ASIO drivers

I have been trying to correct for latency playing through the Presonus AudioBox. Somewhere in this forum I read that I should be using the ASIO drivers, which my sound card did not support. I purchased a sound card that does (Xonar DS) and installed it, and made sure that I have the latest drivers from Presonus. Now I'm having difficultly getting the functionality back from AudioBox. I am given the option to choose either the Xonar drivers or the AudioBox, of course, I need to be playing through the AudioBox. I did not get the AudioBox ASIO option before, now I do, looks great, but there are two problems. I no longer get the AudioBox Headphone option, so I can't route to my headphones, and when I go into record I get this message: "Unable to open audio record device. Device may not support the current project's audio format or may be in use." Any idea what I did wrong or what I'm missing? (Also, I've been trying to get help from Presonus, they are not very responsive.)

I haven't been able to find a specific "preferences" in Sonar, but under Audio Options, I have AudioBox ASIO driver selected everywhere it is possible and offered. That includes Playback & Record Timing Master, the Driver Mode, the Record Latency Adjustment, and under Drivers it offers me all the sound card options, and the AudioBox ASIO, I have only the AudioBox ASIO selected (of course, it will only allow one of the other). If you're talking about Global Options, I don't find anything called Presonus Interface, if you just mean select AudioBox, I can't find anymore references to it that I haven't selected. And again, when I call up a file and try to choose the Output route, I no longer get an option to route to the headphones.

As far as I know, only one audio device can be selected at one time. If you had a built-in audio card, then you would have to disable that to use the one you prefer. I would wonder why you need a second sound card when the AudioBox should handle all of the sound for everything, including Windows Media Player and utube or itunes or anything that you play music through your computer. The only time you are using the ASIO drivers is when in Sonar, and in Windows have you checked your speaker icon to see what is marked as playback and recording (by right clicking on the speaker icon on your task bar - if showing it - by getting up Control Panel -> Sound, Game Controllers whatever it is and checking there if need be (same thing as right clicking on the speaker icon on the taskbar) and  making sure the Default is marked for the AudioBox and that is listed as Recording and Playback on that for Windows, (or just checking to see what is listed there - usually the graphics drivers may have HDMI listed there also in case you use a HDTV with that connection which carries the sound and video from your computer to the HDTV).
 
As far as I know - only one sound device at one time in the computer - either one or the other with the one not being used Disabled in Control Panel -> Device Manager which can be found by right clicking on Computer desktop icon and right clicking and selecting "Properties".
 
With that and ASIO drivers for the AudioBox all the sounds are going to that unit and the headphones should work on that unit - unless there may be something wrong with it.
(but nothing working on the other sound card that is not needed unless switching to it and disabling the AudioBox then - one or the other).
 

Is it possible the Audiobox is setup as the Windows default device? If so, make sure to select a different device for Windows. Is another application using the Audiobox while SONAR is running? If so, there may be a sharing problem.
 
There will be a difference between using ASIO and other modes in SONAR. The previous setup was using either MME or WDM which can handle multiple drivers and devices at the same time.

A few things to consider. ASIO mode will only permit one driver at a time to handle both input and output in SONAR. It is possible to switch driver modes and/or devices as long the device chosen supports the project sample rate and bit depth. If the device does not support the project sample rate or bit depth, SONAR will through the "Device may not support the current project's audio format" error.

This is not a Windows setup issue. If anything changing things in Windows may be causing some of the problem. Windows should be setup to use any device other than the AudioBox. Sure, the AudioBox will show up in Windows but it should not be used for Windows audio. The SONAR i/o setup is all handled in SONAR. Windows can interfere with SONAR and cause "Unable to open audio record device." errors.
 
Running at 44.1/16 is as basic as it gets. Every device in this thread should handle that fine. It is possible to record and monitor using the AudioBox and then playback through a different device but it will require making the appropriate setup changes in SONAR each time a different device is used.

All of this started after the Xonar DS was installed, it might be a good idea to remove this card. The card was not necessary to begin with. If the card uses ASIO4ALL, remove it. Make sure the AudioBox is using the Presonus driver and not ASIO4ALL.

Okay, removed the new sound card and uninstalled its drivers. In Sonar, somehow, I'm still getting AudioBox ASIO driver option, which I wasn't getting before I installed the sound card, but I'm also still getting the message and cannot get Sonar to playback or record. Also, on the I/O options for the tracks, I'm not getting the RealTek options I had before. I'll play with that, but if there are anymore suggestions I'd appreciate it. The next step, I guess, is to uninstall Sonar and AudioBox and everything else related and start over.

I give up, any suggestions are appreciated. I've uninstalled and reinstalled everything and their drivers, held down Ctrl/Shift... I'm back to no ASIO drivers and Sonar will playback my tracks now, but in the speakers it's great, in the headphones, through the AudioBox, it's broken up, sounds like it's underwater. I've downloaded the latest drivers from Presonus, again, they won't install, they seem to think the system is trying to install drivers, it is not, but I have to option. I'll try it again later... maybe.

There should be ASIO drivers for the Presonus and line outputs to run to the speakers from the images I saw.
 
USB Audio Interface, 2-in/2-out, with 2 Microphone/Instrument Preamplifiers, 2 1/4" Outputs, MIDI I/O, and 1/4" Headphone Output with Studio One Artist Software - 24-bit/48kHz
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBoxUSB/
 
I run my computer speakers (I have a RME Babyface) as well as headphones out of the unit. With the Pesonus AudioBox you have Main Outs L and R to hook up powered speakers - which most computer speakers are, as well as listen to headphones from the unit - look at the back image, as well as a MIDI connection into and out of the computer, all of handled by USB.
 
I fail to see why you are not hooking everything up to the Presonus AudioBox - with a 1/4" adaptor to a mini-plug (3.5mm) used for some headphones, while someheadphones include the 1/4 adaptor. A mono version if using the main outs (L and R) can be used usually bought at a electronic store - 1/4" to mini-plug mono for each channel (L and R) to hook up you speakers, if that is a stereo connection like a headphone cord, then they also have a connection adaptor for that also where you get both (L and R) 1/4" plugs to a stereo mini-plug which you then can plug in your computer speakers in a single short cord - L is usually white or grey and R is usually red on the short cord. (if you were running video that way you would have a yellow colored part of the cord too). That is all standard and probably costs maybe $5 for the entire cord, although it could cost a little more.
 
Then you can always plug headphones into the back of the Audiobox and also your speakers into the Audiobox, and everything is running through the Audiobox.
 
http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html
 
Version 2.5.9 down on the bottom works good if you want a program just to see if you have any strangler files on your computer and check it out. Usually you can do the same thing in Windows in the Control Panel -> Programs and Features to uninstall drivers - but if you had changed drivers, are not using drivers since the sound card is out, Windows 7 keeps a copy of every driver for sound or graphics you ever had in your computer. That program may help to delete any drivers not going to be used since you took the extra sound card out.
 
The other way is to right click on Computer Desktop Icon and get up Properties. Get up Device Manager and Delete anything extra in Sound, Video, Game Controllers and uninstall the drivers (yes Windows still have them there perhaps) and restart your computer  until Windows 7 can not find any drivers for any of the sound cards - probably just the Presonus since you may have un-install the other sound card drivers. But, that program link can also find files left over by programs that did not fully un-install (those do that, ya, know) until it is reasonable sure that you have nothing there for Windows 7 to install once you start up your computer with your AudioBox connected. (if old drivers Windows will install those until you delete them all, and do that until you restart your computer and it finds no drivers.) I just went through that with the RME Babyface I have, because RME over the last year a quarter came out with several newer versions of drivers and they did not have an un-install program before. I had old drivers - 6 to 7 of them still on the computer because Windows 7 is a pack rat with that stuff. I uninstalled them all by deleting the Babyface out of Device Manager also checking for Windows to un-install the drivers and doing that by restarting the computer several times to delete all of them.
 
The program listed though may find drivers that are not needed (since you removed those other sound cards) that are not attached to any device now, and perhaps find them and then delete all that stuff.
 
You should not need anything except the Presonus AudioBox for everything with the newest drivers from Presonus that work (which should include the ASIO drivers, the Windows drivers like the WDM/KS whatever which will give latency, or the MME drivers which also are bad. The ASIO drivers are the only ones that will account for latency and what you record and what you hear will be at the same time, and not delayed by the drivers).
 
Think simple, you need no other unit except the AudioBox and to me, you can run your speakers from your computer and also listen on headphones by plugging into the back of the AudioBox. I do the same thing on my Babyface except I have one more headphone jack so I run my computer speakers from that, can listen to headphones also, and also have the output jacks that I can run to other powered speakers if I want to.
 
If I did not and only had one output for speakers I may have to switch speakers to listen to more than one set of speakers, but I use my computer speakers usually more than anything else except the headphones.
 
That is about it, simple, everything through the AudioBox, set up in Sonar with the outputs and inputs from the Audiobox and every sound through the Audiobox, whether movie, game, utube, itunes, your recordings whatever.
??
To me it is that simple.
 

tindog13
Somewhere in this forum I read that I should be using the ASIO drivers, which my sound card did not support. I purchased a sound card that does (Xonar DS) and installed it...

An audio interface such as a Presonus AudioBox functions as a soundcard and makes both the onboard Realtek audio and the Xonar DS card redundant. As Spacealf suggests, try connecting everything to the Presonus and disable the other two devices.

tindog13
... but I am discovering that to use the Audiobox as the sole sound device I have to plug speakers directly into it. I don't currently have speakers that will do that. I have a 5.1 system that only plugs into a sound card via mini plug. I can hear my tracks in headphone through the Audiobox, but not in the room...

I didn't realise that. I now understand why you are using both Xonar DS and Presonus AudioBox.

With my interface, you select the headphone outputs in it's software, not SONAR's. It may be the same with the Presonus.

...and you will have latency using the WDM/KS whatever or MME drivers...
Thanks spacealf, this is what I was afraid of.
 

I had a 4+1 system connected to a PC mostly for games and DVD play. When working in SONAR, I used my headphones exclusively. After exporting mixes, I would check them on the PC speakers. It worked pretty well. Now on a different system, there is still a set of speakers attached to the PC playing through whatever chip is in the PC and an AudioBox 44VSL for the SONAR interface with a separate set of monitors attached to it. I prefer not to mix Windows audio with SONAR. FWIW, never had a problem running the internal chip and an audio interface on the same PC.