Priority.
This slider determines the thread priority level for
Nullsoft’s Vorbis decoder, and it’s recommended to leave
this set to default unless experiencing choppy playback, in
which case try increasing the priority level. You might find
it useful to lower the priority level if you have more
critical processes running (though only if faultless
playback is maintained).
Buffer full files
from disk. Ticking this option
sets that tracks are fully buffered in order to avoid
playback hitches. If you’re playing tracks solely from your
hard drive it should be fine Unticked (disabled).
Output format.
This drop-down menu specifies the output bit depth used
during playback. Higher bit depths provide a greater Dynamic
Range (The difference between the quietest and loudest
signal), as indicated beneath.
Bit Depth
Dynamic
Range
8bits
48dB
16bits
96dB
24bits
144dB
This allows for
greater precision and more headroom when processing a track
(For example, MP3s are not encoded with a specific
bit-depth). For 24-Bit Soundcards, 24 bits is recommended as
the preferred mode to select. Users of 16-Bit Soundcards
should select 16 bits.
Dither.
Dithering is the process of adding noise to audio in order
to provide improved sound quality. This might strike you as
contradiction, a detailed explanation of why it isn’t can be
found here. If you’re using 8 or 16 bit output format
then it’s recommended Ticking this option for optimal sound
quality. If you’re using a higher bit-depth output format
(24 bit) leave this Unticked, it’s not necessary (given the
greater dynamic range), nor would you notice any difference
in playback quality; you’d only be increasing CPU use. Noise
shaping is used to further enhance the dithering process by
distributing noise across the frequency range.
Use Replay Gain.
Detailed information on Replaygain can be
found here, but basically it allows for a gain
adjustment to be stored in a track, the point being to
reduce the need to adjust the volume level during music
playback due to varying loudness levels in different
tracks/albums. Some of the benefits to using Replaygain are
that the Replaygain information doesn’t actually alter the
track itself, unlike, say, normalizing a track while
encoding – Replaygain info can be removed/changed as needed
(similar to ID3 tags). Additionally, this also tends to
resolve clipping issues with many tracks. Ticking this
option allows the use of Replaygain info stored in tracks as
described above (recommended). Two modes are available as
regards the application of Replaygain during playback.
Radio / Track.
This selects the track gain adjustment which is recommended
for maintaining a constant volume level between tracks,
regardless of any intended loudness variation between
tracks. This may function best when playing tracks from a
variety of albums.
Audiophile / Album.
This selects the album gain adjustment which is recommended
to maintain the intended loudness variation between tracks,
particularly if playing from a single album.
Unticking this option disables applying
ReplayGain adjustments in tracks. This isn’t particularly
recommended as it can exaggerate volume differences between
tracks and increases the chances of clipping.
Use 6dB Hard
Limiter. Ticking this option
applies a 6dB limit to audio playback, which eliminates
clipping from occurring although can cause noticeable
distortion when active (though not as bad as clipping).
Again, bear in mind that ReplayGain scanned tracks should
have clipping issues resolved in the first place.
Preamp.
A preamp is used to boost/reduce signal strength before
being sent to an amplifier. Set this to your own preference,
although bear in mind that boosting signal strength may
introduce clipping to tracks; as such it would generally be
recommended to apply a negative value.
Apply preamp only
when RG info is available.
Ticking this option specifies that preamp adjustments are
only applied to ReplayGain scanned tracks. Untick this
option enables both scanned and unscanned tracks to have the
preamp adjustment applied.
Now select the
Multichannel tab.
Apply conversion
and Source channel order. Due
to issues with earlier versions of Vorbis, audio channels
were not mapped correctly for output. Selecting the remap 6
channels and correct options respectively will ensure
channels are mapped correctly. Should you not be using a 5.1
speaker system select an alternative downmix option, in
particular noting the following 2 options:
Downmix to 2 channels (DS).
This downmixes an audio source to Dolby ProLogic (A
4-channel audio format matrixed into Stereo); when connected
to a Dolby ProLogic decoder the additional 2 channels will
be played, otherwise the content will be played as standard
stereo (2 channel).
Downmix to 2 channels (DS2).
This downmixes an audio source to Dolby ProLogic II (A
6-channel audio format matrixed into Stereo); when connected
to a Dolby ProLogic II decoder the additional 4 channels
will be played, otherwise the content will be played as
standard stereo (2 channel). Note – Connecting to a Dolby
ProLogic decoder in this instance will yield only 2
additional channels being played.
Downmix all to mono. Ticking this option
downmixes sources for mono output (Single channel). There
shouldn’t be much reason to do this, leave it Unticked.
