For years I have used dsound.dll to play audio on Windows, because if you have your own mixer etc then the more-recent APIs don't really do anything better.

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URL: https://x.com/Jonathan_Blow/status/1906823282915262657
Author: Jonathan Blow (@Jonathan_Blow)
Posted: 2025-03-31 21:37:52

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1/ @Jonathan_Blow

For years I have used dsound.dll to play audio on Windows, because if you have your own mixer etc then the more-recent APIs don’t really do anything better. But I am finally running into a problem where the dx installer does not install dsound.dll in a findable way any more. (??) So I guess this means it’s time to “upgrade” to a newer API.

Do I use one of these trash audio APIs like XAudio2 or WASAPI? Which one? Anyone have good sample code?

Branches: 2025-03-31-ccallac7-openal, 2025-03-31-TylerGlaiel-sdl-has-audio-output-functionality-seems-to-work, 2025-03-31-MattyMSS-what-do-you-mean-in-a-non-findable-way-anymore-is, 2025-03-31-technomantics-i-asked-grok-for-you-for-xaudio2-microsofts-got, 2025-03-31-StirringDragon-have-you-looked-into-soloud, 2025-03-31-SegfaultMax-i-used-wasapi-recently-first-time-it-was-every, 2025-04-01-RyanJuckett-we-also-have-our-own-mixer-i-had-rare-issues-with, 2025-04-01-NotAttained-casey-and-martins-like-wasapi, 2025-04-01-_falken-im-probably-the-outlier-here-but-why-not-just-use, 2025-04-01-NevrWinsTheGame-mme-will-still-be-around-when-microsoft-invents, 2025-04-01-fanch_le_fraka-im-using-wasapi-very-similar-to-dx-from-what-i, 2025-04-01-iquilezles-i-use-waveoutopen-waveoutwrite-family-from-winmm, 2025-04-01-erikkartman-xaudio-is-pretty-simple-but-has-high-latency, 2025-04-01-flaratt_ljos-theres-an-unfortunate-design-decision-in-xaudio2, 2025-04-01-strager-avoid-microsoft-media-foundation, 2025-04-01-KevReCo-somehow-whenever-i-look-for-ways-to-do-something, 2025-04-02-iamorphen-i-had-to-go-to-xaudio2-just-recently-but-i-have, 2025-04-02-KentoAsashima-if-you-have-your-own-mixer-whats-wrong-with-plain, 2025-04-02-kongomongo-uses-wasapi-and-directsound-maybe-some-helpful, 2025-04-02-Wassimulator-i-use-wasapi-its-not-bad-for-low-level-control-to, 2025-04-02-wisnoskij-just-checked-and-my-clean-install-from-3-months

type	archive
source	twitter
date	2025-03-31
tags	archive, twitter, jonathan_blow
description	For years I have used dsound.dll to play audio on Windows, because if you have your own mixer etc then the more-recent APIs don't really do anything better.

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For years I have used dsound.dll to play audio on Windows, because if you have your own mixer etc then the more-recent APIs don't really do anything better.

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@Jonathan_Blow If you have your own mixer, what’s wrong with plain waveOut-API?

@Jonathan_Blow I use WASAPI, it's not bad for low level control to build a sound engine on it.

@Jonathan_Blow I had to go to XAudio2 just recently, but I have no decent sample code yet.

@Jonathan_Blow @KodiTV uses WASAPI and DirectSound, maybe some helpful code there

@Jonathan_Blow Just checked and my clean install from 3 months ago has `C:/system32/dsound.dll` and it appears to be PATHed correctly.

@Jonathan_Blow Somehow, whenever I look for ways to do something one Windows I'm looking at Wine source code.

@Jonathan_Blow MME will still be around when Microsoft invents and abandons it’s next multimedia baby.

@Jonathan_Blow Casey and Martins like Wasapi

@Jonathan_Blow We also have our own mixer.

@Jonathan_Blow I’m probably the outlier here, but why not just use waveOut…? It may be deprecated, but it’s definitely not going away anytime soon.

@Jonathan_Blow Xaudio is pretty simple, but has high latency.

@Jonathan_Blow i'm using wasapi, very similar to dx from what i remember.

@Jonathan_Blow There's an unfortunate design decision in XAudio2, where if an audio device is removed (you unplug your headphones), you have to free all resources and reinitialize the API.

I use waveOutOpen()/waveOutWrite() family, from winmm.dll.

@Jonathan_Blow Avoid Microsoft Media Foundation!

@Jonathan_Blow What do you mean in a non-findable way anymore ? Is it in a custom path instead of the classic System32 / SysWOW64 ?

@Jonathan_Blow I used WASAPI recently (first time), it was every bit the crapola I expected it to be, but no worse, and I would use it again because it's there

@Jonathan_Blow Have you looked into SoLoud?

@Jonathan_Blow SDL has audio output functionality, seems to work pretty well from what I can tell.

@Jonathan_Blow OpenAL?

I asked Grok for you: For XAudio2, Microsoft’s got decent sample code in their docs—check out the "XAudio2 Basic Audio" sample (http://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/xaudio2/xaudio2-sample-programs).