Is it just me, or would others like to have dual AUDIO interface options?

For example using ASIO and WASAPI…

In case some are wondering what benefits this would bring? Well for one it would allow a separate audio “out” so one could run a different instrument out, for example to a bass amp using a bass VST, without sacrificing a stereo feed. IE panning to allow the separate bass out.

For example, if you check the Roland FA-08 it has a mono out that does exactly that. It is totally apart from the main L/R outputs. Be really handy for solo giggers like me that like to play their own basslines! Or want to send, say, the drums out to a separate mixer/amp F.O.H. speaker system.

Anyhoo, I’m not really sure if it can even be done, but imo I reckon it would be very handy! What do others think?

PS: and yes, I know I have raised this in another thread, but I wanted to open it up for wider discussion.

It seem to me that an interface with more outputs would be the best solution. Some of then (even the small ones) have an ADAT out. Behringer (and others) make a box that breaks out the ADAT digital into 8 separate outputs. That way all the outputs have the same signal path therefore latency, etc.

Now, maybe some would want ASOI and WASAPI for making voice-over videos, but others have completely conquered that hill by using only WASAPI (which continues to improve).

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assuming you have a laptop with adat :wink:

and there are a lot of interfaces with multiple INs but very few that have totally discrete separate stereo outs.

I mean, I can get around it by panning everything left and right…but as I wrote that sacrifices your stereo fields!

I have a PreSonus with 14 outs(studio), a Focusrite with (I think) 20 (lab/backup), an NI with 4, and an RME (traveling) with 4 plus ADAT. Check out @Torsten’s rig. He uses Babyface with Behringer to split out his ADAT to 8 discrete outs. ZOOM makes a reasonable priced one with a bunch of outputs. So does Behringer.

Your laptop has nothing to do with it - your audio interface needs to have an ADAT port…

But there are truly a number of audio interfaces with more than just one stereo output; Presonus, Steinberg, Focusrite and Native Instruments offer ones around 150-200 EUR. But you’ll have to spend a bit of money for serious equipment.

Getting multiple audio interfaces to play nicely together does take a bit of fiddling in Windows (Macs allow you to create clusters of audio interfaces at OS level…). From what I gather on the Cantabile trello board, Brad is considering building such a solution into Cantabile (to some extent, this is the prerequisite to provide WASAPI input in addition to just output), so keep your fingers crossed. But be sure, the more stable and robust solution will always be ONE interface with multiple outputs.

What I don’t really get is that people get to save thousands of $ on physical equipment by moving to software setups, and then scrimp on one of the key components of this setup…

A good audio interface with decent drivers is essential to stable operations - and peace of mind :wink: - definitely worth investing here!

Cheers,

Torsten

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I already have a good interface m8, Presonus AR8 (it cost near $700 and still only has one stereo out!) The A&H zedi10 does, as in two separate stereo pair outs, but it’s lacking in other areas (for example no separate control room outs). To get one that covers everything from a hardware aspect and from a software interface aspect wold mean a spend of well over $1000, maybe even 1500.

Re the ADAT, that was what I meant, the interface. One app I have used that allows both (IIRC) is vArranger which allows you to direct audio via either or both simultaneously. Which is why I thought it was a reasonable task, as in not requiring a lot of development time

To be fair: these are mainly small mixing desk with an audio interface capability slapped on - not dedicated multi-out interfaces optimized for low-latency operations. I definitely expect Presonus and A&H to build good converters, so audio quality should not be an issue with either of them. I don’t know about low-latency performance of their drivers, though - no data points.

I’m not sure why you’d need to spend over 1000 bucks for an interface with two stereo outputs (if that’s your key requirement). Maybe you could give a short summary what an interface should do, then the community can pitch in with recommendations and experiences.

And to be fair to you, my comment was driven by conversations in another thread where people discussed interfaces priced around $60-80 and still tried to get below that…

Cheers,

Torsten

Torsten it’s not necessarily two stereo outs, I just need a separate out so I can run bass to a bass amp away from the main mix. Although having a stereo would mean I could then have separate outs for drums AND bass, haha!

As a solo gigger, I try to keep the rig as minimal as possible, so I try to get the job done with a mixer that has these audio qualities. As I wrote the zedi10 has the four outs, but it’s hardware options are limited. That is to be expected it is a small desk. And indeed they DO have low latency as that is the driver for the PC as much as the hardware on the device.

It is what it is I guess, so I’ll need to keep looking for a solution. Although I must admit the Soundcraft Ui24R is a nice bit of kit, well over 1k out here but nice…haha but I digress.

Maybe one day Brad will figure how to get it done, well to be fair not HOW but finding the time to get it done!

Cheers
Dennis

Zoom has a new device in their lineup. Check out the LiveTrak L-12.

Hmm interesting if you need lots of inputs or want to mix Cantabile sounds with other analog sources! And apparently it allows you to feed four channels of computer output into your mixes - combined with five independent monitor mixes, there’s a lot of flexibility and output scenarios.

For myself, since I’ve concentrated ALL my live setup into Cantabile, I mostly need multiple outputs and just one input for my guitar, so other interfaces are more useful for me, but for hybrid setups, this looks nice indeed!

The only thing that I find a bit restrictive: the manual states that it only works as an audio interface at a sample rate of 96 kHz - a bit of unnecessary strain on your CPU, methinks…

Cheers,

Torsten

The main benefit is, that it comes with 6 headphone amplifier built in and each mix is in stereo. A great device. I think I’ll order it and try it!

Just to explain a bit about the technicalities behind this…

The challenge here is that when using multiple audio devices they’re almost certainly going to be running off different clocks - so they’re going to drift over time and eventually get out of sync.

This means that one device will always be a little slower than the other and something needs to wait for the other device to catch up or compenstate somehow. It gets awefully messy awefully quickly and without special handling things can get out of sync enough for it to be a problem within 20 to 30 seconds.

There’s a couple of solutions to this, from dropping samples, inserting duplicate samples, or to do it properly gradual resampling and using delay locked loops to keep everything in sync.

I did get a prototype of this working and it seemed to work quite well with no glitches under normal operating loads but there was some additional CPU load (for the resampling) and it required an extra layer of buffering - ie: extra latency.

But it still needed a fair bit of work… there’s was no UI for selecting the devices, it didn’t handle fail situations well and was far from stable.

At the time I remember thinking it’d be a cool feature to have (and a fun challenge) but not a practice I wanted to encourage because at the end of the day you’re going to be better off with a single device (and thus a single clock source) for all your I/Os.

As for the WASAPI support… if anyone knows a way to tell for sure if a WASAPI Input device and a WASAPI Output device are running from the same clock source I could update Cantabile to support both input and output in those cases without all the rigmarole.

Brad

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Rigmarole always gets in the way. :tired_face:

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My Behringer XR18 digital mixer is also a 16 channel in/out audio interface. There are 8 physical outputs: LR & 6 aux buses. You could just route a channel to an aux bus.

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The good old MOTU 424 was released in 2003 and can run 96 channels of i/o depending on what you throw on the back of it.
A friend of mine runs a Native Komplete with the spdif hitting a little Roland compressor which has digital i/o.
Sends stereo mix to front of house via the (bypassed) compressor, a click to the drummer, bass to bass amp and his keys, in stereo, to his rig. Works great (And usiing Cantabile, of course)
Why use multiple protocols when so many interfaces, from cheap to top end, have multi i/o?

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I still have my E-MU 1820M with breakout box. It worked perfectly, and had many ins and outs. But, there is no card slot in my laptop, and they stopped writing drivers at Win XP. It would be great to use it again.

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