Page 5 of 5 FirstFirst 12345
Results 41 to 50 of 50

Thread: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

  1. #41
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    Thanks for the info. There are many sound cards that just don't have ASIO drivers available. It was worth a shot.

    JRiver provides various audio output options. The nice thing is that you don't need a plug-in for these modes, they are built into the software program. However, it largely depends on the hardware capabilities (of the sound card) and the drivers themselves.

    Honestly, I'd stick with the regular WASAPI (Push) at this point since it seems to be compatible. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Event and Push will sound the same so there's no need to worry about that particular issue. The difference lies in how the data is sent/received/managed and is dependent on the capabilities of the hardware.
    -Jacob

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    Quote Originally Posted by noteworthy View Post
    I may have to look into alternatives - a new sound card or something else - to get bit perfect playback using my VAIO.
    I don't believe this is necessary. You're already using a digital output from your laptop (HDMI or TOSLINK). You've got foobar and (trial) JRiver set up using WASAPI mode. You're basically there.

    In JRiver, does the little icon light up in blue during playback? I had a screenshot attached to an earlier post. If so, then you've achieved the goal. If not, you might need to double-check "exclusive access" settings in both JRiver and Windows. Also make sure there are no DSP effects active. You can check this in JRiver by going to Player > DSP Studio. Make sure there are no checkmarks in the list (indicating active plug-ins).

    Hope that helps.
    -Jacob

  3. #43
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    41

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    I played around with JRiver and I was able to achieve bit-perfect playback (blue light lit up) using Wasapi.

    I kept getting the following error when I tried Wasapi - Event Style, ASIO, and Kernal Streaming:

    JRiver Wasapi - Event Style error.png

    I was able to play the FLAC files with Direct Sound and Wave Out output modes (not bit-perfect), but they did not sound nearly as good as with Wasapi. Wasapi played much clearer, with more detail, and louder. Foo Fighters' Everlong (Acoustic) sounded really good. Using Direct Sound and Wave Output it was meh.

    How do I check for "exclusive access" settings in Windows 7?

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    48

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    Quote Originally Posted by noteworthy View Post
    How do I check for "exclusive access" settings in Windows 7?

    When you already have WASAPI as the output in your media player setting then you already bypassed every possible changes the operating system can impose on the signal including the windows volume control. You can still however control the volume using the player's (at least with Foobar). The only other thing you can do would be to disable Replay Gain on the player as that would be directly related to volume which can still be controlled.

    Having said this, depending on your DAC or amp sometimes they have their own Windows drivers (W4S and NAD have theirs) and may or may not be automatically bit perfect so you would have to play with the settings.

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    Here are a few settings to check in Windows 7.



    1) Right-click the volume icon in the lower-right corner and select Playback devices.

    2) Click the Playback tab if not already selected, and then click your playback device in the list. You've mentioned using both HDMI and TOSLINK, so there will be at least two devices listed.

    3) Click the Properties button, click the Enhancement tab, and then put a checkmark in the box to disable all enhancements.

    4) Click the Advanced tab. Under the Exclusive Mode category, make sure Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device and Give exclusive mode applications priority are checked.

    5) Click OK to save changes and exit the property box.


    Repeat this process on the other audio output you use (either HDMI or TOSLINK).

    What this does is allow applications (like foobar and JRiver) to have exclusive access to the audio driver/hardware. For example, if JRiver is playing music and you pull up a YouTube video in your browser, you won't hear the YouTube audio on top of your music. Once playback stops, exclusive mode is released and you can play back audio using lesser methods like DirectSound for YouTube videos or Windows notification sounds.

    The error message you got earlier is what can happen if your soundcard driver/hardware does not support a specific output method. In this case, both Kernel Streaming and WASAPI - Event Style are not supported by your system. You can still use WASAPI (Push) though since it's compatible with virtually all soundcards and drivers.

    If the JRiver icon lit up in blue, you're golden. I don't know if foobar has a visual indicator to let you know that no changes are being made.

    Enjoy!
    -Jacob

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    41

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    I'm really enjoying my music using JRiver. Thanks again for the help.

    Is there a setting that prevents a song from briefly overlapping the previous song?

  7. #47
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    23

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    There is a nice write-up on JRiver here:

    http://www.computeraudiophile.com/co...ter-17-detail/

    It is a good read for tips on the setup (although it may not answer your question above). JRemote for iPhone is a must; there is also one for Android called Gizmo.

    Also take a look at Jplay, the sound quality is outstanding. To me the sound is much better than Foobar or JRiver. But 1) it is expensive 2) not a simple setup and 3) there is some controversy about the program. Some people claim that it is a bunch of smoke and mirrors. I have no idea if it is or is not, all I care about is that sound quality great, especially in hibernate mode.

    http://jplay.eu/

    They have a free trial if you are interested

  8. #48
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    JRiver MC is very flexible and customizable. There are several options for gapped and gapless playback.

    For a general overview, I recommend reading this KB article starting with Track Change.

    I played around with this feature extensively a while back and found I preferred the "cross-fade (smooth)" option for track changes and seeking. You may prefer the "Standard (gapped)" option. You can also try increasing the time (seconds) during track changes for a more obvious effect.

    Hope that helps!
    -Jacob

  9. #49
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    41

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    Thanks Jacob. I'll check out that article.

    While playing a song I moved the arrow over the blue light and selected DSP Studio. In the box on the left Output Format was checked, but I don't remember checking it. Do I want to have it checked or unchecked?

  10. #50
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Space Coast, FL
    Posts
    578

    Default Re: How do you listen to music (devices, etc.)?

    Ideally, Output Format should be unchecked, but if you're still getting the little blue indicator for Audio Path (indicating no changes are being made) then you're OK.

    You might take a peek in Output Format settings. Make sure Bitdepth is set to Source bitdepth and Channels is set to Source number of channels. Otherwise, keep Output Format unchecked unless you run into an error message where you have to force playback to a certain bitdepth for compatibility.
    -Jacob

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •