VileRancour wrote:

and let apps use the device simultaneously in ASIO and WDM

is that even possible asio exists to reduce latency which requires exclusive control of the card

VileRancour wrote:

The crappy onboard sound device built-in with my PC never had such a limitation.... I could set my recording software to use ASIO4ALL, and still play a track in Winamp (for comparison, etc) while it was running.

could that be because your onboard sound never had an asio driver

VileRancour wrote:

So here's what I'm after:

- Either PCI or USB (actually prefer PCI if the drivers are better... portability is not a concern)

You're limiting yourself a LOT by imposing such a restriction.

There are many (and very very good) soundcards that use IEEE1394 (firewire).

Don't ignore them. A PCI or PCIe Firewire controller is very cheap and will broaden all your possible options.

have you tried asking E-mu
http://www.emu.com/support/

hi

I have two machines dedicated to making noises partly
of my own making but mostly to play midi files.

I have tested playback with ASIO and WDM on one
of the boxes and this one has both a DMX6fire and an
E-MU 0404 PCI (em8850).

I tested using foobar2000 with the ASIO output
plugin and microsoft media player for kernel mode.

With the DMX6fire it was not possible to play both
at the same time as one would cancel the other
or media player would show an error dialog.

With the E-MU 0404 it was possible and PatchMix DSP
had the foobar output on ASIO 1/2 and media player
output on WAVE 1/2 with both sounds mixed as
expected.

Therefore an E-MU may be a good choice for PCI.

I haven't looked at the older box with an audigy2 (kX)
and SW1000-xg/p but can if you are interested. With
the kX driver I expect it will also work but that's limited
to 48Khz only, the test above was at 44.1Khz only.

bye

Davros: my onboard sound device never had an ASIO driver of its own, but I used ASIO4ALL and it worked just as well.
and yes, I contacted E-MU support about it a while ago.

Leolo wrote:

You're limiting yourself a LOT by imposing such a restriction. […]
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VileRancour wrote:

- Either PCI or USB (actually prefer PCI if the drivers are better... portability is not a concern)

You're limiting yourself a LOT by imposing such a restriction.

There are many (and very very good) soundcards that use IEEE1394 (firewire).

Don't ignore them. A PCI or PCIe Firewire controller is very cheap and will broaden all your possible options.

Thanks for the heads up. That part wasn't meant as a restriction, just to say I could go either way with bus choice, so Firewire could be an option. Typically PCI/PCIe cards seem to have the best drivers and performance, but whatever works.

hey sklawz,

sklawz wrote:

With the E-MU 0404 it was possible and PatchMix DSP had the foobar output on ASIO 1/2 and media player output on WAVE 1/2 with b […]
Show full quote

With the E-MU 0404 it was possible and PatchMix DSP
had the foobar output on ASIO 1/2 and media player
output on WAVE 1/2 with both sounds mixed as
expected.

Therefore an E-MU may be a good choice for PCI.

Thanks for checking, that's some helpful info. My USB E-MU 0202 doesn't have PatchMix. The PCI 0404 is cheap these days, looks like a good deal.

However in the PCI 0404 the only analog inputs are unbalanced line-in... the USB version of the 0404 has XLR, line, and Hi-Z input, but no PatchMix DSP. hmmmm..

VileRancour wrote:

I know this forum isn't dedicated to such things, but I've noticed that we have quite a few sound hardware buffs on VOGONS and even some musicians... and it can't hurt to ask.

No, you're not wrong in posting here or asking here. There are a number of talented sound card/module aficionados and musicians right here in Vogons. 😀

VileRancour wrote:

and yes, I contacted E-MU support about it a while ago.

And what did they say

Davros wrote:

VileRancour wrote:

and yes, I contacted E-MU support about it a while ago.

And what did they say

Can't go digging for the specific email right now, but as per the OP this was the gist of it:

VileRancour wrote:

that's the way the drivers work, and there's no current or planned fix.

Malik wrote:

VileRancour wrote:

I know this forum isn't dedicated to such things, but I've noticed that we have quite a few sound hardware buffs on VOGONS and even some musicians... and it can't hurt to ask.

No, you're not wrong in posting here or asking here. There are a number of talented sound card/module aficionados and musicians right here in Vogons. 😀

Yeah - I guess a lot of people have been making and enjoying music on the PC since the old days, cool to see that some are still at it. I still stick to a tracker-style interface whenever possible, even with modern DAWs, since I got my start with Scream Tracker 2 way back 😁

(well, not if you count Music Construction Set with its crappy PC-speaker sound on the ancient XT.... I don't)