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Topic: No sound from MONO audio files (Read 5759 times) previous topic - next topic
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No sound from MONO audio files

I am trying to play some music that I recorded and encoded using FLAC codec, sampled at 48khz with 24 bits, in Mono. The audio plays as it should in Audition, but when I try to play it in Foobar, there is almost no sound. At the beginning of each track there is a brief (.1-.5 seconds) moment of static noise, but no proper sound/audio. Using the spectrogram I can see some very faint sound energies at random points as the track progresses, but nothing looks or sounds like it should - the only sound is the static noise at the beginning, intermittent static noise throughout the track, and then another burst of the static noise at the very end of the track.

Wehn I am in Audition, the files play fine, just as they should, and I can hear perfectly. The only way ive been able to get them to play in foobar is by saving the files in Stereo, then foobar plays them properly. However, this is not a solution because the audio is meant to be played in mono.

Ive checked various settings in foobar, but havent found anything that helps. I tried using some of the DSP settings, like 'Convert mono to stero' but none of them have helped. Ive looked at some of my sound card settings, but everything seems to be in order... remember that Audition plays the audio properly, so I assume my sound card settings are fine as they are. I have also tested this with a different mono recording to rule out the possibility of the files being bad, but found that the problem was the same for all mono audio files i could find.

Any help would be appreciated

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #1 –
Works here. Audacity 2.0.5, foobar2000 1.3.2.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #2 –
Quote from: lvqcl on
Works here. Audacity 2.0.5, foobar2000 1.3.2.


right. so i wonder why it doesnt work on my end.. there must be some setting or something thats conflicting

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #3 –
im thinking it has to be a driver issue.. not driver settings, but maybe driver incompatibility/bug. I was reading about asus xonar cards having a lot of issues in the past.. and while i dont have a xonar, i do have an asus card (supremefx - integrated on Maximus VI Hero motherboard) ..
I took some other audio files of mine (in stereo) and extracted them into mono files, and just as i suspected did not work in foobar. So, im going to try to uninstall my drivers and maybe look for some different revision of the drivers and see if that helps .. other than that, i dont know what else to do

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #4 –
What happens if you use "Convert mono to stereo" DSP in foobar2000?

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #6 –
To rule out the obvious, have you tried changing the output? That is, Preferences > Playback > Output > Device. If you're using ASIO etc, try DirectSound.
That's so plausible, I can't believe it.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #7 –
Maybe they don't decode properly with the version of ffmpeg foobar2000 uses. Have you tried converting them to 24 bit WAV files with ffmpeg.exe to see if it has the same problem?

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #8 –
AFAIK foobar2000 uses only mp3float, vorbis and aac decoders from ffmpeg.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #9 –
Quote from: alwayswrming on
I have also tested this with a different mono recording to rule out the possibility of the files being bad, but found that the problem was the same for all mono audio files i could find.

Some thoughts:
  • Does this issue only relate to MONO FLAC files or have you the same problem with for example MONO MP3 files as well? You can download mono MP3s (44,1 KHz, 64 kBit/s) for example here if you don't have any.
  • Does foobar2000's console provide any hint?
  • Does your foobar play 44,1 KHz 16 bits MONO FLAC files?
  • Does your foobar play the BBC MONO mp3s I linked to and what happens if you convert one of them to MONO FLAC?
  • How does a fresh portable installation (which wouldn't affect your main install) behave in this respect?
This is HA. Not the Jerry Springer Show.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #10 –
Quote from: DustMagnet on
To rule out the obvious, have you tried changing the output? That is, Preferences > Playback > Output > Device. If you're using ASIO etc, try DirectSound.


yes, i have tried every single option. no difference with respect to this issue. some of the options will cut out all of my sound altogether, but has nothing to do with the files and has no effect on the mono files. this was one of the first settings i tried changing a few days ago

Quote from: kode54 on
Maybe they don't decode properly with the version of ffmpeg foobar2000 uses. Have you tried converting them to 24 bit WAV files with ffmpeg.exe to see if it has the same problem?


they are 24-bit already. but ive tried changing depth to 16-bit but it didnt make any difference.

Quote from: Robertina on
Some thoughts:
  • Does this issue only relate to MONO FLAC files or have you the same problem with for example MONO MP3 files as well? You can download mono MP3s (44,1 KHz, 64 kBit/s) for example here if you don't have any.

    happens with any of them. Ive got lossless mono files from two different sources and i have tried converting each of them to every other format you can think of, lossy/lossless, upsample/downsample frequency, different codecs (WAV, FLAC, VBR and CBR via LAME, etc). none of it seems to make a difference.. the result is exactly the same regardless

  • Does foobar2000's console provide any hint?

    console shows nothing out of the ordinary

  • Does your foobar play 44,1 KHz 16 bits MONO FLAC files?

    i cant get it to play any mono files, so no.

  • Does your foobar play the BBC MONO mp3s I linked to and what happens if you convert one of them to MONO FLAC?

    the thing to remember here is that technically, foobar is playing the files. time is elapsing and their is very faint, about 99% inaudible, sound. but no, in simple terms, the files you linked to are producing no better results than the files i have on hand. here is a spectromgram of the bbc mp3 file:




    as you can see, its playing something, but its just static/pop intermittently, like someone with two frayed speaker wires and they keep sparking them together (if you can imagine how that would sound.. thats the best way to describe the "sound" i hear -- its only noises, i cant make out anything real).

    converting that to FLAC does nothing to help (assuming you keep it in mono.. if i convert to stereo, it works fine)

  • How does a fresh portable installation (which wouldn't affect your main install) behave in this respect?

    i dont know, ill have to try that and get back to you.



In case youre wondering, this is a normal spectrum (Top), as well as the spectrum i get from any mono files (Bottom). this is to show that there is definitely some sound energy coming from the files, but the frequency/amplitude/intensity is all screwed up. its like its not decoding it properly.

normal spectrum


spectrum i get from mono

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #11 –
So your problem's quintessence is that something seems to prevent your fb2k from outputting mono audio streams normally; file type, bit depth/rate or where you got the files from and how they have been created doesn't matter.

In case a fresh portable installation plays mono tracks normally you should post a list of the components you use with your main install.

I assume that for example the Windows Media Player can play the BBC mono MP3s as it should be?
This is HA. Not the Jerry Springer Show.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #12 –
Quote
but no, in simple terms, the files you linked to are producing no better results than the files i have on hand. here is a spectromgram of the bbc mp3 file:


Do you have any DSPs active? Try to disable them one by one until this bug disappears.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Robertina on
So your problem's quintessence is that something seems to prevent your fb2k from outputting mono audio streams normally; file type, bit depth/rate or where you got the files from and how they have been created doesn't matter.

In case a fresh portable installation plays mono tracks normally you should post a list of the components you use with your main install.

I assume that for example the Windows Media Player can play the BBC mono MP3s as it should be?


Ok, portable install fixes it. which obviously means there is something causing incompatibility.

This is my components directory:

Code: [Select]
Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is D26A-5AFD

 Directory of c:\Apps\foobar2000\components

06/23/2014  04:32 PM    <DIR>          .
06/23/2014  04:32 PM    <DIR>          ..
06/23/2014  04:32 PM                 0 components.txt
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           350,720 foo_albumlist.dll
06/04/2010  09:27 AM           188,416 foo_audioscrobbler.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           304,640 foo_cdda.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           501,248 foo_converter.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           199,168 foo_dsp_eq.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           199,680 foo_dsp_std.dll
02/05/2012  08:11 AM           221,184 foo_dsp_xgeq.dll
08/18/2011  08:06 PM         1,767,936 foo_facets.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           285,696 foo_fileops.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           299,520 foo_freedb2.dll
04/11/2014  05:51 AM         1,391,080 foo_input_std.dll
09/23/2010  02:34 AM            90,624 foo_jesus.dll
01/07/2010  08:14 PM            76,800 foo_locktest.dll
01/10/2009  01:11 PM           166,912 foo_np_simple.dll
05/05/2011  07:03 PM           161,792 foo_plorg.dll
09/01/2010  10:15 AM           190,464 foo_quicktag.dll
04/11/2014  05:49 AM           353,280 foo_rgscan.dll
06/07/2009  03:15 PM           369,152 foo_run.dll
01/07/2010  07:32 PM           186,368 foo_runcmd.dll
08/18/2011  08:03 PM           868,352 foo_simplaylist_manager.dll
02/04/2011  11:04 PM           406,528 foo_softplaylists.dll
05/29/2011  04:03 PM           281,600 foo_textdisplay.dll
08/24/2010  09:49 AM           190,976 foo_texttools.dll
06/13/2009  06:49 PM           257,536 foo_uie_albumlist.dll
08/29/2009  12:06 PM            88,064 foo_uie_console.dll
09/24/2009  12:44 AM           227,840 foo_uie_playlists_dropdown.dll
10/22/2007  05:30 PM           188,416 foo_uie_typefind.dll
02/27/2011  04:22 PM         1,608,192 foo_ui_columns.dll
04/11/2014  05:51 AM           945,128 foo_ui_std.dll
              30 File(s)     12,367,312 bytes
               2 Dir(s)  65,716,277,248 bytes free
]


Quote from: lvqcl on
Do you have any DSPs active? Try to disable them one by one until this bug disappears.


ok i only have one or two but ill try that

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #14 –
Update!
It was the Graphic Equalizer DSP ... it seems that if it's enabled, foobar will not properly decode the mono files.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #15 –
Glad you solved it.  Just FYI, I don't experience any problem playing 24/48 mono FLAC with either "Equalizer" or "Graphic Equalizer" DSP components in the chain.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #16 –
Quote from: alwayswrming on
It was the Graphic Equalizer DSP ...

Is the mode set to "Stereo"? If yes, try setting it to "Mono" and see if the problem still occurs.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #17 –
Quote from: BenB on
Is the mode set to "Stereo"?

Sure enough that breaks it!  No reason to set it to "Stereo" unless you are equalizing each channel differently, right?

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #18 –
Quote from: Apesbrain on
Quote from: BenB on
Is the mode set to "Stereo"?

Sure enough that breaks it!  No reason to set it to "Stereo" unless you are equalizing each channel differently, right?


very interesting.. im glad that someone has been able to reproduce the problem so i don't look so silly lol.

Also, are you talking about a mono/stereo setting that is specific to the DSP graphic equalizer, or general foobar setting?

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #19 –
I was able to reproduce this bug, but only if mode = Stereo and all sliders are 0.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #20 –
Quote from: alwayswrming on
Also, are you talking about a mono/stereo setting that is specific to the DSP graphic equalizer, or general foobar setting?

The "Mono/Stereo" switch in question is specific to the Graphic Equalizer plugin.

Quote from: lvqcl on
I was able to reproduce this bug, but only if mode = Stereo and all sliders are 0.

Same here.

No sound from MONO audio files

Reply #21 –
Well, I appreciate everyone's help with this. I probably would have never suspected that DSP so im glad someone suggested that. im sure this doesnt rank very high on the list of important bugs to resolve, but who knows maybe one day it will. In the meantime, if anyone else presents with this issue we should be able to resolve it quickly.
Thanks again