Subject:Rendering Audio / Audio Interfaces

Posted by: dearos

Date:10/1/2009 6:08:50 PM

Hi,

I have a general question about rendering audio that I guess would apply to Acid & Vegas.

I am using a laptop, so I know the onboard audio card is not very good.
I have a Presonus AudioBox USB external audio interface that I can use to record good quality audio tracks.

My question is:

Do I need to have this external audio interface plugged in when mixing and rendering audio?

When mixing can I just use the internal soundcard for monitoring without affecting the quality of the mix & final render.

I am guessing that the rendering is actually performed by the CPU not the sound card? Is this correct?

I'm hoping someone can clarify this for me ... please forgive me if this has been answered before ... I couldn't find an answer in the forum.

Thank you ...

Subject:RE: Rendering Audio / Audio Interfaces

Reply by: krushem

Date:10/1/2009 6:33:48 PM

I can speak on my own experience only.
I always render and mixdown with my usb audio interface or ASIO DRIVER running on my laptop. I tried to do without it,just using the onboard soundcard and my results were tracks not aligned correctly, sudden audio glitches,wavy sounds in the song.

But, i'm sure others have had success running from their internal soundcard.

Best way to find out is Hands On !

Subject:RE: Rendering Audio / Audio Interfaces

Reply by: dearos

Date:10/1/2009 6:39:39 PM

Thanks for the fast reply!

I asked this question because the Presonus AudioBox has been loaned to me by a friend to do some recording.

I don't want to keep it longer than I need to ...

Subject:RE: Rendering Audio / Audio Interfaces

Reply by: pwppch

Date:10/2/2009 7:09:10 AM

Rendering is independent of playback.

However, what you hear during playback is dependent on the audio hardware. How you mix is dependent on what you hear.

Peter

Subject:RE: Rendering Audio / Audio Interfaces

Reply by: dearos

Date:10/5/2009 3:40:55 PM

Hi Peter,

Thanks for making this clearer.

So, I can record with the better quality external audio interface to get the best recording I can.

When I mix down I could use either the external or internal audio to monitor, but I would probably end up with 2 different mixes as I would hear the sound differently from each interface.

When I render the final mix the quality of my recorded sound isn't degraded if I use the internal audio interface as this is used for monitoring only - the render is performed by the CPU.

So I guess if I use the internal audio of the laptop to do the mix down I should be aware that I'm probably not hearing ALL the sound.

If I use the external audio interface to mix down I will be listening to a more accurate representation of the recorded sound & it is more likely I will end up with a mix closer to how I would imagine the finished mix should sound.

Subject:RE: Rendering Audio / Audio Interfaces

Reply by: pwppch

Date:10/5/2009 8:16:27 PM

Well there is not step by step formula for this.

A lap top sound 'card' connected to really good speakers in a reall good room is far superior to a super high end card with bad speakers in a bad room. There is a lot of wiggle room inbetween this.

Most Lap top audio cards are able to deal with what you give it. If your input source is lousy - the mic, guitar, mixer - then it doesn't make much difference what device you record it with.

A REALLY good set of headphones is a worthwhile investment if you want to mix on different physcial devices. Don't use any of the fancy setttings on any of them, and use ASIO if you can as ASIO drivers will not muck with the gain stages where Wave/Mapper/DirectSound can.

Peter