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Topic: Help configuring VAC and VSTHost (Read 6899 times) previous topic - next topic
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Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

I found the holy grail of equalization in Electri-Q for my preferred headphones.  Unfortunately, it only works in foobar until I manage to pipe system audio through the VST plugin via VAC and VSTHost.

It's sorta kinda working now, but I'm getting aliasing at high frequencies (a warbling low frequency sound that goes back and forth) on a sine sweep.  If I use ASIO4All, the aliasing disappears, but I get mono sound!

There's so many possible settings that could go wrong I don't know where to start my description of my setup!  It's Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit running VAC 4.10 and VSTHost 1.52 x64.  I'm setting VAC to only accept 96kHz input and VSTHost to process in 96kHz, but if I set output to directsound (DS) to the speakers, I get samplerate locked at 44100.  Is this a hint that the native hardware samplerate of my sound card is 44.1 (onboard Realtek HD audio) or just a quirk of directsound / VSTHost?

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #1 –
Well, I figured it out, no thanks to you guys 

It seems that I get artifact-free audio whenever the VAC cable is accepting 16/44.1kHz audio.  This is true whether the source is 16/44.1 or any other format.

So signal generator (sinegen) outputting at 16/44.1->VAC accepting 16/44.1->good
Sinegen outputting 24/96->convert to 16/44.1->VAC->good
Sinegen outputting 16/44.1->convert to 24/96->VAC->BAD
Sinegen outputting 24/96->VAC directly accepting 24/96->Still BAD

So I've set the VAC cable to work in 16/44.1 in shared mode and set it to only accept 16/44.1 audio in VAC configuration, and all is well

Well, I still haven't figured out why ASIO doesn't work.  And this proves that M$ MME is doing $hitty samplerate conversion even at times where it isn't needed.  Apart from that, everything's fine

Curiously, my main loudspeaker output works fine in 24/96 even when accepting 16/44.1 input from VAC

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #2 –
Thanks for sharing your findings.

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #3 –
It seems that the resampling is still bad enough that I get a low level harmonic distortion whenever sinegen is not outputting 44.1kHz natively.  But at least with VAC set to accept 16/44.1 I get totally artifact-free audio when the source is 44.1kHz and less artifacting when resampling down to 44.1kHz.  With resampling up to 96kHz I this loud wild harmonic that goes up and down in frequency as I sweep up from 5kHz up to 30kHz.  (I can't hear that well up past 10kHz, so the harmonic distortion is about the only thing I hear up past that).

Most source material in foobar is 44.1kHz, and I've set MPC-HC's Audio Switcher to downsample to 44.1kHz--hopefully that does a better job than M$'s MME.  So hopefully I'm getting proper sound from all my important sources anyway.

Still can't figure out why ASIO4ALL gives me mono sound.  It even seems to be a proper downmix of the two channels.  No idea why it would do that

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #4 –
Is'nt ASIO4ALL just a Kernel Streaming wrapper?

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #5 –
I did not test if this has some effect (I don't have VAC) but, for 24/96 stream, how is the samplerate set in audio device properties (ecexute mmsys.cpl in command prompt, select audio device,  properties, advanced -tab) ?

Juha

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Joe Bloggs on
I found the holy grail of equalization in Electri-Q for my preferred headphones.  Unfortunately, it only works in foobar until I manage to pipe system audio through the VST plugin via VAC and VSTHost.


Have you tried the foobar component "vst adapter" , foo_vst ?
Otherwise it works fine for me with the equalizer DMG  equality (vst, commercial)  which I  like more than Electri-Q.
Last time I  tried Electri-Q, I  noticed that sound was affected even with flat eq, so I  dismissed it (probably a bug).

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #8 –
Quote from: markanini on
Quote from: extrabigmehdi on
Last time I  tried Electri-Q, I  noticed that sound was affected even with flat eq, so I  dismissed it (probably a bug).

How did you determine that?


This was a long time, ago that I've tested it , and don't I remind  all.
Just re-tested it, to answer  your question. All I  notice now,  is that the sound is a bit louder, when enabling electri-q inside foobar (flat eq) . At least with analog mode. Perhaps it's different with other modes.
(to enable/disable I  just add/remove on the dsp manager, while playing).
This is confirmed when I  process a  file, with flat eq,  and then look at the replaygain value (around 1db difference).
Electri-q works fine with vst adapter inside foobar. But frankly the interface is not convenient.

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Juha on
I did not test if this has some effect (I don't have VAC) but, for 24/96 stream, how is the samplerate set in audio device properties (ecexute mmsys.cpl in command prompt, select audio device,  properties, advanced -tab) ?

Juha


That's part of what I've been fooling around all day.  Like I said, it becomes artifact free when the samplerate is set to be 16/44.1 (and the same is set in VAC).

Quote from: extrabigmehdi on
Quote from: Joe Bloggs on
I found the holy grail of equalization in Electri-Q for my preferred headphones.  Unfortunately, it only works in foobar until I manage to pipe system audio through the VST plugin via VAC and VSTHost.


Have you tried the foobar component "vst adapter" , foo_vst ?
Otherwise it works fine for me with the equalizer DMG  equality (vst, commercial)  which I  like more than Electri-Q.
Last time I  tried Electri-Q, I  noticed that sound was affected even with flat eq, so I  dismissed it (probably a bug).


Electri-Q works fine inside foobar using foo_vst but works better using George Yohng's VST wrapper (something to do with presets being saved and recalled properly IIRC) but like I said the problem was getting it to work outside of foobar.

Analog mode (that you mentioned you were using) is meant to alter the sound even with flat eq, introducing "tube warmth" to the sound.  Digital mode probably doesn't alter the sound.  In any case I'm not fussed about the fidelity of any digital equalizer, it's probably all transparent to my ears.  I'm much more concerned about finding the best EQ setting within one EQ (and since it's virtually impossible to set two different equalizers to get the same FR, any attempt to compare the inherent quality of two different equalizers seems a lost cause to me)

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Joe Bloggs on
Analog mode (that you mentioned you were using) is meant to alter the sound even with flat eq, introducing "tube warmth" to the sound.

Nope, it's intended  to imitate analog hardware equalizers.

Quote
I'm much more concerned about finding the best EQ setting within one EQ (and since it's virtually impossible to set two different equalizers to get the same FR.

A bit surprising , I  think there should be some consistency if you are using the same EQ  curve.
Anyway, if you do some search , you'd see that dmg equality & fab filter pro-q are perhaps the most popular equalizers for professionals (look at kvraudio discussions, for instance). Electri-Q  is interesting because they offer a free version, but otherwise I'd look elsewhere.
 

Help configuring VAC and VSTHost

Reply #11 –
Whelp, this thread is now third in google for "AISO4ALL getting mono sound"
Still no solution in sight there

Quote
Is'nt ASIO4ALL just a Kernel Streaming wrapper?


Is there a hint for me to direct my troubleshooting there somewhere markanini?