Author Topic: Audio quality isn't that good  (Read 37945 times)

digital_ac3

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I have been using Winamp for almost 10 years now. About sometime ago I found this music manager and I have to admit that the functionality is way more better than Winamp. But there is still something I miss in Winamp. Audio quality. I always used Rock preset in Winamp EQ and I did the same in MusicBee. But the the quality wasn't that good. The bass and everything was poor.  I had to reduce the preamp the a bit because it was making so many unwanted noises also :( And when  there are so many instruments playing in a song all those sounds clash together. This is the only reason I go back and forth when choosing a new music manager. I really like MusicBee's functionalities and everything. But the poor audio quality is making me to stay with Winamp. Is it something Im doing with MusicBee? I have googled about this problem and I didn't see many people speak about this problem. Can someone help me to fix this please? :)

Alumni

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I don't see why MusicBee's audio quality would perform less than any other music player.
I consider myself an audiophile and I'm satisfied with MusicBee. My setup includes a USB DAC, running in WASAPI mode and 24bit output.
Last Edit: August 02, 2014, 08:47:48 PM by Alumni

Steven

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my guess is you have the equaliser set such that sound is being clipped. Try with a lower pre-amp value

digital_ac3

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my guess is you have the equaliser set such that sound is being clipped. Try with a lower pre-amp value
I'm using the Rock preset in the EQ. And yes I have to lower the pre-amp due to clipping.  :-\ But the clipping and clashing noises occur with stock settings. I didn't mess with EQ  :(

digital_ac3

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I don't see why MusicBee's audio quality would perform less than any other music player.
I consider myself an audiophile and I'm satisfied with MusicBee. My setup includes a USB DAC, running in WASAPI mode and 24bit output.
That's the problem I have :P I don't know why I'm getting unclear noises and everything.

ma_t14

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Is the MusicBee rock preset identical to Winamp's if you have a look at the values? What happens if you disable the equalizer, is the sound quality the same?

digital_ac3

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Is the MusicBee rock preset identical to Winamp's if you have a look at the values? What happens if you disable the equalizer, is the sound quality the same?
Winamp


MusicBee

Both of them on Rock preset
When I disable the EQ it sounds kinda flat-ish. You know how music sounds without a EQ :P
Last Edit: August 03, 2014, 10:37:05 AM by digital_ac3

Alumni

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Both of them on Rock preset
When I disable the EQ it sounds kinda flat-ish. You know how music sounds without a EQ :P

There's a nickname for that EQ setting, "smiley face".

digital_ac3

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So isn't there a some way to fix this problem so I can enjoy the audio quality as well as enjoy the functionalities in MusicBee :)

Bee-liever

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Without knowing all your settings, it's very hard for anyone to able to "fix" this, 'cause you can't tell if you're comparing "oranges" with "oranges".
  • is replaygain active on both players?
  • is the same sound output driver being used?
  • is the buffer size the same?
  • is the output being resampled, and if so, by application or sound card?
And that's just some of the variables involved that I can think of.

It could even be your own personal preference interfering with the result.  Subconsciously you prefer Winamp, so it will always sound better to you.
MusicBee and my library - Making bee-utiful music together

digital_ac3

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Without knowing all your settings, it's very hard for anyone to able to "fix" this, 'cause you can't tell if you're comparing "oranges" with "oranges".
  • is replaygain active on both players?
  • is the same sound output driver being used?
  • is the buffer size the same?
  • is the output being resampled, and if so, by application or sound card?
And that's just some of the variables involved that I can think of.

It could even be your own personal preference interfering with the result.  Subconsciously you prefer Winamp, so it will always sound better to you.

  • no, I have disabled replaygain on both. (and I tried turning in on but didn't see much difference)
  • yup same sound output driver
  • yea to the maximum.
  • I have turned off that also on the music players and I don't think Realtek HD Audio does that :-/
I did a little experiment with one of my friend with 2.1 MicroLab system, Skullcandys and some Sennheisers. The sound output was felt bit alive with Winamp. The bass was good. In MusicBee when there are more bass, more the sound get unclear. Its like clashing everything together. But with less bass and less instruments playing together I don't see a big difference.

Steven

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I did a little experiment with one of my friend with 2.1 MicroLab system, Skullcandys and some Sennheisers. The sound output was felt bit alive with Winamp. The bass was good. In MusicBee when there are more bass, more the sound get unclear. Its like clashing everything together. But with less bass and less instruments playing together I don't see a big difference.
if you did the experiment with the same file, same output mode, no sound enhancement from equalisers and dsp's, and used the same volume then you are imagining any differences.

ma_t14

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I'm with Steven on this one, any difference you might be hearing is probably placebo.

I downloaded Winamp to test and even with the "Rock" equalizer preset both sound exactly the same to me.

Are you sure you have the equalizer enabled in MusicBee?

digital_ac3

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I'm with Steven on this one, any difference you might be hearing is probably placebo.

I downloaded Winamp to test and even with the "Rock" equalizer preset both sound exactly the same to me.

Are you sure you have the equalizer enabled in MusicBee?
Yes. :S Does that means I'm crazy :( :P I should listen to MusicBee for sometime.

digital_ac3

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Are you guys just use the EQ on MB or use some DSP with it?