Preferences – Audio Device Tab

Options Menu

Use the Audio Device tab to specify playback and recording options. To display this tab, choose Preferences from the Options menu, then click the Audio Device tab. Click the Advanced button to access the advanced audio preferences. 

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.

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 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 a 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 in ReWire mode, and you can switch out of ReWire mode if necessary by choosing a different audio device type.

Default Stereo and Front playback device

Choose the device that you want to use for playing stereo sound data and the front-left and -right channels of a 5.1 surround project.

Selecting the Microsoft Sound Mapper allows Windows to select an appropriate device to use for the current sound data.

Acid Pro Audio Device PreferencesIf you have selected Microsoft Sound Mapper, you will not be able to assign busses to different devices.

Default Rear playback device

Choose the device that you want to use for playing the rear channels of a 5.1 surround project.

Default Center and LFE playback device

Choose the device that you want to use for playing the center and low-frequency effect channels of a 5.1 surround project.

Playback buffering (seconds)

Specifies the size of the audio segments that are sent to the sound card. .

The larger the number, the more buffering is performed during playback. This value must be as low as possible without gapping. To set it, start at .25 and play back a typical song. Move some of the track faders. If the playback gaps, try increasing this slider in small increments until the gapping goes away. As you increase this slider, the RAM meter at the bottom of the ACID window will indicate more RAM usage. You need to strike a balance between RAM usage and playback buffering.

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.

Automatically detect and offset for hardware recording latency

Select the check box to automatically compensate for offset between the time you initiate recording and when your sound card starts recording.

Clear the check box and drag the User recording latency offset slider to specify an offset value.

Advanced

Click this button to open the Advanced Audio Configuration dialog.

Default All

Click to restore the Audio tab to the default settings.

 
 

Audio Device Preferences