INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 11 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: Socio on July 14, 2004, 08:30:43 pm
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I have been using JRiver Media Center for a couple of weeks as trial and purchased the license today. I have to tell who ever the programmer is that the ASIO support in this product is worth the price of admission alone! It is now the ONLY way I listen to music from my PC, outstanding job, pat your self on the back then give your self a raise!
Socio
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Thanks very much for saying so. It was Matt who implemented ASIO for us.
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ok, well did you pat him on the back and give him a raise??
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Totally agree. I'm using the ASIO drivers for an Echo Indigo PCMCIA card and it really blows away practically any other source I've tried.
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This thread would make a lot more sense if someone explained what ASIO is :-)
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googled it and here's what i got : ASIO
ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output), developed by Steinberg, is a cross-platform, multi-channel audio transfer protocol that is being adopted by many of the manufacturers of audio/MIDI sequencing applications. It allows software to have access to the multi-channel capabilities of a wide range of powerful sound cards.
ASIO expands on the basic capabilities of a standard computer sound card, most of which can only provide stereo (two-channel) audio input and output. The ASIO specification defines the interface that manufacturers of professional audio sound cards must use to create an ASIO driver for their hardware. This driver allows the host audio/MIDI application to "see" all of the inputs and outputs available on the sound card. The user can then assign these I/O ports as needed for recording or playback when using an ASIO-compatible software program. This allows the users to record more tracks simultaneously than the previous limitation of two channels imposed by a standard sound card.
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This thread would make a lot more sense if someone explained what ASIO is :-)
ASIO is not without its problems ... that is, I've never been able to utilize the ASIO option withou also listening to pops & crackles ... and it's been a total mystery to me as to why it occurs. As much as I'd prefer to use ASIO, "wave out" sounds better.
MC10.0.149
Windows 2000
Revo 7.1 analog outputs to 5.1 amplifiers
(ASIO debug implies normal operation)
cheerios :o)
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If you get pops, increase the sound card's buffer size in its own control panel.
Switching my Prodigy 7.1 from 256 samples to like 2048 samples makes it unskippable.
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If you get pops, increase the sound card's buffer size in its own control panel. ...
Thanx! ...that worked ...
:)
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OK, well, thanks for the explanation of what it is, though I'm still none the wiser as to *why* anyone would use it...!
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I switched to it for my Audigy 2, and MC said that the card wasn't supported...
Oh well...
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OK, well, thanks for the explanation of what it is, though I'm still none the wiser as to *why* anyone would use it...!
Sound quality.
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I switched to it for my Audigy 2, and MC said that the card wasn't supported...
Oh well...
You need to force the sample rate to 48khz using MC's DSP Studio since the Audigy can only run its clock at that speed.
However, in these cases it's not really clear that ASIO would give you any better quality than other output methods.
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I am using ASIO all the time with my Terratec DMX6 fire 24/96 sound card. It supports 44.1 kHz, so there is no sample rate conversion. Though, I am not sure if the sound quality with ASIO is any better than with Direct Sound or Wave Out. Comparing is difficult because playback must be stopped while changing the output mode. Anyway, the difference must be very small. Maybe the card has high quality Direct Sound and Wave Out drivers too.
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I have tried ASIO (both the kX Project Drivers & the one that comes with Curative's software) on several occasions. I can honestly say that I can not detect any real difference with my SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum sound from Direct Sound or Wave Output for that mater.
There seems to be no way to do an A to B comparisons to prove it one way or the other.
This is often the case with leading edge (or should I say bleeding edge) developments.
It is like saying that a 2 GHz computer is faster then a 1.9 GHz computer, it is very hard to prove in the real world as so many other things will influence the results.
I am currently using ASIO (Creative's) for now as it sounds ok, but so does Direct Sound or Wave Output for that matter.
But, if ASIO starts screwing up as it has in the past, I will go back to Direct Sound as it has always worked correctly for me.
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I switched to it for my Audigy 2, and MC said that the card wasn't supported...
Oh well...
You need to force the sample rate to 48khz using MC's DSP Studio since the Audigy can only run its clock at that speed.
However, in these cases it's not really clear that ASIO would give you any better quality than other output methods.
It's almost time for me to upgrade my sound card.... So what is a great sound card?
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It's almost time for me to upgrade my sound card.... So what is a great sound card?
For all around use, it's hard to beat the lastest version of an Audigy. Excels at gaming, awfully good with music. Throws in surround, etc, etc.
And, of all the reviews I've read at tweaking sites, the Audigy series always is WAY lower on CPU usage than any other card.
Plus, they are not expensive compared to other cards.
Finally, you can count on that card to be suported in darn near any OS you choose to use.
I'm still using an Audigy 2 and with the KX drivers the sound is excellent. Sounds good with the Creative drivers too, but I can tell a slight difference in the volume level (LOUDER!) using the KX drivers.
Hope this helps.
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I am using that Terratec DMX6 fire 24/96 with my main MC PC, which is connected to a living room home theater system. It is an excellent choice for about $200, but there are many new alternatives.
Especially interesting is the external Terratec Aureon 7.1 Firewire (http://productsen.terratec.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=198&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0). A cheaper high quality external card is the M-Audio Transit USB (http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=ce4f3b6d13494004f69f07cb11070055). Both support also the 44.1 kHz sample rate without resampling. Their advantages are easy installation (no IRQ troubles etc.) and a possibility to use them with several computers e.g. with a laptop when traveling.
Edit. I found a recent review of the Terratec's Aureon Firewire at Tom's Hardware Guide (http://www.tomshardware.com/consumer/20040621/index.html).
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There are some interesting discussions about sound cards at the RightMark Audio Analyzer forum (http://forum.rightmark.org/?id=4).
The RightMark Audio Analyzer sound card test software can be downloaded from the RightMark main site (http://audio.rightmark.org/index_new.shtml).
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Advantage to ASIO as I see it is to get bit-perfect playback (assuming you took the time to get bit-perfect rips - i.e. Secure mode, lossless compression such as .ape, and do not normalize).
Audiophile logic says that if you spent good money on a nice HT why let a noisy computer mess with the audio stream? That should be left to the pre/pro or receiver. The computer just stores and passes bits (better than a CD player, by the way, which does not re-read the data to ensure bit-perfect playback like Secure rip mode does).
Here is a thread that shows how to get bit-perfect playback using a $23 Chaintech card: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=190009 (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=190009)