Load Winamp’s
Preferences menu and select the Output tab. The plug-ins
listed provide support for a variety of output methods.
The only optional
output plug-in I’d recommend is
ASIO Output (Extract out_asio(dll).dll from the appropriate Bin subdirectory in the archive to the Winamp Plugin directory, if unsure extract the file from the Bin\normal subdirectory) as it is regularly updated (DirectSound SSRC
and Kernel Streaming plug-ins are available, but haven’t
been updated in over 3 years). To use an Output mode simply
select the desired mode from the list. Press the Configure
button and skip to the appropriate section beneath for
configuration tips.
DirectSound
Device.
From the drop-down menu select the Audio device you wish to
use for audio playback in Winamp. This more so relevant
where you have more than one device installed.
Allow hardware
acceleration. Ticking this
option enables your Audio device to perform mixing
operations. If this capability is available it should be
stated in the Device info field. Doing so should provide
better performance and may affect audio quality (depending
on the Soundcard). Untick this option should your Audio
device not support hardware mixing or if it adversely
affects audio quality.
Create primary
buffer. As per the
description, if you’re encountering playback quality issues
with old (really old) Audio devices ticking this option may
alleviate the problems. That said if this is the case then a
new Soundcard would be something to look into. If you’ve any
remotely modern Soundcard you should leave this Unticked as
it shouldn’t be required.
Now select the
Buffering tab.
Buffer length.
This slider determines the length of data, in ms, to buffer.
This can help avoid any playback skipping when working with
other processes. Higher buffering can also lead to increased
memory/CPU use plus increased latency in certain processes
being applied, e.g. changing volume will take X ms to apply.
For best performance and minimum delay you should set this
as low as you reasonably can without noticing any playback
issues, generally 1000 ms (1 second) is fine; although if
latency/performance isn’t a concern setting this higher will
ensure smooth playback (also useful if you are seeking
gapless playback).
Prebuffer on
start/seek/underrun. This
slider determines the length of date, in ms (up to the value
set for Buffer length), “eaten” before output. As before,
increase this value should you notice playback issues, 500
ms is a decent starting value to try.
Buffer-ahead on
track change. Adjusting this
value allows you to reduce/eliminate the gap that can be
heard when changing tracks as data is buffered-ahead (up to
the value set for Buffer length), providing gapless
transitions and reducing the risk of under runs occurring.
If your goal is to get gapless playback then increase this
value until you notice such gaps no longer being noticeable
(1000 ms would be a good value to try in such cases).
Enable CPU usage
control. As noted, Ticking
this option allows Winamp to attempt to be more conservative
with regard to CPU use, which may be beneficial if you run
other intensive applications in the background/foreground.
Should you notice any playback oddness with this enabled
Untick it.
Now select the Other
tab.
Remove silence at
the beginning / end of track.
Ticking this option enables the removal of silence from the
beginning/end of tracks as determined by the Cutoff slider.
Note – Silence
removed is limited to the Buffer length value, e.g. if
Buffer length is 1000ms, a maximum of 1000ms of silence may
be removed. Unticking this option disables removal of
silence, playing tracks as encoded.
Cutoff.
This slider determines the threshold at which playback is
deemed silent (and thus can be removed), the default being
-40.0 dB. Although the default value is fine you should test
this with several tracks to ensure no audible “silence” is
being removed; as such it’s not recommended to increase this
value (i.e. closer to the left) as audible audio are more
likely to be removed. Conversely decreasing this value (i.e.
further to the right) will better ensure that inaudible
audio is removed.
Enable volume
control. Ticking this option
enables Winamp volume slider to control the Windows volume
level. Unticking this option specifies that Winamp cannot
control the volume level, relying on you to make volume
adjustments via your Soundcards.
Mixer/Windows
Volume Control instead. This
is a matter of personal preference, though obviously
enabling this is most convenient.
Smooth volume
changes. Ticking this option
attempts to smooth volume level transitions when adjusting
the volume controls. Untick this option will result in more
sudden changes when adjusting the volume level.
Volume control.
This drop-down menu provides 3 varied methods for volume
control - linear, logarithmic and hybrid. The human auditory
system is logarithmic and as such logarithmic should be
selected for this option (Apple iTunes for example, now uses
a logarithmic volume control, having switched from linear).
Map 0% to X.
If you’re feeling adventurous you can set X to a specific
-dB value, which 0% on Winamp’s volume control will
represent. That said if you’ve no reason to adjust this then
just leave it at the default of -100dB.
Logarithmic fades.
When Ticked this enables logarithmic fading; these start
quickly and taper off slowly towards the end. When Unticked
linear fading is used, which fades at a constant rate. As
before, the human auditory system is logarithmic and it
would be recommended to enable (Tick) this option as a
result.
Now select the Status
tab.
This sections
displays information regarding playback, in particular if
you notice Underruns exceed zero you may need to increase
Buffer sizes in the Buffering tab.
