Firepod - no sample rate switch issue???

The Presonus Firepod has been bashed repeadly on these forums for its supposedly inability to switch sample rates on the fly. Since I generally work in a single sample rate, it was hardly something I paid attention to. Last night I was working in a project at my typical default setting (44.1/24) and I needed to load an old project that was imported from old blackface ADATs at 48/16. After a few minutes it dawned on me that I did nothing special; it just worked.

So, I did a controlled experiment; Sonar 4.0.4, Firepod 2.14.25 driver and firmware, ASIO:

1) open and play a 44.1/24 project - no problems
2) close it
3) open and play a 48/16 project - no problems
4) close it
5) open and play a different 44.1/24 proect - no problems
6) close it
7) open and play a different 48/16 project - no problems
8) close it
9) create a new project at 44.1/24 - records and plays no problem

Never once did I open the Firepod ASIO panel, stop or start the audio engine, or restart Sonar. Worked like a charm. This is with the most recent Firepod driver and firmware. I didn't see any sample rate switching issue at all. Did I just get lucky? Is there some other sequence of events that causes the problem people are complaining about? Can someone else with a Firepod try the same experiment?

My system specs in the event that they're relavent here: Sonar 4.0.4, Firepod 2.14.25 driver and firmware, XP Home SP2, ASUS A8V Deluxe, Athlon X2 3800+, 2GB RAM, 40GB IDE, 160/160GB SATA, external 120GB firewire, using on-board 1394A port, Sonar multiprocessor engine on, AMD dual core patch installed.

JP

Very interesting. I must try that tonight when I get home as well.

Peace

ORIGINAL: Organum

I just recently purchased a firebox and Sonar 5 PE and am interesed in this forum issue. I, probably like most people, stick to 44.1 so I don't encounter any problems with my firebox. However, I am wondering - as I am a newbie at this -, whether I should be recording projects at a higher sampling rate? Is it true that the higher the sampling the higher the sound quality? My whole goal is to record something and than burn a CD of it. Somebody set me straight on this issue.

If you are happy with the sound at 44.1 I would stick to that. The important thing for quality is to record at 24bit sample rate is not that big a deal. Some converters sound better at the higher rate but in most cases it's not worth it unless you have just a small number of tracks, so you might decide per song. Say for example a quiet balad with just a few tracks go for 88.2 but on a song with a dense mix of a full band got with 44.1. It's worth a test or two just to see if you can hear a difference on the types of things you record. Distorted electric guitar might not be a good choice but vocals or acoustic instruments recorded with a good preamp and microphone might show off the extra quality.

ORIGINAL: Jesse G

Very interesting. I must try that tonight when I get home as well.

Peace

Well ? have they fixed it ? Can you also start Sonar with no error messages if the firepod is set to a sample rate other then the "default for new projects" in Sonar Options / Audio ?