Audio Asylum Thread Printer

Get a view of an entire thread on one page

FAQ / News / Events

Computer Audio Asylum

RE: Computer Audio Basics

88.97.21.18

PAR

In Reply to: RE: Computer Audio Basics posted by Charles Hansen on September 16, 2017 at 23:55:37

" If you want the best fidelity, you should play the music at the native sampling rate. To do this in Windows you go to the Sound section of the Control Panel (I'm still using Win7, so this may be out-of-date) and under the "Advanced" tab of any connected audio device "Properties" there are two check boxes, one for "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" and "Give this application priority"
If you check them both, whenever you run your music player (say Foobar, or maybe even a web browser), the music will be played at its native rate and all other sounds will be blocked until you exit the application that is making sound."
Hi Charles. I thought that this did not seem right ( aside from other sounds being blocked) so off I went and checked it on my system using both my local file media player ( JRiver) and an internet radio station (BBC Radio 3).
As expected my DAC did not receive the native rate from the computer for either but that set in the Windows audio processor (I selected 24/176.4 to test). I would have expected the same with Win 7 and 8.1. except that at the time I had them they did not cater for rates higher than 24/96.
To get native rate audio in Windows you either need to have prior knowledge of it and select this in the Win audio player so that they match and switch of all other DSP functions or use a WASAPI or ASIO session or use kernel streaming. Fortunately both of my main computer music applications, JRiver and Qobuz, provide for WASAPI. I also happen to know that the Beeb run their internet stations as 16/48.

Edits: 09/17/17

Follow Ups:

Thanks for filling in the information gap - Charles Hansen 12:16:15 09/17/17 (0)
> > use a WASAPI or ASIO session or use kernel streaming. < <

Hi PAR,

Thanks for adding this in. It's been so long that I've done anything besides this that I took it for granted and forgot this was a necessary step. I've primarily used Foobar and JRiver and they offer a selection of the output mode. when you select one of the above, it works as described. If I forget to turn off Foobar (even if it isn't playing anything), the audio for Skype doesn't work.

But one can also select things like Direct Sound (the default Windows system that sends everything through the mixer) and then you have to know the native sample rate ahead of time and click a half-dozen boxes to change the sample rate of the Windows audio system. Mac is similar, but there is no way to get automatic switching without a 3rd-party program - iTunes (which is free, just as Foobar is free) not only requires all of the above steps but also that you have to quit iTunes before making the changes and then restarting it again.

I have no idea if Windows Media Player (the free program that comes with Windows) allows the selection of WASAPI output (or similar).

Thanks for the correction and clarification.
RE: Computer Audio Basics - oldmkvi 07:25:15 09/17/17 (1)
I didn't know JRiver could be used for Internet Radio.
I'll check it out on my IMac.
Any tips?
- RE: Computer Audio Basics - PAR 07:46:02 09/17/17 (0)
  Actually in my post above I was playing Radio 3 from their own browser based web player. However, yes you can indeed play internet radio via JRiver. The link below to the JRiver wiki will show you how to do it.
  
  I will say that when working it is great. However my success in adding stations to the Connected Media option is patchy. I can add the URL and the station may appear in the list of them in JRiver Connected Media. But when I click "play" the result is not always a foregone conclusion.
  
  Do let us know if you are succesful.
  - https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Connected_Media (Open in New Window)

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Signature Sound

[ Signature Sound Lounge ]