Using the Audio Device tab
Item Description
Audio device type Choose a driver type from the drop-down list:
• Microsoft Sound Mapper: The default setting. Allows the Sound Mapper to
choose an appropriate playback device.
• Direct Sound Surround Mapper: Allows the Surround Mapper to choose
appropriate playback devices for the front, rear, and center/LFE channels in a
5.1 surround project (pg. 236).
• Windows Classic Wave Driver: Allows you to choose a specific audio device
using a classic wave driver. For stereo projects, choose a device from the
Default Stereo and Front playback device drop-down list. For 5.1-surround
projects, choose devices from the Default Stereo and Front playback device,
Default Rear playback device, and Default Center and LFE playback device
drop-down lists.
• ASIO: Allows you to choose a specific audio device using a low-latency ASIO
driver. For stereo projects, choose a device from the Default Stereo and Front
playback device from the drop-down list. For 5.1-surround projects, choose
devices from the Default Stereo and Front playback device, Default Rear
playback device, and Default Center and LFE playback device drop-down lists.
• ReWire Device Driver: Allows you to use ACID software as ReWire device in a
ReWire mixer application. If a ReWire mixer application starts ACID software,
that ACID window will start in ReWire mode and cannot be switched from
ReWire mode. If a ReWire mixer connects to an existing ACID window, that
window will run in ReWire mode, and you can switch out of ReWire mode if
necessary. If you exit that instance of the software and start ACID software
again, the new instance will start ReWire mode, and you can switch out of
ReWire mode if necessary by choosing a different audio device type.
Default Stereo and Front playback Choose the device that you want to use for playing stereo sound data. In a 5.1
device surround project, this device plays the right and left channels.
Selecting a device such as the Microsoft Sound Mapper allows Windows to select
an appropriate device to use for the current sound data.
Note:
If you have selected Microsoft Sound Mapper, you cannot assign busses
to different devices.
Default Rear playback device Choose the device that you want to use for playing the rear channels (right
surround and left surround) in a 5.1 surround project.
Default Center and LFE playback Choose the device that you want to use for playing the center and LFE channels in
device a 5.1 surround project.
Playback buffering (seconds) The Playback buffering (seconds) slider specifies the total amount of buffering
that is used during playback. The larger the number, the more buffering that
occurs during playback. This value should be as low as possible without gapping.
To set it, start at 25 and play a typical song. Move some of the track faders. If the
playback gaps at all, try increasing this slider in small increments until the gapping
stops. As you increase this slider, the RAM meter at the bottom of the ACID
window will indicate more RAM usage.
If you simply cannot get playback to be free of gapping, you need to either
decrease the number of tracks you are trying to play simultaneously, install more
RAM in your computer so you can increase buffering, buy a faster access hard
drive, or minimize the number of audio plug-ins you are trying to use
simultaneously.
Enable track buffering Select this check box and drag the Track buffering slider if you want to adjust the
amount of audio that is prerendered ahead of the cursor position.
When the check box is selected, a separate processing thread is used to render
audio from tracks. On multiprocessor or multicore computers, a thread will be
created for each logical processor.
When the check box is cleared, a single processing thread is used to render audio
from tracks and busses.
Default audio recording device Choose the device that you want to use for recording sound data.
Selecting the Microsoft Sound Mapper allows the operating system to select an
appropriate device to use for the current sound data.
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