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What should the default audio back-end be on Windows?
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What should the default audio back-end be on Windows?
08-31-2013, 02:52 AM
#1
JMC47 Offline
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I've been doing a lot of thinking about this with Dolphin 4.0's release impending. One of the severe problem on my PC, and the PCs of my friends is the severe audio latency that afflicts their games. The audio latency on my computer is a whopping 200+ms on dsound, the default audio back-end for Windows machines. It's noticeable, annoying, and there's no way to completely fix it without trying out new hardware.

But, I discovered that xaudio2 nearly cuts that latency in half (bringing it to around 115ms of latency) making it far less noticeable when you're not looking for it.

OpenAL, tested later, ended up somewhere between the two, more toward the 200+ms of dsound than xaudio2. Still helps a little, but really doesn't make the problem less noticeable. Now, here's what I want to ask of people. Can you confirm or test that the PCs having these results are not in the minority? I want to see if there is a legitimate cause to change the default back-end rather than the people who have problems to just swap it. Here's what you'd want to test:

If you don't know how to change audio back-end, go into options/DSP Settings and change back-end.

1: Latency in AX-HLE games in HLE
2: Latency in LLE
3: Crashing in Mario Kart: Double Dash with DSP on thread

If you can't notice a difference, one easy way is to go into a game, and use some kind of recording software, and do an action that plays a sound effect. Examining the recording, either by eye/ears or by software, you can check and see how good or bad your audio latency is. If you don't know exactly when the sound is supposed to play, don't fret; you can still compare back-ends and see which one has less latency.

Any kind of result is useful, you can bring in exact numbers, (say, my 200 dsound vs 120 xaudio vs 180 OpenAL) or just say which one sounds like the least latency, if any have latency at all. I just want to get an idea of how many people are afflicted by this, and if xaudio is a consistently better option. Thanks to all those who took the time to read this and test.
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08-31-2013, 03:12 AM
#2
xemnas Offline
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So XAudio2 is the best? Why is it not the default for Dolphin 3.5?
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08-31-2013, 03:15 AM
#3
delroth Offline
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Until OpenAL gets better I agree XAudio2 needs to be the default. Changed that in current master.
Pierre "delroth" Bourdon - @delroth_ - Blog

<@neobrain> that looks sophisticated enough to not be a totally dumb thing to do
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08-31-2013, 03:20 AM
#4
Starscream Away
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(08-31-2013, 03:12 AM)xemnas Wrote: So XAudio2 is the best? Why is it not the default for Dolphin 3.5?

He is asking for your input, not telling you. I guess it doesn't matter now anyway since it was just randomly changed in master.
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08-31-2013, 03:32 AM (This post was last modified: 08-31-2013, 03:40 AM by delroth.)
#5
delroth Offline
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(08-31-2013, 03:20 AM)Starscream Wrote: He is asking for your input, not telling you. I guess it doesn't matter now anyway since it was just randomly changed in master.
Oh yes, please insult my decision making because you have no idea how I took it.

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│19:27:18       @delroth | because I don't have only this thread as a data point?
│19:27:39       @delroth | because it's fairly clear looking at the git history that changing the default wasn't ever considered and the only reason for not changing it is "nobody thought about it"?
│19:27:53       @delroth | because the XAudio2 backends has less bugs than the DSound backend, looking at gcode issues?
│19:28:20       @delroth | because the DSound backend is based on obsolete tech while the XAudio2 backend is based on the new tech that applications should use going forward?
│19:28:35            <-- | delroth has kicked [SS] (I don't fucking take decisions randomly, stop implying anything like that)
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<@neobrain> that looks sophisticated enough to not be a totally dumb thing to do
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08-31-2013, 04:11 AM
#6
moosehunter Offline
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I've found that I have fewer issues with XAudio2 than with the other backends, and I always switch to it when I download a new build. Although that's just from personal experience and not from knowledge of the inner workings of the different backends.

On the topic of latency, is there a way to accurately measure latency? Maybe something like a homebrew application that displays something onscreen at the exact same time that it produces a sound.
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08-31-2013, 04:26 AM (This post was last modified: 08-31-2013, 04:31 AM by xemnas.)
#7
xemnas Offline
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(08-31-2013, 03:20 AM)Starscream Wrote:
(08-31-2013, 03:12 AM)xemnas Wrote: So XAudio2 is the best? Why is it not the default for Dolphin 3.5?

He is asking for your input, not telling you. I guess it doesn't matter now anyway since it was just randomly changed in master.
I know that. But I want to hear the answer from a developer or anybody who knows. I thought DSound is the best because it is the default.

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│19:27:18       @delroth | because I don't have only this thread as a data point?
│19:27:39       @delroth | because it's fairly clear looking at the git history that changing the default wasn't ever considered and the only reason for not changing it is "nobody thought about it"?
│19:27:53       @delroth | because the XAudio2 backends has less bugs than the DSound backend, looking at gcode issues?
│19:28:20       @delroth | because the DSound backend is based on obsolete tech while the XAudio2 backend is based on the new tech that applications should use going forward?
│19:28:35            <-- | delroth has kicked [SS] (I don't fucking take decisions randomly, stop implying anything like that)
Thanks for the information.
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09-01-2013, 04:20 PM
#8
lamedude Offline
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The complicated solution would be Dsound on XP and Xaudio2 for the rest unless the soundcard natively supports OpenAL. Otherwise I agree with Xaudio2 since XP support ends in <1yr and SB/Xonar owners should be smart enough to change it themselves.
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09-01-2013, 11:24 PM
#9
xemnas Offline
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Why should it be DSound on XP? Shouldn't XAudio2 and DSound on XP be almost the same?
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09-01-2013, 11:25 PM
#10
NaturalViolence Offline
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Xaudio2 isn't supported on windows xp. It requires windows vista or higher.
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