Need advise on how to configure wave devices

[Trotter]

HP Pavilion
600mhz Celeron processor
320 meg ram
20 gig Quantum fireball 7200 rpm
N-track version 3.0 24 bit
Windows 98se
Delta 44

When I go to wave devices in N-tracks I have many choices, and want to know what the proper configuration is. Should I choose MME, DS, or ASIO? I will be recording 24 bit mono wave files.

Thanks in advance.

[Slackmaster2K]

Grab the latest delta drivers and use WDM. Actually, compare both WDM and ASIO and see which you prefer. Both WDM and ASIO allow for low latency mixing.

Note there is some screwy shit to know in this regard:

- when using ASIO, your buffer settings in n-Track are determined by the settings you make in the Delta control panel. Changing the buffer settings in the delta control panel will not take effect until you restart n-Track.

- when using WDM, it's all really weird. I've only gotten good results by setting the delta control panel buffer size to 128 (which is way low), and then increasing the buffer size in n-Track. Then when I use another ASIO application, I have to set the delta back up to 2048.

At any rate, I usually shoot for latency in the 50-60ms range. I prefer WDM in n-Track over ASIO because I notice smoother starts & stops, and fewer dropouts when I adjust effect parameters.

Slackmaster 2000

[Trotter]

Hmmm... I don't see any WDM's listed in wave devices. Whats up with that?

[Chris Shaeffer]

Win 98se doesn't support WDM, does it?

I used the ASIO drivers. I haven't used n-track for a while, but my latency in Cubase using the MME drivers is 800ms. The ASIO drivers give me 34ms. Tough choice.

In any case, the latest ASIO drivers usually give the best performance in 98se.

Chris

[Slackmaster2K]

I'm pretty sure 98SE supports WDM, but I could be wrong. Did you download the latest drivers? The drivers that came with the card could be very old indeed.

Otherwise, I agree with Chris, ASIO is the way to go.

Slackmaster 2000

[Trotter]

I downloaded the latest drivers at midiman. When I go into wave devices in N-track I do not see any WDM drivers listed, only MME and ASIO.

Thanks for all of the help.

Trotter

[Slackmaster2K]

In the wave device setup thing, click the Advanced button and make sure that "Show WDM Drivers" or whatever is checked. If you still don't see anything, then you're just going to want to use ASIO.

If you're not sure why you want to use ASIO, then try mixing using MME drivers for a while. You'll notice that there is an annoying delay from the time you move a fader on screen (or change an effect parameter, etc) to the time you hear the result. This is known as latency. It's a real bummer when you're trying to dial in just the right level, or sweep a range of frequencies with an EQ. With ASIO, you should be able to reliably operate in the <60ms latency range which is fast enough that you won't feel any delay.

Slackmaster 2000