Input Echo - "Springy" Sound

Disable your "Direct Monitoring" if you are monitoring the track/DAW.
 
Input Echo allows you to monitor the live track input/output from Sonar.
 
Direct Monitoring features on the hardware allows you to hear the input signal BEFORE it hits the DAW software/track.
 
If you have them both going at the same time you will hear both signals at the same time causing that "delay"because the signal from the track will be slightly delayed due to latency between the hardware and the DAW.
 
Cheers.

aaaand just in case this is the problem/confusion...
 
You don't actually need Input Echo enabled to record into an audio track. That is only there so you can hear what you are playing as you play it. If you don't need to hear the input signal or you are using direct monitoring from another source like your interface/mixer or otherwise then you can leave that disabled and the signal will still get recorded.
 
With MIDI tracks though, if you are using an external controller, it DOES need to be enabled to allow the MIDI signals through. That's called MIDI Echo.
 
Confusing? You betchyernutz it is. lulz

Yup... check it out. I know the sound you are referring to and I am quite sure this is due to having both DI monitoring and Input Echo going at the same time.
 
There ARE other possible causes though but to determine those causes the DI/Input Echo thing needs to be eliminated.
 
If that does not work then I would say perhaps there is a "driver mode" issue/conflict (I've had that weirdo sound incurred when mismatching drivers or simply choosing the wrong driver). Are you using ASIO or another driver mode? Are you using any multiple interfaces (such as a USB mic and your interface/soundcard at the same time)? Are you using internal routing programs such as Voicemeeter?
 
Don't worry about those questions until you test disabling the DIM or IE stuff. Just posting it preemptively.
 
As far as your DIM being too quiet issue... this of course can be dealt with by adjusting your levels. Instead of trying to make your direct monitor signal LOUDER try turning down the other signals. If this affects the signal that you want sent/tracked/etc then you can create a sub bus (or headphone mix/bus) using sends or maybe your interface has options for creating headphone submixes. That can be complicated stuff and I personally can't help with that without having my hands on the rig/seeing what's up but generally totally doable.
 
So... send everything EXCEPT your voice to a single bus (maybe separate from your Master depending on the situation), turn down the bus until it levels out with your direct input.
 
Problem is DIM signals are raw and unaffected so you try to compete with a bunch of compressed/limited/effected signals it might get overpowered (which seems to be what's happening). You turn down those signals en masse then the signal can cut better. If you can figure out the routing you could even sidechain a compressor to "duck" the signal when you start talking (like radio DJ's do).
 
 
 
 
BUT... that is a whole pile of wackiness that need not be worried about until you check out the dual signal thing. All that REALLY matters in the end is what the end listener hears. Everything else is comfort for the artists/speaker as they do their thing. If you can handle just listening to your voice through your skull (no input echo or dim at all) and can mix it in post production then you don't gotta worry about it at all.
 
Cheers.

Tried a couple different things:
 
1) Enabled ONLY direct monitoring through the Saffire Pro 40.  Very dry vocal sound in the headphones, pretty low volume (had to adjust the backing tracks output so I could crank the headphone output), but a clean sound.
 
2) Enabled ONLY input monitoring through SONAR. Latency not noticeable at 64 samples (not to me, at least), levels were much better, and the "springy" sound was a little less pronounced.  However, it still had a "processed" sound to it, not the clean, dry sound I got through direct monitoring. (I should note that I didn't have any console emulators or other effects active when monitoring/tracking.)
 
Ultimately, the recorded audio sounded just fine, no matter how I monitored it, so in the end it doesn't really matter. Disabling either DM or Input Echo did improve matters, as opposed to having them both enabled, but it still doesn't sound quite right going straight through SONAR. However, since MOST of the time I'm monitoring through a reverb anyway, I suppose it's a moot point.  If I start noticing slushy recorded audio, then I guess it's time to tear down the house and build it back up!

No sleep make Beepster go completely nonsensical.
 
Actually, not. You're making perfect sense.
 
As I stated before, I'm not running any effects on anything when monitoring through SONAR. No master buss effects, no emulations, and in this case, no reverb. I kept everything absolutely clean to try to determine where the splashy sound is coming from.
 
I've also routed the signal directly to my headphones out instead of going through the master bus just to see if there's something happening in the signal chain that I didn't miss, but it's the same thing.
 
No matter. The recorded audio sounds fine, which is what's most important.