Homebrew Testing TWLoader's new 48kHz High Quality Sound mode!

[BOBdotEXE]

So with the release of 6.0.0, We can now force DS games to run at 48kHz instead of the standard 32kHz.

I wanted to see how much of a difference that would make in sound quality, so I did a quick test.

Testing Setup:

• Recorded on n3ds XL
• Volume ~80%
• Game ChronoTrigger DS
• recorded as 48kHz Flac
• Recorded using sound blaster USB sound card.
• Recorded the first 20 seconds of "Millennial Fair"

I picked ChronoTrigger, because the music always sounded just a tiny bit off from the snes version.
It's really subtle, and I can only really tell on high volume or with headphones on.

I think most snes games only go up to 32 kHz, while emulators can go higher, but I figured I'd give it a go.

Please note, I'm using fairly cheap equipment, this may not be 100% accurate, but this is the best I can do.
If you have better equipment, and get a different result, PLEASE let me know!


And I was able to actually tell a slight difference in the sound quality!

Here's what the audio looked like:

(Top 32kHz, Bottom 48khz)

At first it looks like the 48 is just a little quieter,
(yes, I used the same system and volume level for both tests)

But their are actually some more subtle changes.
For example:

(Click to enlarge)
(Red=48, blue=32)

It looks like the actual shape of the wavform changed a bit too.

And overall, it sounds a bit nicer.

Originally wherever the game would try to play a higher note, it would sound a bit strained, I guess, and now the higher notes, and the transitions feel much more natural!

Spoiler: More Screenshots!

(Click to enlarge)

Anyway, the issue with the DS version could all be in my head,
But after listing to the (Chrono Trigger SNES) SPC files for so long it started bothering me,
so this change is very welcomed.

Here are the Test files I recorded.

Hopefully this will soon be added to SRloader, and the 3ds cia forwarders!

 

[Ampersound]

I just had to create an acc to reply to this.

First up, your 48khz flac starts earlier than the other one, therefore the audio waveforms look differently. However there are most likely irregularities when recording analog audio so those can play a part as well.

Subjectively the 48khz flacs sounds like it has less artifacts, resulting in less nasty high frequency distortion, however if there truly is a difference it would be pretty subtle.
I'd expect much more from a change from 32 khz to 48 khz, there should definitely be higher frequencies in the 48khz file.

I've done some tests myself with no real conclusion. Maybe the added sound quality feature just doesn't work as intended..

Here if you wanna check for yourself, these files were composed in the Korg M01 software and recorded with a Focusrite 2i4 interface:

(apparently i can't send links)

You'd have to align the two files yourself though.

 

[RocketRobz]

I just had to create an acc to reply to this.

First up, your 48khz flac starts earlier than the other one, therefore the audio waveforms look differently. However there are most likely irregularities when recording analog audio so those can play a part as well.

Subjectively the 48khz flacs sounds like it has less artifacts, resulting in less nasty high frequency distortion, however if there truly is a difference it would be pretty subtle.
I'd expect much more from a change from 32 khz to 48 khz, there should definitely be higher frequencies in the 48khz file.

I've done some tests myself with no real conclusion. Maybe the added sound quality feature just doesn't work as intended..

Here if you wanna check for yourself, these files were composed in the Korg M01 software and recorded with a Focusrite 2i4 interface:

(apparently i can't send links)

You'd have to align the two files yourself though.

You can send links, actually. Also, I can confirm NSMB sounds slightly different with 48khz. The thunder in the intro has a higher frequency.
What system are you using?

 

[Ampersound]

www(dot)dropbox(dot)com/s/zj3ktsuwheonaxv/Mixdowns(dot)7z?dl=0
Nope, won't let me add it properly.

I was recording off a N3DS.
What made a real difference though, was switching from a DSlite to a N3ds. It has a much much better audio out.

@Robz8 Did you run nsmb off a flashcard or SD ?

 

[RocketRobz]

www(dot)dropbox(dot)com/s/zj3ktsuwheonaxv/Mixdowns(dot)7z?dl=0
Nope, won't let me add it properly.

I was recording off a N3DS.
What made a real difference though, was switching from a DSlite to a N3ds. It has a much much better audio out.

@Robz8 Did you run nsmb off a flashcard or SD ?

I ran NSMB off SD, but that shouldn't matter.
Also, I'm using N3DS XL.