WAV files skip?

[dre95060]

Okay, I am a newbie so bear with me.

When I open a .wav file and hit the "play" button, the music skips backwards as if something were wrong with the file. These files play just fine in all other applications. What is going on?

--Dave E.

[Craig Maier]

First, I need to have some more information.

What is the operating system? What type of sound card do you have? What is the speed of your computer? What type of drivers "MME" or "WDM" are you using (that can be found under the preferences/soundcard menu). What is the sampling rate and resolution (or bit depth) of the file in question (that can be found under the file properties under the View menu)?

Lastly, does the Demo wavefile that comes with the software play ok?

Please advise -

Note: The use of the WDM drivers is preferrable so long as your soundcard supports them.

[Craig Maier]

Dave,

Not having heard back from you, I would hazard a guess that the problem was the use of MME drivers selected rather than WDM drivers coupled with a high resolution and / or high sampling rate file.

I am posting this as a suggestion for anyone else who may encounter this kind of situation.

A possible explaination for this is that some sound card manufacturers may not provide good support for high sample rates and high resolution values with MME's, but are ok with WDM's.

[dre95060]

WAV files skip?

Sorry, I've been away doing other things. I have an E-mu 1820m soundcard and mixer. I am running Windows XP Professional. The system is a 2.4GHz Athlon with 1GB of memory.

The files are 44.1KHz 24-bit stereo WAV files. I am using WDM drivers.

The demo files skip also.

--Dave

[Craig Maier]

The demo file is "plain Jane" 16 bit, 44.1 KHz, Mono. So, if that skips, it indicates that something is wrong with one of the following:

1. The soundcard driver has a bug

2. The soundcard itself has a failure

I would use the demo wavefile to troubleshoot this, since it is problematic and in the most basic of formats. Since you are using WDM drivers, try switching to the MME drivers on the demo file and see what happens. Also, switch to the motherboard sound card and see what happens. That will help narrow down things. If you still have a problem with MME drivers on that file with the E-mu soundcard , it point strongly to a hardware problem. Let us know what you learn.

Note: Keep in mind that Diamond Cut is one of the few, if not only audio software program that performs a true handshake with the soundcard with every frame of data exchanged. Most software ignores this important step which may mask an underlying problem.

[dre95060]

WAV files skip?

Changing to the MME drivers solves the problem. I'd like to report this to E-mu. Can you be more specific about what DC6 is doing that other applications do not do? Thanks for your help!

--Dave

[Craig Maier]

The Play Cursor only increments its position on the screen after data has been transferred including a handshake between the soundcard and the software. Most programs (it is my understanding, anyway) will move the play cursor whether or not communications is occuring.

Anyway, it sounds like there is a bug in their WDM drivers. Something worth trying, however, is checkboxing the reinitialize on play checkbox in the preferences / soundcard portion of Diamond Cut.

[Geebster]

Also worth noting on this issue is the fact that the manufacturer may have an updated driver to solve the problem.

I just recently purchased a new soundcard and thought it was defective until I updated the drivers. Once I did that, the soundcard performed flawlessly using WDM drivers.

GB

[dre95060]

MME won't support 24 bit WAV files--now what?

It appears that the MME solution works only for 16 bit WAV files.

When I try to play the 24 bit wav files, I get "The specified format is not supported or cannot be translated. Use the Capabilities function to determine the supported formats." When I switch back to the WDM driver I get sound but the skipping returns.

By the way, how do you use the "Capabilities function"? I cannot find it on any of the menus or in the documentation.

Dave

[Craig Maier]

That means that the sound card MME drivers do not support 24 bit resolution files. The skipping means that the soundcard WDM driver may not be allocating enough buffer memory for 24 bit files, thus they skip. Either that, or there is a hardware problem with the soundcard. But, if I were to make a bet, I would think that the problem is with the driver.

BTW - are you sure that your soundcard is capable of handling 24 bit resolution?

[dre95060]

Problem Solved

Emu responded to my support request. They advised the following:

"If DC6 does not support the ASIO application program interface and if the audio files are still skipping, you might try opening up the direct x diagnostics(Windows Start button, click on the run button and type in dxdiag). When the direct X diagnostics comes up click on the sound tab and try turning sound acceleration down to basic. See if this helps the playback."

I ran dxdiag. In a number of places I had to set DirectX up to use the Emu driver instead of the Microsoft default. I turned the sound acceration to "basic"--which turns off support for hardware buffering--and DC6 now plays 24 bit stereo WAV files perfectly.

Thanks for your help.

Dave

[Craig Maier]

It's interesting that they seem to be optimized for ASIO but not WDM. ASIO is Steinberg's standard, and WDM is Windows standard. Which is more universal, ASIO or WDM, - - - {Steinberg or Microsoft}?

Go figure.

Anyway, I am glad to hear that you were able to get your soundcard operational.

[dre95060]

Asio

Many recording and mastering software packages support ASIO because the lower latency enables better monitoring and accurate overdubbing. For my audio restoration purposed it makes no difference, but I am remastering old vinyl and want the 24 bit resolution.

Anyway, thanks very much for your help and quick responses. I am very impressed with the DC6 software. You've got a great product.

Dave

[Craig Maier]

ASIO had lower latency time values compared to MME's, but do they really have lower latency values compared to WDM's?

[Craig Maier]

ASIO had lower latency time values compared to MME's, but do they really have lower latency values compared to WDM's? I was under the impression that WDM's were comparable or faster than ASIO's.

I am glad to hear that you like your DC6 software program!