Not getting optimal sound from laptop via HDMI

[DamienS]

So I may have missed if this was fixed, but did you ever figure out if any dsp was being applied in the laptop settings?

I have an HP with B&O sound. B&O should be ashamed of themselves for putting their name on this. Especially since part of the problem is that they include some baked in sound enhancing software that applies eq to the output. A big problem for my measurements as it corrupts them.

While one fix is to turn it off, many of these softwares are hard to use and it’s never clear if it is totally off or not. The easy guarantee is to use ASIO4ALL with software that can make use of that. I’m fairly sure that Tidal can, I think I’ve done that before. That driver allows you to bypass any internal processing and send a totally clean signal to the receiver. It’s also the best to use if you ever get into measurement and use REW.

I haven't gotten around to fixing the issue properly Matthew. Since I am now able to stream Tidal from my computer via a third party desktop app to the AVR, it has addressed my immediate need (i.e. not living with sub quality sound for my music). I would like to get to the bottom of the issue though so that I can also feed audio from Netflix/general audio from my computer directly to the computer without sacrificing quality, but haven't gotten around to it just yet.

I was thinking that using the HDMI port on the laptop would have meant that I wasn't dealing with the B&O sound (which as I understand it is a feature that is incorporated into the Realtek audio/soundcard (3.5mm jack). I will however keep that in mind as a potential source of the issue/solution when troubleshooting.

I'll have to do some research on ASIO4ALL and REW. All news to me . Thank you for the suggestion!!

 

[Matthew J Poes]

No offense intended Matthew. For my part, it was a comment about internet reviews in general. I guess I left it a bit too general .

Definitely the source of the review has to be taken into account when reading them. Like you said, those with measurement help immensely and I find it useful when there is comment section such that BS can be called when warranted or for users to mention an item that was maybe missed in the review.

Given that my location is such that it is not feasible for me to sample in person all the varying manufacturers of products (speakers or computer tech products, etc.), I do rely a extensively on reviews and good ones are invaluable. Some however are little more than sales pitches. The source is key.

I didn’t really take offense, but us reviewers are a dying bunch.

When I first started writing, a bit over a year ago (I was just doing behind the scenes technical stuff before that), I met up with Michael Fremer. He had some good advice. He told me to not waste my time on lousy sounding gear and to never be afraid to tell a manufacturer that their product sucks.

I mean, those who pay us live and die on advertising so we can’t maybe be quite that blunt, but you can be honest. Sometimes those reviews get published and sometimes not. I’m never afraid to tell some privately at least. I have two products I’m sitting on because the review is on hold. I and others didn’t like them and now the company would prefer we just say nothing. I don’t blame them.

 

[lovinthehd]

I didn’t really take offense, but us reviewers are a dying bunch.

When I first started writing, a bit over a year ago (I was just doing behind the scenes technical stuff before that), I met up with Michael Fremer. He had some good advice. He told me to not waste my time on lousy sounding gear and to never be afraid to tell a manufacturer that their product sucks.

I mean, those who pay us live and die on advertising so we can’t maybe be quite that blunt, but you can be honest. Sometimes those reviews get published and sometimes not. I’m never afraid to tell some privately at least. I have two products I’m sitting on because the review is on hold. I and others didn’t like them and now the company would prefer we just say nothing. I don’t blame them.

Why doesn't he tell that to the cable charlatans I wonder....or can he "hear" cable differences with his hearing aids?

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Some are okay, but many are paid to give good reviews. I don't bother unless they have measurements generally. You might be okay

I had someone ask me why all my reviews were positive. Trust me when I say it wasn’t because I was paid to give good reviews.

I think it’s something else. First, I see no reason to bash a product. Everything likely has some redeeming quality. If not, why am I even reviewing it.

Most products today that I would even consider revising is decent. Those cheap Dayton MK402’s that James and I reviewed are not great, but at the same time, they aren’t bad. They are a lot better than what you once could get for that kind of money. Good build quality, acceptable sound in small rooms, fixable treble tonal balance.

I think reviewing receivers and processors is probably the hardest. What is there to say about sound? As long as the response is flat and noise is low they all tend to sound the same. My biggest comments would be about features, software, user experience, and measurements.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Why doesn't he tell that to the cable charlatans I wonder....or can he "hear" cable differences with his hearing aids?

Because that is who pays for his advertising space of course!

I can’t say. I’ve had great conversations with him, Atkinson, and others at Stereophile. The kind that make you think there is no way these guys could really hear a difference in pneumatic isolation pods. And then I’m wrong. Ah well.

You can’t deny they have good writing chops. I too wish they would stay away from some of that silliness.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Because that is who pays for his advertising space of course!

I can’t say. I’ve had great conversations with him, Atkinson, and others at Stereophile. The kind that make you think there is no way these guys could really hear a difference in pneumatic isolation pods. And then I’m wrong. Ah well.

You can’t deny they have good writing chops. I too wish they would stay away from some of that silliness.

I understand marketing for business reasons, but the drivel that's written in Stereophile (especially Analog Planet), The Absolute Sound, and Positive Feedback about stuff like power cables, the superiority of analog, tube amplifiers, and how important good speaker cables are, goes way beyond mere marketing and dives head-first into the same level of bullshit as astrology and palm reading. I like to read JA's measurements sections and his associated commentary about what he measured, but the rest of Stereophile seems of little value, and Stereophile is better than the others. Business and making money are important, but there comes a time when integrity has to be a factor too.

 

[highfigh]

Hey what’s so wrong with paid reveiws. We weren’t paid to give good reviews!

I’m not saying all paid reviews are good, many are crap, but some are good. Especially those with measurements.

If he's old enough, that might have been in response to so many Stereo Review product evaluations- people used to say SR never published anything about a product they didn't like. Sometimes, it as "Best reviews money can buy".

 

[highfigh]

I understand marketing for business reasons, but the drivel that's written in Stereophile (especially Analog Planet), The Absolute Sound, and Positive Feedback about stuff like power cables, the superiority of analog, tube amplifiers, and how important good speaker cables are, goes way beyond mere marketing and dives head-first into the same level of bullshit as astrology and palm reading. I like to read JA's measurements sections and his associated commentary about what he measured, but the rest of Stereophile seems of little value, and Stereophile is better than the others. Business and making money are important, but there comes a time when integrity has to be a factor too.

You take that back! Astrology is real, man!

 

[Matthew J Poes]

I understand marketing for business reasons, but the drivel that's written in Stereophile (especially Analog Planet), The Absolute Sound, and Positive Feedback about stuff like power cables, the superiority of analog, tube amplifiers, and how important good speaker cables are, goes way beyond mere marketing and dives head-first into the same level of bullshit as astrology and palm reading. I like to read JA's measurements sections and his associated commentary about what he measured, but the rest of Stereophile seems of little value, and Stereophile is better than the others. Business and making money are important, but there comes a time when integrity has to be a factor too.

I can’t speak for them. Who know what they believe or what they are doing. Trust me when I say @shadyJ have our same conversations about this kind of nonsense.

I know how I handle integrity, which is that when it comes to products, I won’t review something I don’t believe in at all. I have and will continue to turn down reviews of cables, isolation stands, Bybee filters (true story), etc. If I am not convinced that there is some scientific reason for a product to make a difference or have a sound at all, I won’t review it. Doing a review of cables where I measure them, show minor differences, listen and claim there is no difference would be a waste of my time. Plus I’m pretty sure that Audioholics already did that more than once as part of a broader cable article.

It does also mean that I’m choosie about what equipment I review. If it’s boring and i won’t have much to say I probably won’t bother. What that means is you probably won’t see a lot of negative reviews from me. After all, how many really horrible receivers exist on the market today. They are commodity products at this point, for the money they are all basically the same. Which one has the features you want. Same with speakers, there are horrible ones, but I won’t bother with them. I’ll let James test those !

I was pretty honest at AXPONA about a handful of products, it’s reflected in my practically unusable AXPONA review. Those are also products I wouldn’t review in a million years. Ick!

 

[highfigh]

Because that is who pays for his advertising space of course!

I can’t say. I’ve had great conversations with him, Atkinson, and others at Stereophile. The kind that make you think there is no way these guys could really hear a difference in pneumatic isolation pods. And then I’m wrong. Ah well.

You can’t deny they have good writing chops. I too wish they would stay away from some of that silliness.

I know a sales rep who has cable stands, some kind of weird power cables and MTi speaker cables. Thinks his friends' record cleaner works so well "it's like lifting a veil off of the sound" and when I saw it, I had to stop myself from laughing- it has two spinning white fuzzy rollers with red stripes, which look exactly like the 1" diameter paint rollers from Home Depot. He has a Nitty Gritty record cleaner (looks like a bad science fair project inside) that he thought was good, but the new one has almost transformed the sound and every time I try to de-bunk anything, he just says "It's experiential" and leaves it at that. I'm sure he has no idea why something can or can't do what is claimed and he couldn't even hear the effect of having absorption along the left side of his room and the wall of glass on the right, but he did put a piece of insulation at the side of the right speaker. Unfortunately, he used rigid pink foam insulation, so it didn't do anything to help. If he sells something, it's good and if not, he tends to dislike other products, even if he had been selling it only a few months before.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

I know a sales rep who has cable stands, some kind of weird power cables and MTi speaker cables. Thinks his friends' record cleaner works so well "it's like lifting a veil off of the sound" and when I saw it, I had to stop myself from laughing- it has two spinning white fuzzy rollers with red stripes, which look exactly like the 1" diameter paint rollers from Home Depot. He has a Nitty Gritty record cleaner (looks like a bad science fair project inside) that he thought was good, but the new one has almost transformed the sound and every time I try to de-bunk anything, he just says "It's experiential" and leaves it at that. I'm sure he has no idea why something can or can't do what is claimed and he couldn't even hear the effect of having absorption along the left side of his room and the wall of glass on the right, but he did put a piece of insulation at the side of the right speaker. Unfortunately, he used rigid pink foam insulation, so it didn't do anything to help. If he sells something, it's good and if not, he tends to dislike other products, even if he had been selling it only a few months before.

Eh, I’ve seen that and worse. What can I say. The 2-channel industry contracted and all that’s left are a few passionate individuals, many with weird ideas.

I know audiophiles who are deaf in one ear but can hear the soundstage clearly (not). I know people who advocate for asymmetric acoustic treatments because it improves sound and imaging. While shifting the orientation and small asymmetry may be ok, making only one wall in the azimuth or our sound stage highly absorptive and the other reflective cant be good.

@shadyJ and I couldn’t stop laughing at the pneumatic isolators at AXPONA last year. It was like a joke that wrote itself. When inflated it “pumps up” the sound. When deflated it “let’s the air out” of the recordings. Come on, I can’t write a better bad audiophile joke. It seriously looked like the stereo equivalent of a car with an air suspension hopping in the parking lot of iHOP.

Or the Bybee room treatment. A small block of wood with something high tech inside discovered in top secret navy research that dramatically changes the sound in the room. As the atoms of the sound waves gets near a barrier they are chaotic but the Bybee device helps orient those atoms in an orderly fashion. @shadyJ did I retells that sales pitch right? I think James threw up a little in his mouth. I had to do my best to engage the guy in a friendly manner so I could still listen in peace. After all, the Salk speakers sounded amazing. If I have any advice for Jim Salk, it’s to find a better room partner.

 

[Irvrobinson]

If I have any advice for Jim Salk, it’s to find a better room partner.

Perhaps Salk fits right in, trying to tell people that using Alnico magnets in drivers makes them sound better.

http://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=Exotica 3

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Perhaps Salk fits right in, trying to tell people that using Alnico magnets in drivers makes them sound better.

http://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=Exotica 3

Hey now, he says smooth and engaging, not better. Maybe it’s a speaker designed to appeal to a type of buyer that wants that.

I know who actually designs all of Jim’s speakers and he is a total no-nonsense guy. The speakers I heard measure exceptionally well and sound about as good as anything I’ve heard.

http://www.salksound.com/model.php?model=Song3 BeAT
I think it was maybe some variation of this. I don’t recall that midbass but it had the Be tweeter.

I don’t know Jim at all

 

[Irvrobinson]

Hey now, he says smooth and engaging, not better. Maybe it’s a speaker designed to appeal to a type of buyer that wants that.

And you think Alnico (as opposed to, say, neodymium) does that? I'd even place a bet that Exoticas sound good, because I've never heard a negative thing said anywhere about Salk speakers. But the last high-end system I heard at someone else's place had Cardas interconnects in it (I especially liked the blue color of the insulation), and even though I think "golden ratio" cables are nonsense, the system still sounded pretty good.

While I do like to amuse myself by calling out bullshit when I see it, that hasn't stopped me from buying good products from slightly misguided sources. I own and enjoy many Telarc CDs which were recorded by Jack Renner. I think Renner is a very talented recording engineer, and many of the artists and orchestras Telarc signed were exceptional. On the other hand, I always had to look past Renner's contention that interconnect and speaker cables had a significant effect on his recording quality. In magazine interviews he would bring up how he heard a big difference by rewiring his ADS monitors and his mixer with Monster Cable (or whatever).

 

[lovinthehd]

Because that is who pays for his advertising space of course!

I can’t say. I’ve had great conversations with him, Atkinson, and others at Stereophile. The kind that make you think there is no way these guys could really hear a difference in pneumatic isolation pods. And then I’m wrong. Ah well.

You can’t deny they have good writing chops. I too wish they would stay away from some of that silliness.

Their repetitive "creative writing" is boring, tho. They spell well. They hear differences in pneumatic isolation pods? Didn't know that. I wouldn't ask them for directions in their own neighborhood personally...

 

[Matthew J Poes]

And you think Alnico (as opposed to, say, neodymium) does that? I'd even place a bet that Exoticas sound good, because I've never heard a negative thing said anywhere about Salk speakers. But the last high-end system I heard at someone else's place had Cardas interconnects in it (I especially liked the blue color of the insulation), and even though I think "golden ratio" cables are nonsense, the system still sounded pretty good.

While I do like to amuse myself by calling out bullshit when I see it, that hasn't stopped me from buying good products from slightly misguided sources. I own and enjoy many Telarc CDs which were recorded by Jack Renner. I think Renner is a very talented recording engineer, and many of the artists and orchestras Telarc signed were exceptional. On the other hand, I always had to look past Renner's contention that interconnect and speaker cables had a significant effect on his recording quality. In magazine interviews he would bring up how he heard a big difference by rewiring his ADS monitors and his mixer with Monster Cable (or whatever).

I didn’t say alnico has anything to do with the claim.

I’ve never measured a speaker driver with an alnico magnet. Maybe the magnetic material impacts the distortion profile over other materials? Maybe it adds substantial even order harmonic distortion? I don’t know. I’m defending his claim, I was teasing.

I just know that some of his speakers are technically excellent, sound great, and designed by someone who doesn’t dabble in the dark arts.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

Their repetitive "creative writing" is boring, tho. They spell well. They hear differences in pneumatic isolation pods? Didn't know that. I wouldn't ask them for directions in their own neighborhood personally...

Wow that’s pretty harsh.

Well I have to see these guys at shows so i don’t want to be on their bad side. I usually just ignore the silliness and focus on the good stuff. I can filter when I read.

Yeah there is a silly pneumatic isolator and the demonstration is equally silly. It’s just awful. It got positive press. Maybe James and I were just too closed minded, but we couldn’t hear a difference. Only thing I heard was air rushing in and out of the pods.

 

[lovinthehd]

Wow that’s pretty harsh.

Well I have to see these guys at shows so i don’t want to be on their bad side. I usually just ignore the silliness and focus on the good stuff. I can filter when I read.

Yeah there is a silly pneumatic isolator and the demonstration is equally silly. It’s just awful. It got positive press. Maybe James and I were just too closed minded, but we couldn’t hear a difference. Only thing I heard was air rushing in and out of the pods.

You may have to deal with them, I don't. I don't support their nonsense whatsoever, stopped bothering reading their stuff altogether. I think they do more harm than good.....now off to see what this silly pneumatic thing is...

 

[Matthew J Poes]

You may have to deal with them, I don't. I don't support their nonsense whatsoever, stopped bothering reading their stuff altogether. I think they do more harm than good.....now off to see what this silly pneumatic thing is...

https://pneuance.com/

Enjoy. I recommend 6 per component for the airier highs. You will feel as if a veil has been lifted. You will hear things you never heard before. The noise floor will dramatically be reduced.

 

[lovinthehd]

https://pneuance.com/

Enjoy. I recommend 6 per component for the airier highs. You will feel as if a veil has been lifted. You will hear things you never heard before. The noise floor will dramatically be reduced.

Can you make fun farting noises with them?