Playing 5.1 FLAC files on a PC.

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DennisMoore Jr.

1K Club - QQ Shooting Star
Joined
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Location
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edinsonbaggins & Plan9 have teamed up here and I wanted to check out their work:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...18-Mixing-Help&p=266751&highlight=#post266751

To my bitter disappointment I found that my system could not play it properly.

well I finally figured it out so.. If anyone is interested I thought I would make this post.

For the record, I could not get 5.1 FLAC files to work on:
Direct to my 2012 receiver via USB(Although Onkyo claims it can.)
On my BluRay
On my HTPC


The solution was open source software KODI and to utilize the correct Windows Sound API(there are two to chose from
(DirectSound and Wasapi)

My problem was that my system played the 5.1 channel test FLAC through the wrong channels and the rear surrounds
would not play at all! So I knew I had to first get this test FLAC to play correct. Test FLAC from here:
http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-downloads-testfiles.aspx

Click at the bottom on: FLAC Studio Master Surround 5.1 channel test(6.9 MB). You will end up with:
"surround88.flac" (Its a man speaking "Right" - "Left" - "center", etc...)

I simply could not get this file to play properly on any of my system components(no gang, I don't have the $$$
to run out and buy an Oppo BDP-103).or any software on my HTPC; Foobar2000, VLC, Total Media...

Unitl I tried on a lark: KODI, an open source media center.

http://kodi.tv/download/

But.. I still had the same problem until I selected the correct sound driver in the output section.
After almost giving up... my last choice was a combination of Wasapi for both output choices in KODI and VOLIA!
The 5.1 channel test FLAC played perfectly including the sub test. (What is ironic is that I read a KODI
user need to select "DirectSound" in both places to work for him. Do whatever makes the test FLAC play
properly on your system.

I am SO HAPPY, all I can say is:

Wasapi!!!(Spoken like "wasabi!!" for all you Sushi lovers out there!)

That is it:

Software = KODI on my HTPC
Windows sound driver = Wasapi(
selected twice in the output settings of KODI.)

And now I am enjoying 5.1 FLAC files on my system!

Feel free to ask if you have any questions if you'd like to try this on your system.

Cheers!

DMJ
 
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I've heard great things about JRiver from this forum. Alas: $69.98.

And it can be weird, too. bmoura swears by it, but it won't play 5.0 on my system even though Foobar2000 will. Maybe it's a Windows vs. Mac thing.

Kodi can be very, very good...but the developers have a habit of breaking stuff. If you're happy with your installation, I'd leave it alone unless you have very compelling reason to upgrade it.
 
I've heard great things about JRiver from this forum. Alas: $69.98.

It doesn't cost anything to download it and it will run for a few weeks before needing to be paid for, so you can always try it out.

It was $39.98 when I bought it. Used a coupon BUS10. Then I upgraded to both Windows and Mac licenses for another $27.98 14 months later. I don't expect to give them any more money though.
 
It doesn't cost anything to download it and it will run for a few weeks before needing to be paid for, so you can always try it out.
It was $39.98 when I bought it. Used a coupon BUS10. Then I upgraded to both Windows and Mac licenses for another $27.98 14 months later. I don't expect to give them any more money though.

Thanks, excellent points. Had I not solved the problem by finding KODI, I surely would have thought hard at for JRiver. Quite frankly I read most of the forum, so I know of this wonderful media center(JRiver). Thanks guys. :) I plan to replace my 4 year old HTPC with a nice tiny NUC in a while. Right now I do not play 5.1 flac files. All my 5.1 are discs, but I do so want to convert to FLAC so I can play whatever I want in whatever order. When I do that I think a more powerful dedicated media center like JRiver will be money well spent.
 
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