DirectSound vs. WASAPI vs. ASIO

[Megalith]

I am just curious as to what everyone uses and if anyone notices a real difference between these. I can't shake the idea that while WASAPI and ASIO seem difficult to tell apart, there is a noticeable difference with DirectSound. To my ears, DS simply sounds more mellow and smoother, which is probably a result of resampling based on how your sampling rate and bit-depth is set up under Windows.

 

[DouglasteR]

Directsound is susceptible to windows and programs "interference".

Sticky with WASAPI, its the best.

 

[Nenu]

WASAPI exclusive mode on Foobar 2000.
Then you get as close as you can to what was intended from the computers software audio subsystem.

 

[Meeho]

I am just curious as to what everyone uses and if anyone notices a real difference between these. I can't shake the idea that while WASAPI and ASIO seem difficult to tell apart, there is a noticeable difference with DirectSound. To my ears, DS simply sounds more mellow and smoother, which is probably a result of resampling based on how your sampling rate and bit-depth is set up under Windows.

If you're on Win 7 or newer, there shouldn't be any difference in quality. It is probably placebo.

I think resampling only kicks in if there are multiple sources, but it is of high enough quality not to be an issue anyway.

 

[Nenu]

There is a definite loss of detail on my system using directsound vs wasapi
ymmv.

 

[Solstice]

Use WASAPI with all your volume controls in software music player / Windows control panel / soundcard set to 100% (if using a seperate DAC or preamp / headphone amp with its own analogue volume control)

I can't quote the source because it escapes my memory atm, but apparently Windows 8.1 has a greatly improved handling of audio streams & resampling / digital volume control quality over Windows 7 so might wanna check that out too.

 

[Megalith]

DirectSound is definitely resampling because my DAC's 48 kHz indicator lights up instead of 44.1 kHz when I'm listening to music.

I just went back to WASAPI. I was playing around with ASIO and remembered why I never bothered using it; it gets stuck in exclusive mode (no sound output from anything else) even after I stop playback.

 

[Nenu]

If you can play other sounds while using WASAPI for music, it isnt in exclusive mode, it is still using a mixer and some resampling and/or mixing is occurring.

I have the same issue of not getting audio back after using WASAPI exclusive in Foobar2000.
It sometimes returns after a few seconds, other times, I select a different default windows audio playback device and then select my DAC again, this always fixes it straight away.

 

[Hotar9978]

I've tried all 3 with my xonar stx hd800 and there's no perceiveable difference. On the STX particularly if I enable ASIO the volume goes full blast bypassing the foobar volume control and Windows master volume control entirely. NOT fun when my unusual listening volume is at 10%.

 

[GotNoRice]

One thing that is nice about Directsound is that it makes it easier to setup Ducking for programs like Ventrilo, etc. Otherwise you almost have to choose between listening to background music during a game or using voice chat. I've never been a huge fan of WASAPI, i've always felt the exclusive mode was excessive and caused more issues than anything. ASIO is great and I've used it off and on for 10 years since I got my EMU 0404 PCI back in 2004, but ASIO bypasses Ducking settings, etc.

On a modern computer, it should be possible to have Directsound configured to give identical results to WASAPI or ASIO, but it's somewhat less foolproof.