Hi all,
 
been using sonar x1 for around a year now, but due to my lack of knowledge had always used ASIO4ALL. Im now in the process of setting up my Xonar DG soundcard to run in WDM. I have the Record Bit Depth set to 24bit, and had been recording alright with the Audio Driver Bit Depth at 16bit. But as my sound card is capable of accepting 24bit ive been trying to set the bit depth to 24Bit, the problem i have is that there is a constant hiss, and playback of projects that run fine set at 16bit are inaudible at 24bit.
Im probably missing something basic but i have quite limited knowledge of the technical behind the scenes stuff!
If my sound card accepts 24bit, what is causing the hiss, and overall terrible performance when i set it to 24bit?
thanks,
 
James.

The manual for the Xonar DG states it natively supports ASIO 2.0.

Before doing anything else I'd switch to this driver mode in your preferences.

It would help if you posted your system specs - which Windows, 32 or 64 bit, which hardware, which version of X1, etc.

Paul P


The manual for the Xonar DG states it natively supports ASIO 2.0.

Before doing anything else I'd switch to this driver mode in your preferences.

It would help if you posted your system specs - which Windows, 32 or 64 bit, which hardware, which version of X1, etc.

thanks for the quick reply,
the reason ive been trying WDM is because i cant use my other audio input devices with ASIO, USB Mic, GT-Pro, USB MIDI.
Do you think im trying to achieve something that isnt possible with WDM? This is the main reason i use to use ASIO4ALL drivers.
I have a pretty basic system running windows 7 64bit, Pentium Dual-Core E5800 @ 3.20GHz, 8 GB RAM, and Sonar X1 Essential.
 

I doubt the driver change causes the hiss, or at least I wonder. Usual cause of such is a plug left half-way in or left unplugged. Just to eliminate such trivial cause, double check all connections.
I have no idea what is the role of bit change in muting your 16 bit projects. It might even be inevitable. Someone wiser than me surely answers that.

But what kind of a USB-mic are you using? Does it affect the hiss if you unplug it? A USB-mic is a soundcard itself, and AFAIK it should also be set to WDM/24 bits. And what about the GT Pro? It has it's own drivers as well, doesn't it? Being an ASIO-supporting tool does it have it's own bit depth/driver setting as well?

ALSO, changing bit depth and drivers often requires re-booting the computer, or at least SONAR.

IMO you'd make your recording tasks easier if you could get yourself an external USB-soundcard with MIDI connection and start to use a normal microphone. There are also inexpensive PCI cards with MIDI, and proper mic connections, but I don't know if they have phantom power, which would be needed with condenser mics.


You are now using three different tools that can be called soundcards and that can easily cause hiccups. I assume the computers integrated soundcard is not selected anywhere in SONARs settings, because that would be fourth!

thanks mate,
yeh i think i probably will run myself into more and more problems trying this sort of setup.
ill go back to asio4all until i have the money to get a new sound card.
its not all that reliable but at least it works with all my gear.

SOP for noise and routing issues...

Break your audio chain as close to the middle as possible.

Test first half, then second half for continuing issue.

Testing methods include but not limited to meters, portable speakers, cans, replacement cables, extra gear, be inventive.

Whichever half exhibits the problem, break it in half (quarter points) and test both pieces.

Continue till you halve (!) the problem isolated to a single cable, device, or piece of software.

Modify or replace offending componet.

Track on!

Were talking an ASUS PCI gaming sound card! Not a proper audio interface for DAW recording so no wonder. 

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132020

Cactus Music


Were talking an ASUS PCI gaming sound card! Not a proper audio interface for DAW recording so no wonder. 

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132020

But he was recording OK before changing bit depth (I'm not saying bit depth change was the cause, though).

I also suspect that sound card as the issue. Although it may be capable of 24bit, it's not designed for applications such as Sonar.....especially for $25. Perhaps invest in a newer card. You have a PCI slot, so you could even try an Audiophile 2496. They are excellent, and cost well under $100 (I have one myself).

if youre running vista or later never use wdm. its a non-native wrapper to wasapi. first switch to wasapi mode. next make sure ypur soundcard in windows prefs is set to 24 bit. then make sure the usb mic is set to the same bit depth and sample rate. stay away from asio4all because it emulates asio as a wdm wrapper and since wdm is a wrapper to wasapo youve got two layers of software abstraction and conversion before and after it hits sonar. thats prone to flaws