About to give up on Sonar

Not sure what you've tried already but have you tried selecting ASIO or WDM in Preferences-->Audio-->Playback & Recording-->Driver mode?

MME really isn't the best mode to use. If you aren't getting anything to select in Preferences-->Audio-->devices after that I'd try an uninstall and reinstall of the Lexicon.

That'd be my starting point anyway.......

Hey.. I read the user manual of the lexicon alpha...

I've got a mind to think that this is a settings problem.  Not a Sonar problem.  To find out, I would suggest checking out your card in at least two places.

A.  The cubase LE that came with your card.

B.  The free version of Presonus Studio one.  http://studioone.presonus.com/free/



However, before you check the card out..

Goto  

Control Panal --- > Programs ---> uninstall.   Remove your Alpha Drivers.  Re-install..  That gives you a clear starting point for this test, and the drivers should setup your system accordingly.

Use the Alpha manual to follow the directions specifically in Cubase.  And set up the card properly. 

Your manual is here

http://www.lexiconpro.com/system/documents/837/original/Alpha_Manual_18-0346V-D.pdf?1330360650


If everything is working fine.  Use the Sonar Manual to set up the card in Sonar.

If things still fail, call Cakewalk..  They are ultra friendly.  But there is no reason for this.  Its got to be a settings problem.  Or a bumb card...  or a crap card...  don't worry, I've got a real piece of work for an audio card too... 

Wish the economy was a little better.  oh well...

If I try any input device other than MME 32 bit, no sound comes out on playback.

There's your problem. Work on getting it to work with ASIO or WDM mode and it will work better. I can't believe you've gone 2 years without fixing this. However, the problem is not Sonar. Get past that and you might fix it. 

Beepster


Get a better interface.

+1
 
the lexicon alpha has some of the most erratic reviews of any budget soundcard... a quick scan of reviews on amazon and guess what..crappy playback sound are the predominant 1* reviews....
 
to the op..a guy with sonar 8.5.3 finally got the alpha running on asio... using the asio4all driver..,

Beepster


Considering you can get quality interfaces for under $300 these days (if you don't need a ton of inputs) there really isn't much reason to use crap.

LOL. That was funny!!!

yes sonar is an excellent suite , a better interface is needed i think

this driver /audio setup issue is one of the most basic first steps you sort out when you get sonar lol 

Go wdm or asio

FastBikerBoy


While I agree with all saying a better interface is a good idea, I find it hard to believe that the Lexicon is *that* bad.

On my laptop Sonar runs quite happily at 128 samples (albeit with ASIO4ALL) using a £4.50 USB plugin thing from flebay which is replacing my knackered onboard soundcard.

I only use it for testing stuff though so no serious music production, but my point is it still runs and probably could use it if 'for real' I had to.

Getting away from MME is the first thing to try before splashing out £/$ on a new interface, especially if you're a once a month type of user.

Agreed. I have no trouble running Sonar on one laptop with a realtek and another with soundtech onboard audio chips (I use these onboard soundcards if I don't have my Line 6 handy). Both use WDM drivers under 60ms latency. Not exactly realtime performance machines but the timing is solid and they're quite functional. I also have a system running WinXP with Sonar 4 and a twelve year old SB16 and again the timing is solid with under 60ms latency. The Lexicon is certainly adequate unless they have severe driver issues. For what it's worth, pretty much everything on my soundcloud page was recorded on the SB16 with Sonar 4 or previous. Not that these are examples of high end recording but clearly you can do some decent multitrack recording with budget gear if you take care.
 
 
http://soundcloud.com/stoons-1

But is that soundcard actually designed to handle his modern system?

To the OP,I had a terrible time with a Tascam US600,it would constantly,not be recognized,or the pop up"Being used by other application",when there was no other application.

This was all because,it was advised to use WDM,with Tascam products,and yes MME,was the only option that produced sound[albeit appallinlgly],ASIO did not work-total frustration,I suspect it was a "dud",I ended up swapping it for the only similarly priced interface,this dealer had,a cakewalk UA25-EX-USB 1.1,but it works great.

Lately,Ive been using my Dell Laptop,a 2011 XPS 15" L502x,and have been using the onboard Realtek,with ASIO4all,and getting very good results,just using the headphone out into my stereo with some ancient TANNOY Devon speakers.

So it IS NOT SONAR,it is indeed,the soundcard,and how you set it up,that IS the issue.

I would like to get an RME Babyface to work with both systems,as RME seems to have the most success using the USB protocol,but $800 is too large a hit[in one go ATM],so my Cakewalk UA25-EX is good enough for tracking mic'ed signals in,and for listening back,and for experimenting,my laptops inbuilt is fine.

For final mixing/mastering[as I'm not ready to spend money on others mastering yet] I'm quite impressed with the UA25-EX,as I'm sure the conversion/pre's are as good as anything under $600,even though it's only USB 1.1,as it NEVER drops out,and has been flawless,this kind of reliability IS really what you wan't,and many brands using USB,can do this nowdays.

Also,at low volumes,the Tannoy Devon[which apparently used to be considered "studio monitors"] are really clean,as to how much they are coloring the mix,I'm unsure,but lately I'm preferring using the laptop setup,and find the Tannoy speakers less tiring than the KRK Rokit's for long periods of time,EVEN though I'm using the onboard Realtek@ 24bit 48KHz.

So DO NOT blame SONAR,you need an interface,that will have the spec's/reputation,that is appropriate for your recording/playback,not to change Daw,because the interface is junk.

Bob

Fog


the drivers on their site are dated 2010? 

my ozone works now , BUT for 3 months didn't.. (m audio didn't listen !!) enough for me to go out and buy another card NOT by m-audio.. so sometimes thats the cheaper option.

windows updates etc. often "throw" drivers.. and if they aren't updated / fixed.. then not much hope... as a result I won't endorse or buy any of their products now (and I have a fair few)

Hmmm,I'm looking intently,at the M-Audio Pro Fire 610,as it gets almost the same Low Latency Performance,as an RME Babyface,but even though it's cheaper,I won't be able to use it with my modern-No Firewire laptop.


This Audio Interface-"Must be as much,or more expensive than your computer" is getting tiresome,I'm actually wondering what the NEW Behringer USB/FW interfaces will be like,most places don't even have them yet,as they're so new,and of course in Oz they're like a  hundred dollars more,than they are in the US.


Bob

bobguitkillerleft

This Audio Interface-"Must be as much,or more expensive than your computer" is getting tiresome,

Bob

Whoever said that is absolutely wrong.  Look at Echo Audio, Roland and Presonus.  They make excellent interfaces with solid drivers.  Get USB for use on laptop and desktop.  I have an Echo Audo 8Pre and a Roland Quad Capture.  I play guitar and MIDI drums and latency is a non-issue.

Well I was actually discussing this earlier with someone about the latency thing. If it is a HUGE deal then yeah, maybe not the greatest device but last night I did a test and at the 10ms buffer setting (which is the max) I was getting around 50ms roundtrip. When I played there was a noticeable delay. When I pushed it down to the 4ms setting any noticeable delay (to my ears) was gone and I was getting 22ms roundtrip without dropouts, clicks, pops, etc. The buffer slider goes down to 1ms so I'll probably push it further just out of curiosity but really I'll probably keep it at 4ms because I can't really notice much difference between the direct monitoring and that... and it most certainly is not effecting my tracking. Numbers are numbers. Usefulness is god. Cheers.

BTW... the instrument input is proving to be very nice. As a guitar dude you'll probably appreciate that. Not sure how much the inputs vary on the different models.

I have the Scarlett 18i6. I think the Saffire series is supposed to be better but a little more expensive. I'm still testing it out but so far I'm pretty happy. Cheers.

If you don't need the extra analog ins the smaller 8i6 version has a loopback function so you can have a channel recording from other programs in case you're interested in that type of stuff. See ya later.