ASIO vs Direct Sound

  • Thread starter Thread starter Echolocation
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Echolocation

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I don't get what the difference between ASIO and Direct Sound is I thought ASIO was supposed to better, but after messing around with settings in FL Studio it seems like I get better key/pad response with direct sound I seems like its working best for direct sound at 192000 sample rate with a 85ms buffer length. Prior to that I was using asio at 48000 sample rate with a 2 ms buffer length. Anyone able to fill me in a bit on this stuff I could've sworn asio was supposed to be better, but that doesn't seem to be the cast for me at least. My midi controllers are hooked up via usb also if that makes any difference. I also read midi out wasn't as good as usb for some reason, but maybe that was back in the day or something as it seems to be working just fine for me.
 
Directsound with 85ms delay? And ASIO with 2ms delay and you say Direct Sound is playing better? Are you recording while your playing? Wouldn't you get a big audio delay with direct sound?
 
I was just playing and wasn't recording anything the other day when I tried it, but today I knowticed with recording it seemed like ASIO was more accurate or something. Also certain samples don't work as well with direct sound either. For just playing purposes direct sound seemed to be working better for rapid key/pad movements. Does anyone know what the difference between using USB or Midi Out is? Also would upgrading my AMD 64 2800+ make any difference doing stuff in FL Studio?
 
Connecting through USB or Midi shouldn't make any difference for a midi controller. What kind of soundcard do you have?
 
The specifications of your computer play a major role in the performance of Fruity Loops when using ASIO. I'm using a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 as my secondary soundcard and the Digidesign MBox 2 as my primary. Also, I have 2 Gigs of RAM and a 2 gig (overclocked) AMD Processor in my PC.
 
Someone's going to attack and disect every word I am about to post to tell me I'm wrong, but...In lamens terms, ASIO Drivers run at lower latencies in better sound quality by feeding off your CPU(or ASIO Compatable soundcard if you have one). Direct sound runs at higher latency and lower quality, but is more stable(unless you have an ASIO Soundcard).

When Renedering or bouncing audio, the quality is not altered by either. But with asio it's more of a "you hear what you get" with direct sound it's usually "your mixdown sounds better". I've always been a fan of directsound because of the stability(mind you I don't have a fancy soundcard). If you can get directsound latency down to about 8-16ms I suggest using that. If you can't get your soundcard down that low, you need a new one.

If you need a new card, rather than paying $40 for a piece of crap that may be the equivalent to what you're using, just pay $99 for an EMU or M-Audio Pro zero latency ASIO Compatable card.
 
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