Do I need an audio interface?

[aburgener]

Hey, this is probably a dumb question but I haven't been on these forums in years and am just starting to get re-introduced to Live after a long time...

If I plan to work 100% "in the box" - i.e. no external audio input/recording - how important is an interface (really, how important is a low latency driver, I guess)?

I can play around in Live and sequence things and all is well. My plan is to get a small USB controller. My fear is that if I introduce a MIDI controller into the mix and now I'm playing Live synths with it, latency may come into play?

I'm on a PC by the way.

So - can I get away with just a midi controller and my PC laptop or will the latency suck because I have no ASIO driver?

[login]

Hey, this is probably a dumb question but I haven't been on these forums in years and am just starting to get re-introduced to Live after a long time...

If I plan to work 100% "in the box" - i.e. no external audio input/recording - how important is an interface (really, how important is a low latency driver, I guess)?

I can play around in Live and sequence things and all is well. My plan is to get a small USB controller. My fear is that if I introduce a MIDI controller into the mix and now I'm playing Live synths with it, latency may come into play?

I'm on a PC by the way.

So - can I get away with just a midi controller and my PC laptop or will the latency suck because I have no ASIO driver?

are you using aiso4all drivers? how much is your latency now? I think it will depend on what plugs you are using.

[carrieres]

exactly try asio4all and you won't need a external audio card

[aburgener]

Should have also mentioned I'm rocking Windows 8 - is ASIO4ALL stable on Windows 8?

Sorry, I am familiar with ASIO4ALL and have used it in the past - but I did forget about that option. I was thinking it wasn't fully supported on Win8 though last time I checked.

[aburgener]

I installed it and it appears to work alright... thanks!

[102455]

exactly try asio4all and you won't need a external audio card

Sorry but that's a ridiculous statement.

ASIO4ALL is not an ASIO driver. It's an EMULATOR that sits on top of your existing Windows WDM driver.

The only time you'd need ASIO4ALL is if you were trying to use some software which could only output to an ASIO device (which is extremely rare now). The driver would allow you to output audio via your cheap and nasty onboard sound by fooling the software into thinking you had an ASIO card when you didn't.

That's what it does. That's the reason it exists.

It's not there to magically transform your onboard audio into a professional low latency interface.

It can't do that, because your onboard audio is still only running via the WDM driver.

Use the right tools for the job. If you want decent performance, buy the proper kit instead of trying to bodge it.

[kitekrazy]

exactly try asio4all and you won't need a external audio card

Sorry but that's a ridiculous statement.

ASIO4ALL is not an ASIO driver. It's an EMULATOR that sits on top of your existing Windows WDM driver.

The only time you'd need ASIO4ALL is if you were trying to use some software which could only output to an ASIO device (which is extremely rare now). The driver would allow you to output audio via your cheap and nasty onboard sound by fooling the software into thinking you had an ASIO card when you didn't.

That's what it does. That's the reason it exists.

It's not there to magically transform your onboard audio into a professional low latency interface.

It can't do that, because your onboard audio is still only running via the WDM driver.

Use the right tools for the job. If you want decent performance, buy the proper kit instead of trying to bodge it.

Someone got it right. I see a lot of high end PC builds and then they compliment it by stick with onboard sound or Soundblaster. Might as well put snow tires on a Corvette.

[H20nly]

^ nice car analogy placement.

[savyurrecords]

Do you need it? No

Does it make things run a bit better and sound much better? Yes

The choice is yours you get what you pay for in life.

I wouldn't ever let it stop me from making music but I would save up some money for a small interface while making music with the soundblaster.

[carrieres]

exactly try asio4all and you won't need a external audio card

Sorry but that's a ridiculous statement.

ASIO4ALL is not an ASIO driver. It's an EMULATOR that sits on top of your existing Windows WDM driver.

The only time you'd need ASIO4ALL is if you were trying to use some software which could only output to an ASIO device (which is extremely rare now). The driver would allow you to output audio via your cheap and nasty onboard sound by fooling the software into thinking you had an ASIO card when you didn't.

That's what it does. That's the reason it exists.

It's not there to magically transform your onboard audio into a professional low latency interface.

It can't do that, because your onboard audio is still only running via the WDM driver.

Use the right tools for the job. If you want decent performance, buy the proper kit instead of trying to bodge it.

my answer is dependent of the context and perimeter of the problem so it's a right answer
but you are right, if the question was about performance and professional a decent soundcard is mandatory
i think he should buy his midi controller first and if he has pour latency (i doubt) buy a soundcard

[CFM]

Get yourself a cheap

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface