Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth

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overdub
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2016/12/18 17:55:30 (permalink)

Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth

I just dropped some cash on a bluetooth speaker for improving laptop sound quality and volume.  You might have already guessed that SONAR looks directly at the bluetooth device for a playback driver.  How was I to know that the fantastic WASABI drivers for laptops work great for the laptop UNTIL I connect a bluetooth device?  Some of you already know that SONAR and Bluetooth don't seem to be acquainted...duh...but, of course, I assumed that SONAR would play back normally on the laptop and simply send the audio on to the Bluetooth transmitter.  I'm guessing things just don't quite work that way...my bad.
 
So, should I forget about bluetooth, return the new speaker and go sulk in the corner...or...is there an answer that will solve the problem and have SONAR play nicely with Bluetooth?
 
There was a time when I couldn't get SONAR, on a laptop, to play audio via an HDMI connection to a large screen TV.  But then one day I tried it again and it worked like a charm as though someone had developed a driver for HDMI which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, making me a very happy camper at the time.  Will I need another 'miracle' to happen so this laptop will play back SONAR projects via Bluetooth?
Has anyone out there, in this fantastic group, ever successfully used SONAR over Bluetooth?  Is this a simple configuration fix?
 
Thanks in advance for your assistance with this problem.  I really need a simple, portable on-site solution that doesn't require cables.
 
Dub

Dub Campbell
Nashville, Tennessee Music City USA
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8 Replies Related Threads

    Zo
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/18 21:03:45 (permalink)
    You should stay away from either bluetooh and wasapi ....bleutooth for dpc latency and sound quality ( yep bluetooth protocol is another quality crusher as it compresses ) and wasapi for driver ....even if cakewalk have optimised thing ...

    It all depend at the end on. What you wanna do ....personnaly for being light in the go i bought the exellent roand ua mobile , 32 bits resolution , one of the fastest drivers i tried via usb ( 48 samples easy like a charm ) and 120 gramms ....

    For sale  (PM me) : transfert ilok included
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    #2
    dwardzala
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/18 21:20:08 (permalink)
    Disagree on the WASAPI part (if you're on Win10) - the driver, at least for playback, is solid and I have used it to work on some mixes and program some midi stuff.
     
    I do agree on the bluetooth part, though.

    Dave
    Main Studio- Core i5 @2.67GHz, 16Gb Ram, (2) 500Gb HDs, (1) 360 Gb HD
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    #3
    John
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/18 23:31:20 (permalink)
    I have a pair of bluetooth headphones and they work quite well. Sonar can access the driver directly. I have the Sony MDR ZX330BT.  A little bassy but usable. Its for my laptop when not wanting critical listening.     

    Best
    John
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    Cactus Music
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/19 01:04:38 (permalink)
    Bluetooth has about 40ms of latency built in to the spec, So just don't try any overdubbing. But that said it's real annoying when your editing and the note you heard as bad and wanted to correct is now gone from the screen.
    I find the sound quality is pretty good, I have a pair of Sony's I got from Costco for $60. But They mostly sit in the box they came in.
     
    WASAPI has improved working with on board audio a  bit more,  but  beware that you'll need to check your offset and correct it before overdubbing new tracks. Not that anybody will be overdubbing anything plugged in to the mini jack of a  computer :0   I worked all day with a W7 laptop WASAPI exclusive without issue  but I was 100% INB with midi files and VST's. 

    Johnny V  
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    #5
    Anderton
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/19 11:44:09 (permalink)
    If you have The Big Book of SONAR Tips, check out "SONAR Meets Bluetooth" on page 299.

    The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
    #6
    Zo
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/19 20:40:56 (permalink)
    dwardzala
    Disagree on the WASAPI part (if you're on Win10) - the driver, at least for playback, is solid and I have used it to work on some mixes and program some midi stuff.
     
    I do agree on the bluetooth part, though.


    I don t think we have the same view of what solid means ...but if you say "solid enougth" to run mixes ...this is a good news ...

    For sale  (PM me) : transfert ilok included
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    #7
    Anderton
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/20 02:28:56 (permalink)
    Zo
    It all depend at the end on. What you wanna do ....personnaly for being light in the go i bought the exellent roand ua mobile , 32 bits resolution , one of the fastest drivers i tried via usb ( 48 samples easy like a charm ) and 120 gramms



    48 sample buffers is good, but I'd bet the reason you can get away with that few is because Roland is conservative with building in USB safety buffers. Your RTL is probably a lot more than you think. I measured RTL with WASAPI, it's 7 ms or so and is solid with substantial projects...for which I'm very grateful, because I no longer need to carry an interface and USB cable when I travel.
     
    The downside is I miss the stimulating conversation with airport security when they want to know what "that box" is, and why I have all those wires in my suitcase...

    The first 3 books in "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording" series are available from Hal Leonard and http://www.reverb.com. Listen to my music on http://www.YouTube.com/thecraiganderton, and visit http://www.craiganderton.com. Thanks!
    #8
    overdub
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    Re: Need Help w/ SONAR Playback on Laptop and Bluetooth 2016/12/20 03:04:28 (permalink)
    Thanks everyone for chiming in.  I probably should explain why I want to use bluetooth at all since I'm aware of its inherent shortcomings, i.e. latency and poor sound quality.  I wouldn't rely on bluetooth for critical listening at all.  But there are times when I want to do some clean-up/set-up type work and I'm seeking a handy way to do utility stuff during those otherwise unproductive times.  You know the times...during TV commercials, waiting at the airport, while in bed but not sleepy enough just yet, sittin' on the pot!  LOL!
    I don't want to be bored when I can do something worth while and I'll bet most of you are the same way, so, why not grab the laptop and be useful, even for a few minutes here and there.
     
    That's the main reason I'm trying to get bluetooth to work...just as a more positive way to kill time when I can't be in the studio where everything is wired to the hilt.
     
    Still, I haven't been able to connect to a bluetooth speaker or a headset and still run the audio engine.  I've tried the WASAPI and the ASIO drivers to no avail.  I don't care about BT latency or sound quality for what I want to do...it certainly wouldn't be for mixing although it's always good to hear mixes through various media.
     
    Craig, no, I don't have your book yet, sorry, but it's on the to do list.  Sidebar: You and I first met back in the 80s!  It was in San Diego at a hotel where you gave a seminar on this new thing called MIDI!!!  Yeah, remember those days?  It was the early days of ATARI and Commodore and IBM and Apple soon came in and wiped the others out.  So, I've known you for quite a while. Congrats, old friend, on all of your many accomplishments.  I'm happy to have seen you join the Cakewalk family. A belated Welcome to the Group!
     
    Back to the bluetooth matter...I can use bluetooth to play back audio on YouTube or any other media player on the laptop, so, isn't there a way to route audio from SONAR thru some other app for Windows 10 and have that audio then go out to the bluetooth receiver??  You know, like an isolation transformer between SONAR sound and Windows Media Player or something similar?  Seems to me some software 'Mixer' should do the trick!
     
     

    Dub Campbell
    Nashville, Tennessee Music City USA
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