Alesis IO|2

Started by Elantric, December 05, 2013, 11:30:51 PM

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Elantric

Cooltouch wrote>



Currently my only external audio interface is an Alesis iO2 Express (the Delta 66's Break Out Box doesn't count because it isn't independent, it's an accessory of the Delta card), which is identical in every way except for the case color and the knobs to the M-Audio Fast Track. They are even priced the same, and they each come with bundled "Lite" versions of music production software. Mine came with Cubase LE and the M-Audio comes with a light version of Pro Tools. After spending what seemed like a half-hour just going through the registration process for Cubase LE, I've never used it. When I discovered that it apparently does not offer musical notation, I lost interest in it.





I bought it originally as a way to get a guitar's analog signal into my computer, but I've since discovered that it's useful for quite a bit more than that. I didn't realize it at the time, but it is essentially the same as an external sound card.  It isn't as full-featured as the ones you show, but it gets the job done.  The only sort of odd thing about it, though, is because it has a MIDI IN and OUT (perhaps a MIDI IN and "Through" would be more accurate, even though it's labeled as an OUT), it keeps showing up in the MIDI device listings in my various pieces of music software. And for the ulitmate in simplicity in external interfaces, I have a couple of these as well:





Cute little bugger, ain't it?

That MOTU 828 sure is a slick looking piece of gear. Way to much for my needs -- both price and capabilities wise. I like the looks of the UltraLite Mk3 much better. The price isn't quite as painful, but its loaded with cool stuff that I could probably actually use. I also really like the CueMix mixer that the MOTU gear comes with. Dang it! GAS attack. I can't afford one of those right now! Arrgh! I don't even want to know about that V-Guitar breakout box beast!



=====

Elantric wrote>


A review of Alesis IO2 Express is here
http://www.alesis.com/io2express
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8291.msg59148#msg59148

I have an earlier version Alesis IO2 (not Express) that also has SPDIF I/O
http://www.alesis.com/io2


My Alesis IO2 is in storage - its OK - too bad when you plug in a passive magnetic pickup guitar into the 1/4" input and move the Input sensitivity switch to  the "Guitar" setting, it clips and distorts with a rice crispy sound on every plucked string - even with input gain set at minimum. I understand they solved this with a redesigned analog front end preamp stage in the newer Alesis IO2 Express, to provide a wider trim range to lower the distortion found in earlier model.

FWIW - the design of the Alesis IO2 was the basis for the iPad IO Dock - similar internal IC's and A/D convertors.

If you use a powered USB hub , the Alesis IO2 can be used as Auido and MIDI I/O interface for iPad+ CCK.

cooltouch

#1
Quote from:  Elantric on December 05, 2013, 11:30:51 PM
Original  Alesis IO2 in storage - its OK - too bad when you plug in a passive magnetic pickup guitar into the 1/4" input and move the Input sensitivity switch to  the "Guitar" setting, it clips and distorts with a rice crispy sound on every plucked string - even with input gain set at minimum. I understand they solved this with a redesigned analog front end preamp stage in the newer Alesis IO2 Express, to provide a wider trim range to lower the distortion found in earlier model.

FWIW - the design of the Alesis IO2 was the basis for the iPad IO Dock - similar internal IC's and A/D convertors.If you use a powered USB hub , the Alesis IO2 can be used as Auido and MIDI I/O interface for iPad+ CCK.

Well, seeing that I'm probably gonna be getting an iPad Mini with the Retina screen and all, I guess this is a bit of good news. Sorry, what's CCK? I probably know this already, just my mind isn't clicking.

I don't have the same problem you're reporting when I plug a guitar into mine. Probably because mine is the newer version with the glitch repaired as you mention.  About the only criticism I've had about it so far really isn't even an iO2 thing.  ASIO assigns a bigger buffer size for it than I care for. It assigns a buffer size of 512 samples, which works out in Sonar to be about 27msec, which is just enough to be sorta annoying. I found that I could get the buffer size down to 240 samples before it starts to break up. It won't go for 228. But at 240, this gets the latency down to -- umm...somewhere around 5 or 6 milliseconds. The iO2 didn't come with any drivers; just a note saying to use ASIO4ALL.

CORRECTION: Reducing sample size to 240 got the latency down to about 17ms, not 5 or 6.  That extra 10ms made a big difference.

Best,
Michael

Elantric

#2
Quoteorry, what's CCK? I probably know this already, just my mind isn't clicking.

CCK = Apple Camera Connection Kit

Its become shorthand for ANY type Apple USB Host Adapter for iPad.

More Details here
VGuitar Forums > Other Related Gear > Tablets & SmartPhones for Music >
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=132.0


$11 USB to MIDI I/O Cable from Meritline.com
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8393.0

iPad Audio and MIDI Interfaces
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=6152.0

Re: iPad as portable recording studio
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=7831.msg57020#msg57020


and in the iPad Air Thread
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=9882.0


I also advise all to scan all recent posts, as many good tidbits of info are shared that might be missed.
Read All Recent Posts
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=recent

aliensporebomb

#3
Quote from:  Elantric on December 05, 2013, 11:30:51 PM


A review of Alesis IO2 Express is here
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8291.msg59148#msg59148

I have an earlier version IO2 that also has SPDIF I/O



Original  Alesis IO2 in storage - its OK - too bad when you plug in a passive magnetic pickup guitar into the 1/4" input and move the Input sensitivity switch to  the "Guitar" setting, it clips and distorts with a rice crispy sound on every plucked string - even with input gain set at minimum. I understand they solved this with a redesigned analog front end preamp stage in the newer Alesis IO2 Express, to provide a wider trim range to lower the distortion found in earlier model.

FWIW - the design of the Alesis IO2 was the basis for the iPad IO Dock - similar internal IC's and A/D convertors.

If you use a powered USB hub , the Alesis IO2 can be used as Auido and MIDI I/O interface for iPad+ CCK.

We use this exact interface of the I02 [Express] for my wife's voiceover business - I've used it on occasion with my analog guitar rack and the trick is to avoid the guitar input and rather use the insert inputs which is much more controllable and since I'm using a Mesa Studio preamp with some FX racks in the effects loop I get a fully produced stereo guitar sound at controllabnle volume levels.  Maybe the version we have is the newer version that you talked about.  It looks the same anyway.

For voice though it's perfect.  She does a lot of voicemail systems, voicemail decision tree and audio for computer aided learning and instructional video systems.
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

shawnb

#4
FWIW, I had no cracks & pops using the IO2.  I did notice a bit of a noise floor issue, which I attributed to the plastic case and my FAR from ideal working conditions (lots of gear & too many lights, some fluorescent). 

I did find the lack of a driver unnerving, & had to search around to find the best way to configure it. 

This may not sound scientific, but...  One thing I've found with *ANY* audio gear in Windows is that configurations "settle" over time...  After a day or two of usage (& I'm sure reboot cycles help) things just seem to work better, and on day three I can move that latency slider from 8ms over to 6ms or even lower...  The important thing is that I never judge gear in Windows immediately post installation.  Give it a little time. 
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

cooltouch

#5
While we're on the topic of the Alesis iO2, I had something odd happen last night. I had been playing my guitar through the iO2 in Sonar. Set it down and went and did something else for a couple hours or so. When I picked up the guitar again, I was hearing these repeating pulsations that would become clicks if the ambient sound level got high enough. And as I played, these pulses were blanking out the guitar sound, that is, twice per second there were holes in the guitar's output. I had a few effects loaded, one of which has a tremolo feature, and made sure it was set to "off". It was. Then I selected 'bypass' on each effect. Still didn't do any good. Finally I deleted them from the project entirely. Still the clicking pulsation was there -- right at 2 beats a second. Then I exit from the project so I have just an empty Sonar interface. No difference. So then I decide to call the guitar up in a different piece of software, so I shut down Sonar and boot MIDIGuitar. Get it configured, and there's that damn 2 bpm pulse again. So finally, I restart the computer. Surely that has to take care of it. Nope. I boot the task manager and start going through all the resident tasks to see if any might be causing the problem. None that I could see.

By that time it was late, so I went to bed, frustrated.  Just now, I boot Sonar again and the 2bpm pulse is back. And I'm reading this topic on the Alesis. Suddenly it dawns on me. I reach down and unplug the Alesis' USB cable, wait a few seconds,. and plug it back in. Voila! No more goddamn 2bpm pulse.

Well, I sure am glad I found the problem. But I guess now what I'd like to know is why it happened in the first place. Why was my iO2 sending out little packets of noise every half second? And guess what? I figured I'd solved this problem, but in the length of time it has taken me to write this post to this point, it has started the pulse again.  Now I'm not just annoyed. I'm pissed. It's even worse, now though. When I  unplugged it before, it waited a few minutes before coming back. Now it waits maybe 10 seconds.

Not holding out much hope at this point, I did one more thing -- I changed the USB port it was plugged into. Nope, no difference. And the damn thing's out of warranty too.

Crap!

Huh. It just stopped. I wonder for how long?



Best,
Michael

cooltouch

#6
Quote from:  shawnb on December 06, 2013, 10:08:34 AM
The important thing is that I never judge gear in Windows immediately post installation.  Give it a little time.

Yeah, I've noticed this too. Sometimes it gets worse. Take this iO2 I'm fighting with right now. Last night I had it down to a buffer size of 240 ms and it worked fine. Today the best it'll do is 256.
Best,
Michael

Elantric

#7
For clarity - I should point out AlienSporeBomb is using the Alesis IO|2 Express on a Mac with OSX - and that provides a different world of latency buffer controls compared to Windows.

AlienSporeBomb wrote>
QuoteWe use this exact interface of the I02 [Express] for my wife's voiceover business - I've used it on occasion with my analog guitar rack and the trick is to avoid the guitar input and rather use the insert inputs which is much more controllable and since I'm using a Mesa Studio preamp with some FX racks in the effects loop I get a fully produced stereo guitar sound at controllabnle volume levels.  Maybe the version we have is the newer version that you talked about.  It looks the same anyway.

For voice though it's perfect.  She does a lot of voicemail systems, voicemail decision tree and audio for computer aided learning and instructional video systems.

shawnb

#8
Quote from: cooltouch on December 06, 2013, 03:30:39 PM
Yeah, I've noticed this too. Sometimes it gets worse. Take this iO2 I'm fighting with right now. Last night I had it down to a buffer size of 240 ms and it worked fine. Today the best it'll do is 256.

There are SOOOOOO many reasons degradations like this happen.   There are too many variables to doc here, but just a few examples of things that have bitten me recently: 
  • You test and set latency using a single app, like Guitar Rig.  Later, you play with Guitar Rig PLUS two SampleTank synths, and have issues.  Different CPU loads.  Your latency setting may need a little elbow room to account for max CPU loads.
  • Or, you turn on a bunch of FX on your synths in SampleTank (or GR, or whatever...).
  • Most of these apps have a Performance vs. High Quality setting you need to pay attention to.  If you're OK with the sound with it set to "Performance", leave it that way.  You may need to do this ESPECIALLY if you're running multiple concurrent instruments.
  • A MAJOR source of performance swings is Windows Updates, which are constantly barraging your system.  I find that if an update was received, but not yet installed, performance COMPLETELY tanks for some reason.  It takes a reboot (sometimes two) to let the update install and configure itself to resolve.
  • ***Most folks turn off Windows Updates...  I don't because I almost always find I need to get current anyway whenever a new version of a driver comes out.  HOWEVER...  I have been bit a couple of times where my laptop didn't work when I wanted it to...  If you are a pro, you isolate it.  If you putz a lot like I do, you take some risks, and sometimes a step backwards.
  • Oh yeah...   Make sure your anti-virus is turned off...  I recently had a MAJOR issue where my AV was exceedingly exuberant trying to update itself.  I kept putzing with buffers, completely barking up the wrong tree...
  • Some folks just play it safe & turn off all network access.

One time I had a periodic buzzing like you describe, & after pulling my hair out over it, I finally noticed it went away depending on what was being displayed on my computer monitor.  It would also go away when I turned away from the computer monitor. 

Lots of periodic effects, e.g., delays, slicers, flangers, etc., introduce periodic noise.  I had myself COMPLETELY convinced a while back I had a driver issue, blaming Windows, but it was a particular effect in Guitar Rig. 

I.e., I paid cash for that noise...

Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

admin

QuoteA MAJOR source of performance swings is Windows Updates, which are constantly barraging your system. 

+100!!

If you are a pro and rely on your DAW for income, the concept of never allowing your DAW Computer to connect to the Internet remains a good strategy!
   
I know many pro studios where they typically have half a dozen digital audio workstation (DAW) Computers, and only allow ONE spare special "Test" DAW" to connect to the internet and try new apps.


Also its important to make a frequent Backup of your system drive - so when things go south, you can restore from the last known good working version of your HDD, before things broke!

 
   

cooltouch

#10
Shawn and admsustainiac, you guys make some excellent points. I'll admit I haven't given as much thought to system load as I probably should. Which reminds me -- I should log into the Win7 forums and look around for a list there of a bare-bones setup, where I can remove all the unnecessary apps running via Windows Task Manager (Ctl-Shift + Esc). Hrm . . . or maybe I should ask here, since certain apps will be needed for music production that the Win7 folks might not need. I'm running Win7 Ultimate and have no plans to update to Win8. I'll do a search here, see what turns up.

I've known for years that my DAW should be isolated from the Internet. But the reality is that, right now, it is my only functioning desktop, so it must be connected to the Net. I have two others, but one needs a new power supply and I've been raiding the other for parts. I'm using it right this moment, in fact. I'm pretty careful about the places I visit, so I don't pick up much in the way of malware. Plus I have a couple of utilities that I run on a regular basis to keep my system clean of malware. I suppose that, when it comes time to do something critical, I can always just unplug the network cable.

I'm also a pretty avid photographer so I use this same system extensively for photo editing and processing. That's a practice that also requires a lot of CPU horsepower and this system fits the bill for that.

I used to use free anti-virus software like AVG and AVAST, but I didn't like the way they took over my system and were very hard to idle when I needed no anti-virus software running. AVG didn't use to be that way, but when I upgraded it to the latest edition some years back now, first thing I noticed about it was I couldn't idle it anymore -- or at least I couldn't find any apparent way to do it. So I removed it from my system and tried out AVAST, but I didn't care much for AVAST because I felt it was too intrusive.  So I decided to give Microsoft Security Essentials a try. Nice thing about it is it's anti-virus and a firewall, so I could dispense with Zone Alarm also, plus it's already a part of the OS. I've been using it exclusively now for a few years, and I'll tell you what -- it does a good job of catching stuff -- as good as the 3rd party free software, if not better. Plus, this system load you're noticing? I don't feel a thing when MSE is doing it's thing, which I attribute to the fact that it is part of the OS. So, something to think about, YMMV and all that.

Shawn, the periodic buzz you described -- I wish that's all mine was. I have a 2 bps pulse that's happening and it doesn't matter what else is going on. It occurs in all of the pieces of software I use with an audio signal. When I play my guitar, it actually blanks out the guitar sound during each pulse. It's like a slow sonic strobe. Totally unplayable right now. I bought an M-Audio OMNI box for my Delta 66 sound card off eBay a few days ago and should be receiving it either today or tomorrow most likely, and the good thing about that box is it has a pre-amp audio IN, so I can run my guitar straight into the system using that box.  Too bad my iO2 Express bit the dust, but at least I'll have a workaround without having to spend a lot of money, which I just don't have right now, it being Christmas and all.

Chances are a single component in my iO2 Express went south, but how to find out which one, and would it even be replaceable? I'll wager that the "fix" is just to replace an entire circuit board.

I'm not so sure I'll even need a replacement for my iO2 based on the way I'm using my system right now, but if I do get one, I'm gonna do my homework first, read as many reviews as I can, both consumer and periodical. I'll probablly also post a query here and see what you guys think. Of all the forums I frequent, VGuitar has more hi-tech users than any other and chances are good that at least a few of you will have some experience with whichever device(s) have made it to my short list.

Which reminds me -- any of y'all familiar with dpreview.com? That site probably has the best reviews of new photo gear, almost all of which is digital nowadays. It is my go-to site whenever I have a question about a particular camera, cuz I know I'll find the answer there.  Is there an equivalent to dpreview for hi-tech music gear? Not just synth keyboards, but things like V and GR, FTP, even software like MIDI Guitar and Guitar Rig, and also audio and midi interfaces, as well. Is that too big of a wish list?





Best,
Michael

shawnb

#11
Quote from: cooltouch on December 07, 2013, 10:44:25 AM
Is there an equivalent to dpreview for hi-tech music gear? Not just synth keyboards, but things like V and GR, FTP, even software like MIDI Guitar and Guitar Rig, and also audio and midi interfaces, as well. Is that too big of a wish list?

You found it...   You're here...  Especially for guitar-centric topics. 

For some topics, e.g., .vst & DAW specifics, KVRAudio.com has an edge. 

I'm not so sure I'd give up on the Alesis.  Remember the Alesis is in a plastic case, i.e., unshielded.  It is VERY susceptible to electronic noise within about a 30 foot radius. 

Some things to consider/try:
  -  Does the issue happen when NOTHING is plugged INTO the Alesis?  This would confirm the issue is with the Alesis, & not upstream.
  -  Do you have another guitar or instrument to try? 
  -  Try cutting back on the volume on the Alesis to 1/2.
  -  Try alternate USB ports - this can be an issue on some PCs. 
  -  Does the problem change in intensity with a single-coil vs humbucker pickup plugged in? 
  -  Does dpclatency checker indicate your system is OK?   

Get DPC Latency checker here.  Read up on it, a LOT, then try it out:
    http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

A true story:  Back in 198x, I was an IT noob.  We had just implemented a costly global data collection system in our corporate office.  That crashed regularly when we opened the communication channel.  When we first tested the system, we had a single Bizcomp 1200 baud modem that 35 subsidiary offices would take turns dialing into to upload their financials.  A lot of money on the line, we had the vendor, Convergent Technologies, send out their BEST engineer.  He walked around our computer room, observing gear & flourescent lights everywhere, eating a bag of potato chips.  It was a foil bag.  When he was done inspecting everything, he dumped the crumbs out of the bag, and plopped the Bizcomp modem into it. 

Problem solved.  We went live, with our modem in a foil potato-chip bag.  (We subsequently wrote a comm-server that supported a 5-modem rotary, eliminating the single point of failure.)  Bizcomps were among the first "high speed" dialup modems available to the general public.  To save money, they were plastic.  (http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue26/215_2_NEW_PRODUCTS_INTELLIGENT_MODEM_FROM_BIZCOMP.php)

See if you can isolate the Alesis somehow (metal box, foil) and see if the problem goes away or changes nature.  If it does, you're on the hunt for something - a refrigerator, a clock, a hardware synth, a TV, your neighbor's alarm system, SOMETHING, generating a bit of periodic buzz. 

I think it's a little more likely that the issue is internal, and that DPC latency checker will find something.  It will be something stupid, like your AV software searching for updates 2x a second, stealing cycles from your USB driver. 
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

cooltouch

#12
You know what, Shawn? I think you're on to something. I took the iO2 back into my bedroom, which is in another part of the house and which is where my laptop is at the moment, hooked it up to the laptop and hooked a guitar up to the iO2 and then activated a piece of software that can handle audio -- Amplitube 3 in this instance -- and I'll be dinged if I wasn't getting a clean signal with absolutely no 2 bpm crap. Well because this pulse had stopped before and then started up again, I kept things hooked up and active for over an hour, and still no sign of the pulse.

So it looks like you're right. There is something going on -- who knows what or where -- that the iO2 is picking up when it's in this part of the house.  I think I'm gonna take a page out of Convergent Tech's BEST engineer's playbook and line the inside of my iO2 with aluminium foil.  Something tells me that just might be enough. I sure am curious about what's causing it, though.  Nothing obvious around here, at any rate.

On a similar note, my new OMNI I/O box arrived today and I have removed the simple breakout box and installed the OMNI in its stead. Not only does it replace the breakout box, but it also replaces a little Midiman 6 channel mixer that I was using to handle the output chores to my stereo monitors and headphones. That OMNI is an impressive piece of kit. What it really is is a full fledged 4-channel mixer, complete with a variety of ins and outs and effects sends and returns and loops and monitor sends and more. Pre amps for INs 1 and 2, phantom power, all ins and outs are balanced/unbalanced.  More stuff than I'll ever use. I have a Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro 12-channel mixer that lies close to the heart of my DAW and I could just about replace that Mackie with the OMNI box. And the specs -- I don't think I've ever owned a piece of gear that has had specs as good as this box has. Frequency response is 10Hz to 200kHz, THD is 0.0009%, dynamic range of 130dB. And yes, I counted those zeros correctly, although I'm wondering if that 200kHz might be a typo, cuz I can't understand for the life of me why anybody would want or need to reproduce 200kHz. Plus M-Audio goes on about its "critically acclaimed" DMP2 preamp technology, so I'm hoping the preamps work well also. So if the actual specs are anywhere close to those numbers, at least I won't have to worry about that box adding any noise to the mix.

I originally bought my Alesis iO2 as an easy way to get an analog guitar signal into my laptop. I think I'll just keep it for that purpose, especially since it seems to be behaving itself with my laptop right now.
Best,
Michael

shawnb

#13
For the record, I would not recommend putting foil inside any piece of electronics...   

You'll eventually find your 120bpm pulse.
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

cooltouch

Hey, people shield their guitars' electrics' cavities all the time. I don't see the problem, as long as I glue the aluminum foil down properly. I thought about this quite a bit. Just to add a bit more of a precaution to it, I'm thinking of covering the circuit board(s) with wax paper in case some of the foil comes loose.

I was playing with the iO2 in my bedroom last night, running it into my laptop and playing around with Guitar Rig 5.  It's still got problems. Instead of that 120 bpm pulse, now it's just random drop-outs that last only a few milliseconds at a time. Sometimes they are accompanied by a click of static, other times not. I need to work on this more, though. I'm not convinced yet that it's the iO2 that's doing this. My laptop is sensitive to the music software that it runs because it has barely enough RAM to get by -- 2 GB max and it's maxed out. Programs like Band in a Box generate the occasional crackle and others like Fruity Loops generate lots of noise. I haven't done much of anything with Guitar Rig yet on this computer, so its own lack of HP might be the source of this problem.


Best,
Michael

cooltouch

Hey guys, I need your expertise again -- on the general subject matter of this aggravating pulse, but I have a bit more experience with it now.

In an earlier message I mentioned that the OMNI box had arrived for my Delta 66 PCI card. Fortunately, it came with the manual, and I've been slowly going through it. It is a dense read. I am not as up as I need to be on all the terms and techniques associated with routing signals in, around, and through mixing devices. So it's been a learning experience. Yes, I have a Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro that is part of my DAW, and yes, it's possible to route signals through it in just about any conceivable fashion, but I learned only what I had to to get the stuff hooked up that I needed to get hooked up, and I did that years ago. So this all may as well be brand new.  That's most likely beside the point of this message because I don't think it is the source of this pulse problem, but I am having other problems with routing my guitar signal through the system that I'll probably ask you guys about, but that doesn't have priority. The continued pulse I'm experiencing does.

Now that I've removed the iO2 from the system, I'm just dealing with the DAW, my guitar, and the DAW's software.  What I'm getting now is, whenever any signal -- guitar, or keyboard, or even the signal from a YouTube video -- is brought into my music production software (Cakwalk Sonar in this case), the signal is broken up by that pulse. Oh yeah, and I've found that it can vary -- sometimes it's 120 bpm and sometimes it's 160 bpm. I've been counting it out. This pulse only affects the signal that the software "sees," IOW, when I'm just playing my guitar through the system, where it's going in the preamped 1 IN, but exiting via the Headphones Out or the Monitor Out, but not through the software, it's fine. A perfectly clean signal. But once it's routed through the software bmb bmb bmb bmb . .

I've tried using it with other software -- Band in a Box, Fruity Loops, Amplitube standalone, and MIDIGuitar, so far. And, interestingly enough, I've gotten mixed results. With Amplitude, for example, it's just as bad as Sonar. Same with MIDIGuitar. It's awful with MIDIGuitar. Fruity Loops, less so. And BiaB -- I just finished recording a tune I "lifted" from the soundtrack of a Netflix video using BiaB, and it worked perfectly. No pulses at all. Played it back just to be sure, and it was a clean cut. So then I exported it as a .WAV file and then imported it into Sonar. And there was that damned pulse again.

So, why would BiaB not be bothered by this pulse when Sonar, MIDIGuitar, Amplitude, and my iO2 are? As I said in the opening, I don't think it's the OMNI box because I'm not changing the routing at all when I switch pieces of software -- in fact, I have to configure each piece of software to match the ports I'm using on the OMNI box/Delta card.

So -- got any ideas why I'm getting this pulse with some software and hardware, but not with others?

This is driving me nuts, I tell ya. Tomorrow I'm gonna borrow my daughter's laptop, which has just as much horsepower as this DAW, and see if I can finally get some work done. Hopefully the problem will not transfer to her machine.

Best,
Michael

shawnb


Welcome to digital audio!

As I said earlier, I think it's more likely that something running on your system is the true problem.

Run dpclatency checker, and look very closely what is running that might cause your issue.

Depending on your system, it's quite possible that it cannot run what you want it to run.  But a tool like dpc latency checker will help you figure that out. 
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

cooltouch

Thanks for the tip on DPC Latency Checker. I can see how this might be useful for evaluating a system to run streamed audio. I tried it just now on my DAW. Initially it wasn't showing anything unusual and it displays "This machine should be able to handle real-time streaming of audio and/or video data without dropouts."

So I booted Sonar and set it up to record some audio that's streaming into my computer via Netflix. The DPC LC didn't show anything.  I didn't detect the pulse while it was recording the audio, but when I listened to the playback, it was there.

So the DPC LC isn't finding the cause, whatever or wherever it is.

I'm gonna go visit the folks over at the Win7 forums and ask my question there. Those forums have some extremely knowledgeable people there and who knows? One of them might offer a suggestion that will uncover the problem.


Best,
Michael