Hi there,

I am new to foobar2000 and to audio configurations.
My soundcard is an EDIROL UA-25, which is linked to my Hi-Fi.

What is the best audio output to choose between Wave Out, DirectSound, Kernel and Asio ? I really don't know how to proceed.

Moreover, which output data format to choose : 16-bit or 24-bit ?

ASIO

If your soundcard supports 24-bit, use 24-bit then.

http://www.foobar2000.org/FAQ.html#FAQ_o2

And why would that be? If you make such bold statements you should at least be able to back them up by some reasoning.

Basically regarding sound quality it shouldn't matter whatsoever wether you use wave out, direct sound, kernel streaming or ASIO.

Both ASIO and Kernel Streaming are somewhat experimental and might not be supported very well by various sound card drivers. Which is also why there is a first time warning when you enable it.

In general I would recommend direct sound on Windows 2000 and XP. Although there have been some very rare cases of some soundcards having less issues with Kernel Streaming than with DS. But as I said those occurences are very rare.

Care to explain why?

I use 24-bit Directsound 2.0 for both my M-Audio Audiophile 2496 (in my desktop PC) and my Echo Indigo IO (in my laptop), and it works great. I recommend you use the same. As mentioned before, all output modes should sound the same (especially with your card), and you should only switch to another mode if you are experiencing problems.

Oh, and I also like the nice fade effect I get with Directsound 2.0.