ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

Please let our ADS show!

This sites offers only FREE software and it's supported by a few advertisement boxes (no intrusive popups).
Please:

  • disable your AdBlocker by adding CoolSoft website to whitelist
  • give the proper cookie consent
  • enable JavaScript for this website

This seconds wait is to let you update your browser configuration...

Ok, I've done the required changes... now show me your content!
!!! Please enable JavaScript !!!
Posts: 3
Joined: July 19, 2014 - 22:32
ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

Is there any role of ASIO or ASIO4ALL with VirtualMidiSynth?  I cannot tell whether the audio program to which ASIO applies is this synth or something else in the audio signal chain.

Or does it go with a sequencer?  An old sequence PowerTracks had menus to select ASIO.

When testing VirtualMidiSynth with a simple keyboard piano program, no ASIO4ALL icon appeared in the system tray, indicating it was not used.  I wonder if it would even do anything.

The structure of the music-sound system is not very clear, including ASIO4ALL's instructions.

Posts: 1972
Joined: March 25, 2012 - 01:19
Re: ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions
glncvms wrote:
Is there any role of ASIO or ASIO4ALL with VirtualMidiSynth?

No, VirtualMIDISynth does not have ASIO support, nor uses or is related with ASIO4ALL.

I'll add ASIO support in the future, to version 2.x of VMS, but none of the versions released till now have it.

Posts: 3
Joined: July 19, 2014 - 22:32
Re: ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

Info found on ASIO: Microsoft introduced in Vista their own low latency, direct sound acces driver dubbed WASAPI part of their new CoreAudio system (not so new at this late date).

Article http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/KB/WASAPI.htm

When using CoolSoft with free Anvil Studio sequencer (which supports ASIO, and everything else) on a Lenovo Q190 compact desktop with Windows 8.1, none of three ASIO drivers would produce sound, trying five different audio interfaces.  The Windows CoreAudio produced no latency at least to me by setting the CoolSoft advanced optional extra output buffer very small.

The default 1/4 second was the noticeable latency playing a keyboard.  I had not even noticed this setting when first using CoolSoft.

A lot of ASIO problems are reported by users upgrading from old Windows 7 systems to newer PC's with Windows 8.1 including the CoreAudio system.  I guess this was also in Windows 7, though.

The audio interfacing has a lot of subtleties, as mention was made of background programs tying up the audio channels etc. in some ASIO problems.  There could be more background things in Windows 8.1, and apps supplied by Lenovo.

But it now seems that the extra driver software in ASIO is no longer necessary in the newer versions of Windows, and always seems to work.

You do need to configure CoolSoft to match the sample frequency and bit depth of the audio interface setting (if defaults do not work).  Some conversion features in ASIO's are absent in the WASAPI.

There are many complaints about Lenovo's RealTek HD audio systems with ASIO, and it is ironic the answer may be just not to use that driver.

Posts: 1972
Joined: March 25, 2012 - 01:19
Re: ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

Thanks for your technically detailed post.

The work of adding WASAPI support to VMS 2.x is almost complete and I suppose I'll release a test version soon.
I suppose I'll not move to ASIO anymore because:

  • I don't have a compatible hardware to test it on (and debugging with ASIO4ALL often lead my system to crash)
  • more than one reported that WASAPI and ASIO performances are similar
glncvms wrote:
The default 1/4 second was the noticeable latency playing a keyboard

That default value was set with karaoke users in mind, which only need smoothless play without stuttering. 250ms is an acceptable value when reading lyrics.
For "professional" or live usage you can try to lower that to 0, if your system still performs good.

Posts: 3
Joined: July 19, 2014 - 22:32
Re: ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

CoreAudio/WASAPI worked with VMS v2-somethng with Anvil Studio since a year ago on the Lenovo, and I only just now looked at ASIO.

It may be some audio interfaces accept a range of sample formats, often both 44.1khz CD frequency and 48khz DVD so conversions aren't needed.

The RealTek HD sound built-in on many machines has an Audio Manager app on Lenovo with format settings, default to DVD 16 bit 48khz.  Setting CD 44.1Khz makes it work with some ASIO on some PC's only.

VMS worked with RealTek both optical out and analog speaker out, and with a generic USB sound card as well as a Creative Labs USB gadget.  Their ASIO did not work.

The free ASIO4ALL is reported a different method than Steinberg's true ASIO, and also did not work in Windows 8.1 at least on Lenovo, though it had worked in Windows 7.

It makes sense Microsoft would respond to the need for such a basic mod to the OS Steinberg made, when users would go to Linux instead if necessary.  Video games require instant sound besides music.  Including in the OS creates standards for all peripherals.

They had a DirectX system before which apparently was insufficient.  Lots of rendering effects things for DirectX, probably obsolete now.

So many music tools and sample packages are offered free now compared to a few years ago.  I did not bother to upgrade things previously bought to run on the new PC, for simple amateur uses.

There seems to have been quite an expansion of available Sound Fonts packages, delightful.  Increased cpu power has obsoleted separate rendering hardware, cpu's gobbling up peripherals.

Creators of Sound Fonts and the like may want fancier soft-synths with lots of parameter adjustments.  Still a wider variety of sounds is available ready made now.

Posts: 6
Joined: August 25, 2015 - 21:42
Re: ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

Probably you use coolsoft for karaoke or playing MIDI files. If you connect a MIDI keyboard and try to play a few notes on, you will notice there is very good latency. I did try to reduce it down to 0, however it sounds like a latency of 50ms comparing to Creative labs ASIO 2.0 sound card I have. Last post you said will have WASAPI soon. Can you post the version out for testing?

Thank you very much for your work.

PS: ASIO4ALL will block other audio streams accept ASIO interface programs.

 

Posts: 1972
Joined: March 25, 2012 - 01:19
Re: ASIO4ALL and VirtualMidiSynth -- questions

WASAPI was delayed to let me release the first 2.0 official release (sometime real life job comes in ;)).

I'd like to have 2.0 out (at least in Release Candidate) downloadable by anyone, not only by registered users.
Then there'll surely be a "storm" of bug reports coming in (hope not so much) that will be fixed in the following 2.0.x.

After that we cound think about a 2.1 series ;)