Software options for Tuning

**durwood** · 10-28-2006, 11:47 AM

Ok I tried out the foobar player with the dsp plugin. It seems like another option for those who can't use the kx driver project. The foobar player seems very simple to use, but how it would work in a carputer I don't know. You can assign keys to perfom various functions of the player so that is a big plus. I don't know if it could be interfaced with a frontend. I just started using roadrunner recently, so my knowledge on frontends is lacking.

The DSP plugin has VERY nice features.
-4way crossover capabilites
-Butterfield, Bessel, and Chebychev Filter types
-6,12,18,24,30,36,42,48,54,60 dB/ocatve slopes HELL YA!
-Gain/level can be adjusted for each crossover setting
-Crossovers are Assignable/routing to specific outputs of the card
-18 band EQ
-Time delay on each ouput but not for Left and right separately.

So disadvantages are:
-DSP only good for this player. When playing a DVD in another program you will not have to DSP working for you.
-No 31 band 1/3 octave EQ
-Time delay is not separated for each Left and right speaker on each output
-Crossover slope on bandpass filters is fixed (i.e. you can't have one side 6db and the other 18db. IF you select 12db/octave, then that is what you get on both the high pass and lowpass fitler of the bandpass filter)
-Gain/level adjustment is for Left and Right, it cannot be separated.

Here are some screen shots:

**durwood** · 10-28-2006, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by RedGTiVR6

durwood - great input!

your edit reminds me of an issue I was having trouble working through in my head.

If we do all of the processing on the computer, that means that we will be pretty much stuck with 48kHz.

Most of you know that I have been researching bit-accurate/bit-perfect playback in a bit of detail.

Then it hit me (don't you hate it when you overlook something so incredibly obvious!>)....it's not a bit-perfect stream if you tune on the computer....

but wouldn't it still make sense to strive for bit perfect in just about every aspect so that you know you are getting the true 44.1kHz rate before any processing? then you process the sound, and spit it out, making sure windows doesn't resample it to 48kHz then either...

is any of that coherent? anyone have any input?

Ya I have been tossing it around too and I thats why I want the computer to do all the processing. In the digital domain, its pretty much all mathematics.

With the computer AND a soundcard, there are basically two processors. Your CPU can do what ever it wants as long as the software tells it to do the right thing. Then you have your soundcard with its DSP processor on board that is limited to audio only related processing with limited resources.

In my thoughts, to maintain the ultimate SQ, this would be ideal:

Option 1

CPU
All sound adjusting is done by mathematics before the soundcard ever gets a hold of the signal
- Resampling 44.1kHz audio to 48kHz/96kHz (if needed depending on what the soundcard uses to process)
- EQing (via VST plugins)
- Time delays (Freq Allocator)
- Crossovers (Freq Allocator)

Disadvantages:
-The CPU will probably be doing ALOT of work.

Option 2 (If you have a kx driver compatible card)

CPU
Handles things the soundcard cannot do or do well
-resampling 44.1kHz to 48kHz or 96kHz depending on soundcard used
-EQing (via VST plugins)

KX driver compatible Soundcard
-Time delays (Kx driver w/UFX plugin package)
-Crossover (Kx driver w/UFX plugin package)

Advantage:
The workload is split between the two processors

It's not Bit perfect, but CD audio can be refined or smoothed out by resampling and not really affecting quality. The D/A dacs are really the only thing you need to worry about with SQ with both of the above scenarios. At least this is what I am thinking...
Any thoughts????

**scott_fx** · 10-28-2006, 01:27 PM

i wonder how hard it would be to have the 30 band eq implemented into this software? maybe if we all ask nicely?

now we just need someone to write a front end for this software

**durwood** · 10-28-2006, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

i wonder how hard it would be to have the 30 band eq implemented into this software? maybe if we all ask nicely?

now we just need someone to write a front end for this software

EDIT: Looks like someone did years ago and no real response.

Foobar2000, anyone?

**scott_fx** · 10-28-2006, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

stumbled across this thread and it may be of some interest to you guys and red:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...545&highlight=

i dont want this to be overlooked. if we took a kxproject compatible soundcard, gave it multiple spdif outs and then had a dedicated dac for each pair...then i think we would have a very worthy competitor (yet expensive) for the pxa-h701

**durwood** · 10-28-2006, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

i dont want this to be overlooked. if we took a kxproject compatible soundcard, gave it multiple spdif outs and then had a dedicated dac for each pair...then i think we would have a very worthy competitor (yet expensive) for the pxa-h701

I haven't overlooked it, but I just haven't quite figured out where that would fit into the picture...for me at least.

Still processing...

**scott_fx** · 10-28-2006, 01:55 PM

if it was possible to do this to a sb card it would turn that sb live card into a card with amazing sound quality and multiple outputs. in theory, pair that up with kx and a few dac and now you have a card with active x-overs, time alignment, eq, and high output voltage rca's

**durwood** · 10-28-2006, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

if it was possible to do this to a sb card it would turn that sb live card into a card with amazing sound quality and multiple outputs. in theory, pair that up with kx and a few dac and now you have a card with active x-overs, time alignment, eq, and high output voltage rca's

OK, I think I understand, the DAC's would essentially be the line drivers. Unless you hotwire a PCI soundcard like someone did with the M-audio?

**scott_fx** · 10-28-2006, 02:05 PM

i guess that is a way to look at it. but that m-audio card is what i was talking about, yeah. so the soundcard would send the correct data to the dacs and then the dacs would take care of converting the data to a high end signal.