More > JRiver Media Center 30 for Mac
Streaming HD audio distorted [Solved]
dpfels:
Thanks.
To make it simple: my DAC varies the # of channels with changes in sample rate. That is, it can translate more channels at a lower sample rate and fewer when the sample rate is higher (reflecting bandwidth limitations of the data stream, I suspect). Since the number of channels under the DSP settings is fixed, the only way to control this is to up or down sample all audio tracks to the same sample rate (e.g. 96KHz for all output) with the correct number of channels (in this case 14 channels in total).
I will try activating SoX. I didn’t know it existed before since that option is set from the Audio Output menu, not the DSP menu.
Thanks,
Dan
blgentry:
Why is the number of channels relevant? If you are playing 2 channel audio, with 2 speakers, from your DAC, don't you want to set the output to 2 channels all the time? The channels section of the DSP > Output Format should nearly always be set to the number of speakers you have connected to output channels.
I suspect that maybe this is simply related to which channel is active at various sample rates. If so, using the Channel Offset in General > Audio > Audio Device > Device Settings is something you should experiment with.
Brian.
dpfels:
I think this may have been buried in an earlier part of this thread:
I am using a Focusrite DAC, which is designed for multi-channel IO (for music production). I have tested the Channel Offset settings, which have no effect. If I output at a single sample rate (e.g. 96KHz; my audio files vary from 44.1KHz to 192 KHz FLAC) by using DSP settings to force the sample rate, everything sounds fine (at least not bad). If I don’t do this, I get distorted audio at the wrong playback speed and pitch when I switch from 96 to 192. This isn’t consistent - sometimes I can play a few tracks in a row without distortion, but it usually goes to hell after a few tracks.
The only consistent solution so far is to use DSP to force all files to 96KHz. I can also manually set the number of supplementary channels to match the number of channels that my DAC uses for a give sample rate, but this is laborious.
In the end, I plan to purchase a standard 2-channel DAC for music playback. My situation (with the Focusrite) is unusual and I don’t know if MC can handle it, although I continue to tinker, since I am learning something from the experience.
Thanks,
Dan
blgentry:
Regarding inconsistent behavior: Maybe setting Exclusive Access for the FR DAC would help.
Channels and sample rates: Since I haven't seen it, I'm not familiar with how these two might map to one another. If indeed you get N channels at 44.1 and M at 96, and O at 192, then you might consider setting up zones and Zone Switch rules.
Each zone can have different audio parameters (Like sound device and sound device settings). Zone Switch Rules can pick the zone based on criteria. Those criteria include every field that MC knows about for a given file. So sample rate is one thing you could use to do Zone Switch. This seems like way too much effort to me. I would want to figure out a more elegant way. But it's available if necessary.
Brian.
dpfels:
Thanks!
Exclusive access is set (doesn’t fix the problem).
I may check out setting up zones and using Zone switch rules, but I agree that’s a lot of effort for solving this problem. That said, I greatly appreciate the education, and I am impressed with the granularity of control that is offered by MC in general.
In the end, I will probably switch to a simple 2-channel DAC that is better suited for music playback.
I greatly appreciate the discussion! (Now if someone could help me with my issues with Auto-rip, currently posted to the MC31 MacOS forum, I would greatly appreciate it! ;) )
Dan
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