Audio card that allow me to play itunes and guitar rig 5?

[shinyknight]

Hi guys, I discovered that a PC mobo is not even close to a mac mobo; so it cannot route 2 audio source at the same time, like I do on my macbook air, like use garageband or guitar rig as guitar amp/effect generator, and play along music played in itunes.

The internal Realtek just breath hard normally, with a lots of static...so I ended up buying an Alesis IO2, to plug the guitar. The audio improved; no more noises with the IO2.

Now, I tried to use guitar rig 5, and this is where the problem start: I have installed Asio4all, so I can play the guitar no problem, but when I run also itunes, it won't play. Same for flash videos on youtube. I tried both using a rocksmith cable for the guitar, and to plug it in the IN of the IO2, and the result is the same: Asio4all see the devices but show a big red X on the output, if something is already playing (so it is either iTunes or guitar rig, or youtube).

I guess the only way to do all is a good old audio card....but I am a bit out of touch with such stuff; my last audio card was a Creative Audigy 2 ZX or something like this...it came with a 5 1/4 module with a ton of connectors. I threw away that computer years ago, to donate it.

So, what would be a good card that will allow me to use regular ASIO drivers via hardware, so the Realtek can just sleep peacefully? I do not need anything high quality...48K is more than enough, and the latency should be decently low, considering that even with the realtek I get pretty low latency already.

I have an i5 on Asus mobo, with 16 Gb of ram, a GTX770 and nothing else connected, beside the Alesis IO2.

Could you please suggest me a low cost solution? I was looking at something like the Audigy FX on PCI bus (I have no PCI-E beside the 16X used for the video), or the RX; and I see also the Asus Xonar DG, which is cheap enough.

Thoughts?

 

[reb]

You don't have to install Asio4All unless you need a specific low latency MIDI in (for recording or just playback).
DirectSound allows multiple playback from multiple sources through a single card. If you play a youtube movie and a mp3 file you can hear them simultaneously.
I am using a MIDI keyboard in a sequencer with VSTi softsynths and I also have a discrete soundcard (just because I need MIDI/gameport plug) and have no problems. I can even play two soundcards simultaneously but each one used by a different application. I can even use a single amplifier, by routing one of the cards via the others and mixing both on a single card.
Also I can run a game on the PC display with sound on PC's audio system and a movie on the flatscreen with audio via HDMI (but that could also work with audio to a second soundcard).
I am not sure I understand what exactly are you trying to achieve.
1. If you want two programs to output sound to the same soundcard - no problem, just make sure none of them accesses the soundcard in exclusive mode (this is a per aplication setting, and might have different name; I know for example if FruityLoops has exclusive access and is loaded in memory -even if not playing- no other app can use the soundcard). Also, in Control Panel-> Sound -> [your soundcard]'s properties (if you use win7) disable Exclusive control by apps.
2. If you want two programs (like the mp3 player and your live music performance) to play music to 2 different sound cards or one card and the onboard audio chipthat can be also easily done, but you have to instruct each programs to which soundcard should it play. Some programs lack this setting and will play only to the default soundcard (that might be your iTune's case). But any serious music sequencer or other kind of music software should allow you to select the soundcard. In this case, just select the other one (which is not default). Select the onboard audio as default in windows and iTune will play to it. Select the discrete soundcard as the required output in Guitar Rig and will play to your soundcard (this setting is a must for a music software like this, I know I saw it in all the sequencers I've seen).
But again, you don't really need case 2 and don't really need Asio (unless you need very low latency). Even if you have a single audio card (= the onboard Realtek), by using DirectSound (you have to select this as output in Guitar Rig) and disabling exclusive access, you CAN play two different programs together.

 

[shinyknight]

Thanks for the reply reb

Well, I am not sure then what is wrong with my setup. I have Guitar rig 5 that play no audio; the only way to have it play audio was trough Asio4all, which was suggested on the GR5 website, to get low latency (unless you have an audio card that support Asio drivers).

Before install Asio4All, I could hear youtube and play itunes and listen to the internet radio, no problem, at the same time. But GR5 won't do anything, since there was no output (if I would select the Rocksmith cable, I could see the input from the guitar, but no device is available for the output; so I cannot have the input from the Rocksmith cable and the output neither on the onboard realtek, nor on the IO2 interface).

After install Asio4all, I can hear GR5 output, and use the rocksmith cable for the input from the guitar, but then nothing else play.

If I plug in a midi keyboard, it works just fine, so the issue seems to be only when using GR5.

I have purchased an asus audio card for something like 30 bucks, and it support ASIO drivers. I have deactivated the onboard card and now I can choose the IO2 without problems, for input and output in GR5.

Not sure if the issue is just the IO2, GR5 or the onboard realtek, but I tried all the combination without any luck, and the only way to have averything working, is to use the asus audio card.

 

[reb]

If I remember correctly Asio4all might requrie exclusive access to the hardware, bypassing windows drivers. If that's correct, then it would not possible to use the same card for Asio and for playing regular window/other apps sounds.
And there are some threads on various forums that confirm this.
http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=574474&groupid=3&&guest=1
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=85408
I think the IO2, which I understand it's a USB audio interface, acts as a second sound card.

 

[dasulman]

I honestly never knew sound card technologies were so complicated O_O

 

[shinyknight]

I see; so the issue is with Asio4all then.

Sounds pretty dumb thou that it require exclusive access...you minimize latency taking complete control over a device? That was OK 20 years ago, but nowadays, how many people use the computer just one application at time?

The IO2 act as second audio device, but it does not have the hardware to decode audio; so it is not the same as an X-fi from Creative (which I believe cost in the hundreds, while my interface was $59 I believe...I purchased it few years ago). I tried to turn off the onboard audio and the IO2 on its own is not able to do anything, beside being a mixer/IO peripherals.

This is the reason why Asio4all won't give me access to it, while using Guitar rig; I believe that if you use something like an external audio card via USB, you can actually use one for GR5 and the other for audionplayback for youtube or itunes or whatever else it may be.

I wish they still sell Audigy 2 cards; they were awesome (and expensive) and I never had issues with them for ages!