M-audio Audiophile Usb Questions, 2 main questions ! Options

[Ronaldguitar]

Hi guys ! I'm a newbie in home recording but I'm actually a computer tech, I'd highly appreciate your comments !

I recently purchased an M-Audio Audiophile USB soundcard, and I have 2 main questions, since you gouys are experts I'm pretty sure ya'll will help me !

1. Will I be able to record AND listen what I'm playing (SIMULTANEOSLY) while recording at 24 bit quality ?

2. Are the ASIO drivers 24-bit compatible ? It seems that the SONAR 2XL (Ver.2.2 running) will not let me select 24bit quality when I select the ASIO drivers ! (That was an actual recomendation of the tech support people of M-Audio)

Thanks in advance...

Ron

[Ronaldguitar]

Anyone ?

[Dstudnicky]

Hey,
I use the Audiophile USB on a Powerbook G4 and I've had some good results with it. I don't know about the ASIO drivers since I use OSX, but I would assume that they would support 24 bits.
You can record and play at 24 bit simultaneously with the device, however, not at the highest supported sample rate (96khz). Actually, in order to record at that rate (or play back at that rate) everything except the in or out that you're using must be disabled. When I use the device I record at 24 bits in Logic Audio, so if your sample rate is 44.1 or 48khz you're probably fine.

[Ronaldguitar]

Thx Dstudnicky !!!

Those are really good news for me ! I'll try it this weeked and I really appreciate your feedback buddy !

Just one more question, are the ins mono ? or stereo, they say L and R, so I guess the card only has one real stereo input, is that true ?

[Dstudnicky]

Well, stereo pairs, except for the SPDIF in, which I assume carries both the left and right channels in one plug. You won't have a problem with 24 bits, but since it's USB based it does have problems recording high sampling rates (88khz and up). At 41.1/24 or 48/24 there shoudn't be a problem.

There are left and right channels for phono/RCA plugs and 1/4 inch plugs.

Just to let you know now, I don't do much audio recording. Alot of what I do is synth stuff, and the only time I record is when I record vocals or a hardware synth, which isn't often. For me it does the job.

[glenndr]

Hey Dstudnicky,

I have the Audiophile USB and it is brilliant for midi recording. However I want to record audio through the left and/or right channels, mainly my guitar and microphone for my acoustic guitar. I am using Reason and Garageband but cant get them to pick up the audio. I have the card setup with the most uptodate drivers and have the midi setup in utilies and the respective programs, but no joy as of yet. Do you have any tips? What programs do you use to capture your audio?

[Dstudnicky]

Glenndr,
I use Logic Audio 6 and occassionaly Sound Studio.

Sometimes I find that if I reboot, it gives me crackling. To resolve that I make sure that the sampling rate the program is set to record at is consistent with the settings in the control panel. It usually fixes it. And if not, I turn it off and on again.

If you've got things set up correctly in your programs, incuding the Audio MIDI setup, things should be fine. Remember, the Audiophile USB can only record from either the RCA or 1/4 inch plugs at once. Make sure you're only using one pair. If you've got two plugged in, one takes priority, and I think that it'll be the 1/4 inch plugs.

Let me know how it goes. If you're still having problems, M-Audio support replied quickly when I needed them.

[DeF_JuX]

i got my audiophile working but my garaband syas it's not 44.1 or somthing like that, it's imputed but won't record cause it's not compatible with anything. please help

[Dstudnicky]

You may have your Audiophile set at 48khz.

To make sure, check out the Audio Midi setup. It's in the applications/utilities folder. Click on the audio devices tab. Make the appropriate changes there.

It seems that Garageband may not support samping rates above 44.1...hmm. Is that right?

[DeF_JuX]

i figured that out but my system won't change it to 44.1, why why why?