24-bit Audio

[nybergh]

Originally posted by fishtankfish
I read two days ago that Winamp does not readily support 24-bit audio. I have a 24 bit card and would like to use it to its full capability. What players do support 24 bit audio and are still decent all-around (skins, equalization, style, etc.)? I downloaded XMPlay and it's saying that its playing in 24 bit at the moment but i can't get it to play a CD. What are some other good players?


p.s. and please dont say that you can't tell a difference between 16 and 24 bit audio. I want to decide that for myself.

Winamp supports 24 bit audio. I've played 24 bit FLAC and Ogg with winamp without any problems. and no, winamp doesn't downmix 24 bit to 16 bit unless you want it to do that.

I suppose you've tried foobar2000 (with direct sound output enabled)?
Using the default equalizers of typical media players is generally a bad idea, just turn off the winamp eq (or any other DPS) and you might notice a slight quality improvement.

Remember that cd/mp3/wma/vorbis mostly is 16 bit audio, and just "playing it back as 24 bit" will give you nothing but a placebo effect if your hearing is not VERY good, and to actually enhance the quality from normal 16 bit on a 24 bit card you'll need to know something about your equipment and audio terminology. Before you start shouting about playing 24 bit just for the sake of the numbers, you should read some of the stuff on www.hydrogenaudio.org - you'll find that there are more relevant aspects in the quality of PC audio that the number 24 on the box your soundcard came in.

That is, for example, encoding your media files as decent mp3:s with nothing but LAME's --alt-presets and chosing the right Vorbis and AAC encoders for the right situation and maybe moving on towards lossless packing (FLAC, APE) if you can afford HUGE hard drives.

I wish you luck with your sound quality experiments. The secret word is ABX. Check hydrogenaudio for that....