Making an Audible Change

[Kursah]

First off, sorry for the long post and thanks for your time.

The short:

• My Auzen Forte may be kicking the bucket...the static fuzz issue has cropped up very badly...to the point I pulled the card out of my system...
• I can't get Equalizer APO to work with my onboard Realtek ALC1150, anyone have luck here?
• My Aune T1 and Denon AVR 1613 don't play nice over RCA, the Aune T1 is more than a DAC, I am tempted in selling it and replacing it with a dedicated DAC. Suggestions?
• I like the Creative EQ versus all other EQ's I've tried (software), especially for Bass management...I dislike other EQ's for the fact you go too far with bass and it seems to "suck the power" out of the rest of the range...how to avoid this or tune my sound to have the powerful bass that the Creative EQ provides with EQ APO/Peace/EQ31v2?
• Anyone try/own the Creative X-Fi MB3 software for $29.99? Thoughts?

The long:

So lately my Auzen X-Fi Forte's Windows 8.1 drivers seem to be going on a fritz mode, where I deal with the static issue more than I have in the last 8+ years (or however long) I've owned this card. I've reinstalled drivers, but no change.

I pulled the card yesterday, visual inspection looks good. I have my Aune T1 sitting on a shelf collecting dust...the one issue I remember with it was an issue between it and my Denon AVR 1613, where it seemed when the AVR was turned on...power was being pulled from the T1.

Honestly I just wanted to use the optical fiber cable from my onboard ALC1150 to the Denon. Which works pretty well for the most part, except that I miss the X-Fi's EQ...I'm not sure how they do it, but you can adjust the bass without it seeming like the rest of the range is getting pulled down (almost partially muted).

I tried setting up Equalizer APO yesterday, and couldn't get it to work with my onboard audio for anything. I got it to work with the Aune T1 just fine, and I'm playing with EQ31v2 and Peace atm. Both work well, again both have the same issues that the Realtek EQ has with making one adjustment too strong pulls that one up and the rest of the range down (at least that's what it sounds like....).

I like heavier bass still, and my HE-400's really shine with a good amount of bass while keeping clarity over the rest of the range to my ears.

I did see that Creative sells their X-Fi MB3 software for $29.99. Anyone have experience with this? Seems kind of pointless to buy that for its 10-band EQ when I can use EQ APO for free....but I can't use it with my ALC 1150 (can someone else try and LMK if they have a similar issue?).

I'm looking for suggestions. Honestly I am debating selling the T1, stashing the Auzen Forte, and doing my best to make the onboard ALC1150 work for me. I'm not an audio purist and feel I need an EQ to adjust my audio to suit my needs, so please keep on the topic of my needs for this inquiry. I also have no budget right now, so I can't afford $100, let alone $1000+...unless I sell what I got.

I'm hoping someone has some insight to some of the things I've tried here. I am tempted to toss the Auzen back in and hope a day out of the box and a day without drivers will get the static fuzz issue back in control where I had it...I fear that it's not a driver issue...

Maybe I need to sell what I got and go after a different DAC? Either way I would prefer to use my Denon as the power source for my speakers and headphones, so the T1 is only truly useful as a DAC for me ATM, as the Denon is able to power my HE-400's better.

Thoughts?

My Goal: Maintain what I perceive as good sound, ability to use an EQ to manage system audio to my liking, and do so for as little $$$ as possible!!!

 

[Kursah]

So I revisited my Aune T1 vs Denon AVR-1613 issue, it seems if my AVR is powered off, the Aune T1 HP output clips horribly. Physical disconnection required, tried all RCA inputs, same effect. But the T1 sounds better than I remember, especially with Equalizer APO tuned appropriately.

I fought and fought and fought making APO work with my Realtek ALC 1150 chipset as I've read so many folks having no issues using it for theirs. I was finally successful so I will share this now.

This is for a first generation Asus Z87 Pro (June 2013) board with 2103 BIOS, not that it matters. The Realtek ALC 1150 part does though.

1. Uninstall Realtek Drivers from Programs and Features. No need to reboot.
2. Open Device Manager, open the Sound section, then go to Action > Scan for hardware changes.
3. You should see "High Definition Audio Device" come up. If not ID'd run Driver update, this should be the Realtek chipset using the default Windows Drivers.
4. Start > Search > Type: CMD > Run as administrator.
5. Type: net stop audiosrv
6. Press Y to stop all audio services.
7. Type: net start audiosrv
8. Audio services reloaded, good to go. At this point I was able to install Equalizer APO (well actually just add the new High Def Audio Device to the list). Good to go.

So I at least have that much going for me! I gotta say it sounds pretty damn good now. Can't say I notice a difference from the Auzen vs Realtek 1150 in Optical vs Optical to the Denon, but that was expected with how audio processing works. Analog vs Analog is a massively different story.

The Aune T1 sounds great and is going to get a good workout tonight, but will be getting boxed up shortly and shelved as a backup/office device.

 

[BumbleBee]

kinda off topic but Schiit now has B-Stock

http://schiit.com/products/modi

Modi only $79 and you still get the 2 year warranty.

 

[Kursah]

Hmm that's awfully tempting!

It would be nice to have a good DAC handy if ever I need it. I do plan on going with an ITX or mATX build the next go-around and who knows what could happen. I don't know if the Modi would affect me much now.

My next issue would be wondering if there is something wrong with my Denon AVR or Aune T1...the RCA clipping from the Aune's HP amp only when connected to the AVR via RCA's is kind of disconcerting. I will admit right now the optical out from the ALC 1150 is working pretty darn well overall...I'm still trying to tune the EQ to how I like it...I really do dislike that it seems all other EQ's aside from the X-Fi EQ seem to pull down the mid and treble when bass is increased...it's kind of annoying in all honesty. Makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.

I did enable Loudness Equalization in device settings and that seems to help...I turned it down to the first notch though...