Skip to content
Site appearance
Documentation
Browse documentation

DocumentationSettings and integrations

Audio output

Exclusive mode is an add-on

Select an output device, choose Shared or Exclusive mode, and check device capabilities.

On this page

Choose a playback device

  1. Connect your headphones, speakers, audio interface, or DAC and make sure Windows recognizes it.
  2. Open Settings → Audio output.
  3. Choose the desired device in Playback device. Use Refresh playback devices if a connected device is missing.
  4. Start a track and confirm sound reaches that device. Changing an output device can interrupt playback while it opens; Neirose coordinates the transition and attempts to recover from a recoverable output fault.

No device means no output is selected or available. A refresh cannot repair a disconnected cable or a missing driver; check Windows sound settings too.

Installed ASIO drivers also appear in the playback-device list. Install the DAC manufacturer’s driver if needed, refresh the list, and select its ASIO entry. ASIO requires Exclusive mode and bypasses the Windows mixer.

Shared and Exclusive output

ModeUse it whenHow it works
SharedYou want normal Windows audio sharing, including sound from other apps.Uses the Windows shared audio engine. The Windows mix format may differ from the source file.
ExclusiveYou own the add-on and want WASAPI Exclusive or the selected ASIO driver.Negotiates the stream with the selected output, bypassing the shared mixer. Native DSD requires a compatible ASIO driver. Other apps may be unable to use that device at the same time.
  1. In Settings → Audio output, select Shared or an unlocked Exclusive option.
  2. Play a track and check the result. If Exclusive cannot open the device, close other apps using it and check the device’s driver/settings.
  3. Select Shared yourself if you need the normal Windows mixer. Exclusive does not silently fall back to Shared.
Audio output settings. This capture has no device selected and does not demonstrate an active Exclusive stream. Store builds require the Exclusive mode add-on.

Play native DSD

Neirose 1.5.0.0 plays mono and stereo DSF and uncompressed DFF files through a native DSD-capable ASIO driver in Exclusive mode. The DAC and driver must accept the file’s exact rate. Windows Shared output, WASAPI PCM output, and DoP cannot carry these files in Neirose; no DSD-to-PCM conversion or automatic output fallback is performed.

  1. Install the DAC manufacturer’s native DSD-capable ASIO driver and connect the DAC in its documented native DSD USB mode.
  2. Configure DAC EQ/effects according to the manufacturer’s DSD instructions. Start with low physical volume.
  3. Open Settings → Audio output, refresh playback devices if needed, select the DAC’s ASIO entry, and enable an unlocked Exclusive option.
  4. Choose a DSF or uncompressed DFF track and press Play. Driver incompatibility appears in the normal playback status; there is no separate setup checklist or confirmation step.

Clean DSD256 playback has been reported on the FiiO BTR15 with PC, UAC 2.0, EQ OFF; BYPASS is a different setting. Other DACs follow their manufacturer’s instructions. Broader native driver/rate coverage and measured transition and load behavior remain unverified. Compatibility is checked for the selected driver and track when playback starts.

Stop/restart, pause/resume, seeking, PCM/DSD transitions, and output changes use the normal controls. If noise or a release error occurs, follow DSD troubleshooting.

Check what the device accepts

Open Device capabilities in Audio output to inspect the device’s Windows mix format and supported stream formats. Use Probe device formats to check again after a device or driver change.

WASAPI Exclusive prefers the decoded PCM source format and adapts when the driver requires a different compatible format. A capability result describes accepted formats; it does not prove which stream is currently playing.

Neirose 1.4.1.0 can send integer PCM in a different container when a DAC requires it. For example, a 24-bit source can appear as a 32-bit WASAPI stream because its samples are padded with zeros. That padding preserves the samples, sample rate, and channel layout.

ASIO formats are checked when playback starts. Probe device formats does not open the ASIO driver or establish native DSD compatibility.

Open Settings → Signal processing → Technical signal details for the current source and output stream. See reading signal information.

Volume, ReplayGain, and gapless playback

PCM in Exclusive output can still include digital-volume or ReplayGain processing. Native DSD bypasses both and uses DAC volume. A selected output mode alone is not an end-to-end bit-perfect guarantee.

Use Signal processing to configure loudness normalization, read processing status, and understand when tracks can transition gaplessly.

For Neirose 1.5.0.0. Check your installed version.

Need more help? Contact support.