Incorrect playback of 96kHz audio on Win10

Support
1

@support, Things aren’t always as they seem, but apparantly, there is an error in the playback of 96kHz audio streams, possibly more audible on flac, but also audible on wav. It is on a level that disables high fidelity playback.

The error is notorius on all files based on this format.

It is only in the right channel, and the error is audible as a high frequency ringing.

No change turning on and off DSP.

The same source is played in an error-free manner on all other media players on this WIn10 i5 laptop using the latest roon.

The error is not present on Tidal tracks, nor on 44.1 wave files.

It is audible on anything from laptop speakers (more of a minor there) and on our Adyton - “beyond hifi” as they call themselves - speakers and amplifiers.

Any suggestions? Something with my setup? Or a bug?

2

Hi @Carl_Henrik_Janson ---- Thank you for feedback and sharing your observations with us.

Moving forward, if possible, could you please provide us a media sample that you are noticing this, “high frequency ringing” with, for testing?

-Eric

3

Yes, I have made a recording of this error that you can listen to. Please send me a private email and I will respond that way, including some elaborations on the cause of error and a couple of new findings. I tried to upload those files here, but could not. I also prefer to discuss this via email.

OK?

4

Hi @Carl_Henrik_Janson ---- Please share the content “here” via a dropbox download link (or another method of your choosing), so I can grab your materials, and furthermore, if you would like to give me some further details please drop me a PM.

Thanks!
-Eric

5

@ERIC, EDIT: The explanation of samplerate problems regarding asio4all was removed as we found a solution to that (the samplerate issue). The rest remains.

@Eric, ok, files: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AgwTOVHwFIUih81uVGO_nmYfonLvYQ

I found another setup that is working fine with roon and 94/24: If I listen via this laptop’s Realtek high definition output, e.g. on headphones, everything is ok. This output can be set to 192/24 or 44.1/16, it does not matter. It is ok.

The files: Both were recorded using a virtual sound card. The players – roon and MPHC - were sending streams to this virtual soundcard (we have 4 different types). This card is then used as input to Reaper DAW, from where the recordings were made. I repeat the original file is in 96kHz 24bit format. Reaper was set to record in 44.1 24bit.

The original recording is Jen Chapin Re-Visions, a fantastic recording (HD Tracks). My two Reaper recordings:

  1. Roon as player. Play with some proper headphones, perhaps a bit loud. You will hear the high frequency ringing as a kind of “overtone” on the bass.
  2. MediaPlayerHomeClassic (MPC-HC). The setup is identical, but the error is gone.

What is going on? It looks like there is some type of bad chemistry between roon and the Asio4all generic driver, possibly related to samplerate conversion.

Importantly, another new finding, the error is gone if Directsound driver is used instead of asio4all in this Reaper recording setup, probably because DirectSound is obedient to the 96/24 format.

It could also be that Roon is non-compliant with all our 4 different virtual soundcards, but I find it unlikely. If Windows is properly installed, these virtual sound cards may even produce a 100% bitperfect stream and is therefore highly usable. I have seen Roon staff commenting on virtual soundcards in a “reluctant” manner, but I believe the problem is a4a.

I hope to learn something from further comments, and that this was helpful.

6

@eric, another example online is Kari Bremnes new CD, track: Rim sin stemme.

She is a Norwegian artist known for audiophile sound. Results:

Tidal: Perfect
Spotify: Perfect
Roon: Catastrophic.

I am interested to know if anyone else can hear the “ringing”.

Yesterday, I stated that Roon is OK when listening via headphones on the Realtek output set for 44.1 / 16. Today this is no longer true. The deviation could be track-related.

7

Hi @Carl_Henrik_Janson ---- Thank you for touching base with me, confirming that the content has been received and is in our queue for analysis/testing.

Your patience is appreciated!
-Eric

8

@eric, what happened to the bad quality audio examples? Were they rejected, accepted, fixed, or? I since converted the whole machine to 192, adn this remove the problem, which make me believe the problem was or is related to samplerate conversions. I see others have pointed to low quality audio as compared to Tidal lately, hence this question.