Adjustable buffers for directsound?

[DDF]

Audio pops and clicks to usb dacs can be caused by buffer under runs: the source is unable to service the asynchronous dac's request for more audio in time. ASIO drivers exist to adjust the length of the buffer to help avoid this: larger buffers provide more time for the source to service the request (at the cost of higher latency).

Do generic or Thesycon Windows drivers exist that allow buffer size to be adjusted for directsound (vs Asio), to use with any usb dac compliant with generic drivers?

Equalizer APO is a wonderful can't-live-without-it free utility for headphone and speaker/room eq, but it only runs under directsound.

Reason I ask is I have one laptop with one dropout to usb dac every 15 to 60 min and I've tried every other trick in the book (power settings, disabling other devices, scheduler optimization, lan vs wifi, driver updates/rollbacks, bios tweaks, OS reinstall, page file size etc etc....) which improved it, but not removed it, and symptoms point to buffer under runs.

I've moved on to another pc without issues but its been an interesting problem that I think larger buffers under directsound might cure.

 

[ichonderoga]

I'm not sure this is a "buffer"-problem - More like a USB-port related issue. Have you tried all ports on the laptop?

Sometimes under cpu load (background tasks (you can't disable them all), I/O on the same set of usb ports, etc.) some "slave" usb ports can suffer temporary I/O dropouts.

ps. don't think directsound has a buffer, atleast not one that takes 15-60 minutes to fill up.

 

[bennetng]

Audio pops and clicks to usb dacs can be caused by buffer under runs: the source is unable to service the asynchronous dac's request for more audio in time. ASIO drivers exist to adjust the length of the buffer to help avoid this: larger buffers provide more time for the source to service the request (at the cost of higher latency).

Do generic or Thesycon Windows drivers exist that allow buffer size to be adjusted for directsound (vs Asio), to use with any usb dac compliant with generic drivers?

Equalizer APO is a wonderful can't-live-without-it free utility for headphone and speaker/room eq, but it only runs under directsound.

Reason I ask is I have one laptop with one dropout to usb dac every 15 to 60 min and I've tried every other trick in the book (power settings, disabling other devices, scheduler optimization, lan vs wifi, driver updates/rollbacks, bios tweaks, OS reinstall, page file size etc etc....) which improved it, but not removed it, and symptoms point to buffer under runs.

I've moved on to another pc without issues but its been an interesting problem that I think larger buffers under directsound might cure.

DirectSound buffer adjustment is provided by individual software applications, not globally via the driver:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-difference-in-sound-quality.7029/post-410516

 

[DDF]

DirectSound buffer adjustment is provided by individual software applications, not globally via the driver:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-difference-in-sound-quality.7029/post-410516

In a similar vein, I've since learned that Voicemeeter Banana supports these adjustable buffers. Its architecture looks like a windows audio sub system alternative