See the separate article on this site for more info on this. The program is a bit fiddly though and I wouldn’t recommend it to people who are not that familiar with the deeper layers of Windows. This even works for iTunes, as long as you select the virtual cable as default device in the Windows sound settings. This program, like the name says, creates a virtual patch cable that you can use to connect your playback application directly to the soundcard of your choice thus bypassing any Windows mixing. But there is a way around this by using a program called Virtual Cable. It is not only a theoretical thing, as to my ears, but iTunes on Windows also sounds mediocre at best. But it also means that you’re always using kmix. This means that you cannot route the system beeps and your high-end music in separate ways. What if they aren’t? For example, if you use iTunes for Windows XP or Windows 7, you’re stuck with the soundcard that’s specified by default in Windows. ASIO and WDM are.Īll the above is super, provided your playback software has the options available. If your application does not provide WDM and/or ASIO you needn’t worry as you can use WaveOut for very good sound quality too. Many of the Creative Labs SoundBlaster cards do this because all their processing algorithms only work in a 48 kHz 16-bit space.ĪSIO is often used for multitrack recording applications but is the same as WDM in sound quality. mind that even if there is no kmixer, the soundcard you choose MAY RESAMPLE. But in this case, I do like to stick to the accurate setting because otherwise with most applications the sound will simply not be good enough. Of course, as I advocate frequently, perfection alone is no guarantee for musical satisfaction. If you like accuracy, you better stick to ASIO or Kernel streaming as only these methods are bit-perfect. DirectSound and WaveOut go through kmixer. (update July 2016: Windows 7 also offers WASAPI, which is the best option). There are four methods in Windows XP for outputting audio via an audio device: DirectSound, WaveOut, ASIO/WDM, and kernel streaming. Select the output method (or appropriate plugin) (thus far, WaveOut sounds best to my ears, even though DirectSound is supposed to be better) (update July 2016: WASAPI sounds best if you have this option).Choose the bitrate and sample rate carefully (for bit-perfect and most accurate sound, choose the same settings as your files, so 16/44,1 for cd-sourced material).Select your preferred soundcard (also referred to as device) directly in the settings of your playback application (don’t route the sound through Windows Sound Mapper).Most common playback applications, such as Winamp, foobar and Media Monkey have many more settings that you can make but the most important ones are the following: In addition, sometimes there’s the option to upsample (software based). The more complete playback applications also have more refined options in their settings, such as choosing a preferred soundcard (installing one besides the onboard card is always a good idea) and choosing the output format and method. This is the most fool-proof method that will ensure that any person with any pc will get audio. Playback applications usually have their preferences set to steer their audio through kmix. First off, there’s a continuous resampling going on, plus volume control at various stages and if you’re not careful there’s also filtering (ie tone control and/or DSP). Although handy, this is hardly what you want if you want to play audio in the highest quality. In order to be able to play all kinds of sounds through the same output, regardless of sample rate and bit depth, Windows makes use of many stages of conversion and filtering, most know of which is the Windows mixer, in short kmix. But what is it exactly, and why do you need it? The quick answer is: for many people this may not be something to worry about but if you really care about the sound quality, then you should at least know about it. Now that server-based music replay is gaining popularity, the phrase “Kernel Streaming” is seen more often. What is Kernel Streaming and why do you need it?
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