Equalizer APO - Douk Audio U2 - XMOS

[AudioLimey]

Hello. I'd be very grateful for some help please...

My hifi is setup as:

Windows 10 laptop/foobar2000 -> USB output -> Douk Audio U2 -> Optical Out -> DAC/Pre-amp

In foobar, I usually have the Output Device set to "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST)) [exclusive]".

Everything works fine.

I've installed Equalizer APO (1.3, 64-bit) and Peace (19045-3803).

In EQ APO/Peace, I only see "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST))" listed i.e. no "[exclusive]", and EQ/AP is installed on that...

I switched foobar to use that too...

However, changing EQ settings (including the pre-amp level) via Peace makes no difference to the sound output.

If I switch to using different speaker outputs i.e. my monitor's speakers in Windows/Windows Media Player and EQ APO, the Peace settings do make a difference.

Q. How do I apply EQ via Peace and have the audio route via the U2?

I have tried all of the "Install as" troubleshooting options e.g. "SFX/EFX", "SFX/MFX", etc

Many thanks

 

[staticV3]

Exclusive output in foobar2000 will bypass all Windows APOs, which includes Equalizer APO.

If you want to use EQApo together with foobar2000, then you need to use either SoundSource or Wasapi Shared for audio output.

 

[Sokel]

It might be a good idea not to set U8 as your default sound device and route all windows sounds to another device (like Realtech) if you use the shared output.
Also,you can use one fixed sample rate with it,so choose 16/44.1Khz which is most of the music.

However if you want to use exclusive and the rest that exclusive does you can use a EQ like Mathaudio,which can strangely work with WASAPI excl and ASIO (but NOT when you play DSD).

 

[AudioLimey]

Hello @staticV3 , @Sokel . Thanks for your replies....however I'm confused. I mention above that I switched from using the "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST)) [exclusive]" device to the "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST))" device.

Q. Are you saying that the "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST))" device is exclusive, even when it's not labelled as such?

Q. If not, can/should I be able to use that, rather than then exclusive version?

The drivers for the XMOS devices were installed from the U2 install CD.

Maybe it would help if I give you the full picture of what I what to achieve?

- I plan to buy some Adam T5V speakers
- Amir said of them "It was a tad bright so I dialed in a quick shelf filter"

I would like apply the same "shelf filter".

Thank you

 

[staticV3]

Hello @staticV3 , @Sokel . Thanks for your replies....however I'm confused. I mention above that I switched from using the "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST)) [exclusive]" device to the "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST))" device.

Q. Are you saying that the "Speakers (4- XMOS XS1-U8 DJ (ST))" device is exclusive, even when it's not labelled as such?

Q. If not, can/should I be able to use that, rather than then exclusive version?

The drivers for the XMOS devices were installed from the U2 install CD.

Maybe it would help if I give you the full picture of what I what to achieve?

- I plan to buy some Adam T5V speakers
- Amir said of them "It was a tad bright so I dialed in a quick shelf filter"

I would like apply the same "shelf filter".

Thank you

It is certainly possible to play back music via Foobar and still have EQApo apply DSP to it.

I don't know what exactly is preventing this from working on your PC.

Instead of troubleshooting EQApo, you could install the Mathaudio Headphone EQ plugin for Foobar, apply Amir's shelf filter there, and then you can even use exclusive output.

Even better: there are four different EQ presets for the T5V created by ASR members that correct the speaker's response more accurately than Amir's single shelf filter:

Anechoic EQ for loudspeakers

www.spinorama.org

Adam T5V Review (Studio Monitor)

Wish we had a level-calibrated Fundamental+Harmonic Distortion graph for the JBL LSR305P MkII to compare against. We've seen small-woofer active speakers with far worse distortion. Here's the 4" Edifier R1280T:

www.audiosciencereview.com

I would load all four plus Amir's single shelf into Mathaudio, then switch between them while listening to music and keep the one that sounds best.

 

[AudioLimey]

Thanks both for your ideas...I'll give Mathaudio a go and will check-out the filters.

(@staticV3 , @Sokel )

 

[AudioLimey]

Sorry @staticV3 - I want to use the Mathaudio Headphone EQ plugin, even though this is specifically for speakers, not headphones?

 

[staticV3]

Sorry @staticV3 - I want to use the Mathaudio Headphone EQ plugin, even though this is specifically for speakers, not headphones?

Yes.

 

[daftcombo]

Your problem is weird. Did you restart your computer after having selected and configurated the device in Equalizer APO?

Anyway, there are several tools like Convolver to apply EQ in Foobar. You can create an EQ file with Rephase

If I switch to using different speaker outputs i.e. my monitor's speakers in Windows/Windows Media Player and EQ APO, the Peace settings do make a difference.

What if you select those speakers in Foobar?

I use EqAPO with Foobar ouputting on my primary sound device daily. The only thing is it must not be exclusive.

 

[AudioLimey]

Hi @daftcombo . Based on the recommendations above I installed the Mathaudio Headphone EQ plugin into foobar. It worked without issue, so I kept it and uninstalled EqAPO/Peace.

 

[daftcombo]

Hi @daftcombo . Based on the recommendations above I installed the Mathaudio Headphone EQ plugin into foobar. It worked without issue, so I kept it and uninstalled EqAPO/Peace.

Good, but how will you correct the rest of the sound of your computer?

 

[AudioLimey]

Good, but how will you correct the rest of the sound of your computer?

Do you mean listening to music other than via foobar...say YouTube? I'm only interested in EQing via foobar.

 

[daftcombo]

Do you mean listening to music other than via foobar...say YouTube? I'm only interested in EQing via foobar.

Yes, that's what I meant. For example to watch a movie with VLC.

 

[AudioLimey]

I get your point that EqAPO covers all bases, but I trial music on YouTube. If I like it, I buy it, and then listen to it via foobar....so not an issue for me. Good point though. Cheers.