Windows Media Player


I just bought a set of Audioengine A2s. They sounded great in the store with nothing more than a MacBook Air. So I brought them home and hooked them up to my new Gateway computer. The sound is not all that great with Windows Media Player playing .wav files or mp3s. I also tried PowerDVD 10 player, and the sound is somewhat better but more different than anything else. With WMA the sound is slightly distorted and pulses some, is noticeably louder at times, and it just distracting. PowerDVD 10 gets rid of these problems but is still lackluster. I want my A2s to sing like they did with the Mac. I'm not trying to do audiophile sound, I just want cleaner sound than I am getting and to be able to enjoy them while computing. What to do?

BTW, I checked the driver (Realtec I think) on my machine and it is the newest. Then installed the PowerDVD 10 with only somewhat better results. I also Googled my problem and really didn't find any definitive help in a couple of hours. I'm hoping I can get some solid direction here.
pokey77
I have something here that you may want to try. In a previous post, I recommend that you give Linux a try because a lot of people (including myself) seem to be having good results with regards to sound quality. Instead of going about it the way I mentioned in my first post, you may want to check this link out instead.

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/How-Linux-Ubuntu-1004-1104-and-DeaDBeef

This link takes you to a guide on how to get the best sound from Linux. It was put together by an audiophile that uses Linux and wanted to achieve the best results. Basically, you get a very detailed walk through starting with downloading and installing linux OS. After the install it goes into how to configure the OS for the best sound quality possible. Once that is done it gives instructions on downloading, installing and configuring an audio player for best sound just like with the OS.

From what I can see, nothing is left to chance. There are a lot of small steps involved but the instructions are very clear; a beginner should have no problems working through the process. I can't comment on sound quality because I just went through it myself. Also, I was reading through some of your posts where you are concerned about system performance. Linux uses FAR less system resources than both Windows and Mac. Anyway, I hope this info can help you out in some way.
Alright, glad to understand I'm on the right path. I don't need a brick, so I'll leave the BIOS out completely. I'll see if ripping a .wav file in WMP can be done bit perfect. That'd be sweet. I thought I read something about error correction in WMP but forget where I saw that. I'll also take a look at EAC, which I remember having read good things about.

Hmmm. I thought that there used to be functionality here at Agon that allowed a person to subscribe to a thread so they got notification when it was updated. Oh well. Thanks Al for your help, all of it.

Xxqq250 - Much appreciate your encouragement to move to a more streamlined OS. I've thought of it before but just have never made the move. Everything is going quite smoothly at the moment with this new Windows 7 setup, so I'll just try to be content for now. I'll post if I decide to make the move. Again, thanks for your concern.
Well, I've used both WMA and PowerDVD 10 today. PowerDVD is much better sounding getting rid of the upper-midrange distortion that WMA displays. WMA is definitely better since doing all of the experimenting I did yesterday, but its not there yet.

I did turn on error correction for ripping .wav files. I also removed and re-ripped the disc I was listening to yesterday. Can't tell it made any difference.

In any event, if somebody with sound problems in general on their PC reads this thread, there are many great suggestions.

Thanks again for the help.

When I get some time I may try Foobar 2000. And EAC as well.

Finally, I'm really liking the Audioengine A2s. Pretty nice sound for $199, which is half of what I paid for the computer! But it makes listening at my computer much more enjoyable now.