So I've bought myself a new soundcard with dual output, and after a few hours of desperate twitching, I finally managed to get the preview output at my headphones and the main output at my speakers.
But I can still hear a sort of very faint distorted signal from the main output in my headphones. Is this normal, or am I doing sth. wrong?

---------------
Composers shouldn't think too much -- it interferes with their plagiarism.

Howard Dietz

Alright, I've fixed this now (I'm using my second soundcard as my preview output), but when I try mixing live, the main output sometimes "disrupts". I've got my performance slider completely on the "reliable palyback" option.
My specs are:
P800Mhz
192MB RAM
Video card 32MB
3 GB of free space

Is this normal with these specs, or should I try switching off some progs running in the background...

---------------
Composers shouldn't think too much -- it interferes with their plagiarism.

Howard Dietz

What concerns me is your 192MB RAM. What kind of OS do you have?

Proud member of the "MM Rat Pack!"

Windows 98 SE

---------------
Composers shouldn't think too much -- it interferes with their plagiarism.

Howard Dietz

As devoted as I am to W98SE for some applications (such as my FrontPage, Corel, etc.) I think it may be at least part of your problem. Even if you have 258mb RAM, as I do, I understand that there's something in the "computer logic" of how W98SE handles memory that causes issues ... others can supply the official information.

<This is that moment.>>

I see...
I had never heard that before, I always thought W98 was the least memory-consuming one, but if it's true, I might think of changing my OS.

---------------
Composers shouldn't think too much -- it interferes with their plagiarism.

Howard Dietz

It isn't a problem with memory consumption by 98 (in the sense that an OS w/ a lot of "cosmetic" options in the defaults will represent more overhead) ... it's something in the way it handles memory which is less efficient. I think that's one of the reasons why XP was based on the NT engine and the 9x series was left behind w/ WinME. But we're getting into technical waters here that are best navigated by OB or Monk or one of the pros.

If I use my W98SE machine for MixMeister and I know I will want to burn a CD, I begin by turning off just about everything else that might run in the background, esp. memory monsters like Norton AV (obviously, I don't go online with this computer while I'm using it for MM duties.) Even so, I find that e.g., my list of recently-opened files is truncated everytime I open the program, esp. after reboot ... the implication is that there wasn't enough memory available to save the list along with everything else (but I'm just guessing here.) At any rate, if I don't trim out the running apps, I can't burn a MM CD on this system.

I think there are probably still some valid reasons not to change to XP, but in general, if you want maximum, reliable performance from programs like MixMeister, it is clearly an option to consider.

Keep in mind, we've gotten off on a side track here -- I'm just not positive this is answer to your current problem. Always consider starting by adding RAM. 256 is pretty much a minimum nowadays, and some people run with double that amount.

<This is that moment.>>

What kind of CPU usage do you have when the playback interrupts? Regarding the faint cross talk, check the soundcard's control panel for input volume levels.

---JET

There's more to life than the recipe!

Now I am wondering where the distortion is caused by your headphones. Are you boosting the volume in the headphones? And exactly what kind of global plugins are you using in MM?

Proud member of the "MM Rat Pack!"

I'm assuming that you are using a sound card with a four channel output, which could connect to four separate speakers for 3D sound. Assuming this is the case, make sure that your sound card is set to four speaker mode and that all 3D processing is switched off.

MM_Aaron
www.mixmeister.com

quote:

---

Originally posted by MM_Aaron:
I'm assuming that you are using a sound card with a four channel output, which could connect to four separate speakers for 3D sound. Assuming this is the case, make sure that your sound card is set to four speaker mode and that all 3D processing is switched off.

MM_Aaron
http://www.mixmeister.com

---

I started the the thread for that problem, but now I've got that fixed (I'm using two soundcards now).
Now my problem is the skipping of the main output, at which MmeFly hinted it could have sth to do with W98SE

---------------
Composers shouldn't think too much -- it interferes with their plagiarism.

Howard Dietz

1) Go to Tools,
2) Audio Output Configuration..
3) click on the Advanced... tab.
4) drag the slider all the way to reliable playback (full left).

Try it again, if problem persists. You may be running out of resources when using dual soundcard output in MM.

I have a fairly advanced laptop, but then again, I keep my Audio Options to "reliable playback", because it is not the only program I use while performing.

Proud member of the "MM Rat Pack!"

Sorry to be a few steps behind. At the risk of stating the obvious, I also recommend getting the latest sound card drivers for both cards.

I also recommend moving to Windows 2000 or XP if possible. They offer much better multitasking than Windows 98 or ME.

MM_Aaron
www.mixmeister.com

Alright, now I'm completely lost. Now the main output will only work when I switch of the Directsound option. However, that seems to work well.

What exactly is this Directsound? Does it affect the quality of the sound?

---------------
Composers shouldn't think too much -- it interferes with their plagiarism.

Howard Dietz