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[TimB]

I hate posting dumb questions...

OK, I have an m-audio Delta 24/96 and not using S/PDIF .

What should I set Output Format (particularly Bitdepth) to in DSP Studio?

Thanks!

-=Tim=-

[xen-uno]

Source (for both bitrate and sample rate...to avoid resampling if possible)

[TimB]

Source (for both bitrate and sample rate...to avoid resampling if possible)

How do I determine this with my MP3s?

-=Tim=-

[xen-uno]

You shouldn't have to determine any of that if such a setting exists (anymore than you would have to specify to MC what type of an mp3 it is...VBR, CBR, ABR, etc.). I'm not at my MC machine right now (this one runs MJ), but in the AW there is file properties and below that...tag properties and extended file info which will give you sample rate, bit depth, tags present, etc for any given file. I'm not positive of the exact route to get there...but it is there.

10^-27

[TimB]

Thanks, I know I should know this...but I don't.

-=Tim=-

[loraan]

In other words, don't use the output format plugin unless you have to.

If you are using ASIO output (which you should if your card supports it, and I'm pretty sure the Delta does), then the only reason you would use the output format plugin is if the source was a bitdepth or sampling rate that your card didn't directly support. Because ASIO talks directly to the card (== good sound quality), if the source file is of a bitdepth or sampling rate that the card doesn't support, it just won't play. You will get an error message like, "M-Audio Delta does not support sampling rate of 22 kHz". In that case, you would use the output format plugin to force the bitdepth and sampling rate to something your card supported, like 44.1/16.

If you are not using ASIO output, then you should basically never need to use output format because Windows will resample the sound to something your card can support. This will degrade the quality of the sound (whether this is audible is subject to some debate).

[jleerigby]

So, if I have output format enabled with bit rate and sampling rate set to source, presumably this is doing nothing and is equivalent to having output format disabled?

[xen-uno]

It sounds to me like this plugin does not allow Pass-Through...it's very reason for existance is to set sample rate (at least) of a file to some user definable setting. If there is a source option then maybe it does allow PT. I wouldn't use it if it isn't necessary (and it shouldn't be).

10^-27

[TimB]

So if I'm using ASIO (which I am) then is it:

(a) Set to source on all Output Format settings

(b) Just turn Output Format off 'cos there's absolutely no benefit to it with ASIO

Thanks again y'all.

-=Tim=-

[loraan]

So if I'm using ASIO (which I am) then is it:

I think you misunderstood. If you're using ASIO, that is one of the times when you might want to use format conversion plug-in. ASIO requires that the application give the audio data directly to the sound card in an appropriate format. There is no translation between the application and the sound card, which generally results in higher quality audio. But it means that if your audio data is in a format that the card can't handle, then the app has to reformat the data.

For example, if you were using ASIO to play a 22 kHz audio stream, but your sound card only supported 44.1 and 48 kHz, you would get an error message. By enabling the format conversion plug-in, you can have MC resample the audio to an appropriate format before it passes the audio data to the sound card.

If, in the same circumstance, you were NOT using ASIO, you wouldn't need to use the format conversion plug-in, because the application could hand the 22 kHz audio data to Windows, then Windows would take care of resampling it to a format that the sound card supported. Adding the format conversion plug-in would just add an extra, unnecessary conversion.

Again, as a general rule: if you are using ASIO, don't bother with the format conversion plug-in unless you get an error message like "sample rate not supported" when you try to play a file. If you are not using ASIO, don't bother with the format conversion plug-in at all. These rules aren't right 100% of the time, but they are good guidelines if you're not sure what you should be doing.