Windows 7's resampling sucks, How can it be improved? Options

[googlebot]

Playback over WASAPI must match the sample rate of the output device. Thus applications must supply their own resampling if the playback rate does not match. Most applications don't do this but just employ MME or DirectSound, which provide transparent resampling for non-matching rates.

Since some of my content is 44.1 kHz and some 48 kHz I used to set the output rate to 192 kHz so that all audio had to be upsampled. With good software resampling and a cheap onboard codec this could, in theory, even improve the overall result. But the opposite was true. Today I couldn't longer ignore the impression that the resampled output sounded somewhat muffled and did some measurements.

You can view the result here. The upsampled output (44.1 -> 192 kHz) suffers from quite a HF roll-off in comparison to pure 44.1 kHz output.

In Windows XP the SRC quality could be adjusted. I can't find anything comparable in Windows 7. Does anyone know more?

This post has been edited by googlebot: Feb 9 2011, 20:33

[db1989]

Cross-linking for future reference:
“Windows 7/2008 have bug in SRC when recording via MME—hotfix available”

I’d also like to take this opportunity to respond to this:

Is there any reason the OS' resampling even matters? If it's bothersome to hear, or even from a "I know _____ and it bothers me", then anything worth listening to w/o that "problem" can simply be played through a player that performs its own resampling. Virtually every player lets you do this, probably with something good enough that isn't complainable. Who cares if your windows sounds or some crappy youtube vid has been upsampled and has a high range falloff? If it only matters for music and videos, just resample in your player if you absolutely cannot stand something in the OS.

tl;dr: If you don't like one thing's way of doing something, use what you believe to be a better version of it.

Very bad logic. Users are perfectly entitled to complain about sloppy implementation of automatic processes, especially in the supposedly latest-and-best edition of the world’s most popular OS, used by millions. Saying there are other options isn’t good enough. Jumping through hoops just to neutralise someone else’s failure should not be considered acceptable. I also take issue with the implicit idea that only those who notice and can deduce the correct cause deserve proper/adequate quality. Audibility shouldn’t matter in contexts such as this, and you instantly dismiss people who notice but aren’t aware of digital audio’s internals and/or may conclude that some other part of their signal-chain is at fault.