Will mankind ever be able to record via laptop? (For ComPuteR GeEks only!)

VirtualSamana

New member
Wish I actually was a computer geek

Here's the dealio. I want to record atleast 4 channels of audio simultaneously.

I've got a Toshiba Satellite - Celeron running XP ( 1.1 Ghz, 256 Megs o' RAM )

My choicest options:

Firewire (via PCMCIA adapter) - MOTU 828
USB - Quattro
PCMCIA - Layla

I am willing to shell out the dough for any of these but I have a major problem.

I checked my device manager in XP and it looks like my video card is using IRQ 11.

Here are some other devices sharing IRQ 11:
my modem
ethernet
internal soundcard
USB
PCMCIA

Since I won't be using my modem, ethernet adapter, or internal soundcard I am not worrying about these causing me a headache. What I am anticipating being a problem is my Fucking video card sharing an IRQ with both my USB ports and my PCMCIA
slots. I think that recording 4 streams of audio simultaneously plus playing back 2 channels minimum is going to cause problems.

I don't have a version of XP I can load w/o ACPI and I don't think its possible to change anything from the bios of this laptop. Actually I am going into areas I don't have a clear knowledge of so I'll stop talking out of my ass before I embarass myself.

How is it possible for anyone to record on their laptop w/o similar problems? I don't understand. Someone please enlighten me.
 
You can disable ACPI without using BIOS or re-formatting. I have a link (I don't trust my memory). I'll look it up in a sec... Ok, here it is.

http://www.staudio.de/kb/english/2000xp/

This is what I had to do to use my C-Port with their older drivers. Works like a champ.

Word of caution though... make sure your system is clean and working well (no driver problems, etc.) before you do this - the procedure re-installs (automatically) most of your system's drivers.
 
I would stay away from the USB choice. Firewire is much more dependable for continuous data, of course I think the PCMCIA Layla would be the best choice. RME also has a laptop card. I don't see a problem with the IRQs either, if those devices will not be used they can be disabled if you're concerned with an IRQ conflict. Many of the devices on my machine are IRQ 11 and i have no problems. hope this helps :D
 
On my desktop, my delta shares IRQ 17 with the motherboard's built in audio, USB, and firewire. I have no problems recording 8 simultaneous tracks of 24bit 96K audio with this setup.
 
If I wanted a laptop solution today, it would be firewire. USB 2.0 would also be fine, but products for it are just hitting the market now. In another 4-12 months there should be a bunch of USB 2 audio hardware out there.
 
I have a Sony Vaio 800mhz/ 512M ram, a Tascam US-428, and Cuabse SX. I did some basic optimizations of Win XP, but didn't shut down all the fancies- works fine. No problems with 4 tracks of 44.1/24bit at a time.

Granted, I'd PREFER a MOTU 828, but I bought the USB device when I had a laptop w/o firewire. Couldn't afford the MOTU, anyway.

It works.

Take care,
Chris
 
the motu is good, the rme multiface with the catdbus interface..thats the best i'd say.. my close friend just got rid of his Mbox for the Rme...
 
Thanks all for the responses.

Seanmorse - Thanks for the info! Do you think this would be a wise idea to do on a laptop? I thought that xp laptops need ACPI.

Barometer/bdmenil- Good to hear others are working around this. I am only worried about my video card sharing the IRQ with my PCMCIA. Don't you think that this would cause a problem?

Chris Shaeffer- I have heard that Sony Vaio laptops are the way to go if you are using a USB interface. Funny I spoke with one of the M Audio tech support people and asked them about probs regarding the Quattro and laptops. The conversation basically came down to "Are their any PC laptops that haven't experienced problems of the bat when using the Quattro?" His answer was "Well the Sony Vaio has done well with the Quattro" They should put a warning sticker on that interface that says "NOT FOR USE WITH PC LAPTOPS" !!!!!How can they sell a product like that and advertise it for PC laptop recording when 90% of the people using it for this purpose won't be able to record with it?!!!!
 
Try and see if it works with ACPI before disabling it. I'm not sure if IRQ sharing is as big an issue as it used to be.
 
Does anyone know if a FW drive hooked up to a laptop via Cardbus would be fast enough for recording?

I'm thinking the OWC Mercury drives.

My notebook unfortunately doesn't have a FW port on it.
 
VirtualSamana said:
"Are their any PC laptops that haven't experienced problems of the bat when using the Quattro?" His answer was "Well the Sony Vaio has done well with the Quattro" They should put a warning sticker on that interface that says "NOT FOR USE WITH PC LAPTOPS" !!!!!How can they sell a product like that and advertise it for PC laptop recording when 90% of the people using it for this purpose won't be able to record with it?!!!!

I have an audiophile2496 in my pc and have been really happy with the quality. I bought an iBook for mobile recording and really wanted to get a Quattro. I also have an M-Audio Audio Buddy and Midiman Keystation keyboard...so I really like their stuff.

There was a Quattro going for around $200 on eBay and an Emagic 2|6 for around $300. I opted to buy for the 2|6 yesterday since I've heard and come across so much negative experiences regarding the Quattro. The guy at GC also gave me the advice to stay away from them.
 
VirtualSamana said:
Barometer/bdmenil- Good to hear others are working around this. I am only worried about my video card sharing the IRQ with my PCMCIA. Don't you think that this would cause a problem?

My video card and soundcard do share IRQ's, no sweat. But that's on my desktop, and I don't know if a laptop using PCMCIA would be any different :)
 
Well I spoke with M-Audio's tech support yesterday and today. It took an average of about 30 minutes to actually speak to a live person each time.

I asked the same question on two different days to two different techs. I asked what is causing the problems with the quattro on pc laptops.

Yesderday the answer was IRQ sharing. Today the answer was the limits of the laptop bus. A different tech who seemed a bit more savy than the first stated that only Sony VIAOs have both a north and a south bridge as part of their bus system. All other laptop manufacturers have only one bridge through which all information must travel. This is the bottleneck that is causing problems with pops, clicks, dropouts and stuttering on the Quattro. The tech admitted to me that he suspects everyone who has purchased a Quattro for PC laptop recording and doesn't use a sony viao is going to have problems.

The bigger question is how can M-Audio release a product that is marketed as a portable recording solution for the PC when they know damn well it doesn't work!

Neither tech knew either how the issue could be resolved or what their engineering department is doing about it.
 
VirtualSamana said:
Well I spoke with M-Audio's tech support yesterday and today. It took an average of about 30 minutes to actually speak to a live person each time.

I asked the same question on two different days to two different techs. I asked what is causing the problems with the quattro on pc laptops.

Yesderday the answer was IRQ sharing. Today the answer was the limits of the laptop bus. A different tech who seemed a bit more savy than the first stated that only Sony VIAOs have both a north and a south bridge as part of their bus system. All other laptop manufacturers have only one bridge through which all information must travel. This is the bottleneck that is causing problems with pops, clicks, dropouts and stuttering on the Quattro. The tech admitted to me that he suspects everyone who has purchased a Quattro for PC laptop recording and doesn't use a sony viao is going to have problems.

The bigger question is how can M-Audio release a product that is marketed as a portable recording solution for the PC when they know damn well it doesn't work!

Neither tech knew either how the issue could be resolved or what their engineering department is doing about it.

The problem isn't that it's a notebook, the problem is that the Quattro is a flawed product to begin with.

You simply cannot expect 4 channels of audio over a 12Mbps connection. 2 channels is the limit.
 
...for what it's worth, most laptops can work just fine with ACPI disabled. One of the contract techs we use at work was the guy who first told me about disabling ACPI, and he had done it on a laptop with XP. I'm not sure about yours though ...north and south bus? I usually take the downtown bus :D
 
Tech support likes to confuse you buy talking in terms that you don't understand. They are just guessing at why it doesn't work. The truth is, they probably don't realy know. I'd say you have grounds for returning the Quatro and getting something else.
 
Polaris20 said:


You simply cannot expect 4 channels of audio over a 12Mbps connection. 2 channels is the limit.

That's funny: I get 3-4 channels into my us-428 all the time with no problems.

I believe the actual limit is 6 tracks of 24/16 On the US-428 its 4 in/2out (for monitoring). Works flawlessly with the Vaio, and worked flawlessly with Toshiba Satelites (can't remember the 2 models I used...)

I've never used the Quattro, though, so I can't say anything about it.

Take care,
Chris
 
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