Hi All,
I have recently upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and I have had some problems with all of the sounds that I hear having a horrible static before, during, and after they play, and sometimes they are really distorted in addition to this.
I have the Sennheiser PC 363D with the latest 3D_G4ME1 drivers (version 1.4) for the Dolby sound. I have already tried reinstalling drivers and changing the default format in the speakers properties in Windows from '16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)' to '24 bit, 96000 Hz (Studio Quality)' seems to make it better (sometimes it's hard to tell) but it still sounds really bad.
I have also tried not using the USB sound card that is included with the headphones and I still get the bad sound, but if I try the headset on my Linux laptop it works great (no static or distorted sound) and my headset worked great before I upgraded to Windows 10, so it's obviously not my headset.
I have a friend that has the exact same headset and has also upgraded to Windows 10 (from Windows 8) so I will ask him if he has this problem (he's a bit of an Audiophile so I'm sure he would have mentioned it before if this was a problem for him).
Also I have this problem posted on another forum, but have not received any feedback after awhile so I'm just asking again on this forum in hopes this will answer my question sooner.
Implementation of a bit-crush effect using the Web Audio API.
How To Bitcrush Microphone Audio
Installation
Browserify is recommended; alternatively you can grab a UMD module from the
build
directory. If using npm
:Usage
API
bitcrusher(audioContext, opts)
Create a new bitcrusher in the Web Audio Context
audioContext
configured with the supplied options:bufferSize
: defaults to 4096channelCount
: defaults to 2bitDepth
: output resolution, defaults to 8frequency
: sample-and-hold ratio; used to reduce the perceived output frequency. Defaults to 1 (no change).
Returns a
ScriptProcessorNode
configured with a bitcrush effect.Reference
If you're running OS X, open
graph.gcx
in Grapher.app
to visualise the algorithm.TODO
bitDepth
and frequency
options would ideally instances of AudioParam
. Unfortunately the Web Audio API does not yet allow standalone instances to be created.What is distortion?
Distortion comes in a huge range of slightly different forms, from subtle analogue warmth to extreme metal fuzz, mild digital imprecision to eardrum-bursting clipping. But what is distortion, what's happening to your signal and why is some distortion 'good' while some is 'bad'?
Theoretically, distortion refers to any form of processing which changes (or perhaps damages) the signal. Beijer tosibox lock fiyat. In analogue gear, distortion usually arises when circuits are overloaded.
Waveforms get squashed and 'clipped' as the peaks are flattened by the circuit's inability to reproduce higher levels. Imagine feeding a pure, clean sine wave through a distorted amplifier. As the level of distortion increases, the sine wave begins to square off.
As the wave shape changes, so too does its harmonic content, introducing overtones or harmonics. Harmonics are whole multiples of the input signal frequency. Say our inputsignal is 40Hz, the even harmonics would be 2 x 40 = 80Hz, 4 x 40 = 160Hz and so on. Odd harmonics would be 3 x 40 = 120Hz, 5 x 40 = 200Hz and so on. Generally speaking, the even-order harmonics associated with valve distortion are perceived to be pleasant. Odd-order harmonics and inharmonic overtones are usually perceived to be unpleasant.
However, as with all sounds, perception is subjective. If you think harsh digital clipping works well on your vocal, there's no reason not to give it a go. Distortion goes hand in hand withrule breaking.
What is bitcrushing?
A lot of modern music - in particular the digital grunge of Dubstep - have truly embraced the once heinous notion of digital distortion. More specifically the distinctive sound of deliberately reducing the quality of digital audio.
To understand what bitcrushing means, let's consider the difference between analogue and digital signals. The noises we hear are soundwaves - continuous signals made up of fluctuations in air pressure. Our eardrums convert these pressure changes to nerve impulses. A digital signal, such as that represented bythe data in your DAW, is slightly different. To make a digital audio recording, analogue signals - the outputs of microphones, analogue synths, and so on - must be converted to digital signals by your audio interface. This process involves an analogue to digital converter (ADC), which samples the incoming signal at a series of regular intervals and records its level at each sample point, creating a (hopefully accurate) approximation of the analogue wave which can then be processed by a computer.
The accuracy of a digital signal is primarily determined by the sampling rate and bit depth of the ADC. The sampling rate refers to the frequency of the ADC's measurements. A sample rate of 192kHz, for example, means that the ADC samples the amplitude of the incoming single 192,000 times every second. Bit depth refers to the resolution of the recording method - 16-bit resolution allows the ADC to record up to 216 possible values (65,536) for the amplitude of the signal, while 24-bit resolution offers a total of 224 possible values (16,777,216). Clearly, higher sampling rates and higher bit depths give more accurate approximations of the signal.
If all that's gone over your head, don't worry; bitcrushing itself is the easiest part. Bitcrushing (or its closely related cousin, sample rate reduction) is simply the process of reducing the accuracy of a digital signal. Let's say we've got a signal recorded at the audio CD standard 16-bit resolution and 44.1kHz sample rate. By reducing it to, say, 8-bit resolution or 22.05kHz sample rate, we discard some of the information. As a result, the signal becomes less accurate. The more information we discard, the more inaccurate the signal gets. Note, however, that we can bitcrush any digital signal, not just one which is based on a recording of an analogue input. The signal to be bitcrushed may only exist in the digital domain (for example, the output of a synth plug-in).
Inaccurate digital signals are characterised by specific forms of distortion with decidedly digital sounds. By dramatically bitcrushing and reducing the sample rate of a signal we can induce all kinds of artifacts and frequency response in order to create everything from cold, clinical distortion to retro lo-fi effects.
How To Bitcrush Audio Converter
What is saturation?
Back in the days of analogue recording, studio engineers had to be super careful about the level of signals heading for the tape machine. Too low, and the surface noise (hiss) of the tape would be obvious in the final mix. Too high, and a phenomenon known as saturation might occur.
Saturation is an inherent flaw in the accuracy of magnetic tape as a recording medium. As the signal level increases, tape approaches a saturation point where no further signal can be recorded. Unlike digital recording techniques, where analogue to digital converters in audio interfaces suddenly and aggressively 'clip' as the signal exceeds its maximum level, analogue tape breaks down in a less predictable manner. The result is distortion and compression which behaves in a non-linear way (that is, unevenly with regard to signal level, frequency and dynamic range).
As luck would have it, tape saturation sounds pretty appealing to most people. Recording engineers realised that the pleasant distortion and compression characteristics of saturation could be used as a mix tool, making individual tracks sound more punchy, helping to 'glue' elements together and even making entire mixes sound bigger and louder. These days, the term saturation is used to refer to a variety of subtle, analogue-style distortion effects. Despite computers almost entirely wiping out tape machines, saturation effects can easily be created in your DAW.
We like Voxengo's TapeBus (voxengo.com) and Massey's TapeHead Saturator (masseyplug-ins.com), but PSP Audioware's VintageWarmer2 has to be the champion of saturation effects. Combining tape-style distortion with single- and multi-band compression or limiting, this versatile plug-in can be used for anything from gently warming up an individual instrument track to smashing an entire mix beyond all recognition. It's available from pspaudioware.com for $149. A classic of the plug-in world.
Bitcrush can be used to create distorting effects that sound like that of scraping analog radio, or inherently lo-fi sound sources, like old video games:
- Rate display - Down sample the signal to a minimum of 200 Hz.
- Bits knob - Quantize the amplitude of each sample of the signal. A lower value will result in a more distorted sound.
- ADC Q knob - Quality of the analog-to-digital conversion. A lower value will add dissonant aliasing in the low frequencies.
- DAC Q knob - Quality of the digital-to-analog conversion. A lower value will add dissonant aliasing in the high frequencies.
- Dither knob - Adds noise to the signal in order to reduce distortion caused by quantization.
- Mix knob - The dry/wet mix of this effect. A lower value will let some of the unmodified signal through.
- Settings panel - Whenever you have your mouse cursor over a snapin theree is a small arrow at the top right corner (not visible in screenshot). It opens a settings panel where you handle presets.
- Enabled checkbox - The small checkbox to the left of the plugin name is a checkbox that bypasses the effect when disabled.
- Resize handle - The bottom right corner of all Kilohearts plugins is a resize handle for scaling the UI to any size. This allows you to get a good view of the controls whatever the screen resolution, and also comes in handy if you need big controls, e.g. when using Bitcrush as a real-time effect on a touchscreen monitor during a live set. (This is not available when the snapin is used inside a snapin host.).
Bitcrush shines on it's own, but it was primarily created to power up the different 'Snapin Hosts' Kilohearts offer. These are bigger effects units that utilize all the available snapins and give you a really fun and creative workflow for combining them in any way you can think of. So have a look at Snap Heap and Multipass right now.
Bitcrush is also available as a Rack Extension for Reason over at the Propellerhead shop.