It's been documented here numerous times that if ASIO4ALL is installed but not used, it can interfere with regular ASIO drivers.

WASAPI is not a wrapper. It is a Windows driver model which is far in excess of what asio4all can do.

Don't spread misinformation.

Here's a link. https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/WASAPI

The thing is that while WASAPI has been around since the days of VISTA, Cakewalk has in recent times with MS I proved on what it can do. But it for sure is no wrapper and not I. The same class as ASIO4ALL.

mudgel
It's been documented here numerous times that if ASIO4ALL is installed but not used, it can interfere with regular ASIO drivers.

WASAPI is not a wrapper. It is a Windows driver model which is far in excess of what asio4all can do.

Don't spread misinformation.

Here's a link. https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/WASAPI

The thing is that while WASAPI has been around since the days of VISTA, Cakewalk has in recent times with MS I proved on what it can do. But it for sure is no wrapper and not I. The same class as ASIO4ALL.

hmm, shouldn;t have said "wrapper" maybe "layer", i was under the impression that wasapi also communicates via te same wdm/ks stack but i don't mind being corrected
 
however, "documented here numerous times" is all anecdotal no one has ever shown reproducible steps... it's just another easy blame for errors with sonar... how does it "interfere" with other drivers? there's no record of such on the asio4all forums, as there certainly would be if this were the case!  it has also existed happily with other "real" asio drivers without issue...
 
have you had trouble with it yourself, or are you just repeating what you've read in the forum?
 
the misinformation being spread is that asio4all is the issue - if it was really that way, how have i used it for years across multiple machines and devices without any trouble? i agree that one should use a manufacturer-supplied asio driver if one can, but sometimes there isn't such an option
 
as the recent ezine stats showed that's the most popular driver used with sonar, so it 's weird that this forum says it doesn't work, don't use it...
 
tl/dr? it's clearly specific to individual users (mis-configuration) and hardware, so presenting it as a general "no no" is the misinformation being spread
 
/fwiw
 
eta, only in exclusive mode is wasapi in kernal mode, in shared it is in user mode a al a4a
 
nice pic:
 

Several years ago (in early Win 7 days) I wanted to test my PC sound card, just test to see if it would work wasn't going to really use it, and installed ASIO4ALL.  That allowed Sonar (Probably in the Sonar 8/X1 days) to recognize it.  However, the ASIO4ALL caused problems with the ASIO driver for my recording interface, at the time a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.  To get the Saffire Pro 40 working again, I had to uninstall ASIO4ALL and reinstall the drivers for the Saffire Pro 40.
 
There are posts (several that I've seen) on the gearslutz forum about ASIO4ALL being a 50/50.

No, I have not had problems with ASIO4ALL, but I know that others have and WASAPI doesn't require any additional steps to make work (just select the driver mode.)  ASIO4ALL as you stated requires "configuration" in addition to installation.  Why make the process more complicated than it has to be and run the risk of it not working?
 

I think the most common problem with ASIO4ALL could be when a new user connects an external audio interface and either:
 
1. They had previously installed ASIO4ALL for use with the internal audio, and don't remove ASIO4ALL before installing the new drivers.
 
2. They mistakenly installed ASIO4ALL, thinking that was how to use ASIO with their new interface.

mudgel
It's been documented here numerous times that if ASIO4ALL is installed but not used, it can interfere with regular ASIO drivers.

Did you even read the original post?  He specifically said his hardware DOES NOT have ASIO drivers.  How is ASIO4ALL going to interfere with drivers that do not exist?!?!  
 
 
If you have a device with ASIO drivers and you are trying to use ASIO4ALL, you probably seriously misunderstand the purpose of ASIO4ALL so I'm not surprised you'd have issues with it.  

Ive used ASIO4ALL many times over the last ten years or so, with all kinds of sound devices, and while not perfected, and perhaps a little difficult to configure sometimes, it has never caused any major problems. At most it might require an uninstall and a reinstall of other true ASIO drivers....
 
Know its limitations and be happy!
R

mcdonalk
Can anyone recommend an ASIO USB audio driver?
 
I would like to eliminate my audio interface and use this set of speakers for our DAW activities:
 
http://www.klipsch.com/products/r-15pm-powered-monitors
 
These speakers implement, among other interfaces, a USB interface which connects to a PC via a USB interface for transporting audio. We have a pair already, and they are connected via USB to a PC using the Windows 10 USB audio driver (not ASIO), and they sound quite nice for their size. If I can get this to work out, we can eliminate our existing aging USB audio interface (and wall wart), amplifier, and older speakers.
 
 

After taking another look at those Klipsch R-15PM powered monitors, there appears to be two ways you can hook them up to a PC.
 
You could either use the PC internal audio out (or headphone out) to the aux input on the speaker, or use the USB audio connection as you have described.
 
Since you have already attached it via USB, there is probably a new audio driver installed by Windows on your PC.  Check in your DAW settings, to see what driver modes are available.  Windows 10 WASAPI works great with low latency if your DAW is compatible.  So if WASAPI is available, try that first and then see if you can select the new speakers as your DAW main audio outputs.
 
If that doesn't work you could try the other method and run an audio cable from your PC to the speaker aux input, then try to set up the WASAPI mode with your PC's internal audio driver.
 
Then as a last resort, you could try to install ASIO4ALL, with either of those methods for audio or USB.

pwalpwal
however, "documented here numerous times" is all anecdotal no one has ever shown reproducible steps... it's just another easy blame for errors with sonar... how does it "interfere" with other drivers? there's no record of such on the asio4all forums, as there certainly would be if this were the case!  it has also existed happily with other "real" asio drivers without issue...
 
have you had trouble with it yourself, or are you just repeating what you've read in the forum?
 
the misinformation being spread is that asio4all is the issue - if it was really that way, how have i used it for years across multiple machines and devices without any trouble? i agree that one should use a manufacturer-supplied asio driver if one can, but sometimes there isn't such an option
 
as the recent ezine stats showed that's the most popular driver used with sonar, so it 's weird that this forum says it doesn't work, don't use it...

I am usually defending ASIO4ALL in this forum and I use it on 2 computers for years. "Real" ASIO drivers (M-Audio, Behringer) are also installed there.
And I also think most asio4all problems reported before have roots in wrong configuration.
 
But since you ask about "interfere" and personal "trouble with it", yes I had it once. I have clearly "overplayed" with ASIO drivers on my primary computer. I had M-Audio, VS-20 and SB "real" drivers installed. All was working fine. Then, for test (and really as a prove that nothing bad can happened...) I have added ASIO4ALL there. After several "combination of settings" tests I no longer could use M-Audio and VS-20 without glitches (with original drivers). Uninstalling ASIO4ALL and reinstalling original drivers has not cured the problem. I was about digging deep to find what is changed (registry, ini files, driver chains, etc.), but in several days Windows 10 Anniversary update came and it has restored working environment for me.
 
Note that "problems" was not obvious. I have just started to get pops/clicks at places I am sure they was not before. I had to drastically increase the buffer size for M-Audio to almost avoid them. For VS-20 I could not avoid them with any settings. WDM was still working fine, but ASIO no longer.
 
Am I 100% sure the problem was coursed by ASIO4ALL? Not. But after that "accident", I think ASIO4ALL in fact can interfere with original drivers. I have not found how exactly. My conclusion from the story:
1) if manufacturer has proprietary ASIO driver, an attempt to use ASIO4ALL for the same device is looking for trouble
2) if some devices need ASIO4ALL while there are other interfaces in the same computer with own ASIO, the first thing to do in ASIO4ALL is disable all devices for which it is not needed (effectively avoiding (1) ).
 
 

The purpose for ASIO4ALL was to provide an asio driver when it was required by hardware but the manufacturer hadn't provided one. Eg Behringer recommends ASIO4ALL for its audio devices when asio is required.

I think a conflict occurs when you have a genuine asio driver and ASIO4ALL installed on the same machine. This would also explain why ASIO4ALL works on laptops as well as onboard sound cards. That also explains the reasoning behind Cakewalks Analytics which has found that ASIO4ALL is the most popular driver. See ezine from 2016/08

There also seems to be similar anecdotal evidence regarding the nVidia High Definition Audio driver conflicting with quality drivers for the same sound card.