Subject:How to Ignore ASIO Playback Devices?

Posted by: Zoso

Date:1/15/2012 12:43:54 PM

Sound Forge 9.0e build 441 on Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 on a Dell Precision M4600 notebook.

I have three playback devices that show up under WIndows sound settings - an ASUS Xonar Essence One via USB as a digital output, the internal sound card, and a communications headset. The internal sound card is set as the default playback device.

I'm playing music to the Xonar via an ASIO driver (ASUS's driver, although ASIO4All behaves the same) via XM Play.

If I fire up most applications, for example iTune, and play an MP3, iTunes plays via the internal sound card, and the playback to the Xonar continues in parallel. This is what I'd expect.

When I fire up Sound Forge, it seems to take over all playback devices. It seems like it completely dumps the ASIO driver loaded by XM Play, and the music playback stops. I do not want this.

In the audio preferences for Sound Forge, I have the Windows Classic Wave Driver selected as the Audio device type, with the Digital Output (ASUS Xonar) not enabled (unchecked). The channels are mapped to the Speakers Headphones (IDT internal sound card). Sound Forge plays back through the internal sound card as I want. I can not find a way to completely remove the ASIO devices from the Audio device type list.

How to I set up Sound Forge to ignore the Xonar device (the ASIO devices), and completely leave it alone when Sound Forge starts up?

Thanks in advance,
Paul

Subject:RE: How to Ignore ASIO Playback Devices?

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:1/15/2012 5:58:28 PM

The device list lists all the relevant drivers. You cannot 'remove them from the list'. That they show in the list does not mean that SF is in any way 'taking them over' - the device selected is the only one SF has any output to.

geoff

Subject:RE: How to Ignore ASIO Playback Devices?

Reply by: Zoso

Date:1/15/2012 11:06:03 PM

Thanks for the reply.

I'm sure I'm not really understanding what's happening under the hood, but when Sound Forge is started, the audio playback from XM Play via the ASIO driver to the Xonar is stopped. I can restart the playback on XM Play with Sound Forge still running, but I have to completely reload the file in XM Play (which re-initializes the ASIO driver -- I can't just resume playback from where it stopped). It sure seems like Sound Forge is doing something with the ASIO driver on start up, even when I have the Windows Classic Wave Driver selected as its output (which it uses for its playback as it should).

Subject:RE: How to Ignore ASIO Playback Devices?

Reply by: roblesinge

Date:1/16/2012 7:34:08 AM

The Windows Classic Wave driver will typically allow you access to all available audio sources in Sound Forge. I've found SF doesn't like to share or play nice with other audio applications that are also trying to use one of the sources encompassed in the WCW driver. So, pick the specific driver in SF for the audio source you want to use with it.

Rob

Subject:RE: How to Ignore ASIO Playback Devices?

Reply by: Zoso

Date:1/16/2012 10:51:02 AM

My options in Sound Forge's Audio Preferences for Audio device type are:

1. Microsoft Sound Mapper -- has mappings to left and right channels (but no specifics for devices).

2. Direct Sound Surround Mapper -- has mappings to 5.1 channels (but no specifics for devices).

3. Windows Classic Wave Driver -- has mappings to left and right channels for all of the devices enabled in Windows Control Panel -> Sound settings. I can check/uncheck enable for each of these. If I have the digital output enabled in WIndows, I uncheck here hoping it will leave the Xonar alone. When I exit Sound Forge and return to Audio Preferences, it remains unchecked unless I change to a different audio device type when it seems to reset the check boxes.

4. ASIO -- obviously don't want to use this directly, but it has mappings to left and right channels.


So, the Windows Classic Wave Driver seems to be the only one that lets me control the mapping to a specific device via Sound Forge.

I have the same behavior when I select the Microsoft Sound Mapper or Direct Sound Surround Mapper. From what I've been reading, these use the config in Windows' Control Panel -> Sound settings. When I have the Digital Output disabled here, the mappers should not be trying to use it.


Is there someplace else to config Sound Forge to directly use a specific device and completely ignore the others? Or some other way to make the Xonar/ASIO invisible or not available to Sound Forge?

Thanks for everyone's comments! They're very helpful in thinking through this.