Author Topic: ASIO output config - stereo playback with multi-channel setup?  (Read 1273 times)

Skinjob

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My PC is connected to a receiver via HDMI.  I have a multi-channel speaker setup.

I'm using ASIO4ALL to get ASIO support over the Intel HDMI.  In Musicbee the ASIO Output Config is the default 7.1 setup.

What is the intended behavior when you have a multi-channel output setup in ASIO output config, but you're playing back a stereo signal?

I'm getting the stereo signal output on my center channel, which surprised me.  I can configure the ASIO outputs in musicbee to just have 2 channels mapped and then 2 channel sources work correctly, but then I can't playback actual multi-channel audio correctly.

Is it not possible to support 2 channel audio and multi-channel audio with a single output config?


Skinjob

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Yes, tried it checked and unchecked, but always behaves like it's upmixed.  Meaning center channel is always on with 2 channel sources.

BTW - Yamaha receiver is in "straight" mode, which means all processing is disabled and it plays back exactly as received.

Seems like musicbee is always doing some kind of upmix.  Not sure if it's a bug or I just don't understand expected behavior.

frankz

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I can confirm that, for two channel files in WASAPI (Exclusive) sent to a Yamaha surround receiver in Straight mode via HDMI, MB does not perform any upmixing.  Center channel is silent.

I don't know if there's a functional difference between using WASAPI and ASIO for surround files.  I'm pretty sure I tested a 5.1 file when I first set this up and it worked fine, but I honestly don't remember enough to confirm it.

Skinjob

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Switched to WASAPI exclusive and also confirm it works as expected with stereo or multi-channel sources.  So I guess I'll stick with that.  Always preferred ASIO in the past coming from pro music gear, but I guess WASAPI exclusive should essentially be the same thing.

So I guess something is wrong with Musibee's ASIO implementation or possibly ASIO4ALL itself.

Anyway, problem solved with WASAPI exclusive.  Thanks all for the help.

sveakul

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You never did say what version of MusicBee you were using;  the latest 3.5x version delivers bassasio.dll version 1.4.1 which may help your situation if yours is older.  That said, I don't see how you could go wrong sticking with WASAPI-Exclusive.

Skinjob

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I did upgrade to latest 3.5, but it was still playing center channel on stereo sources with ASIO.

But no biggie.  WASAPI exclusive is handling all channel scenarios correctly and should be same quality.

Skinjob

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Sound quality is fine with WASAPI, but I have a couple minor issues. It always drops some samples from the beginning of the first track played and is unstable with Milkdrop (frequently crashes/locks up Musicbee when starting the visualizer).

So I decided to mess around with it a bit more.  Turns out the multi-channel problem is definitely ASIO4ALL.  Or maybe ASIO4ALL in combination with Intel HDMI audio.

Anyway, I tried FlexASIO with the kernel streaming backend and it works perfectly.  No multi-channel issues, no dropped samples at the beginning of a track and no crashes with Milkdrop.

Just thought I'd pass the info along in case anyone else has similar problems.  If you're looking for bit-perfect playback with a multi-channel config and you're having issues with WASPI exclusive, give FlexASIO a shot.

frankz

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Sound quality is fine with WASAPI, but I have a couple minor issues. It always drops some samples from the beginning of the first track played and is unstable with Milkdrop (frequently crashes/locks up Musicbee when starting the visualizer).

So I decided to mess around with it a bit more.  Turns out the multi-channel problem is definitely ASIO4ALL.  Or maybe ASIO4ALL in combination with Intel HDMI audio.

Anyway, I tried FlexASIO with the kernel streaming backend and it works perfectly.  No multi-channel issues, no dropped samples at the beginning of a track and no crashes with Milkdrop.

Just thought I'd pass the info along in case anyone else has similar problems.  If you're looking for bit-perfect playback with a multi-channel config and you're having issues with WASPI exclusive, give FlexASIO a shot.
Good work investigating.