KMixer, ASIO, Kernel Steaming or DirectSound SSRC?

[Trick]

Hi,

After reading up on Kernel Streaming, ASIO, KMixer and SSRC I'm pretty confused on what's generally regarded to be the best way to output audio from applications such as Winamp or Foobar.

Kernel Streaming appears to be very low level (like ASIO) so the o/s is doing a lot less to mess with the source before it hits the soundcard and then the dac. However, ASIO and Kernel Streaming seem to have the downside of not being quite as stable as the KMixer and can mess with the voulme control in the software. After this, I found DirectSound SSRC for Winamp which allows you to resample all output to 96khz and 24bit. Is this a good idea for a soundcard such as the Creative X-Fi? What sort of affect will this have on FLAC audio being passed to a NOSDAC? Surely if an mp3/flac is recorded at 44.1khz resampling to 96khz isn't going to make any difference? What do the internals of the X-Fi do to the flac when it's upsampled?

tbh, I can't tell a massive difference between the different output plugins - the differences are there but I'd like to know which is deemed to be technically and aurally the 'best'?

 

[9designs2]

This was similar to my questions a few days ago, where I wanted "bit perfect" output from the PC. thread is here
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17803169
There was some useful links posted, and worth reading up on. Basically both hardware and software can re-sample the original file. IMO that is bad news. It seems most creative cards are bad news, as they hardware force a re-sample to 48Khz. If you use windows Kmixer, IT WILL re-sample. So don't use it.
I'm looking for the EMU 0404 card, and possibly use ASIO drivers. The last item for me to resolve is, will Media Monkey I use now cause a re-sample.
I'm currently feeding a NOSDAC, Monica2, or direct into my AV pre amp.

 

[Trick]

Thanks for the reply. I remember the thread now - the links are pretty informative if a little over my head!

I seem to remember that the hardware re-sampling to 48khz was a problem which blighted the Live and Audigy series. I think the issues been resolved with the X-Fi series.

Kernel Steaming seems to work well for me as it retains the ability to alter the volume in winamp and with RemoteAmp. Sounds good too.

How are you getting on with the Monica2? I'm using a Shek d2 NOSDAC which I believe uses the same TDA1545a chip.

 

[9designs2]

I'm not sure if the X-Fi series solves the issues, I'm personally not going to chance it !

For me the NOSDACs are ok, but don't live up to the Internet hype, they perform perhaps around the same as a 500-700 pound CDP. Which may be good considering there price.