Hi
Having installed 1.4.5, I find that there is no difference to the issues I have been having since the word ‘go’. I decided to stop moaning about it and see if I could discover what was actually wrong. The main issue for me has been the inability to use Kernel Streaming (cannot start Integer Mode). My set-up is Intel i7 on Asus mainboard and external iFi Zen DAC Signature under Windows 10 Pro, fully updated.
I first tried a clean boot to see if any non-Microsoft drivers or services were causing the issue. The result was the same but I accidently discovered that I could play to the inbuilt HDMI connection to my screen’s sound output. It sounded dreadful, but at least there was an output. Reverting to the Zen DAC produced the same Integer Mode issue.
I have concluded, for what it’s worth, that the kernel streaming issue that I have is related to the Zen DAC and/or its driver.
Does anyone else have a similar setup to me and are they having issues?
Thanks.
Hi pieronip!
I have an iFi ZEN DAC V2 and a Windows10PRO PC. The current iFI Audio driver is from 2018. It allows for all the 3 modes (WASAPI, ASIO Kernel) to work on Audirvana Studio, however, the DAC is not reporting correct information about bitrates.
After several tests, i have removed the iFi Audio drivers and am using the standard “USB Audio 2.0” from Microsoft. It is reporting correct information on all tracks and also detecting the DAC correctly as a MQA Decoder (with the iFi Audio driver i have to force on Audirvana Studio the MQA Decoder option). The only downside of using the Microsoft generic drivers is the loss of the ASIO mode. I can live with that, so i am using Kernel mode.
Every time i install a new version of Studio, it breaks the kernel streaming mode (i.e. cannot change to integer mode). Each time, I have to reset the output device settings in Studio even though they are the correct settings and reboot (maybe more than once). This is the only way I have been able to make kernel streaming work in Studio. [My DAC is the Mytek Broklyn DAC+]
Thank you @cybertrancer and @lucretius.
I will experiment with the MS driver but it is unlikely I will abandon the iFi driver as I prefer ASIO when using 3.5. As I am interested only in playing local audio files, the additional features of Studio are not needed. I just wanted to hear if Kernel Streaming made any detectable difference for me.
I would imagine that your advice will get KS working for me and I’ll be able to listen. If it is irresistibly better then I can have a complete rethink. If not, then back to 3.5…
Thanks again.