Hey!
I'm quite new to audio interfaces and have quite a few questions. Right now I have a Behringer XM8500 hooked up to a eurorack UB502 and also a Scecher Omen 6 electric guitar and an M-Audio Keysation 88es via USB. So basically the eurorack is there to mix and amplify the signal of the mic and guitar to recordable level. An integrated Relteck HD sound card does the recording.
As you can probably guess I have to use ASIO drivers to get the latency to a bearable 11-15ms.
What function does an audio interface like the M-audio Fast Track mkII actually have? I understand that it's for recording - so basically using that would improve my sound quality as well as the latency, right? My question is - does the Fast Track completely replace my int. sound card? Would all of my audio improve when I'm using it or would it only work on the recording?
It has a headphone out channel, so if I plug a decent pair of headphones in there could I expect to hear everything from my computer with better sound quality that right now?
Also for some strange reason I need to use ASIO drivers for even the Keystation. I don't understand why that is. Doesn't the fact that it's connected via USB mean the the signal is already digital and it doesn't need a converter (or sound-card) that could slow it down? Weird. Perhaps the Fast Track could resolve this problem even thou I cant connect the keystation directly to the Fast track as it has no midi or USB in.
Thanks for your time.
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The pro and ultra are a little out of my price range. In any cas
The pro and ultra are a little out of my price range. In any case I don't need 2 mic inputs. The MKII suites me as it has 1 mic input, 1 guitar input and a 1/4'' headphone out I need.
I need to save up on some decent pair of headphones as well ($50 - $100). I assume the fast track has a headphone amp built into it too?
Would it be bad if I just continue to use my midi controller via USB and just tell the computer to use the fast track as the sound card?
Yes, the Fast Track replaces your internal sound card for record
Yes, the Fast Track replaces your internal sound card for recording purposes and if you wish, for other computer audio purposes. If you need MIDI then you should skip the bottom barrel Fast Track and go for the Pro or Ultra model.
ASIO stands for audio signal input output. It is a better implemented format for audio "drivers". For your DAW program to utilize whatever interface it needs to be able to speak to that interface bidirectionally. Most internal soundcards are crap to begin with and the drivers for them are not very bidirectional friendly. In addition, most operate on the MME protocol which is not very good.