June 21, 2004

9:12 PM

Music playback optimization help desired. [more inside]
posted by Gyan to (10 comments total)

I play music using Winamp 5.02 through a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz onto a pair of Sennheiser HD-590s.

I listen mostly to three types of music: classical(mostly Classical, some Romantic and some modern), trance (mostly melody-driven) and finally some ambient/IDM/"organic" stuff. Almost everything is MP3 (160Kbps+)

I'd like to know the optimum configuration for playback. Starting from, which music player, which output decoder, which DSP, what settings...etc, etc.

I'm not really disappointed with the current state, but I'm sure it can be improved. I've tried DFX and another DSP, whose name I can't remember right now, but they didn't remarkably improve the soundstage or quality.
posted by Gyan at 9:13 PM on June 21, 2004

Additionally, and this might be going too far, but is there a plugin/program/whatever that

1)"analyses" a track,
2)prepares a custom and dynamic EQ settings,
3a)executes the custom settings during track playback,
OR
3b)outputs a modified "enhanced" track which can be played as-is

?
posted by Gyan at 9:22 PM on June 21, 2004

Why on earth do you think that adding more EQ and DSP effects is going to magically make things sound better, with no input on your part?

Seriously, nobody on earth is likely to have exactly the same setup as you do. Tweak it until it sounds good enough to you, and then be happy with it. The endless pursuit of the "perfect" sound is an astonishing waste of time and money among those who should know better. And adding more processing is only likely to make things worse, unless you really know what you're doing.
posted by xil at 10:25 PM on June 21, 2004

Why the snarkiness?

Why on earth do you think that adding more EQ and DSP effects is going to magically make things sound better

I don't have any DSP right now. And I'm not looking for magic. Plenty of people have very similar setups. I'm not an audiophile looking for the 'perfect' sound, that's why the question says optimization.
posted by Gyan at 10:42 PM on June 21, 2004

Xil's response was indisputably snarky and, um, rude. But he/she is basically correct. Up the bitrate of your MP3s or go to a lossless format. Trust the decisions made by the producer and recording engineer.

Or, just try various stuff until you get a sound that you personally like. The point is that if we're talking subjective standards here, then they are yours and only you can answer the question—and what sounds good to you is good. If we're talking objective standards here, then first increase the quality of your source material, make sure your audio card isn't noisy (not a problem with yours), and then don't mess with it.

One thing, however: I have a fancy-schmancy set of nice Sennheisers (maybe the same pair, I can't recall) but you really need a little amp for them. Typical headphone output underdrives them. If you look at some audiophile sites where people talk about Sennheisers and some of these other higher-end headphones, you'll see mentions of some little headphone amps you can buy.

Hope that helps you some! Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 12:15 AM on June 22, 2004

Thanks, EB.

I'm talking about subjective effects, of course. By knowing what works for other people, I can glean some heuristics, and that's all I'm looking for. I certainly don't expect a 20 step-by-step 30-Days Or Money Back guide.

I'm sure an amp will help, but at just above half the peak volume (I haven't dared to go above), I can hear discernible sound at the entrance of my apartment (35 feet displacement, through a closed door). Or do you mean for some other purpose, like clarity and specific ranges?
posted by Gyan at 12:30 AM on June 22, 2004

It's not about boosting the signal, it's about the quality of the pre-amp. Lots of consumer sound equipment includes crappy headphone pre-amps. Using the line-out into a separate, higher-quality amplifier could make a big difference in the sound quality.
posted by fuzz at 3:01 AM on June 22, 2004

As far as Winamp DSP plugins go, I like Enhancer (although I wish there were a way to turn off the volume normalizer). It's simple, free, and sounded best to me after mucking around with the various Dees, etc.
posted by mookieproof at 4:46 AM on June 22, 2004

You need to update to 5.03, Gyan - 5.02 has a nasty vulnerability.
posted by Blue Stone at 12:07 PM on June 22, 2004

Blue Stone: Thanks. That was a slip of the ?keyboard?. I do use 5.03, I just didn't bother to correct it since I didn't think it made much of a difference.

mookieproof: Enhancer is much better than the DSPs I've tried. This is a good start. Thanks.
posted by Gyan at 12:25 PM on June 22, 2004