USB DAC

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Hello,

First post/question :nerd:

Few months ago I switched from an ASUS destop station to an AIO Dell computer.
With the ASUS desktop station the music output from the Asus Xonar Phoebus soundcard went directly to a pair of powered monitor speakers. With that setup i could also record music via internal DJ program or mic/line input with WASAPI setting in audacity. As I understand in this setup all windows/system mixers and ADDA converters are bypassed and done by the soundcard and routed to audacity? Right?

However after the station upgrade (downgrade) i was not that impressed with the music output from the Dell AIO soundcard so decided to invest in a good external USB DAC Audio interface (Teac UD-501). Music improved dramatically :smiley:

When recording in Audacity the WASAPI routine can still be used (input device : Digital Audio Interface TEAC USB AUDIO Loopback).
But, I’m left with a few questions about that LOOPBACK routine :
The Music in digital form (pcm/flac) is routed via usb to the Teac device, converted to an analogue signal for the speakers output, but does the device also sends this analogue signal via same usb cable back to Audacity and bypassing every windows/system mixers? In other words, is what i’m hearing (corrected analogue signal) also being recorded by audacity or am i’m missing something and is the ADDA conversion done in windows system without passing the TEAC device ?

Patrick.

2

WASAPI loopback is digital.

There is full interaction with the Windows system mixer unless you enable both “Exclusive Mode” boxes in Windows Sound.

Even if you enable Exclusive Mode, PortAudio (Audacity’s audio API) forces capture in 32-bit float. So you can’t escape all conversions, however there is no real harm in upconverting given Audacity stores audio in 32-bit float by default.


Gale

3

Thanks, that part i figured out.
But i still don’t know if audacity is recording the DA/AD DAC stream (re-routed to audacity) or an internal DA/AD window mixer stream without passing the DAC.
What is the Reloop designation in audacity?

Patrick.

4

Where exactly are the powered speakers connected, what is the problem you are experiencing, and what exactly are you trying to do?

As I explained, you cannot bypass all conversions. You can minimise them by enabling both Exclusive Mode boxes in Windows Sound, then in theory the Windows processing is bypassed.

If you want to record the analogue output of the TEAC as speakers connected to the TEAC would hear that output, you would need to connect an analogue output of the TEAC to the stereo line-in of the computer (or to stereo line-in of an audio interface connected to the computer).


Gale