AQVox ASIO driver vs. WASAPI - First Impressions
I initially read about the AQVox ASIO driver back in November '09, then work got crazy and I forgot about it. The driver was recently mentioned in the
dB Audio Labs Tranquility DAC review so I decided it was time to give it a test run.
I used two computers for the comparison: a custom built box which has an ASUS motherboard, 2GB ram, Windows XP Professional 32 bit, and a bunch of other stuff; and a Toshiba Satellite 3050D which has 4GB ram and Windows Vista 64 bit. My system info is listed
here. I used Foobar v.0.9.6.7 on both computers.
Music tracks for the test are all wav files:
Nils Lofgren - Keith Don't Go
Jennifer Warnes - Way Down Deep
Peter Gabriel - Growing Up
I have been using the Toshiba/Vista laptop with WASAPI for a year and prefer the sound to my previous setup that used XP with the USB-Audio driver. Listening to music with XP and the AQVox ASIO driver was like stepping back in time. My initial impression was it sounded veiled. The driver did strange things with the center image, all the instruments were bunched up between the speakers and all the space disappeared. Bass was more prominent but also woollier. The highs seemed the same but sibilants were slightly spitty. "Keith Don't Go" lacked the zing because there was less overall clarity compared to the laptop. Overall not a successful comparison for the ASIO driver.
Next I installed the 64 bit version of the AQVox driver into Vista and re-configured Foobar. The results were the same as the XP comparison, only slightly less dramatic. A definite step back in clarity along with the woolly bass.
So far the best sound in my system is using the Toshiba laptop, Windows Vista and WASAPI. The AQVox USB driver may be the best ASIO driver available but at $114.90 (89 EUR) I think most users would get better sound upgrading to Windows Vista or Windows 7 for the same price.
Wayne
