How to resample with MPD

[vinaymoturi]

For those who are unaware of MPD's ability to resample, this is for you. What you will get is tighter imaging (better focus) and smoother sound on those recordings that are less than stellar. In some cases, on my system at least, it can make it sound similar to an analog filter. Unfortunately, as with most resampling, there will probably be a slight loss in detail especially on very revealing systems.

There are two quality resamplers that I am aware of in MPD. From my understanding, and I could be wrong, resampling is only available on versions .20 and up but please let me know if that's not the case so I can correct this. Those two resamplers are SoX and SRC (Secret Rabbit Code), otherwise known as libsamplerate.

One way to use these is to make sure you are using MPD (.20 and up) in Snakeoil and check the box for "custom audio output". Then just copy and paste one of the configs below depending on which one you want to use. You will have to substitute your sound device unless you use the same one as me (snd_allo_digione).

libsamplerate:

Code:

resampler {
plugin "libsamplerate"
type "1"
}

audio_output {
name "snd_allo_digione"
type "alsa"
device "hw:0,0"
format "192000:24:2"
auto_resample "no"
auto_format "no"
enabled "yes"
}

SoX:

Code:

resampler {
plugin "soxr"
quality "very high"
threads "0"
}

audio_output {
name "snd_allo_digione"
type "alsa"
device "hw:0,0"
format "192000:24:2"
auto_resample "no"
auto_format "no"
enabled "yes"
}

This will get you started. I'm sure there are other options for both of these. As a matter of fact, I know for sure that the quality of libsamplerate can be set to "0" (type "0") for even better sound but unfortunately for me the Rpi that I use is too slow to accommodate. 

Also, obviously if your gear is unable to sample at 192K then you'll have to change that. 

On my system, the libsamplerate sounds the best, even though I can't go full quality on it. It seems to retain more detail and really helps locate sounds in the stage. SoX seems to be a little bit beefier in the bass and maybe even smoother on the highs but tends to remove some "reality" to the recording much like the difference between MPD and LMS. But that could be specific to my setup. Ultimately it's up to the individual's preference.

Enjoy, and if you have any questions this link is a good place to start:
https://www.musicpd.org/doc/html/plugins...er-plugins

how to do this, i am new to linux