WinAMP not able to playback 24/96 WAVs ?

RejZoR · 13th July 2006, 11:39

I've just recorded a 24bit 96kHz stereo WAV and played it in WinAMP. Checked DirectSound output and guess what, it was playing the file at 16bit 96kHz. Ok, then i check WAV input plugin and omg it's only capable of playing 16 or 32bit WAV files. Where is 24bit!?

I hope WA guys can explain why it's not possible to playback at 24bit...
Thx

amano · 13th July 2006, 21:13

hmm. What would be wrong if Winamp put out a 24bit file in 32 bit? From my understanding this should be possible without any harm to the music.

RejZoR · 13th July 2006, 22:28

Well i'd prefer if it playbacks it at its native bit depth.
Plus X-Fi (and most of other soundcards) can't even playback 32bit sound...

amano · 14th July 2006, 07:35

Well ok. That's a good point. On the other hand most (older) soundcards can't play 24bit either. So for compatibility reasons 16bit should be preferred.

even more because the benefits of 24/32bit (eg DVD Audio) are not proven. Head to hydrogenaudio to get some details there. The ear is not as an exact device as the human eye, so the difference between 16 and 24/32 bit cannot be noticed (or has just to be proven yet).

As my soundcard isn't capable of playing 24bit, I personally stay away from it.

Another thing would be if you needed it for music production reasons. Here 24/32 bits are needed sometimes.

RejZoR · 14th July 2006, 08:03

Well if you don't have 24bit capable soundcard, that doesn't mean others don't have it (and most of us do as Audigy 2 are quiet popular, leave alone X-Fi's and all the Auzentech goodies). Saying you don't need 24bit is like saying that you don't need Ferrari because Audi A3 can serve you just fine...
I've done few recordings and i got bad banding at 16bit. No such problems when recorded at 24bit. Sure 16bit can be prefered (default) option in WinAMP due to compatibility reasons, but having option to use 24bit would be nice.

Rocker · 14th July 2006, 09:54

audigy's 1 and 2 cannot play 24 bit output(despite what it written on the box)
not sure about 4 or x-fi's(i'm pretty sure its still emu10k1 based so they probably can't play 24 bit either)

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....threadid=76742

RejZoR · 14th July 2006, 16:43

Em where did you heard that? Audigy 1 is just a SB Live! with EAX3, but Audigy 2/4 is a completelly different thing.
A2 and A4 are EMU10k2 and X-Fi is EMU20k1.
And these 3 series can very well play any 24bit content.

amano · 14th July 2006, 17:34

What happens if you simply set the input plugin to 32bit? Maybe it is "downsampled" to 24 bit again by the hardware drivers or the windows mixer?

Maybe try to use alternative output plugind (eg. Peter's resampling plugin).

The problem is that next to nobody here will use 24bit, since winamp is a music player and normal music doesn't benefit from higher bitrates. That's just marketing bla bla from the hardware manufaturors. Read some of these topics at hydrogenaudio which prove my point.

RejZoR · 14th July 2006, 18:41

But then why would i bother to make hi def 24bit files if i'll resample them 5 times before they actually hit speakers?

Ah well, normal not (i assume you mean 16bit MP3s and stuff like that), but i'm talking about 24bit stereo/multichannel WAV files. They certanly do make a damn difference.

amano · 14th July 2006, 19:15

All blind listening tests indidcate that the human ear cannot hear the difference between 16 and 32 bit. That's a scientific fact. Multi channel can be heard of course (be it better or worse).

Just search in the hydrogenaudio forum for DVD Audio.

I don't know the technical aspects but I imagine that if you play 24 bit content with the 32 bit input plugin just padding would be added, which would be removed afterwards. Thus it isn't any real "resampling"

RejZoR · 14th July 2006, 19:25

I don't care what tests say, all i want is native 24bit playback. Nothing more, nothing less.

amano · 14th July 2006, 19:36

Hmm. Then the short answer is: It is not there.

Red Mullet · 14th July 2006, 19:59

Sometimes winamp can't recognized 24bit to 32bit.
maybe cause for this reason because seldom when I want to convert to 32 bit gives error.
Get winamp 5.24 full. I had same problem eith 5.22.
But I download latest version & get conclusion.

13th July 2006, 11:39	#1
RejZoR Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Europe/Slovenia/Ljubljana Posts: 148	WinAMP not able to playback 24/96 WAVs ? I've just recorded a 24bit 96kHz stereo WAV and played it in WinAMP. Checked DirectSound output and guess what, it was playing the file at 16bit 96kHz. Ok, then i check WAV input plugin and omg it's only capable of playing 16 or 32bit WAV files. Where is 24bit!? I hope WA guys can explain why it's not possible to playback at 24bit... Thx

13th July 2006, 21:13	#2
amano Major Dude Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: where the llamas come from! Posts: 952	hmm. What would be wrong if Winamp put out a 24bit file in 32 bit? From my understanding this should be possible without any harm to the music. eeeee eeeeeee eeeee eeeee eeeee 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 88 8eee8 8e 8 8 8eee8 8e 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8eee8

14th July 2006, 07:35	#4
amano Major Dude Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: where the llamas come from! Posts: 952	Well ok. That's a good point. On the other hand most (older) soundcards can't play 24bit either. So for compatibility reasons 16bit should be preferred. even more because the benefits of 24/32bit (eg DVD Audio) are not proven. Head to hydrogenaudio to get some details there. The ear is not as an exact device as the human eye, so the difference between 16 and 24/32 bit cannot be noticed (or has just to be proven yet). As my soundcard isn't capable of playing 24bit, I personally stay away from it. Another thing would be if you needed it for music production reasons. Here 24/32 bits are needed sometimes. eeeee eeeeeee eeeee eeeee eeeee 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 88 8eee8 8e 8 8 8eee8 8e 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8eee8

14th July 2006, 17:34	#8
amano Major Dude Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: where the llamas come from! Posts: 952	What happens if you simply set the input plugin to 32bit? Maybe it is "downsampled" to 24 bit again by the hardware drivers or the windows mixer? Maybe try to use alternative output plugind (eg. Peter's resampling plugin). The problem is that next to nobody here will use 24bit, since winamp is a music player and normal music doesn't benefit from higher bitrates. That's just marketing bla bla from the hardware manufaturors. Read some of these topics at hydrogenaudio which prove my point. eeeee eeeeeee eeeee eeeee eeeee 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 88 8eee8 8e 8 8 8eee8 8e 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8eee8 Last edited by amano; 14th July 2006 at 17:52.

14th July 2006, 19:15	#10
amano Major Dude Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: where the llamas come from! Posts: 952	All blind listening tests indidcate that the human ear cannot hear the difference between 16 and 32 bit. That's a scientific fact. Multi channel can be heard of course (be it better or worse). Just search in the hydrogenaudio forum for DVD Audio. I don't know the technical aspects but I imagine that if you play 24 bit content with the 32 bit input plugin just padding would be added, which would be removed afterwards. Thus it isn't any real "resampling" eeeee eeeeeee eeeee eeeee eeeee 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 88 8eee8 8e 8 8 8eee8 8e 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8eee8

13th July 2006, 22:28	#3
RejZoR Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Europe/Slovenia/Ljubljana Posts: 148	Well i'd prefer if it playbacks it at its native bit depth. Plus X-Fi (and most of other soundcards) can't even playback 32bit sound...

14th July 2006, 08:03	#5
RejZoR Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Europe/Slovenia/Ljubljana Posts: 148	Well if you don't have 24bit capable soundcard, that doesn't mean others don't have it (and most of us do as Audigy 2 are quiet popular, leave alone X-Fi's and all the Auzentech goodies). Saying you don't need 24bit is like saying that you don't need Ferrari because Audi A3 can serve you just fine... I've done few recordings and i got bad banding at 16bit. No such problems when recorded at 24bit. Sure 16bit can be prefered (default) option in WinAMP due to compatibility reasons, but having option to use 24bit would be nice.

14th July 2006, 09:54	#6
Rocker Hiding in plain sight (mod) Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 9,910	audigy's 1 and 2 cannot play 24 bit output(despite what it written on the box) not sure about 4 or x-fi's(i'm pretty sure its still emu10k1 based so they probably can't play 24 bit either) http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....threadid=76742

14th July 2006, 16:43	#7
RejZoR Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Europe/Slovenia/Ljubljana Posts: 148	Em where did you heard that? Audigy 1 is just a SB Live! with EAX3, but Audigy 2/4 is a completelly different thing. A2 and A4 are EMU10k2 and X-Fi is EMU20k1. And these 3 series can very well play any 24bit content.

14th July 2006, 18:41	#9
RejZoR Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Europe/Slovenia/Ljubljana Posts: 148	But then why would i bother to make hi def 24bit files if i'll resample them 5 times before they actually hit speakers? Ah well, normal not (i assume you mean 16bit MP3s and stuff like that), but i'm talking about 24bit stereo/multichannel WAV files. They certanly do make a damn difference.

14th July 2006, 19:25	#11
RejZoR Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Europe/Slovenia/Ljubljana Posts: 148	I don't care what tests say, all i want is native 24bit playback. Nothing more, nothing less.

14th July 2006, 19:36	#12
amano Major Dude Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: where the llamas come from! Posts: 952	Hmm. Then the short answer is: It is not there. eeeee eeeeeee eeeee eeeee eeeee 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 88 8eee8 8e 8 8 8eee8 8e 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 8 88 8 88 8 8 88 8 88 8 8eee8

14th July 2006, 19:59	#13
Red Mullet Banned Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 439 East District, Mount Paozu Posts: 57	Sometimes winamp can't recognized 24bit to 32bit. maybe cause for this reason because seldom when I want to convert to 32 bit gives error. Get winamp 5.24 full. I had same problem eith 5.22. But I download latest version & get conclusion.

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