[ddgtr]

Hello,

I really need some help with the soundcard in my computer. It is an HP machine, Intel dual core processor, 1gb ram, 400gb hard drive and below are the specifications for my Realtek soundcard, which came built into the computer:

Audio Driver Version: 5.10.0.5502

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c

Audio Controller: HD Audio

Audio Codec: ALC885

I am trying to send out a "bit perfect output", over to my DAC (digital to analog converter) then to my preamp and amp in order to achieve high quality sound. I would like for my DAC wich is a Bryston BDA-1 model to do all the upsampling. My music is in FLAC format, both 16/44, 16/48 and 24/96 format. This is where my problem comes in, and I cannot solve it by myself therefore I would really appreciate some advice:

In the Realtek "Settings" for spdif out I have four sampling choices: 44.1, 48, 96 and 192khz. I can select one, but the soundcard will lock it in and output everything in that format.

But when I play for example a file at 48khz, then one at 96khz I would like the soundcard to automatically output the song in its original format as opposed to having a single locked sampling frequency.

I use Foobar2000 to play my files, and it is outputting the right format to the card. Also, my DAC shows what sampling frequency it is receiving...

I also was able to play the DTS test file successfully (at 16/44 as per instructions), which means that I have bit perfect capabilities; however, this "locked" sampling rate bothers me as I have worked really hard to built my system and this is the last obstacle...

Thank you very much in advance,
Danny

[srb]

The Realtek Default Format output setting is the default for running in Shared Mode.
 
If you have the the ASIO (XP or Vista) or the WASAPI (Vista only) driver/plug-in for foobar, you should be able to tell foobar to run in Exclusive mode by going to File > Preferences > Playback > Output > and selecting either the ASIO: Realtek Digital Output or WASAPI: Realtek Digital Output mode from the Output Device dropdown.

Using either one of these drivers in Exclusive mode should result in
  Windows audio processing bypassed
  Realtek audio processing bypassed
  Windows volume control bypassed
  System sounds (and any other audio application) disabled
  Foobar outputing the sound file in it's native resolution format to your DAC.
 
Steve

[ddgtr]

Steve, thank you.

Do you know where I can get ASIO?  I currently have Asio4All and it doesn't work...

[srb]

http://www.foobar2000.org/components/author/Peter
 
I assume you have Windows XP?  (If you have Vista, download WASAPI)
 
Download and extract the zipfile contents to your foobar's Components folder.
 
Steve

[ddgtr]

excellent, thanks again!  I will give it a try!

[srb]

Also in the Realtek Digital Output Properties, on the Advanced tab, in the Exclusive Mode section, you will want to check the boxes
 
  - Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device
  - Give exclusive mode applications priority
 
Steve

[ddgtr]

Hi Steve,

Unfortunately I couldn't get it to work.  It seems that in order for the ASIO plugin to work in foobar, my sound card has to be ASIO  compatible, which apparently is not.  So at this time, it seems my options are limited to perhaps buying a sound card.

Thanks again,
Danny

[srb]

Sorry about that Danny.  Mine is a little different, it's the ALC889A.  Of course there is no indication that it is "ASIO Compatible" or not.  Guess that explains why your ASIO4All didn't work either.
 
I suppose that a soundcard is your cheapest alternative for now.  A USB to S/PDIF interface is another option, but to get a good one that can handle 24/96 or higher and has some kind of jitter attenuation scheme, usually cost $400-$500.
 
There is a new one of interest (not available until mid November), the M2Tech hiFace USB Interface that will handle 24/192 and sells for $150.  A lot of people are interested, some have pre-ordered, but no one has one yet to report on.

Company's website (they're in Italy)
http://www.m2tech.biz/products.html
 
TweekGeek is selling it
http://www.tweekgeek.com/_e/Portable_Computer_Audio/product/HiFace/HiFace.htm
 
and there's a thread about it here on AudioCircle
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=72468.0
 
Good luck,
 
Steve
 
 
 
 

[ddgtr]

Thanks for the links, it looks like a great product, portable too!  I am almost certain I'll get one!!

[akai]

I suppose that a soundcard is your cheapest alternative for now.  A USB to S/PDIF interface is another option, but to get a good one that can handle 24/96 or higher and has some kind of jitter attenuation scheme, usually cost $400-$500.

Have you tried PopPulse at $130.
http://www.cryo-parts.com/pclink.html

They also have a wireless version at $178+shipping from HK (see the Bay - poppulse wireless usb to spdif).

I currently use wireless USB to spdif by Dugood (16/48).

mP

[ddgtr]

I have been looking at the hiFace from M2Tech, at about $160.  Is the PopPulse bit perfect?

[srb]

Danny wants to be able to play his higher resolution 24/96 FLAC files, so that would eliminate the 16/44.1 and 16/48 devices.
 
I have not used any of the wireless USB to S/PDIF adapters mentioned, so I can't comment on them.  But I have not seen any specific information on how they might attempt to attenuate jitter or reclock the signal.
 
I do see wireless as more of a lifestyle convenience option, and although I use wireless connections to stream audio to my bedroom and patio, that would not be my first choice if I had the physical option of a wired connection.  Their possible susceptibility to interference and dropouts is something I would try to avoid, unless I was logistically not able to run a cable.
 
I'm sure there are those that will disagree, but there are many Logitech Squeezebox/Transporter users who have reported better quality audio switching from their wireless connection to a wired one.
 
But a lot of it would be dependent upon the specific design and implementation of a particular wireless device.
 
Steve

[ddgtr]

Yes, wireless is out of the question for me for the reasons Steve mentioned above. 

I am looking at a few different options now, among which are the ESI Juli@ sound card and the hiFace from M2Tech.

I have emailed ESI with some questions but they are really slow to respond...  I really like the fact that it has balanced connections.  The hiFace looks really good also as it has all the right specs and the support is excellent, all my questions have been answered in less than six hours.  The product is still very new, but the few reviews I've read on HeadFi seem to approve of it.  I'm still looking into it.

Danny

[srb]

I have emailed ESI with some questions but they are really slow to respond...  I really like the fact that it has balanced connections.

If you are talking about balanced connections, I assume in that case you are talking about using the Juli@'s DAC and balanced analog outputs.  It's hard to believe that it could even compare to the outstanding Bryston BDA-1 DAC.
 
I guess you would be eliminating an S/PDIF connection to your outboard DAC, but still....
 
Steve

[ted_b]

Yes, I don't understand the OP's liking the Juli@'s balanced outs either.       That would not be the way I'd go; you are throwing the Bryston DAC away in favor of the average-at-best ESI DAC?

The Juli@ card is a good one; just make sure you use it's (digital) SPDIF outs, or go with a newer USB-SPDIF converted as discussed.  The jitter measurements on the USB converters might be high though; dunno.  And the Poppulse is only 48k max from USB, as many (not all) are.  Mike (Tweekgeek) would likely allow a 15-30 day trial/return on the HiFace, which gives you full 192k.  Call him.

[srb]

Although untested at this point, M2Tech has this to say about jitter in the hiFace USB interface:
 
"Thanks to two quartz precision oscillators used on M2Tech hiFace, clock source for output data stream features a very low jitter. A more stable clock is recovered by DAC S/PDIF receiver; a low jitter produces a very limited sound image distortion and degradation. Phase noise (main responsible for jitter) is also very low: this guarantees a short and long range clock stability, also reinforced by a board supply voltage regulation (e.g. at environmental temperature stability is 2-5ppm approximately, compared to 50-100ppm performed by oscillators normally used on commercial CD players)."
 
If the hiFace is a viable low-jitter interface, I suppose that the only problem may be that the proprietary drivers only work with Foobar at this point in time.
 
I am still using iTunes on a PC, preferring the iTunes interface at this point, plus the fact that all my files are .wav with all tags existing in the iTunes database.  I'm not sure if there is a way to get that iTunes database tag data imported into Foobar.
 
Steve

[ted_b]

Steve,
WAV (and AIFF) are not good at metadata, so your solution would be conversion.  A batch converter like DBpoweramp (or right click in iTunes) could convert all your iTunes wav&tags to Apple Lossless and preserve the info.  An Apple Lossless codec plugin is available for Foobar.  Prolly not worth it for you since you like the iTunes GUI, etc but it's a solution.  BTW, although I'm now a MAc Amarra/Itunes fan for my main music server, when I play Foobar on my office pc I designed Foobar to look like iTunes.  My step by step is in a thread here.

[ddgtr]

Yes, I don't understand the OP's liking the Juli@'s balanced outs either.       That would not be the way I'd go; you are throwing the Bryston DAC away in favor of the average-at-best ESI DAC?

The Juli@ card is a good one; just make sure you use it's (digital) SPDIF outs, or go with a newer USB-SPDIF converted as discussed.  The jitter measurements on the USB converters might be high though; dunno.  And the Poppulse is only 48k max from USB, as many (not all) are.  Mike (Tweekgeek) would likely allow a 15-30 day trial/return on the HiFace, which gives you full 192k.  Call him.

Hi Ted,

I didn't mean to say I'd give up the Bryston dac, sorry if it came out that way.  Actually, it is the reason I'm looking for a bit perfect sound card (so that it bypasses the card's dacs), or as an alternative, the usb to spdif converter.

With Juli@, I was thinking to use Foobar2000 with the ASIO pluging (Juli@ supports ASIO), then this would give me bit perfect output which in turn I would send via Juli@'s balanced outputs over to the Bryston's balanced inputs and let it deal with the incoming stream.  I am assuming that if I use Foobar + ASIO I can go balanced without activating Juli@'s dacs.  This is still unclear to me, and I am still waiting for ESI to answer a few questions.   Does this make sense??

I am so not very good at the computer side of audio, and I'll be really glad once I figure this out...   That is why some of my questions may not be formulated properly, because it's hard for me to just ask the right question!!

The hiFace remains a very probable choice.   I can't believe I sent 3 emails to ESI over the past week or so and no answer!!

[srb]

With Juli@, I was thinking to use Foobar2000 with the ASIO pluging (Juli@ supports ASIO), then this would give me bit perfect output which in turn I would send via Juli@'s balanced outputs over to the Bryston's balanced inputs and let it deal with the incoming stream.  Does this make sense??

No, if you use the Juli@'s balanced outputs, you would not be sending a digital output stream, but rather an analog signal already converted by the Juli@'s internal DAC which would have to be connected to a preamp or amp, not a DAC.
 
You would just want to send an S/PDIF digital stream from the Juli@'s coaxial S/PDIF output to the coaxial S/PDIF input on the Bryston BDA-1 DAC.
 
Steve
 
 

[ddgtr]

 

Thanks Steve, I understand...  I totally had it backwards!  I'm glad you and Ted caught this!