| Better Music, From Your PC, for Free High-quality PC | | | | created ASIO4ALL. He says the original goal was to |
| audio(from: is important to me, as I spend a lot of | | | | address the latency issues that Kmixer introduced |
| time listening to music on my desktop. In previous | | | | into the audio recording process. It was only later |
| columns I've discussed the aural advantages of | | | | that audiophiles started using it to achieve better |
| lossless audio codecs (like FLAC), discrete sound | | | | audio from their PCs. |
| cards, and specialty music player software. Alas, | | | | To use ASIO4ALL, you'll need a compatible media |
| even with all of those tools installed and properly | | | | player, such as foobar2000 or WinAmp (Windows |
| configured, it is possible to suffer less-than-optimal | | | | Media Player and iTunes don't support it). I |
| sound on a Windows XP-based PC, as the operating | | | | recommend installing foobar2000. You also need to |
| system has a tendency to muck with music without | | | | download the foobar2000 ASIO DLL (click on the |
| your consent. Happily, a free, easy-to-use program, | | | | Optional Components link on the foobar2000 site); |
| called ASIO4ALL, addresses this annoying Windows | | | | the DLL file should go into foobar2000's Components |
| habit. (I'm told that the app can improve sound on | | | | folder on your hard drive. |
| Vista PCs, too, but I have not tested that claim.) | | | | Next, download and install ASIO4ALL itself. Launch it |
| So how does XP interfere with your music? Simply | | | | by clicking on its Off-line Settings option in the Start |
| put, the OS hands off audio chores to a piece of | | | | menu. You should see your computer's audio(from: |
| software called the Kernel Audio Mixer, or Kmixer, | | | | device highlighted; if you have more than one, select |
| which automatically resamples audio files--oftentimes | | | | the one you intend to use. |
| rather poorly--creating output that differs from the | | | | Now launch foobar2000. Navigate to File, Preferences, |
| original recording. The effect is typically pretty subtle, | | | | and choose Output. In the resulting dialog box, select |
| and if you are listening to low-bit-rate MP3(from: you | | | | Output (under Playback), and then ASIO Virtual |
| probably won't notice it. | | | | Devices, before clicking the Add New button. A new |
| However, if you're like me and you listen to lossless | | | | dialog box should appear with your audio device and |
| audio because you prefer to hear music the way the | | | | various mapping coordinates (left, right, and so on) |
| artist recorded it, you can use ASIO4ALL to do an | | | | listed. Select one, then click OK, Save All, and Close. |
| end run around Kmixer, sending an unadulterated | | | | Return to your music collection, fire up your favorite |
| version of the audio right to your sound card. | | | | reference (highest quality or original recording) tunes, |
| Musicians who record using PC hardware have long | | | | and start listening. You should hear a noticeable |
| used ASIO, which stands for Audio Stream Input | | | | improvement in audio quality with even the default |
| Output. Mid- to pro-level hardware may include | | | | (Simple) settings. |
| drivers with ASIO support, but lower-end | | | | I'm confident you'll get better audio through |
| hardware--such as integrated motherboard audio | | | | ASIO4ALL. And remember: It doesn't change |
| chips and some basic sound cards--tend not to. So an | | | | anything in your drivers, so if you're not happy with |
| enterprising gentleman named Michael Tippach | | | | the results, you can simply stop using it. |