Author Topic: Primary Sound Driver  (Read 6277 times)

DLiu

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 52
My MusicBee ver 3.0 is installed on my Windows 10 laptop. That laptop is connected to my Sony surround receiver via HDMI. I have a 2.1 speakers set up. I want my music to be played as closely to the recordings as possible.

In my MusicBee's Preference/Sound setting, which is the correct setting? The three choices are 1. Device Primary Sound 2. Intel Audio Device (the laptop's internal driver?), and 3. Sony surround receiver.

Thanks.

phred

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9305
The correct choice would be whichever sounds best to you. If they all sound pretty much the same, then it doesn't really matter, does it?
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

DLiu

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 52
Thanks. Sorry for I seem obtuse. But, if they all sound pretty much the same, why are the different options?

If I select Device Primary Sound, does it bypass the Sony receiver's sound driver, even though MusicBee is still sending the signal to the Sony receiver?


phred

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9305
I'm not saying that they all sound the same. I'm saying that what one person hears may be different than what another person hears. And if -you- can't tell the difference between them, if they all sound the same, then it really doesn't matter which one you choose. "Perfect" sound reproduction is in the ears of the beholder. You can play the exact same sound with the exact same settings, on the exact same equipment, and two people may hear it differently. It's subjective.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

CritterMan

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
  • Now with FiiO M11!
My MusicBee ver 3.0 is installed on my Windows 10 laptop. That laptop is connected to my Sony surround receiver via HDMI. I have a 2.1 speakers set up. I want my music to be played as closely to the recordings as possible.

In my MusicBee's Preference/Sound setting, which is the correct setting? The three choices are 1. Device Primary Sound 2. Intel Audio Device (the laptop's internal driver?), and 3. Sony surround receiver.

Thanks.



It's been a while since I've used 3.0, so excuse me if I don't describe what you see in MB settings precisely. To explain the settings, you first select the audio device (like the Sony surround receiver). That's just getting the audio to where you want it to go so it isn't coming out of your laptop speakers.

You'll see another setting, probably set to DirectSound. That's the Windows mixer that allows multiple audio streams like your music and system sounds like the sound that plays when you connect a USB device. This DirectSound mixer isn't very good, so many people like to bypass it entirely and allow their music to be played exclusively on the audio device of their choosing.

So, exclusive modes. Right-click on your volume icon in the system tray and select Playback Devices. Right-click the audio device you wish to use for music and select Properties. Select the Enhancements tab and check the Disable All Enhancements box. Then, select the Advanced tab and check both boxes under Exclusive Mode. Click OK. Next, select the audio device you want to use for systems sounds and make sure it is set as the default audio device. This needs to be different than the device you are using for music.

Back to MusicBee. Set the audio device in MB to the device you wish to use for music. Then, change DirectSound to WASAPI. This is the most widely supported exclusive mode. Try it out. If you don't get good results, like choppy playback, that can be dealt with. If available for your device, you can also try ASIO instead of WASAPI. Failing everything else, you can always go back to DirectSound.

Why do this? This is how you get your music as close as possible to the original recording. For even closer reproduction, you can disable any DSPs (like EQs). For extreme audiophile snobbery, not that that's a bad thing, you can leave the MB volume slider all the way up and control your volume exclusively with hardware knobs. This is because MB needs to make the waveform smaller digitally to reduce the volume from maximum. Arguably, this does change the original recorded sound. However, unless you're running the MB volume near the bottom on a low-bit-depth track, you'd never notice a problem.

This has been PC Audiophile 101. In this course you have learned the basics of getting your music from the hard drive to your audio device with no alteration. Next you'll want to explore the wonderful world of USB DACs so you can take that digital stream and convert it to analog as closely to the original recording as current technology can get it. After that, it's clean digital amplifiers. Then new speakers and headphones. Then tube preamps. Then $10,000 silver USB cables because you swear the difference is night and day. Then your family leaves you. And it's worth it.

Seriously though, like phred said. It it ain't broke, don't fix it. That part about your family leaving you is only kind of a joke. Chasing perfection will bankrupt you and you'll never catch it. Enjoy what you have and upgrade when it's time. And, always buy reasonable cables.
Home Desk ~ MB 3.3 Portable • Questyle CMA400i (ASIO) • Sennheiser HD 660S (balanced) / Audeze EL-8 Closed Back / Fostex TR-X00 Ebony • Teac AI-101DA • Jamo C93 + Dayton Audio SUB-1000
Work Desk ~ MB 3.3 Portable / Tidal • SMSL SU-8 v2 • Nobsound NS-05P • THX AAA 789 • Sennheiser HD 58X (balanced)
OTG ~ FiiO M11 • Audiofly AF180 / B&O H6

DLiu

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 52
Thanks so much for your detail post, Critterman. It was exceedingly informative and helpful; and I appreciate that you took the time to write it. I am not an extreme audiophile snob. It is that I only hear classical recordings and I want to hear the orchestra balance, etc., as the conductor intended. Yes, I use USB DACs too. It's an addiction.

First was Windows. I had not realized that Windows had so many layers to configure in order to get the best sound quality. I went through the Windows' many sound options and configured them using your recommendations.

Next was MusicBee. I used your recommendations on both MusicBee and MediaMonkey. The results for both medica players were identical. Neither the Primary Sound Driver nor the Sony Receiver supported WASAPI. When I selected WASAPI, the sound got shutter, got stuck in the same passage, the program hung and, finally, the Sony receiver disappeared as an option from the Windows' task bar, and the music could only play through the laptop's internal speakers. I had to unplug the hdmi cable from the laptop, and then re-plugged the cable to have the laptop recognized the Sony Receiver again.

So, for both MusicBee and MediaMonkey, it seemed that the best option was to select the Sony Receiver as the sound driver, and DirectSound as the sound output.

One issue with these selections was that with the Sony receiver as my sound driver, when I connected my bluetooth headphones to my laptop, no sound would come out from these bluetooth headphones. This was even after I selected the Windows’ task bar’s sound output to the bluetooth headphones. To hear from these bluetooth headphones, I had to return to MusicBee and changed the sound driver to either the Primary Sound Driver or the Bluetooth headphones. Ditto with MediaMonkey.

What I noticed was that with the sound output set to the bluetooth headphones, the headphones sounded terrific and it was much improved from before. So, I finally decided to have the sound driver in MusicBee set to the Sony receiver, and the sound driver in MediaMonkey set to the bluetooth headphones.

This means that I would only use MusicBee to play through the Sony receiver, and only use MediaMonkey to play through the bluetooth headphones.

Problem solved! Thanks again, Critterman.
Last Edit: June 28, 2017, 09:44:03 AM by DLiu

CritterMan

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 556
  • Now with FiiO M11!
Glad I was able to assist. Both WASAPI and ASIO require driver support to work properly. You can try tweaking the WASAPI buffer settings in MB, and you can try updating your video card drivers. The HDMI audio drivers are usually in that package. Replacing your video card with one that is known to have good WASAPI support is another option.
Home Desk ~ MB 3.3 Portable • Questyle CMA400i (ASIO) • Sennheiser HD 660S (balanced) / Audeze EL-8 Closed Back / Fostex TR-X00 Ebony • Teac AI-101DA • Jamo C93 + Dayton Audio SUB-1000
Work Desk ~ MB 3.3 Portable / Tidal • SMSL SU-8 v2 • Nobsound NS-05P • THX AAA 789 • Sennheiser HD 58X (balanced)
OTG ~ FiiO M11 • Audiofly AF180 / B&O H6