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[citysoundman]

I just installed MC 28 on my Windows 10 NUC/Denon AVR 1911 system (2.1 & 5.1) and can't seem to get a direct output at hi sample rates. 5.1 playback is not being allowed on sample rates above 48K. I have an Oppo 103 and it can play all the files fine. Everything is connected HDMI. My Denon 1911 is a bit old and has HDMI 1.4a but I don't think that's an issue?

So here's what's happening- when I'm trying to play 5.1 FLACs at 96K 24-bit, I see a message:
Playback can not be started, either your soundcard or receiver/DAC is reporting this format is not supported.
Then: Playback could not be started on the output WASAPI using the format 96K 6 channel.
(MC suggests using 2 channel instead)

5.1 files at 48K 24-bit play, except it changes the output to 16-bit and I see the message: not using enough bits to output the input directly. (what does this mean??)

Stereo 192K 24-bit files play but I get the same 16-bit output with the message: not using enough bits to output the input directly.

Stereo 96K 24-bit files play although they show 24-bit (padded).

Some additional info-
I'm using WASAPI in MC. I've tried Bitstreaming:None and Bitstreaming:HDMI but no change. I'm using the MC DSP only to change DSD 384K to 172K since my AVR doesn't support rates higher than 192K. But even when I disable DSP it doesn't change the problem. And my audio driver in Windows definitely shows support for 24 bit and 192K. As I mentioned I don't have any problems playing anything using my Oppo 103, which also connects HDMI into the Denon. And a while back I was using Kodi on this NUC without encountering this problem.

thanks in advance!

[Dawgincontrol]

In DSP, try Output Format>Output Encoding = None, Channels=5.1 channels, Mixing=No upmixing or down mixing

If that doesn't work select select Output Encoding=Dolby Digital (requires Dolby Digital decoder)

[citysoundman]

Thanks for the reply Dawg, but your suggestions didn't change anything. I'm going to update the BIOS on my NUC, it seems NUC recommends that for addressing audio issues.

[citysoundman]

  Just spent a while upgrading BIOS and other NUC firmware stuff, but no change...still getting the same problems.

MC just won't let me play 5.1 96K files (if DSP changes the output to 2 channels it will play at 96K).
And 5.1 48K outputs at 16 bit: "not using enough bits to output the input directly"
What does this mean??

[terrym@tassie]

The Denon receiver you have does not support the decode of flac files so bitstreaming to it will not work.

I would suggest setting the output to directsound rather than WASAPI to test the output from MC28 as you say the Windows control panel is reporting 192khz 24bit capability. Using directsound will send the output via the Windows mixer.
If this gives good results then perhaps look at your WASAPI settings, it might be worth trying 'Disable event style'.

If you still have problems when using directsound I would suggest connecting your NUC using the same cable and input you use for the Oppo as that appears to be working OK, just to eliminate any cable/HW issues with the Denon.

Have you tried using the MC28 Tools>Advanced tools>Audio calibration to play test signals? (it can generate 5.1 output at sample rates up to 192khz) This would eliminate any issues with flac file decoding.
 

[citysoundman]

The Denon receiver you have does not support the decode of flac files so bitstreaming to it will not work.

I would suggest setting the output to directsound rather than WASAPI to test the output from MC28 as you say the Windows control panel is reporting 192khz 24bit capability. Using directsound will send the output via the Windows mixer.
If this gives good results then perhaps look at your WASAPI settings, it might be worth trying 'Disable event style'.

If you still have problems when using directsound I would suggest connecting your NUC using the same cable and input you use for the Oppo as that appears to be working OK, just to eliminate any cable/HW issues with the Denon.

Have you tried using the MC28 Tools>Advanced tools>Audio calibration to play test signals? (it can generate 5.1 output at sample rates up to 192khz) This would eliminate any issues with flac file decoding.

Terry thanks so much for your reply...By Disabling Event Style I'm able to get 192K stereo files to play perfectly YAY!!
5.1 96K files are also playing now, although not at 24 bit output - I'm still getting the 16-bit output message: not using enough bits to output the input directly.

Then I played the audio calibration signals and this matches what I'm getting, in that it plays 192K stereo fine, but it can't play 96K 5.1. When I try 96K 5.1 I get the same 'playback cannot be started' error that I reported in my first post.
So I converted a FLAC 96K 5.1 file to WAV to see what happens in MC, and I'm getting playback but with the same 16-bit output message. So it seems FLAC decoding is not causing the issue here. Does this help to understand what's going on?

FYI I can play 96K 5.1 FLAC files in Foobar using both WASAPI (EVENT) and WASAPI (PUSH) settings.

And thanks for pointing out that my AVR doesn't do FLAC encoding, that's great to know!

[terrym@tassie]

What happened with directsound, any difference to wasapi?
Perhaps post a screenshot of your Windows Sound device properties.

I'm off on vacation for the next week, maybe another forum member will be able to help you in the meantime.

Terry

[citysoundman]

What happened with directsound, any difference to wasapi?
Perhaps post a screenshot of your Windows Sound device properties.

I'm off on vacation for the next week, maybe another forum member will be able to help you in the meantime.

Terry

So with DirectSound, playback seems fine, I think. I've never used DirectSound, but it seems the sample rate/bit depth and channel output is always fixed, set by the Windows sound properties>Advanced tab. Playing 96K 5.1 files is fine in MC with DirectSound - MC output shows 24-bit although not a direct connection. As a matter of fact with DirectSound all file formats plays fine in MC, although my AVR always show the settings from the Windows properties.

2 screenshots of what this looks like are attached.

PS I really appreciate the help, have a great vacation!

[citysoundman]

Still hoping to get this problem resolved, @terrym@tassie @Dawgincontrol if you can help I have some new info -

As a test I connected my Apple MacBook Pro (2014) to my Denon AVR with the same HDMI cable that my NUC is using. (should have tested this before!) MC runs perfectly without ANY of the playback issues I'm getting on the NUC. So that means it's probably a NUC7 compatibility problem. I guess it could be a Windows 10 problem but everything in Windows looks to be set correctly. Does this mean the NUC7 just can't cut it? I did check that the NUC has all its drivers updated. It's an i5 model with 16GB RAM so it's not lacking for power or memory.

[citysoundman]

Been doing some digging, and from a Roon thread I discovered that these NUC7's have a problem of truncating 24-bit to 16-bit for 192K hi-res audio - geez that is messed up! I guess it's also happening on my 5.1 96K files. From what I read, instead of fixing the issue, Intel downgraded the printed spec - they removed 192K/24-bit and now it shows 176.4/24-bit compatible. But the spec does say 8 channels 96K/24-bit is supported....but I'm not seeing that. This is a drag!