PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

So yea, i want my on-board card for simple apps that require a pc mic, like for gaming and what not. And when i tried running it through scope with the sound card dest/source modules, i got weird clicky sort of sound along with my chopped up voice. It was like they were out of sync or something, i don't really know. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thx.

Try a small external mixer.

I'd really like to solve this without having to do that.

it's easy to solve - trash it
this looks like a routine from 1998 to hook to a soundblaster driver or something like that, it IS useless.

if you don't want a small mixer and no adat/zlink expansion under no circumstances (all pretty affordable today - it's close to end of year sales), then a broken DAT may be a solution.
Usually the tape mechanic fails but the electronic remains ok.
Connect it to s/pdif and slave Scope to it, this gets you two additional channels - workable, but not that great, tho

cheers, Tom

I've heard of problems which are sample rate related, every time we try that.

in that case he can plug the mic directly into the Pulsar...
which probably isn't intended because the analog in use already

cheers, tom

ps: which will even work with a dynamic mic - not as good as with a micpre (of course), but it's truely stunning how much gain you can apply to the input opamps - and better than a 'regular' soundcard anyway.

On 2005-12-13 07:02, Nestor wrote:
I've heard of problems which are sample rate related, every time we try that.

you could be right Nestor, if the external device is locked to 48k and one prefers a 44k setup. I've used for quite some time a Philips digital cassette (DCC) unit.
Those are outdated today, but have an excellent audio quality (once this was high end gear...) - not all of them have a mic input, tho

cheers, Tom

This sample rate problem happens particularly, when you try to use your Scope with any peer 2 peer application like Skype for instance, you can get funny results, and your voice sounds like a big tenebrous ghost.

Hehe just checking my old posts, its been a while since. No i never pursued this any further. Looking at it now, its rly weird that no one else has tried this. I mean its a fairly simple concept, to be able to use all your pc's standard sound options, under the scope umbrella, but whatever. All i wanted was to setup a cheap mic for gaming and i think it was skype that spawned this issue. I can't believe all the insane replies i'm getting. I shouldn't have to go dumpster diving for old electronics just to setup a pc microphone. I'd still like this to be solved. Especially with Halo 2 about to come out on pc. This also opens up a whole new world of trying scope out on vista. plz no responses about running scope on vista btw. But yea, lets revive this issue with some more solutions that don't require haggard amalgamations of electronics splicing.

-Omni

Omnicron wrote:... All i wanted was to setup a cheap mic for gaming and i think it was skype that spawned this issue. I can't believe all the insane replies i'm getting. ...

no problem - you can write me off the list of future repliers

OH NOES!!!

uses a neve for the preamp for the telephone headset!

I have a soundblaster living with my pulsar. I could suggest to use the wave source/dest modules instead of the soundcard ones.

It could be that the internal AC97 codec is running at a different samplerate than the Scope cards. With the src going on inside the codec I'm not really 100% sure what the artifacts would be, perhaps Tom has experience with the Directsound layer?

It's also entirely possible that the 'soundcard source' module is utter poop on OS's beyond 98/ME because the underlying audio layer in windows has gone through some changes that don't affect typical pro audio applications.

i have a Skype project set up in Scope and use my SM58 and DT100s for the mic and headset . Looks silly but it works.

I use a rediculous setup that includes an sblive for my Skype & gaming needs. It's rediculous because as of last install nothing can access the Sblive's mic input without a cold lock. I use the KX drivers for my sblive (GREAT alternative to the MS/Creative crapola) and all different versions, even the default MS sblive drivers cause the same result. I tried living with a normal mic for a few weeks but it looks really dumb in skype video (or other video chats) and gets in the way a lot even when I use a boom. Probably because I can't use a sensitive mic and still keep my gaming levels up to where I want.

So to enable voice in my game & for other applications using the cheap headset I created a crazy routing scheme:

Headset mic output> sblive in > DSP panel connection from there to sblive output 3/4 > spare tape return on my analog mixer, swapped down to faders for when gaming & assigned to bus 1/2 > Scope analog input > Scope app, hipass @ 75hz then treated lightly with optimaster to insure consistent levels > Scope AES output > RME spdif input (fully compatible with AES levels & using an XLR to RCA cable) > Windows record input assigned to RME spdif input.

I still use the Sblive (kx driver) Wav output for my games/skype & general 'default playback' settings in windows. All important applications (including winamp) get assigned to specific RME outputs & inputs.

Note that without the KX drivers my crazy routing scheme wouldn't work.

all of these solutions are insane....

hey arkadin can i see your skype project? Do you use a pc or studio mic for it?

I'm totally gonna find a sensible way of doing this......

or maybe i'll harass scope's tech support about it.

I would also like to see your project for your sound card running lima plz

I'm not trying to be mean, when i put down your suggestion. I'm just saying that its too far-fetched to even try, or i don't even understand what you're interpreting my problem as. Could someone please just confirm that this is possible with a sceen capture image of the project and whatever card it is that they'e running with it?

I posted mine up specifically because it is insane
Certainly it's of no use to anyone but me due to my specific needs & choice of gear.

I think you talked to me on aim a bit ago. Let me reiterate, I know of NOONE that uses the soundcard module with any success on win2k & XP. They are NT based OS's and have had their audio subsystems modified a bit from the AC97/WDM spec that first came out with win98SE (and them ME). I don't have a clue how creamware coded this module, but it does NOT work in my experience.

A small outboard mixer will not only help you sum the two audio cards together, but it is imho essential to protecting your speakers. There was a time I thought of abandoning my external mixer as I only had a DJM600 (dj mixer with line ins only) or a mackie 1202vlz, but after a short discussion with Red Muze he made it obvious what I had overlooked: that managing your gains in the digital realm is not the same as the analog realm. Bit reducing your signal down to halfway so that you can monitor at a reasonable volume and still be able to turn it up for some 'thump' later is not realy a good idea.