Saturday, July 23, 2011

StealthAudioPlayer: The Stage Is Set

Continuation of Minimalist Audio Player, ASIO Support (and WinXP), Cue Sheet Support And StealthAudioPlayer, StealthAudioPlayer: Next Step and StealthAudioPlayer: Now Playing
  • WASAPI: Buffer size aligning for all audio devices, not only for built-in HD audio. SQ!?
  • WASAPI: microseconds in buffer size if needed. (0 is the same as before - SAP <=0.1.9)
  • Add to current playlist. To add tracks to the current playlist: Locate the file/folder you want to add, right click and select "StealthAudioPlayer Add" menu item from the context menu. The tracks will be appended to the end of the StealthAudioPlayer.m3u file (SAP's current playlist).
  • Codecs are now included in the zip bundle along with StealthAudioPlayer files (See this post's title). If you are installing to a new/empty/clean folder the new ini file will be created and the paths to the codecs will be setup automatically. If you are unsipping to an existing installation, then in order to use the codecs from "Codecs" subfolder you need to delete entire [Converters] section from the ini file. It will be recreated next time you run SAP.
  • Renamed context menu item for files and folders to "StealthAudioPlayer Play" and "StealthAudioPlayer Add". For them to be close to each other on the menu and the "Play" to appear first. You should run uninstall first to remove the old menu item "Play with StealthAudioPlayer".
  • Virtual Memory Lock bug has been fixed (See this post's title again). Only the first file in the playlist was locked in memory (from unloading from RAM to pagefile on a disk). If you play entire CD as one file it is no problem: the memory is locked. Now that it's fixed every track is locked. If you wish to have things as before (want to revert to 0.1.9 behaviour), then set AllowVirtualLock=0
Only in case you really feel like it, here is a chance to thank/support/encourage me...

47 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update
    But the "add" feature does not work (stealthaudioplayer Add)
    I select a flac-file,SAP starts playing,then i click on the next flacfile en select SAP-add
    but it does not play the next file,
    (i also see that SAP does not add the next flac to the m3u playlist)
    greetings
    Ron

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Ron,

    Thank you for reporting!
    I got it fixed. I have updated the links to a new zip file.
    please re-download it.

    BR
    Andy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Andy,

    Stealth is my no.1 player. Very nice workmanship!
    Two questions:
    - will dsdiff / dsd playback be implemented?
    - 0.20 has no more bass.dll ; is this on purpose? because i use bass.dll from the 1.9 for full bodied sound (am i kiddin' myself?)

    Regards,
    Ramon
    (Holland)

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  4. Hi Ramon,

    No I don't have plans to support these. You may convert them to wav and play with SAP if you want.

    Never heard of bass.dll before, it is not a part of SAP. Could it be leftover of some codec you'd tried with SAP. Looks like "kiddin'" ;)

    Andy

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  5. Hi Andy...

    I use your program and for now my favorite

    but I have one question about it:

    when i use ASIO option, is there a buffer???
    and if have buffer how can disable it?


    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,
    No there is no buffer for ASIO in SAP (no buffer setting for ASIO either).
    All buffers are controlled through your ASIO driver.

    ReplyDelete
  7. when selecting multiple files at once,and then click SAP-add,windows want to move these files...
    http://members.home.nl/fibers/SAP.bmp

    ReplyDelete
  8. Unfortunately selecting "SAP Add" menu item only works with one file/folder at a time.

    Does it work with one file BTW? :)

    But here is a workaround:
    1. Create a shortcut (i.e. on your desktop) to your StealthAudioPlayer_Start.bat (right click and send -> to desktop as a shortcut).
    2. Now Right click on this new shortcut and select properties.
    3. In the properties dialog modify "Target" by appending " /A" (without quotes) to the end to look like this: "C:\path\to\SAP\StealthAudioPlayer_Start.bat /A"
    4. Click OK and rename it to "SAP Add" or similar.

    Now you can select multiple files and drag&drop them on this link. They should be appended to StealthAudioPlayer.m3u.

    Let me know if it does not work for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. thank you for your help andy,
    but this doesn't work...
    It now says that target and filepath are not valid..(and i cant click apply)
    I'll stick with only 1 File Adding
    This is OK for me
    regards
    Ron

    ReplyDelete
  10. i made a screenshot ...
    (maybe you can see i did something wrong?)
    thanks for your assistance
    http://members.home.nl/fibers/SAP2.bmp

    ReplyDelete
  11. There should be no space between "/" and "A"
    Also the file name should in quotes and " /A" should be outside quotes.
    Put the following line in your "Target"

    "D:\Program Files\StealthAudioPlayer_0.2.0\StealthAudioPlayer_Start.bat" /A

    Andy

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Andy,
    thank you very much for the add option!

    Regards,
    Christoph

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for adding the codecs, makes life easier ;) in particular with SoX since compiling that under windows is a real pain in the butt. Also your donate button seems to be broken

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Why did you remove changes in 0.21? And, does the new version work the same as 0.19 then?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi,

    Tried to get back to 0.1.9 SQ, but still not the same. It's going to take a while before I have the time to make a new version.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Super player!!!!
    (Testing Version 0.2.1 with cPlay 2.0b36 (AWE сorrectly adjusted) and Foobar2000 v0.8.3 (recommended Empericial Audio)).

    Regards,
    Alexsander
    CRIMEA

    ReplyDelete
  18. My DAC (24bit 96khz) Problem:

    0x8889000f
    AUDCLNT_E_ENDPOINT_CREATE_FAILED
    Line Number = 753
    hnsRequestedDuration = 300000
    WAVEFORMATEXENSIBLE:
    wFormatTag = 65534
    wBitsPerSample = 32
    nChannels = 2
    dwChannelMask = 3
    nSamplesPerSec = 96000
    nBlockAlign = 8
    wValidBitsPerSample = 32
    nAvgBytesPerSec = 768000
    cbSize = 22

    Check if your audio device supports the above format

    "OK" - next audio file, "CANCEL" - exit

    ---------------------------
    OK Cancel
    ---------------------------

    Help me ??? , Fooobar play this files

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi,

    Please play this file with XMplay and see in the info window what is the true output format. If the format is "->" converted by XMplay it means that your audio device/driver does not support it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. OK XMPlay info:
    Title Minnesota Orchestra / Eiji Oue - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: The Snow Maiden - Dance of the Tumblers
    File 1-Nikolai RimskyKorsakov The S.flac
    Path E: HDtracks 9624 Ultimate

    Size 81407330 bytes
    Format FLAC (reference libFLAC 1.1.2 20050205)
    Bit rate 2775 kbps
    Sample rate 96000 hz
    Channels 2
    Resolution 24 bit
    Length 3:54
    Output 96000 hz - stereo - 24 bit

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks, I'll look into it. But don't expect it very soon, please.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dear Andy,

    I have a Prism Sound Orpheus as my DA Converter. It has 4 pairs of analog output, and one pair of Digital output.

    Using Foobar with ASIO, I can go in and designate anyone of the 5 output channel pairs (especially the Digital out channel) Foobar sends its signal to. Is there a way to do the same in StealthAudioPlayer in one of the configuration files? It will make my world a much better one with the sound of StealthAudioPlayer.

    Thank you!

    Best,

    Peter

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Peter,

    I think it can be done. But again, I'll be able to look into it in a month or so.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi Andy,

    Did you think about including Kernel Streaming support to SAP? It is used as the recommended protocol in both Jplay and XXHighEnd. In Jplay they achieved 1 sample latency which is like 0.02 ms and it works fine. This can't be done with WASAPI or ASIO.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi,
    I use SAP ver. 2.1 with fidilizer 2.1 and very much with it is happy!
    In file StealthAudioPlayer.ini >Playback>N_Setting=1
    You wrote about optimization if to change this adjustment on >N_Setting=0
    whether has sense to me to put this value for mine Computer Audio System?
    This optimization will be a permanent modifications or after restart computer system, will be return with normal Windows installation?

    My setup:
    Notebook OS Windows XP SP3 - Fidelizer 2.1(Audiophile Mode) USB ASIO driver ploytec 2.8.40 - USB/SPDIF Converter Teralink-X2 (A&B SYSTEMS Upgrade Version ) wit Teralink X2 Power Supply X2PSU - Benchmark DAC1

    Regards,
    Alexsander
    CRIMEA

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi,

    If you change N_Setting in the ini file it will retain its value between system restarts.

    Andy

    ReplyDelete
  27. Andy,
    You recommend to use N_Setting=0 for the best sounding?


    Regards,
    Alexsander
    CRIMEA

    ReplyDelete
  28. On N_Setting=0 I can achieve lower latencies without any stuttering and I prefer the sound. I speak only for myself, but on the old setting the sound was sometimes sibilant while on "0" it is smoother without being laid-back. Also bass seems more detailed and has better location, however it lacked the body and impact.
    It changed, however, when I disabled some devices that caused high DPC latency and lowered the buffer to 8ms.
    On my new, minimal installation of Windows 8 I can get down to 3ms and the sound is even slighlty better.

    And why don't you give a try to jplay, another memory-based player from the dissatisfied users of XXHighEnd, they use insane tweaks such as hibernating during playback and 1 sample latency in kernel streaming mode. It sounds great, though in W8 i find SAP more to my liking.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hello
    I am on version 0.2.0. Is it possible to play ALAC files with SAP? Under SAP Notepad I see m4a=Codecs\alac_decoder.exe -f temp.wav %1. What am I doing wrong?
    Thanks
    Larry

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  30. alac_decoder.exe is not included in the SAP distribution. It is just an example of how you can setup playback of m4a files.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello Andy
    I copied an ALAC decoder into the CODEC folder in C:\stealth version 0 2 1 Windows 7 from http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html. I still can't play ALAC file. I am new to computers. Please point me in the right direction. No problem with FLAC/WAV/WASAPI/ASIO. Sounds fantastic. I am using an HRT ll DAC.
    Thanks
    Larry

    ReplyDelete
  32. After you downloaded alac from the link you provided, you would need to extract it, download and install the free MS VS Express C++, open the extracted alac solution/project with VS and build the exe file and then copy it to the SAP/Codecs folder

    BR
    Andy

    ReplyDelete
  33. You can play alac files with ffmpeg... It is the same line as for aac

    alac=Codecs\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe -i %1 temp.wav

    ReplyDelete
  34. I meant m4a instead of alac

    so

    m4a=Codecs\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe -i %1 temp.wav

    ReplyDelete
  35. First of all thanks to Andy for his original player and its support!
    I think alac_decoder sounds better than ffmpeg. You can grab compiled version here -> http://soft.viptone.ru/stuff/alac_decoder.zip
    Also for XP I'm using ASIO2KS v1.01 (you can google it or just grab here -> http://soft.viptone.ru/drv/asio2ks.7z)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hi, Andy.
    Using SAP ver_0.2.2
    in .ini
    [MemoryManagement]
    AllowVirtualLock=1
    FillValue=-1

    What means FillValue=-1?

    In the last version (SAP_0.2.1) at me FillValue=85.

    Thanks.
    Best Regards,
    Alexsander
    CRIMEA

    ReplyDelete
  37. "-1" means do not use FillValue at all.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hi
    Thanks to you Andy for this stunning player.
    "alac_decoder.exe" provided by Alte isn't working.
    Where to get it? If google couldn't find it then it doesn't exist :)

    Second thing... how about


    Dominik

    ReplyDelete
  39. Andy, I've found some problems:
    1) player doesn't recognize Ukrainian character "i" from the name of the folder. If you add files separately from this folder there's no problems. But if you right click on folder and select some task for player files simply will not play.
    2) wav or mp3 with 1 channel (mono) plays at 2x speed.
    This problems occurs on russian localized XP.

    ReplyDelete
  40. >>"alac_decoder.exe" provided by Alte isn't working.
    Thats not true. It might not work for several reasons:
    1) You didn't place file to Codecs folder
    2) You tried to play not alac files (iTunes uses same extension m4a for both alac & aac files). Try MediaInfo to make sure and after that simply change extension.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I'm a professional Audiophile, and i must say - compared to poobar, - your StealthAudioPlayer is HEAVEN SENT !

    I am truly grateful for your amazing creation and work you put into this, OGROMNOE tebe SPASiBO !

    It sounds ABSOLUTELY Perfect, no cracking static noise in background, perfect bassline, perfect highs, thank you so much man !

    For example, since the very first time i ran foobar, i tried every setting, no dsp, eq, no eq, noise sharpener bs, limiter, no limiter, etc -> it ALWAYS Sounded flat, muffled and like crap, even though way better then Winamp on any day !

    VLC on the other hand always generate static cracking sound in the background whenever any lossless audio file is played ..

    ONE Important suggestion though so far, - please be cool enough as to make at least 2-3 different "FAST FORWARD" files/options ,
    1st one will fast forward every 10secs,
    2nd will FF every 30 secs,
    3rd one every 1 min, etc.

    THANK YOU SO MUCH komrade ! (:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Andy,

      i suggest to give the FF Option a Parameter:
      StealthAudioPlayer.exe FF 10.0
      StealthAudioPlayer.exe FF 30.0
      StealthAudioPlayer.exe FF 60.0

      This can be used in StealthAudioPlayer_FastForward_10.bat, StealthAudioPlayer_FastForward_30.bat, ...

      Can you also give an Option for "fast backward"?:
      StealthAudioPlayer.exe FB 10.0
      ...

      Thanks, Malroso

      Delete
  42. Could you please tell me what i could write into your StealthAudioPlayer.ini to make my lame.exe decode it for example ?
    or i got "alac_decoder-0.2.0.tgz" from http://crazney.net/programs/itunes/alac.html,

    what do i write into the .ini file to use those to decode .mp3 and .m4a respectively ?

    THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP !

    ReplyDelete
  43. Here you have all you need:

    [Converters]
    ape=java -jar Codecs\jmac\distributables\jmac.jar d %1 temp.wav
    flac=Codecs\flac.exe -d -f -o temp.wav %1
    mp4=Codecs\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe -i %1 temp.wav
    m4a=Codecs\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe -i %1 temp.wav
    mp3=Codecs\sox\sox.exe %1 temp.wav
    aiff=Codecs\sox\sox.exe %1 temp.wav
    aif=Codecs\sox\sox.exe %1 temp.wav
    aac=Codecs\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe -i %1 temp.wav
    wv=Codecs\sox\sox.exe %1 temp.wav

    Dominik

    ReplyDelete
  44. Hi Andy, thank you for the great player. I want to use ASIO. My DAC has 4 channels output. How can I set the SAP output to the channel 3 and 4?

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hi,

    I already promised to add the flexibility for customizing ASIO channels. Can't give you the exact dates. But it Will happen soon.

    ReplyDelete