Bad sound quality

Some of the audio experts will be along shortly. Hang loose.

In response to George's suggestion: Thank you. I have done that. Also, I purchased my EM-U 0202 about two weeks ago.

The 'sound only on the left' can be solved by recording onto a stereo track. Your input selection may be for left or right, but not stereo. Make sure the E-Mu is putting out a stereo signal. I don't have an E-Mu, so I can't tell you where to look for it's settings. Make sure your cords are all in good working order, you can check that easily by reversing the cords and see if it records only on the right,
Make sure the sampling rate of MC and the E-Mu are the same. One may be set to 44.1kHz and the other at 48kHz, for example.
When recording audio in MC, get off the internet and turn off your modem. Turn off all virus scans, pop-up blockers, and firewalls. Turn off the Microsoft system sounds. Turn off the screen saver and wallpaper. Turn off all other programs which could rob resources and make the processor work harder than it has to, or that may make noise while recording.
Disable your onboard sound card, even if there are no apparent conflicts.
Tell us a little about your computer; how fast is it and how much memory does it have?

I turned off the internet and all programs. I also recorded at a low volume - none of the meters were at dangerous levels. The problem is about 80% eliminated. I still have some skipping and crackling.

Any additional suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Thank you. I will reconfigure my line inputs, and try to get stereo.

As for the processor speed, I do not know where to find it on my computer. (I thought that all of the info was under Accessories on the Program menu.) I do not have my purchase order with me.

If I can find the processor speed on my system, let me know how if you know.

Thanks agains.

Hello Michael,
It looks like you have downloaded and installed the V1.3 drivers, so you're good there.
Your speakers are plugged into the E-MU, correct?
Beagle and Greg touched on the cable connections, but I would like to focus on that a bit more.
Are you connected to the red and white RCA Line Ouput connections on the DP-01?
Does the cable you are using have a stereo plug at the other end (this will have two black rings on the shaft)?
If so, this is not the correct configuration for you E-MU inputs. These are mono inputs.
At this point, I am not clear on which input you are using, the 1/4", or the 1/8".
This next part can be confusing.
If you plug a stereo source into the 1/4" jack, you are sending the left output from the DP-01 to the right input.
If you plug a stereo source into the 1/8" jack, you are sending the left output from the DP-01 to the left input.
This is because plugging a stereo plug into a mono jack defeats half of the signal (the right side).
This is why you hear sound on only one side.
Maybe too much information, but if you know why somethng is happening, you are better equipped to fix it.
You will need:
2 RCA x 1/4" adapters
2 mono 1/4" cables (TS)

Connect one cable from the right (red) output of the DP-01 to the 1/4" input of the E-MU.
Connect the other from the left (white) output of the DP-01 to the center of the XLR jack.

This will carry your complete stereo output to the E-MU.

That takes care of the physical connections.
For the crackles, watch the clip indicators on the face of the E-MU. If these light up, you will get pops.
Try the gain controls at the 12:00 position. If the incoming signal is too hot, turn down the output from the DP-01.
There can be some trial and error here. You want a strong, but clean signal going into MC.
The next step is to set MC to communicate with the E-MU.
In MC, go to Options>Audio.
Set your Buffer size to 256 initially.
Open the ASIO Panel, and set the ASIO latency to 10ms.
You may have to do some fine tuning, but this should be a good start. Play with it some, and let us know how it goes.

It's kind of an odd setup on the inputs, Greg.
They are all mono, which is fairly normal.
There is a 1/4" input, dedicated to right input.
There is also an 1/8" input for those little mics that come packaged with PC's. This shares the left input with an XLR/1/4" input.
Can't say as I've ever seen anything like it, but I kind of get why they did it that way.
And it is E-MU. Good stuff, but always a bit off center.
Probably why I like them.

Thanks guys. You are the greatest. I need to digest and implement your new suggestions over the next few days and see how it goes.

Let me know if you ever need any complementary tax advice........................

....tax advice....
Don't pay 'em. They are unconstitutional, the amendment was never properly ratified, and they are "voluntary", actually, listed as "voluntary compliance", which indicates you comply voluntarilly, but some how that expression has been perverted to imply manditory compliance, not sure how that happened.
I have a friend in Houston, Tx who has never paid income taxes, he's over fifty now, and never once paid. Always works under the table, makes a good living, all in cash, claims as long as he never fills out a tax form, they'll never catch him.
Wish I'da thought of that.
Later
Albert

I've just downloaded the manual for the DP-01.
Look under the section "Using the USB connection".
The Backup files are proprietary, and MC4 won't be able to read those.
However, you can export individual mono tracks or the full stereo mix as WAV files, which MC4 can read.
The procedure looks a bit cumbersome, but it should be doable.
Give that a shot, and let us know how it goes.

Oh, yeah, those wireless devices can cause problems.
The I/O buffer's default is 128, I believe, and shouldn't be changed unless you are having problems with your audio. Which you were, but 2048 is a little too high. Set it back to the default and see if it works as well as 256 does.
This is a hobby for me, too, but I don't have a wife to temper my bouts of GAS.
Now unemployment does that for me.

That's good, it means everything is working well.
If you set the buffers too high, it will take longer for them to fill, resulting in stuttering and slow playback. If they're too low, skips, audio loss and dropouts can occur.

Looks like you are making progress.
As to the lights, the green light should flicker when you hit your loudest passages. It can even stay on for a sustained loud passage. If it never comes on, you might want to boost your levels. If the levels are too low, you are running the risk of boosting background sound, including electrical noise, later. This is the "noise floor", and you want to keep your signal as far above that as you can.
The light to worry about most is the red one. If it flickers, you are clipping. This can result in pops and other nasty distortion.
Ideally, you want to see some activity from the green light, and none from the red one.