Like everything in the Audiophile world, a simple Google search results in a 4 day bender and 5 years off my life expectancy.
I would call myself a very casual audio enthusiast, I really like the gear but can’t be bothered to do anything on the software side. I use Spotify and Tidal, I play games, I appreciate my small collection of headphones and speakers and I’m way more interested in getting lost in the source than being able to hear if the 3rd chair violinist forgot to shave that morning.
I have done the basics with my Windows sound settings, disable all enhancements and spatial sound off but the million dollar question is…
What do I put my Windows sample rate to? I want this to be a set it and forget it kind of thing, can I just leave it at 16:44.1? or is that akin to jamming hot knives in my ear holes?
Gonna be honest if your not super critical and just enjoy the ride, do whatever sounds best with least effort IMHO
It’s my understanding that setting to 24/192 AND exclusive mode checked does 2 things.
it will upscale normal sources which can help preserve dynamic range if you control volume digitally within windows (lowering volume too much digitally can actually hurt SQ)
if you use any apps like Tidal or Foobar you can easily set them to use your DAC in exclusive mode and they will set DAC so whatever source sample rate is.
both features have their merits but may not make an audible difference depending on your setup / noise-floor etc.
Thanks for the help, there is also a “supported formats” tab with 6 different sample rates. Should I just select all of them? I’m using a Topping E30 which I imagine has support for all of those listed rates?
