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Gremlins Emerge with Switch to Windows 7

I have had generally good PC audio experiences using Windows XP.

In fact, I have viewed with skepticism a lot of the PC optimization threads as I found with USB into external DACs it was pretty straightforward to get pretty darn good sound.

So I am dismayed tonight to have finally purchased a new, and much faster laptop which operates with Windows 7.

In an A/B comparison with my old laptop, using the same USB cable into my desktop system, the new laptop sounds HORRIBLE.

Can anyone please offer a simple, lean and mean configuration in Windows 7 for exporting audio via USB?

Thank you,
cwlondon
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 

Al,

System restore worked - thank you.

Will continue to work towards a better understanding of audio in Windows 7 and a hopefully a leaner, meaner, audiophile configuration.
davide256's avatar
davide256
400 posts
 
PC's come out of the box as a jack of all trades (or master of none). To get them to perform as a music server you basically are doing what any good stock car racer has to do... strip out the useless parts for a performance vehicle from the standard factory model and replace highway performance parts with speed oriented parts.
Needless to say most don't want "race car" compromises in a comfortable suburban ride.
jsd52756's avatar
jsd52756
451 posts
 
Wow am I glad I found this thread. I have a old Dell laptop that runs like a snail in wet cement, but the sound is phenominal thru my Benchmark USB DAC. I was thinking of getting a new(er) version for the speed and screen but now I am haveing serious 2nd thoughts.
-John
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 

Re "comfortable suburban ride"

Comfort is the enemy of enthusiasm and the root of all mediocrity.

Long live enthusiasts and AUDIOgon,
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 

Still hard to isolate this problem, but - whatever I do with the power settings - it seems like it is exacerbated when I am using more than one application.

Alternatively, if I close everything down and play just say, Foobar, for example I seem to get less skipping and sputtering.

Does this suggest a "kernel mixer" mixing problem?

I hope it is not too much to ask that I would like clean, clear, sputter free audio, whether I am listening to music or to Windows sounds.

Thanks for any updates.
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