# Audio Quality

Set the output sample rate, speaker buffer size, resample quality, and bit depth in `~/.config/cliamp/config.toml`. The `OUT` status line below the EQ shows the active settings.

## Configuration

Add these settings to your config file as needed:

```toml
# Output sample rate in Hz (22050, 44100, 48000, 96000, 192000)
sample_rate = 44100

# Speaker buffer in milliseconds (50-5000)
buffer_ms = 250

# Resample quality (1-4, where 4 is best)
resample_quality = 4

# PCM bit depth for FFmpeg-decoded formats: 16 (default) or 32 (lossless)
bit_depth = 16
```

All settings are optional. The defaults are shown above.

## What they do

| Setting            | Effect                                                                 |
|--------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `sample_rate`      | Output rate sent to the sound card. 48000 matches most modern DACs. |
| `buffer_ms`        | Lower values reduce latency. Higher values reduce glitches. Try 200 if audio pops, or 2000 for unstable radio streams. |
| `resample_quality` | Sinc interpolation quality when a file rate differs from the output rate. 4 gives the best quality; 1 is fastest. |
| `bit_depth`        | PCM precision for FFmpeg-decoded formats (m4a, aac, alac, opus, wma, webm). 32 uses float PCM and preserves up to 24-bit audio without truncation. Native formats (mp3, flac, wav, ogg) always decode at full precision. This setting does not affect them. |

## Quick recipes

**Lossless / high-resolution setup** (good DAC, high CPU capacity):

```toml
sample_rate = 96000
buffer_ms = 250
resample_quality = 4
bit_depth = 32
```

**Low-latency / low-capacity hardware**:

```toml
sample_rate = 44100
buffer_ms = 200
resample_quality = 1
```

**Unstable radio connection**:

```toml
buffer_ms = 2000
```

This can add up to two seconds of playback latency. It gives the audio device more time to handle short network interruptions.

Live HTTP radio also uses an automatic decoded-audio jitter buffer. If the
network has no data, cliamp outputs silence without blocking the UI. It waits
for a short refill before it resumes. This avoids rapid sound breaks. A source
that stays slower than its audio bitrate can still have silent gaps. cliamp
cannot reconstruct missing audio.

Changes take effect when you next start cliamp.