Is anyone else who uses Windows for their media PC getting this to sound decent? Mine sounds like it's in the closet next door, two different PCs to my Topping DX7 DAC. Volume on the mixer is maxed and in the app volume control also, still just awful. DAC says 44.1 all the time.
It sounds like Windows resampling garbage.
If you are curious about investigating what might be happening, here are a few things to check:
This is for setting the Windows audio configuration when the shared exclusive mode is not being used (Amazon client is not using this)
1. From Windows Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Manage audio devices
2. Look for the item that is listed as Default Device (not just Default Communication device)
3. Select it. If the configure button below gets enabled, click it and make sure stereo is selected. Close the configure screen.
4. Double-click on the above default device item.
a. In the levels tab, make sure Input volume is set to 100%.
b. In the advanced tab, select the bit rate and sample rate that you would like. If it does not list the high bitrate/sample rate that you would like then, the problem is with that driver or the EDID sent by whatever is attached to it and this is likely the problem. Windows will then resample to whatever is selected there.
c. If you have a supported formats tab, check what sample rates and bit depths are supported. The combination you would like must be present there if the driver is configured correctly and the device reports the EDID correctly.
d. Make sure the setting is off in the Spatial Sound tab.
e. If you have an Enhancements tab, uncheck all items in the list inside the box and check Disable all enhancements
If you find no difference in sound after ensuring all of the above, I recommend (purely for curiosity) downloading Voicemeeter and installing it and making its device the default device. Select WDM or ASIO whichever is available to the same device that was set to default earlier in Voicemeeter’s A1 output.
This will bypass all of Windows audio processing and go directly to the sound card. See if that changes the sound. You can also check/change the bit rate in Voicemeeter.