"Best" sound quality (and does it matter, or is it a 0.05% difference?)

[basementjack]

Hi,

  I just learned of musicbee today, it seems amazing!

  I see the preferences->Player screen has settings for different outputs (Directsound, WASAPI (Shared/exclusive), ASIO)

  Is there any general consensus on what the 'best sounding' mode is?

  What would I listen for if I'm comparing them and trying to hear a difference?

  - Jack

[phred]

Unless you're a hard-core audiophile, you probably won't notice any difference between them. But again, search the forum. And please get in to the habit of checking the forum before posting.

[basementjack]

Unless you're a hard-core audiophile, you probably won't notice any difference between them. But again, search the forum. And please get in to the habit of checking the forum before posting.

Hi phred, Thanks for the input - I did a search on the term "sound quality" but aside from people with obvious issues (like sound stuttering) I didn't see any discussions or advice.

Ideally this is a area where the developer might chime in and say something like "technically they all should be the same" or "driver type x has traditionally been known to resample but if you use Y it doesn't"

Ultimately I'm not that hard-core audiophile, so I'll likely be happy with any output, but figured it's worth asking if there's a generally regarded best practice for how to configure the output.

Thanks!

[sveakul]

OP:  The safe answer is "what sounds best to you."  That said, I prefer the method that bypasses the Windows Mixer, which can add its own unwanted interpretation to what you are listening to, and just adds another step in the audio pathway.  Wasapi Exclusive and ASIO bypass the mixer, although ASIO requires that you have installed ASIO drivers that work with your audio device, while Wasapi is built-in to Windows.  DirectSound uses the Windows Mixer, so you have to see-saw those settings with any of your own set in MusicBee (EQ, etc.).  Wasapi Shared, as opposed to Exclusive, takes a different route than DirectSound, but still ends up at the Windows Mixer ("Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..").

Wasapi Exclusive requires that you allow your device exclusive mode rights/priority to use it, following the steps shown in your images posted in another topic on this thread.  Audio is then passed directly to the device drivers, which in my opinion "is to be preferred."

[Roby]

FAQ Foobar: "I am using ASIO/WASAPI/etc output and I am experiencing issues...
Do not use alternate output modes unless you must. There is NO benefit in terms of audio quality to using these, as far as music playback is concerned".
You will get a great sound improvement only with a DAC.