Need help from EMU s/card users please

Being a fellow 1616M user I wished I could help you. You're over my head. In fact I think my head is spinning after reading your post. Patchmix is a bear to use and understand. It's almost like there are too many choices for an average yuk like me. Good luck to you. I'll be following this post.

you won't be able to access the slave PC's dock from the master PC's patchmix directly. What you are going to have to do is use an optical cable and use adat lightpipe. Create the extra patchmix channels on your master pc patchmix to accept all of the lightpipe channels. Then add an ASIO send on each of the lightpipe channels and they should show up in sonar.

Cheers for your responses chaps!

My problem (in slightly clearer terms to help anyone understand this better):

Current Patchmix setup is 3 mixer strips, ASIO 1/2, 3/4, and 5/6 to send 5.1 audio from Sonar to physical outputs:

ASIO 1/2 = front left and right channels, which has an insert "send to physical out dock 1/phones" on this mixer strip.
ASIO 3/4 = centre and LFE, which has insert "send to physical out dock 2 L/R" on this mixer strip.
ASIO 5/6 = surround left and right, which has insert "send to physical out dock 3 L/R" on this mixer strip.
Note: I've done this as I'm (obviously) using the 3x 1/8" outputs to 6 RCA/PHONO inputs on my amp to achieve 5.1 sounds.

My issue was: if I made another mixer strip with physical input (using any input type/connector) I couldn't put a insert "send to physical out" on that strip and chose my existing dock 1, 2, or 3 as physical outputs as they were greyed out (couldn't select them) due to already being assigned/used. This seriously confused me as to how I could simply mix 2 pc's audio together and send the mixed audio over just 6 channels to my amp using dock outputs 1,2, and 3. What I found most amusing is the EMU soundcards/Patchmix are supposed to be very versatile but are seemingly quite the flippin'opposite!!

The solution then?....(put into my words so my peanut brain can understand Duojets message):

1) Connect both EMU microdocks together with a regular optical lead.
2) Master pc: Configure Patchmix to use ADAT as digital input type
3) Slave pc: Configure Patchmix to use ADAT as digital output type
3) Slave pc: Patchmix: strip 1 = ASIO 1/2 with insert "send to physical out" to ADAT 1/2
3) Slave pc: Patchmix: strip 2 = ASIO 3/4 with insert "send to physical out" to ADAT 3/4
4) Slave pc: Patchmix: strip 3 = ASIO 5/6 with insert "send to physical out" to ADAT 5/6
5) Master pc: Patchmix: strip 1 = ASIO 1/2 with insert "send to physical out" to dock 1/phones
6) Master pc: Patchmix: strip 2 = ASIO 3/4 with insert "send to physical out" to dock 2 L/R
7) Master pc: Patchmix: strip 3 = ASIO 5/6 with insert "send to physical out" to dock 3 L/R
8) Master PC: Patchmix: strip 4 = ADAT 1/2 with insert "send to ASIO/host" 7/8
9) Master PC: Patchmix: strip 5 = ADAT 3/4 with insert "send to ASIO/host" 9/10
10) Master PC: Patchmix: strip 6 = ADAT 5/6 with insert "send to ASIO/host" 11/12
11) Master PC: SONAR: (in normal project) insert 3 audio tracks
12) Master PC: SONAR: Audio track 1 = input ASIO 7/8, output ASIO 1/2
13) Master PC: SONAR: Audio track 2 = input ASIO 9/10, output ASIO 2/3
14) Master PC: SONAR: Audio track 3 = input ASIO 11/12, output ASIO 5/6

The above is how I've understood Duojects messagae - can someone confirm or deny this for me please (if you've bothered reading it all)?!? It does seem to make sense that if Patchmix can't route audio as desired then send it so SONAR and let it do all the re-routing instead.

Thanks in advance for your persistance!\

PS. Apologies to Cakewalk - I know this could've / should've been posted in gear section but I suspised this was something that SONAR itself could sort out hence why it's in this forum!

No you can't run 2 EMU cards in the same pc, but (as of a day or twos time) I will have 1 in each pc and connected together only by an single (optical) audio lead. That is if my above response to Duojets message is correct anyways.

As for the "downgrade" to the 1820 from the 1616 - I see it as an upgrade actually. I've ordered the 1820 as it had more I/O connections than 1616 (analogue anyway), it doesn't require powering from electrical socket (haven't got spare socket in studio/room), and was cheaper on ebay (item is new) than what I'd recently paid for my 1616. Either way I just wanted 2nd unit so could run and manage 2 pc's audio, and have the availability of connecting both EMUs at least via the analogie dock way (if I couldn't work out that ADAT lightpipe method)!

Still would def appreciate a yey or ney with the routing clarification in my previous post though please (as I haven't received my 1820 yet so can't test the theory)

Sussed it - I was trying to set it up in my x86 version of Sonar (in x64 XP) which doesn't have proper ASIO support (clicked on wrong Sonar short-cut by mistake - doh)! I loaded x64 Sonar, chose ASIO 7/8 input (then had to enable input echo) and it worked !!! Now I've just got a few days worth of setting up a huge template file to do and I can actually then just concentrate on writing some choons !! Thank-you very much to all that have helped me out with getting my studio setup (esp Duojet). I owe you a massive debt of gratitude.