Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
Originally Posted By: MusicStudent
Originally Posted By: FireitUP!!!
Hi thanks for the suggestions I will try that out later on today. As for the soundcard I am going directly out of the headphone jack on the Mac Mini into some computer speakers with a sub...lol


Hold it, I do believe you guys are comparing performance of BIAB on a PC versus a Mac. The BIAB builds between operating systems are pretty independent as best I understand. confused



I believe this is the root of the issue. Even folks who use Mac computers use a good interface and do not rely on the built in sound card. The sound card is responsible for making the music hit the speakers sounding right. While better speakers are always a good idea.... I would upgrade the sound card or interface first. Buy a nice USB based interface that is compatible with a Mac and runs ASIO
(I assume that's a thing with Mac as well) and see if that doesn't solve the problem. There's a reason we all use external interfaces and not the onboard sound.



The built-in audio output on most Mac's is generally quite good. Most support 24-bit 96khz audio and sound quite decent - not as good as a decent inexpensive audio interface, but good enough for most.

ASIO is a Windows-only thing, as it was developed to get around the latency inherent in the Windows audio backend. Mac's use CoreAudio, which itself is low latency.

It's possible, assuming FireItUp has good speakers and good ears, that he's hearing the artifacts of the audio compression used in most versions of BIAB. You can compare the audio quality between the uncompressed RealTracks (Audiophile version) and the compressed RealTracks by downloading the following file:

http://demos.pgmusic.com/audio/daretocompare/audiophile_compressed_comparisons.zip

You will be able to compare the following four RealTracks:

Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockSlow12-8Brent Sw 060
Pedal Steel, Background Train Ev 130
Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm Jazz Sw 140
Sax, Alto, Soloist JazzPhil Sw 140

Often people hear these artifacts as a "swirling" sound, usually most audible on drums or piano. Keep in mind that comparisons like this depend on a multitude of factors, not the least of which being your ears - some people simply can't hear the difference. You might hear it more by soloing the instruments, or by using a dynamic processor or EQ, or only in the mix. Hearing the differences also depends on your equipment - for example I can hear the difference when I use my multi-thousand-dollar home studio (RME Fireface 800 and Mackie HR824 monitors or Audio Technica ATH-M50X headphones) or on my home theater system (Onkyo/Technics/Paradigm), but not when I use the cheap Labtec speakers on my desk at work. Then again, I might have been able to hear the difference using the Labtecs if I hadn't ruined my ears by being a drummer...

I work here