Audio Device Preferences Question

[Robert27191]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section.

*Deep breath*

I have recently bought Focusrite's Scarlett 2i2 interface. Up until now, I have been using an Alesis io2. I ALWAYS have the Audio System set to ASIO.


Now, when I connect the Scarlett, in Options>Preferences>Audio Device, under the 'Asio Driver' tab, I have two options:

One reads 'Asio4All v2' - which is what it said with the Alesis io2.The other option read 'Focusrite USB 2.0 Audio Driver'.

When 'Asio4All vs' is selected, the Inputs and Outputs tabs all read 'Scarlett 2i2 USB 1' or 'Scarlett 2i2 USB 2'.

When 'Focusrite USB 2.0 Audio Driver' is selected, the Input and Output tabs read 'Input 1' or 'Input 2'.

I have attached two screen shots, showing the differences if the above isn't clear. The first picture shows 'Asio4All v2' selected, the second shows 'Focusrite' selected.

Could someone please explain what these options are and which one I should use? I am a fair novice at this and so really don't know which is the one I should go with. Would appreciate any comments.

Many thanks!

Robert

 

[Mo Facta]

Use the Focusrite one. ASIO4all wraps the WDM drivers in the ASIO protocol so you may struggle with latency later on down the line. ASIO4all is a generic ASIO driver to convert WDM (Windows Driver Model) drivers for use in ASIO-driven audio applications.

Cheers

 

[Robert27191]

Thanks for the very quick reply!
I had heard that ASIO is the best driver to use? Is this not the case? And is Focusrite a WDM?

 

[DM60]

When you select the ASIO4ALL driver, then it is asking you what audio unit do you want to use. It could be the internal card or the scarlet. When you use the real ASIO driver, it is for that unit only (Focusrite as that is a dedicated driver) so the second configuration is for outputs only.

For the ASIO outputs, in your case you only have two, but these drivers are written for probably a line of Focusrite interfaces. There other interfaces that have more inputs. Therefore one could enable/disable the inputs depending on the need.
The true ASIO driver is the best selection, ASIO4ALL is used only when there are no drivers written for a piece of hardware/interface (like an onboard sound card).

 

[Robert27191]

Thanks a lot for that David.
Your last line did sum up your explanation perfectly, and I understand that using the Focusrite driver is the correct one, but could you please explain - remember, I freely admit, you are talking to a techno idiot! - the rest of what you said!? I think I followed it, but some of it confused me. Thanks again.

 

[DM60]

Thanks a lot for that David.
Your last line did sum up your explanation perfectly, and I understand that using the Focusrite driver is the correct one, but could you please explain - remember, I freely admit, you are talking to a techno idiot! - the rest of what you said!? I think I followed it, but some of it confused me. Thanks again.

Yea, I was trying to give you enough information without making you take an IT class. Let me try this. ASIO4ALL is a fake driver and works with the OS (in this case I am assuming windows) and is a mediator between the DAW and the OS (since the driver is written to the OS). When it is a true ASIO driver, it is written to the hardware direct. Therefore the OS plays less of a roll in the interaction between the software (DAW) and the hardware. That is why the performance is improved as it bypasses much of the OS overhead.

For the ASIO driver, this is written for a series of hardware that uses much of the same hardware structure (core guts of the interface) only difference being, how many inputs or outputs. Being able to select these and disable/enable etc. can have various positives (example, I have a 8 input interface, but I am only using two, so I select two that I am using, disable the rest so I am not burdening the computer with unneeded overhead).

I hope I helped. I was just trying to give a little background to what was going on with the interface.

 

[TimOBrien]

Yes, Asio4all is a hack to try to make cheap onboard soundcard useable.

If a device has REAL asio drivers, USE THEM!