Directsound vs WASAPI vs ASIO Options

[Midiman]

After reading many of the posts on this forum, it appears that there is no evidence that ASIO or WASAPI sounds any better than Directsound on Windows 7. I understand the importance of ABX testing - and I am interested in a way to do a double blind test of such claims. Let me first of all state that I cannot hear any difference. For me to be objective, I have used the same player for all tests - foobar2000 - and simply changed the Output from Directsound to WASAPI to ASIO. However, to do this, I have to stop the playback, change the driver, and then restart playback. This means comparions are doubtful at best due to the delay involved and my knowledge of what driver I selected.

How have others conducted such tests? Please note I am not trying to prove a difference exists - just to find a way to do the test properly. The ABX plugin for foobar2000 has been very useful to compare different WAV files. Obviously, one cannot use it for this sort of experiment.

Thank you for any suggestions or pointers to where this has been proved one way or another.

[nimd4]

Midiman I get what you're saying, sorz 4 being so brief. For listening, or reproduction, there really is NO (audible) difference. For recording, it's a whole different story. Google threw this my way:

CODE

http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98447

So providing the CPU, RAM and the sound card are up to par, there is no replacement for ASIO (ofc).

Otherwise for a somewhat 'similar' comparison, I'd mention the argument over which version of the LAME encoder is the 'right' one to use. When there hasn't been an advancement in quality, it basically comes down to personal preference. That sort of thing, if you can agree.

[greynol]

For recording, it's a whole different story.

Depending on the application, sure. A bit misleading and ill-advised being presented as a general statement, even with a link, however.