[rtate]

I am looking for some sort of step by step guide to set up my windows 10 based audio PC
I is an I3 with 8 gig or ram and a SS hard drive for the OS and player programs and an external hd with music on it.
I have an IFi Dac that does DSD ,although I don't have many DSD files at this point and I'm not even sure if they are playing in the right format.
Most files are .flac with some old mp3 stuff.
I want to figure out how to optimize windows for usb audio i.e. which process's and plug-ins to turn off, bios settings and things like that.
Currently struggling with FooBar but thinking of switching to JRiver
I have been reading the sticky's but most are older and don't refer to windows 10.

 Can some one point me in the right direction ?

[HAL]

Foobar2000 on Windows 10 sets up as on any version of Windows starting with Win7.   The Foobar2000 site has a forum with most of the answers folks can ask.

JRiver MC has its own setup technique, and they have a forum with FAQ for that. 

Computer Audiophile now Audiophile Style had great info on setting up Windows 10 for audio replay.

[Phil A]

JRiver is fairly user friendly to set-up (I don't use it in my main system at this point as I have a Lumin U1 music server).  I still have it in secondary systems and have helped lots of people.  It is not super difficult.  You can shoot me a PM if there's anything you're having problems with and I have screen shots I used to help other people with.

[FullRangeMan]

Maybe this help:
http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/

[WGH]

I posted a lot of Windows 10 tune up tips here:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=167226.msg1775656#msg1775656

I want to figure out how to optimize windows for usb audio i.e. which process's and plug-ins to turn off, bios settings and things like that.

Don't bother, you will only muck stuff up and it doesn't make any difference either in speed or sound quality. I tried Fidelizer and it was a PIA and didn't hear any difference. JRiver does WASAPI (which bypasses Windows sound parts) and Full Album Memory Playback which is all you need.

I switch from Foobar2000 to JRiver because JRiver is much easier to use, the album cover view is a no-brainer and most importantly it sounds better.

The most important thing you can do that will improve sound quality is put in an audiophile grade USB card and get rid of as many of the switching power supplies as possible. Here's how:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=122520.msg1290043#msg1290043
I'm still using the same server I built 9 years ago in December 2011, the processor is a slow Intel Atom D525 (1.8 GHz, dual core) and running the current Windows 10 (20H2). The sound of 16/48 flac, 24/96 flac, and DSD is glorious.

I have a separate Acopian 5V power supply on the SSD, yes it makes a positive difference.

And unbelievable as it sounds USB cables can make a big difference, the only way to know what works in your system is to try a few. A high price does not mean it sounds better, it just means you paid more. USB cables are a perennial topic:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=164769.msg1751664#msg1751664

The $20 USB PYST is re-branded Straightwire USB-Link USB Audio Cable ($42 retail)
https://www.schiit.com/products/pyst-cables

[Doublej]

One dimension of the setup, use Audirvana as Empirical Audio indicates. Here's why:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-UXXI4HTV0

This document (and site) might be helpful. \\https://www.highend-audiopc.com/PDF/windows10_setup_guide.pdf
 

[rtate]

Thanks guys , that's some good information.
I like the usb card idea but want to get everything in order before I start upgrading parts.

[Vincent Kars]

Windows Vista introduced a  new audio architecture.
Basically this audio stack has remained the same with some minor improvements for each new release.
https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/SW/Windows/Win7/Win7Audio.htm
Win 8 offered offloading
Win10 reduced the latency, added support for FLAC and ALAC.
The 2017 update finally included native support for UAC2 (USB Audio Class 2).

Most tweaks remains the same for all versions from Vista on.
An obvious one is to choose a media player supporting WASAPI in Exclusive mode.
This is the way to avoid any possible degradation by the Win audio stack.
Checking the DPC-latency is another.
If this is high you will have a lot of dropouts.

In the past I had a DAP (Dedicated Audio PC)
Applied all kind of tweaks: https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/SW/Windows/Win7/Tweaks.htm
At that time I knew the BlackViper by heart 😊
Today I have a GAP (General Audio PC), in other words none of these tweaks, they simply don’t improve sound quality.
The only crucial thing is a DAC with a good galvanic isolation.
If this is done right, what ever is going on in the PC electrical noise wise simply won’t creep in to the DAC.
https://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Intro/SQ/GalvanicIsolation.htm

[rtate]

So starting to make some adjustments.
Widows 10 uses Wasapi correct ? so I have to download that
My Ifi nano uses Asio do I need that as well ?

I would like to try Jriver as a player as I haven't had much luck with Foobar
How long does the free trial last ?

My music is on a separate usb hard drive while the OS and player will be on a SS drive in the PC is that ok ?
Should I consider a NAS ?

[Phil A]

The free trial is 30 days - https://jriver.com/download.html

No problem with either a hard drive or NAS.  With JRiver you just have to point the setting to import to where the library of files is located.  It is not a hard process.

[HAL]

So starting to make some adjustments.
Widows 10 uses Wasapi correct ? so I have to download that
My Ifi nano uses Asio do I need that as well ?

I would like to try Jriver as a player as I haven't had much luck with Foobar
How long does the free trial last ?

My music is on a separate usb hard drive while the OS and player will be on a SS drive in the PC is that ok ?
Should I consider a NAS ?

Windows 10 WASAPI is a standard OS capability, no need to download anything.  You will need to choose that method with your DAC selection in the music player.

No problem using an external USB drive for music on a PC, do it all the time.  Time to access files goes up to play with USB2, but with USB3 very fast.

[rtate]

Thanks , i read that for usb audio you should only use the usb port for the dac and that's it...

[HAL]

Some USB DAC drivers seem to lock to the physical port you use when installing the driver software.  I just always use the same port that the USB DAC was initially installed with.

The audio driver software determines which audio driver type Windows can use to talk to the DAC. Some use WASAPI, some use ASIO, etc.    The DAC shows up in JRiver for selection.

[Phil A]

When you have JRiver, there will be menu options on the upper left so first you go to 'Tools,' then 'Options,' then 'Audio' and then 'Audio Device.'  That is where it shows up in JRiver for selection.

[rtate]

So still confused about the drivers
If my dac uses Asio bur windows uses Wasapi will there be a conflict or a setting to be made ?
How will I know which is being used during playback ?

[HAL]

I use Foobar2000 and it has components you add to allow either ASIO or WASAPI style Windows 10 drivers to work with the USB DAC.  My dspMusik uses an ASIO style USB driver so I added the ASIO component to work. 

The DAC Win10 USB driver when installed has support for ASIO or WASAPI depending on how it is written to work. 

[WGH]

"All of this is avoided if using the WASAPI audio subsystem."

https://ifi-audio.com/faqs/recommend-driver-settings/

[rtate]

That sounds like the best solution !
How do I ensure that I am using the WASAPI audio subsystem ?

[Phil A]

That sounds like the best solution !
How do I ensure that I am using the WASAPI audio subsystem ?

If you look at my prior post, it gives steps to get to the audio settings.  Here's an old screenshot below (and there's drop down selections and of course I have different audio device settings).

[Phil A]

Here's pictures that are a bit clearer - https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Audio_Setup