Optimize Foobar 2000 for optimal sound quality
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- Опубліковано 6 січ 2021
- Foobar 2000 is awesome. It is free, supports all formats and is completely customizable. We will show you how to get a much better playback quality with a few plugins. Of course: completely free of charge!
Download Foobar here: www.foobar2000.org/download
Download plugins here: www.foobar2000.org/components
Download the DSD plugin here: help.nativedsd.com/en/article... - Наука та технологія
Having no issues at all, thanks for the tutorial!
Very good app indeed. This video was quite helpful to configure it. By the way, the portable version makes deploying it on multiple computers simple. Once set up with a music collection on one computer, copy the app and music directories to another computer and the adjustments to be made there are minimal.
I've had Foobar for a good fifteen years but only using it as a total pleb for most of the time lol. I found this video six months ago while trying to optimize outputs/codecs/etc. Found this insanely comprehensive, which is rare because of intense adhd. Thank you so much.
Thanks man!
Useful introduction to the installation and the app itself, thank you.
Alpha...I've got to give you major props. I've struggled with some weird output issues w/ my Bose Companion 5 Speaker setup for like the last year or two...the only way I can describe it is certain frequencies would cut volume at weird points. Even talked extensively w/ the techies at bose and they couldn't figure it out because it seemed to happen intermittently. I think the AISO/WASPI configuration was the cure - like too many volume controls were fighting w/ each other for control. I wish you could see the that 'music high' expression on my face like now...it's like hearing my flac tracks for the first time! Absolutely incredible. I can't tell you how happy I am to finally be experiencing my music in such a wonderful way! ::bow:: ::bow:: ::bow::
I'm very happy it works like it should! Enjoy the music. :-)
Really apreciate your video!
Thanks man!
Many thanks, my sound is now PUMPING.
Enjoy!
This was very informative, thanks.
Welcome!
Great video, thank you very much
thx man. Very simple and useful
good tutorial, thanks, no issues!
The SOX resamplers as an extra installable plugin are also great. With those you can resample anything to the max sample rate your dac supports (768k); choose the bandwidth (90-99% - 95% is great); minimum or linear phase or something in between (linear is preferred). This way the dac will no longer need to use it's internal filters which are most of the times worse, since the laptop/pc foobar runs on has way more calculating power to do it much better.
Just a hint.
Thanks. Will check it!
@@TheAlphaAudio Best ones are the SOX mod and mod2 plugins as they give you the most options. You can tell the SOX upsampler which frequencies you want it to upsample (mod2) or which you don't (mod).
This way you can tell foobar to for instance upsample 44.1k derivates to 705.6 and 48k derivates to 768 by
1. going to the preferences > Playback > Dsp manager
2. Add the SOX MOD2 plugin twice
3. The first mod2 you select target sample rate "705600" (have to type it in manually); and type in "44100; 88200; 176400; 352800"
4. The second mod2 you select target sample rate "768000" (again manually) and type in "48000; 96000; 192000; 384000"
5. Type a name in the "DSP main preset" text field below like "upsample to 705/768k" and press SAVE.
(Also add an option "don't resample" without any SOX plugins and press SAVE).
You can then add a DSP drop down box to foobar and that way you can select to upsample to the max your dac can handle (in this case 705600 768000)
If your dac can handle 192000 max then of course you have to adapt the numbers above.
The advantage with upsampling to the max is that the SOX filters are usually better then those of the DAC. Because a PC has more computing power. And by going to the maximum sample rate your dac can handle, your dac doesn't need to use those weaker filters anymore.
Great tutorial
Thank you so very much men !!!
Really really helpfull guide to optimize the foobar2000, it sounds exactly like my phone + hiby app + dac + flac sounds. Since I only use my phone to get mobile then it's not really necessary for me to listen music with phone while I'm literally facing my PC
Glad we could help
You can also make your headphones sound like you speakers especially at night if you do not want to disturb anyone. Buy..i mean by i.e not buy --- creating an impulse response of your speakers which copies you room reverb. Then use vst component to install an impulse response player.
How to rip a HDCD in Foobar2000, after you have installed the HDCD plugin? And also make sure after ripping, you got the HDCD info in your rip? Thanks
thank you very much!
Exelente ayuda , muy agradecido !!
Getting an error message trying to burn a cd on the program. I have successfully burned cds with it before, but now trying to add DSP processing (equalizer, noise sharpening), and getting disc errors, incomplete burns. The disc would not start burning at all with the upmix to 5.1. Any suggestions?
Hey I setup everything like you but I get a pop whenever I start, change or stop a track from playing. Any ideas?
Hi. Why does noise and crackling appear in the background when I listen to DSD? There is no such thing with other formats.
by reading your replies, I understood that I need a 32bit foobar instead of 64bit to be able to use the WASAPI version u installed. there's another option in the components list named "WASAPI shared output 0.6.21" which I installed and it works for the 64bit version. is it basically the same plugin but for "newer" windows versions?
i cant change the bitrate any higher on my computer
is there a solution to this?
Hello thanks for the video, i have a question, i resently got an fiio m3k dac , but when i use on w10 i cant use the equalizer from the fiio so i installed APO Equalizer, is there any problem with foobar plugins or asiio ?
I haven't tried that combiantion. But if you use wasapi on Windows, the EQ in Foobar should work.
Thank you , be well
Thanks!
any plugins that would allow you to play .msx files?
An information: I'm using an STX II w original drivers (note that ASIO driver are already included). Playing on foobar w WASAPI output I can choose SPDIF one only (where theres the Hi-Fi connected, but the STX internal DAC cant be used at same time! Choosing ASIO, both analog and SPDIF outputs are working at same time. Does that mean signal performance degradation as it has to be splitted? Thank you
i don't know the Asus STX II that well. Sorry. But I guess it doesn't really matter that much.
Does the device have to be in exclusive mode ? I'm a headphone person so I also got other sounds going on in windows that I'd like to hear alongside whatever I might be listening to.
No. You dont need exclusive mode per-se. But I do think it sounds slightly better.
thank you for this
Welcome!
hi, thanks for sharing. what do you think about replaygain? do u recommend it? thanks in advance!
I do as little processing as possible.
Holy crap my music sounds eargasmic now
Very helpful video explanation that solves my DSD files playback issue, only one problem remain is sound/music came out by intermittence from some DSD/FLAC files while playing. Could you advise to solve it out?
Glad we could help! I don't know what you mean exactly. Do you experience drop-outs?
@@TheAlphaAudio When playing DSD files, sound/music came out intermittently with switching itself DAC-PCM from my Topping DAC DX3Pro. I can send some video files(while playing with the trouble of DSD) if you can provide email or WhatsApp or Messanger or etc.,
By right if the output is set to wasapi, the windows audio settings sample rate should not matter. you can use sox resampler together with wasapi to set the desired sample rate.
You are right... that's what we thought. But maybe by setting the 'possible maximum' you prevent issues?
maybe. i always had it set to max available setting but anything higher than 192k may cause some compatible issues.
Never knew there was such a good audio player. Had been on iTunes, Windows MP or VLC. Thank you for the video. I setup some EQ presets with Foobar default EQ settings, saved them but when I load the preset I am struggling to know which one is being used. Any method to display the name of the EQ under use?
Not that I know. I dont use the EQ ;-)
@@TheAlphaAudio Oh yeah, I got a KEF M500 headphone and it does not need EQ 😀 flat response though a bit of bass boost helps in bass heavy stuff. I don't listen much of that sort so EQ is off
For EQ use APO with Peace GUI
Indeed. It gives the best sound quality among free players. I used it on Linux in wine, but plex won by number of features and better look’n’feel with the second place of a sound quality.
Is there an option to set the volume automatically on a particular level? To keep automatic the level of song on the same level?
You mean normalising. Ik haven't looked for it yet.
Thanks.
Thanks so much for share.
Welcome man.
Can you tell me which plugin / function I should install to listen to music / podcast at 2x speed (faster). Thanks!
No clue
"Effect DSP" in the components tab of foobars2k's website should do the trick. You can edit playback speed under the Playback>DSP Manager. Maybe add in some pitch shift down too so it doesn't get unbearably squeaky to listen to lol.
Are those components any helpful if I don't have a DAC/Amplifier?
I want to know this too
They might be. After all, you do have DAC and amplifier. Otherwise you would get no sound.
Yes... It always works. Also with the build in Dac.
"Please note that this component is meant for systems where ASIO is the only available output method. It is highly recommended to use the default output modes instead of ASIO. Contrary to popular "audiophile" claims, there are NO benefits from using ASIO as far as music playback quality is concerned, while bugs in ASIO drivers may severely degrade the performance."
I do agree with the sound quality. WASAPI sounds just as good.
sounds wayyyyyyyy better!
Cool!
I'm curious about y'all's take on this disclamer on the ASIO component's page:
"Please note that this component is meant for systems where ASIO is the only available output method. It is highly recommended to use the default output modes instead of ASIO. Contrary to popular "audiophile" claims, there are NO benefits from using ASIO as far as music playback quality is concerned, while bugs in ASIO drivers may severely degrade the performance."
A dedicated asio driver definately works better than the Windows Mixer. Wasapi is equal.
I still can not get DSD in Foobar via my dac. Is RAM disk option necessary?
Ram disk is not necessary.
I didn't know WASAPI improves audio quality that much... Thanks, my audigy rx5 now sounds more alive haha.
Nice!
I hear a lot of distortion/stuttering when I play hi res files (24 bit 96 to 192 kHz) FLAC files. But when I play 16 bit 44.1 kHz, the distortion vanishes completely. Please help me.... My dac is the loxjie d 30 and source is win 10 pc outputting thro usb....
Hey my problem is resolved... I had wrongly selected 32 bits instead of 24 while playing 24 bit 192kHz FLAC files.... Now the playback is normal and m really njoying hi rez for the first time.... All the notes and voices seem to magically linger/ float around in the air with exceptional seperation.... btw thanks for the video...
Hello! can you please make a video to make fluids in foobar2000! please!
i got "this plugin is made for a different processor architecture" for ramdisk and wasapi. I have a 64bit windows, nothing fancy.
Yes. but you need the 32bit version of Foobar for some plugins.
Couldnt Install with this error showing up , I have an Intel 12400 Processor with Asus Motherboard and Topping e30 DAC
Could not load component "foo_ramdisk.fb2k-component": This component was built for a different processor architecture.
Use the 32 bit version of foobar.
When I put the output in wasapi I can't use the audio in other software or in UA-cam for example, theres a way to use both ?
Nope... Thats how it works. If you want both, the mixer will be used.
@@TheAlphaAudio ty !
@elia is there any downside to using WASAPI shared rather than event/push?
Thank You very much.
Can you do a video how to optimize Tidal as well?I mean is it possible to bypass a windows kernel and use something better?I know there is many software like Audirvana, but im looking something free.
We can check that. No problem!
@@TheAlphaAudio Been 2 months... You find anything out?
@@Darkl0ud_Productions sorry. We have been very busy. I wrote it down.
strange, I followed this while having a Realtek Driver + Dolby Atmos Speaker filter, the sound seems to be smaller
guess I can't use more than two filter?
More filters can indeed create a non-optimal result
everytime i forgot the buffersize when i setup a newer installation...
Any way to apply parametric headphone eq while using wasapi event?
Don't know. Haven't tried it. Check the Foobar plugin repository.
ramdisk and wasapi component can't apply to foobar, it said "Could not load component "foo_ramdisk.fb2k-component": This component was built for a different processor architecture.". How can i fix this?
You need the 32 bit version
@@TheAlphaAudio appreciate it
Oh and it doesn´t play real MQA it downsample it. Question about DSD256 I got an error: Sample rate of 705600 Hz not supported by this device. Foobar seems to double the output rate. Lot of people have this problem.
see DSP manager
is there a way to play songs from the library with 2 clicks? why do i have to send them to the default playlist in order to play them??? i cant double click in the library and play
I never tried... Sorry. Ik Just create a playlist... :-)
@@TheAlphaAudio I fixed that I just went to preferences and changed double click send to playlist . Now I don’t know how to display the artist in one window and the albums in other one
@@refugioflores2226 thanks for sharing. Lay-out can be changed in preferences
I've heard with this software you can play around with it to get your music to sound like a tube amp, how do you get it to do that? I understand that Tubes are bad, unless you want to play around with your music every know and then by giving it a warm sound (and this software being free means that you dont have to spend money on a tube amp) are there any plug-ins that would have an eq preset that would get you various tube sounds? What about other eq presets for various types of music?
Tubes don't sound warm. Tubes are actually very lineair. It's the transformers that add color depending on the load from the speaker (impedance).
I don't know of any presets in EQ. But Google is your best friend :-).
Hello, i have m3k dac, when i set asio and play a song the rest of apps liek youtueb or games gets crash with no sound, do uknwo why?
Did you install a decent asio driver or asio4all? Check if you device can handle multiple sources. Wasapi in exclusive mode for example van only handle one source... The rest will be muted.
Hi I want to play 5.1 files from laptop through receiver via HDMI from sacd iso file...Is it possible? Do I need External sound card? Which one?
I haven't tried it. So honestly: I don't know. To make it work, you need a multi-channel DSD dac though... I guess USB could work.
@@TheAlphaAudio thanks
I couldn't fix output problem as you did. I don't have sound card. Just over USB to DAC.
Vasja
Install \update software your DAC is using or set your output sampling equal to software abilities.
In my case i have only 4 sampling rates to choose 44,1 48, 96, 192.And for example 176,4 doesnt work.In my case is only software limitations, cause another soft has more sampling rates.
Hmm. Anyway of getting rid of the boomy sound from a logitech z5500 sound?
Equalizer?
i have a thunderbolt interface i been trying different players but i notice my ouput levels hit red on my interface when i use ASIO and WASAPI any solutions?
I couldn't say. Sorry. Thunderbolt is just an interface. Seems that your soundcard is acting up.
@@TheAlphaAudio well it only acts like that when i select asio when i do regular standard default settings through windowds mixer its fine but i wanted to bypass that its kinda tricky
@@refugioflores2226 the Windows mixer probably samples back... That's why it works.
I have a hyperx cloud 2 usb jack slot as well and that only goes up to 48000hz and i dont have a deck so i plugged my headphones in my front panel but i dont hear audio.. =/ Can someone help me ?
Did you select it as the output? And is your front jack connected to the motherboard? Did you try the headphones on another pc?
@@TheAlphaAudio Unfortunately i cant try it with another pc but i did select the output and its connected.
when using foobar and playing DSD the audio stutters, why does that happen?, Thanks
Could be anything. Processing speed, network speed... Wrong drivers...
Any way To optamize sound quality For a DAC as well please? Using Fubar? Thank You
Not sure what you mean
ASIO and WASAPI offer an improvement in terms of audio LATENCY not audio QUALITY. When not recording and only listening, latency doesn't matter and using the windows audio kernel is fine, since it doesn't do any D/A decoding and only handles the digital signal (the decoding is done by your soundcard). ASIO and WASAPI require direct control over the sound card and thus disallow any other program from outputing audio. Also ASIO likes to brick other currently running audio drivers and WASAPI has compatibility issues. Long story short: just use the windows basic driver or the driver included with your soundcard.
This does not apply to DSD, because your sound card (if it supports DSD) needs exclusive control over the audio to switch decoding modes and thus requires ASIO.
DISCLAIMER: If you notice hitching during audio playback, this isn't an issue of latency but rather of buffer length. Increase the buffer length or decrease the sampling frequency. You need neither ASIO nor WASAPI if you're only listening!
agree with this, I'm using modded Xonar STX, with updated drivers for Windows 10, and yes ASIO bricks my audio kernel in turn to fix this I'll restart my PC. As for the WASAPI(event), it disrupts other audio playback sources since it needs exclusive access to my Xonar STX. One should do stop other audio playback sources just to switch sources which sucks.
I already tried to compare them and the sound quality were the same across 3 output sources.
*Using Audioengine HD6 via RCA Cable.
This is an excellent comment. Thank you! I use Foobar for casual listening. In my experience, tuning ASIO settings is more suited for performance playback and tuning these settings tends to be a long trial-and-error process.
will wasapi and asio support not working for me its show white block cant install wtf ?? maybe cause its old my stys 64 bit i download latest veresion of fobaar2000
please help mine says this: Unrecoverable playback error: Exclusive mode not allowed
Well... it says what it is: exclusive mode not allowed. You can try restart the computer and try it again. Or disable exclusive mode. Not all drivers allow it.
i got problem with instal ram-disk plug... i got 64 bit procesor. i need this plug?
You need to install the 32bit version of Foobar.
@@TheAlphaAudio ty got it!
I'm getting the "Unrecoverable playback error: Unsupported stream format: 176400 Hz / 24-bit / 2 channels" error even after updating my windows settings.
You mention briefly some MQA encoder while pointing at it in the metadata. I clearly don't know what it is but can it have something to do with my problem?
I guess not. Does your soundcard support 24/176?
@@TheAlphaAudio I have the same issue Unrecoverable playback error: Unsupported stream format: 352800 Hz / 24-bit / 2 channels even though my device supports 32bit, 384000, no matter what i do in footbar it shows the exact same error
@@sergz8241 that is weird. What dac do you use?
@@TheAlphaAudio Creative AE-7
@@sergz8241 That card has a ESS 9018-dac. The dac supports 32bit / 384 kHz. But that doesn't mean that the input receiver accepts it. A lot of manufactures 'play' with specs. Unfortunately. I think the specs are very inclear. In 'direct' mode it does say that it supports up to 384 kHz. But in all other cases it's 96 or 192 kHz.
Is there a mac os setup guide?
No sorry. But if there is a Mac version it will be almost the same. Wasapi doesnt exist for Mac. But asio does.
how do you make the lyrics larger
What do you mean?
I'm USB logitech surround 7.1 with USB, when i play sound on foobar with wasapi, everything else stopped working
That is the whole Idea of Wasapi... Exclusive acces to the soundcard.
i love you
I just tried to install the win 10 plugins. It gives me an error - Could not load component. Built for a different processor architecture
Check 64 or 32 bit.
@@TheAlphaAudio add-ons have no other versionI tried to give you a link to the addon site but UA-cam is deleting my comment. I am using the links you provided.
@@TheAlphaAudio Current version: 1.0, released on 2012-01-20
Supported processor architecture: x86 32-bit.- this is for a ram disk plugins.
@@sasho1bsable what is your Foodbar version? Also 32 bit?
@@TheAlphaAudio Thank you very much! By mistake my version was 64 bit.
If I install Wasapi component, Foobar asks to remove it every time I open Foobar, because "it's not needed", and then I can't select Wasapi output or bitrate.
That is very weird. What OS are you using?
I got the same warning when I installed Wasapi on the beta version (v1.6.7) on Windows, however, when I rolled back to v1.6.6 it’s worked fine.
Shame the RAM plugin only works with 32bit. my OS is 64bit,
Somo of these components are only available to x86 architecture.
True
some of these components are no longer supported from my cpu. what I should do?
Buy a new pc?
@@TheAlphaAudio my pc is 1 year old, I don't really think so... btw the error message is "This component was built for a different processor architecture."
@@FilipNone ohhhh... Thats another error. Did you check ARM / 32bit / 64bit?
@@TheAlphaAudio x86 64bit is my architecture
@@FilipNone than download the right version. Installed it today on a new pc. No issues.
Where was SACD from tf
why did i need ram-disk?
If you load in memory you get better sound.
Somehow the WASAPI will slient out the first second of the playback.
im using aimp for many many years but this shit is like godlike
What if my dac already got asio drivers?
It should have ASIO-drivers. This guide is meant for those that want to actually use the drivers in Foobar.
@@TheAlphaAudio So that means even if my dac got the asio drivers already I should still use your guide, correct?
@@ozcozfozc yes. Definately. This guide is more a guide on how to configure Foobar so that it actually uses your asio audio-path.
can music sync in mobile.
I dont onderstand this question. What do you mean?
There are some half truths in this video.
1. The ASIO driver in Foobar is the best output, because tracks are bypasssing windows shitty processing - destroying the original sound. Not for the low latency, because while you are not recording the latency is irrelevant. WASAPI output sound will never be so accurate as ASIO, but for live streaming I recommend WASAPI.
2. The less buffer you setup, the longer gaps are between the tracks. In live albums, like the Pulse from Pink Floyd it is realy annoying. There is required at least 1500 ms, but 2000 ms is optimal.
That is all.
what if I set it to max (30k ms)? will it affect anything?
@@randomguyonyoutube5875 Try it and you will see. If you have enough of memory no problem, but you will have to wait longer until will be everything loaded in memory. This is also annoying.
@@19starfish74 Just tried it and I don't have to wait longer to play track....? I can also switch between tracks instantly. I dont see any increasing amount in my memory usage (I have 4gb), and dont hear any significant change. But yes if I set it to the lowest 50 ms, I can hear some harshness. I use WASAPI btw. Thank you for replying :D
@@randomguyonyoutube5875 It also depends on the size of the playback file that is buffered. If you tried it with some SACD rip in DSF or DFF, you would definitely know the difference. As I said before, the safe size is around 1500.
@@19starfish74 ah i see. thank you
Heb je haast of zo Je gaat veelst te snell jongen Regards Jack uit Australia
Het is een snelle wereld! :-)
We have different definitions of "user friendly."
Ramdisk and wasapi don't support 64bit
yes, I just discovered this. do you try the foobar2000 x86?
This breaks UA-cam, forget it.
dang, my pc only supports up to 24bit 48khz. sad
That's enough... :-)
Thanks for this, but you have gone too quickly for me being new to pc's, I have downloaded the components, then I am lost because I do not understand what you did next? You must give time of the screen with each move you make otherwise it will not mean anything to beginners like myself, ok if you are used to working on computers
You can just install the downloaded components by doubleclicking the files.
@@TheAlphaAudio I have clicked install on the Preference-Components window, then double clicked on the download, ie 'Ram' but a window shows saying 'Save' and Save As, to which I'm lost
Sorry, I should have added I did get one to go on but is was not compatible, like I said, going a little bit slower and I would have been able to understand which button you pressed, watching it on a 14" laptop, UA-cam picture is not very big and if I increase to full screen, the resolution is not so good as to see what you have clicked on: I have joined a Foobar forum and asked tha question but as yet no replys
@@davidnewboult6887 thank you for the feedback. Have you set the resolution to max in UA-cam? Video should be 1080P.
@@TheAlphaAudio Just had a look at setting but cannot see anything about resolution: I have managed to pur two files into Preferences but both say Unknown - Please apply changes to load, will have to Google that
SOX Resampler
But after trying it with the best plugin and setting for a view months, I found out player like Audirvana or Roon much..much better sounding...sorry
Yes... But this one is free... :-)
too fast for me
MQA? Blegh!
Shame on you... "50ms audo buffer sounds better".. Do you even know what a buffer is?
Yes
@@TheAlphaAudio Then you would know that the buffer size does not affect the audio quality whatsoever
You click to fast and do not show and explain what changes you are making in the software. Not good.
Sorry.