Audiotester + M-audio - info + question

[AuroraB]

Is this problem related to Audotester specifically, or is it in the combination or soundcard driver?
Anybody else using different souncards have the same problems?

Interesting, -'cause I've been looking seriously at Audiotester for some time now...

[rdf]

Hmmm, sorry about that. I use a Firewrie Audiophile and RAM was certainly an issue with it. Are you using M-Audio drivers matched to the service pack of your OS? XP SP3 compatible drivers for mine weren't available until very recently. It might still be swap file related, it sounds unlikely but a defrag is an easy thing to try.

[Cappy]

I did more loopback testing and so far the system seems quite usable with the WDM drivers using 192/24 for both input and output.

Eventually the AudioTester software will stop working in continuous testing mode, as mentioned previously, for both FFTs and distortion tests.

The next step will be to test some real audio hardware. We'll see if any bugs show up then.

The problems with M-Audio drivers and SP3 is purely in the install programs, if I am reading the info on the M-Audio site correctly -- many of the install packages would not install under XP Service Pack 3, while all the drivers were fine.

There are new Delta drivers for the Audiophile 192 that were posted yesterday, compatible with SP2 and SP3. Unlike previous yearly releases, there were a lot of bugs fixed in this release. Some of the fixes look like serious problems regarding interrupts, etc. These problems could definitely have an influence on AudioTester. At some point, when my test setup is stable, I'll try the new drivers. But I'll switch back to the 048 release if there are any problems.

Pete, if nothing else works you could try the newer drivers. In addition, I'm interested to know your WDM experiences with your current setup. Also, another question for you: when you are doing testing, is your CPU getting pegged high?

[pmillett]

Originally posted by Cappy
Pete, what drivers are you using?

I've tried the drivers that came with the card (CD says version 102004) as well as the latest on the M-Audio website. Tried WDM, ASIO, any possible combo. If I select WDM I get an error from AudioTester, someting liks "unsupported format" for 192k/24b.

Originally posted by AuroraB
Is this problem related to Audotester specifically, or is it in the combination or soundcard driver?

I have had different issues with different soundcards. The FFT itself has worked fine on several sound cards, but I've always had trouble getting the sweeps to work, especially the THD vs. freq sweep. Yhe freq response works, sometimes...

In general it seems less buggy at lower resolutions and sample rates.

Originally posted by rdf
Are you using M-Audio drivers matched to the service pack of your OS?

Yes. I haven't loaded SP3. I'm always wary of "updates" so I stuck with a known quantity

Originally posted by Cappy
Also, another question for you: when you are doing testing, is your CPU getting pegged high?

55% CPU use with only FFT running, 67% with FFT and also the signal generator.

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Well, I have a new GPIB card on its way, and I picked up Agilent VEE (test automation SW) on Ebay for (relatively) cheap, so I'm gonna try this old-school EE stye, using the HP 8903 analyzer doing program-controlled sweeps. My first try at writing test software - maybe it will remind me why I'm a hardware engineer.

Pete

[Cappy]

I tried the newly posted Audiophile 192 drivers and started having a bunch of problems with AudioTester. Kind of pitiful that I've got to use drivers from 2004. I am using the 102004 drivers too, by the way.

Uninstalling the new version and reinstalling the 048 software didn't completely fix the problems. I had to go back to a previous restore point. Fortunately, new Audiophile 192 install program creates a restore point.

So I got everything working again, but my FFT looked different. There was a big noise spike at 70khz. It turns out I had moved my cabling close to the PC and the card was picking up the induced noise.