Wow, using ASIO output sounds much better

[Stinn]

I was kind of skeptical about using ASIO over directsound, thinking that it wouldn't make much difference but I have to say I was quite wrong. Changing back and forth I noticed a HUGE difference in quality. The only issue was having to turn off windows sounds and all other sounds in order to stop browsing around my computer from cutting off my music. I heard kernal streaming is supposed to just not let other sounds play but I had no luck getting KS working.
Anyway just wanted to say that anyone skeptical about a difference definately give it a try.

 

[Mister X]

I heard kernal streaming is supposed to just not let other sounds play but I had no luck getting KS working.

The only thing exclusive about Kernel streaming is that you can't use it from multiple "clients" simultaneously .... anything else is a sample rate issue with your hardware



BTW it may help if you actually told us what card you were using.

 

[Stinn]

chaintech av-710 which i just got a few days ago(see av-710 nightmare install thread).
av-710 -> Technics SA-700 Stereo Reciever -> HD-555
The reciever will be replaced with a real headphone amp soon.

 

[anotherguy159]

Placebo effect.

 

[MrPrez]

For us idiots out here, what is ASIO, and, what do i need to do this? Thanks for helping a dumbass.

 

[Mister X]

ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output), developed by Steinberg, is a cross-platform, multi-channel audio transfer protocol that is being adopted by many of the manufacturers of audio/MIDI sequencing applications. It allows software to have access to the multi-channel capabilities of a wide range of powerful sound cards.
ASIO expands on the basic capabilities of a standard computer sound card, most of which can only provide stereo (two-channel) audio input and output. The ASIO specification defines the interface that manufacturers of professional audio sound cards must use to create an ASIO driver for their hardware. This driver allows the host audio/MIDI application to "see" all of the inputs and outputs available on the sound card. The user can then assign these I/O ports as needed for recording or playback when using an ASIO-compatible software program. This allows the users to record more tracks simultaneously than the previous limitation of two channels imposed by a standard sound card.

Why is it important to us?
Simple..... it allows you to bypass windows K mixer (which forces resampling on any card that has a AC97 interface).

 

[Stinn]

Placebo effect.

maybe but i did go back and forth a few times between them and I think I heard a difference. Guess if I'mhappy then that's all the matters.

Mr.Prez you need to get ASIO4ALL(http://www.asio4all.com/) and then an asio plug in for your music player. I think foobar comes with one if you install the full "Special" install.

 

[darkpark]

the kmixer doesn't resample the sound 100 percent of the time. like Mixter X stated it happens for AC97 based soundcards.
even if this resampling does take place, does it degrade the sound that much? i don't know.
anyway, chances are some ppl are just hearing a placebo effect and there usually is a difference in volume (one is louder than the other) so some could perceive as an improvement.
anyway, using either kernel streaming or asio doesn't hurt but don't expect miracles.

 

[Bleed]

foobar doesn't come with the ASIO plug-in. i tried to use Asio for my winamp, for the life of me i could not figure it out. i had the .dll file in my plug-ins folder, and i found on some forums that you need to extract the .dll file, but it doesn't work .

 

[darkpark]

i think the "special" version of foobar comes with it. if not than download the asio component from this site: http://www3.cypress.ne.jp/otachan/

another thing: in order for ASIO to work your soundcard's drivers have to support it. if they do not, than use asio4all as mentioned above.

 

[Stinn]

i know foobar comes with kernal streaming but I couldn't get it to work, it just kept giving me some error. It's entirely possible I was simply hearing a difference in volume and thinking it was better. Plus since this sound card is still so new to me I'm hearing things clearer than I used to(moved up from a gtxp that was dying), almost all the background whitenoise is gone now.

 

[dotZIP]

I dled ASIO4all but I can't for the life of me figure out how to configure it properly for soundstorm.

I have the dll installed properly and everything (works with Nvidia ASIO) in foobar.

 

[BoogerBomb]

Is this something for analog outputs or digital as well? Im getting a NF2 board for the Soundstorm Dolby Digital encoding over optical out and just had read about this. Is what y'all are talking about something different?

Just read his FAQ and since he says that if we dont know what it is we dont need it I will take his word for it.

 

[darkpark]

the output is another thing. ASIO and kernel streaming deals with sending audio data from an application to the soundcard. analog/digital is from you soundcard to your speakers or whatever else you might have connected.

anyway, i wouldn't worry about it. the asio and kernel streaming stuff is over-rated anyway.

 

[GodsMadClown]

Have you done a comparison? On what equipment?

 

[darkpark]

i have the following equipment:
EMU 1212m, M-Audio Revolution 7.1, meta42 headphone amp, and Grado SR-325 headphones.
the comparison was cursory i'll admit, but i couldn't discern a difference in sound quality.

 

[GodsMadClown]

Hmm. Interesting. I heard one on my Revo->PiMeta->Ultrasone HFI650. Perhaps I am imagining things.

 

[darkpark]

it's also possible that on my system (windows xp sp2) kmixer isn't touching the audio even when using directsound or waveout.
after all, do we know whether kmixer affects the sound stream EVERY time when using directsound or waveout?

 

[Bleed]

finally got ASIO to work both on Winamp and Foobar, but the thing is, im hearing a bit of clipping . any thoughts?

 

[GodsMadClown]

What's your hardware?

 

[mdlestat]

One of the primary reasons that ASIO is used has little or nothing to do with the sound quality-- it has everything to do with latency.

When you are making music in the digital world, latency (the time difference between an action and it's consequence) becomes very important. We're talking the time it takes an audio event signal being sent by a key being pushed on your MIDI controller to pass from that control to the soundcard's input, into the audio software's sound engine, and back out to your monitors (speakers).

ASIO is optimized for audio signal transport-- Cubase, like Sonar, Ableton Live, Reason, Logic, and a thousand other audio programs, rely on transparent processing for good results--ASIO is often (hardware depending, and variable of course) the best solution for that purpose. My output latency in Reason 3.0 is 6 milliseconds using ASIO drivers on my Delta 1010LT card-- but MMC's 's are 185ms...serious difference.

If you are looking for audio improvement, get real speakers instead of these plastic Logitech/Altec/Klipsch videogame pieces of crap--I mean REAL speakers-- THEN you will have a genuine improvement in your audio quality. I use a pair of M-Audio BX8's as my primary audio on this computer--cheap AND infinitely superior to anything you'll ever find in a computer junk store Plus, I could add satellites to make it a 5.1 if I were so inclined, which I don't happen to be.

 

[Stinn]

One of the primary reasons that ASIO is used has little or nothing to do with the sound quality-- it has everything to do with latency.
...

interesting, thanks for the info. The only reason I even tried ASIO is because a chaintech setup guide on headfi suggested using it to help get the most out of the card.

 

[jaffy]

I noticed a minor difference when switching from Directsound to ASIO using Foobar. ASIO being the better. Will you notice the difference when using el cheapo speakers/headphones? Probably not. But with good gear, it is noticeable. IMO.