Topic: asio4all question

I’ve had a good ol’ time with ASIO4All…can’t say I’ve tried other drivers besides the default in my HP. Sound quality isn’t an issue w/it AFAIK. Try it if you haven’t, nothing to lose if you can reinstall the M-Audio. You’ll like it like Mikey I’ll bet.

I remember as little as a year ago it seemed that many of the ASIO drivers that came along with various interfaces were absolute rubbish. I’ve seen dramatic improvement recently, probably as a response to the many hundreds of complaints makers were receiving. However, still, in my own experience I find that ASIO4ALL often works better than the native driver supplied with the product.

I find this has little or nothing to do with the DAW(s) you like or use. I’ve had equal results on every one from Cubase to Podium, REAPER and lately my fooling around with Ableton.

A case in point is that I have three Digitech devices. Now, Digitech makes their own drivers, each for any gadget that will connect to a PC — and they work. Yet I find that ASIO4ALL works as well or better than the native drivers supplied, so I don’t even bother to use them anymore. I prefer ASIO4ALL because I never have to change over when I connect something else (both Podium and Ableton may have a fit and crash if you attempt to switch within any project). I have experienced the same results, sometimes even lower latency, when using some of the older M-Audio interfaces and so on. I’ve tested more than a dozen various interfaces with similar results, although I must say, the drivers are getting better just like everything else being updated at the speed of light these days.

When I first heard of ASIO4ALL I actually laughed, doubting that anyone could offer an generic ASIO that worked so well with such a vast array of devices — for free no less — but indeed it does, working better than several native drivers produced by top name brands. And now it has an update, which I am using and seems to be a tad ‘smoother’ in function somehow. Perhaps the newer beta is more compatible as well, because ASIO4ALL worked with most but not all devices on the market. More often, it has been the user’s sound card that is the real problem — one huge item to beware of when picking out your next laptop. To me, the sound cards that come with certain brands and models of PC are the last big issue left with everything we’re attempting to achieve. Search, if you care to read up on the list of really bad cards.

Regarding the “sound quality” mention, this is a myth that I’m sure we’ll hear more of in lengthy nonsense debate threads on other forums. Look, if you can bring in at least 24bits at no less than 44.1kHz then the case is closed. Interfaces and their drivers that cost many hundreds of US dollars will get you better, but if you are needing or using these, you probably aren’t the sort of person who relies on the freeware version of Podium in the first place. I suggest only hounds and 3 or 4 humans on this planet can appreciate the difference anyway, and I also suggest that those humans are lying and would fail any blindfold test.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

If I were recording a symphony orchestra live, with all the dynamics in range that this will produce, then we can start talking again about ultra-high quality such as 192kHz and $1500 to $5000 for your interfaces.

You know, great producers and sound people have their various quirks and preferences. There are a few still around who believe recording rock bands that play Rolling Stones quality of music at 16 bits is plenty good enough. I mean it is rock and rough pop, after all. Some will say it keeps things just raunchy enough to sound honest. I’m not suggesting you do this, but some of the top dogs have and do.

The bit about the free version. No explanation needed. Even if you’re not on a super-tight budget, as most of us are here, there are enough other things we all need to acquire. At some point we end up with enough and adequate stuff. Podium has its shortcomings — and I sometimes discuss them — but whether the free or license version, only REAPER can compare in value. And that is saying a lot indeed. I now have both because of their affordable licenses, and they work well together, too. I couldn’t be happier really. REAPER is slightly bone-headed in the MIDI editor; Podium comes to the rescue. Podium has routing limitations; REAPER has almost none. I have Ableton, but it is more a distraction or toy, because I’m too old school to be a clip-based sound person.

Feature Requests. Well, who can say what or when? For many users, one of our side pursuits is fiddling with workarounds to do what we want. Every DAW has its issues. Recently Pro Tools had some bad bugs. I haven’t heard the fix on that yet. I find Podium much more intriguing and attractive in several ways. I’m currently at peace and still learning interesting little tricks to keep improving performance.