed and manufactured by another company which had since been bought out by Via.

And the Envy24PT chipset, as used on the Chaintech AV-710, is simply the cheapest version of the original Envy24 chipset used on the Terratec DMX 6fire. This cheapest PT version lacks several features, such as any 3D API support or software emulation at all whatsoever. Several intermediate versions of the Envy24 chipset - the Envy24HT and Evny24HT-S - emulate 3D gaming API support through software drivers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt_Carter Didn't chaintech just integrate via's integrated audio for its mother boards into a dedicated soundcard. Meaning it should be no better than last generation Via's integrated audio?

 

[breez]

But Chaintech card has the HT-S model

Their website and the card's manual is just a little confusing (both claim PT).