Renoise Audio Configs, Etc... [support, Please.]

Hi!

Perhaps this may look like an odd beginners-question, but I thought this was the right forum because I actually just need support, and I know people around here have great knowledge. :)

All this began when I tried to set up audio configs in Sonar (I combine Renoise with other programs). In this case I want the audio from 16-bit to 24 bit, and 44.100 Hz to 48.000 Hz. But it won’t let me, there’s a little window which says: “The default audio format is not compatible with one or more sound cards. It has been reset to 44100 Hz (16-bit), as suggested by the driver.”

Then I had to think a bit. So I checked the audio configs in Renoise and actually it was 44.100 and 16-bit there as well. All these years, with this computer, I’ve made music with Renoise and rendering in all kinds of different audio quality: Mostly 24-bit - 48.000 Hz! So I tried to set some other values in the configs and it worked.

So I’m confused right now, what’s the problem? At another forum most of them seemed convinced that the soundcard was the problem, iether lack of drivers or the soundcard itself. It’s SoundMAX and it followed with the computer when I bought it like 2,5 years ago. No matter if it’s the worst or the best card, shouldn’t it be standard to deliver 24b/48khz?

Anyway… As I’m writing this I’m doing backups and I’m gonna reformat the HD and install drivers for another soundcard; Realtek, which also followed with the computer. Yes, two soundcards - Strange. But they said it was a “motherboard crap soundcard as well”. (EDIT: I think Realtek is the LAN-card here.)

So if the questions I want to ask didn’t come clear already;

1) What is the true quality of my soundcard? I tried to look for it in preferences, manuals, receips, google, and not a single word about bit rate or kilohertz… How to find out?

2) The audio configs in Renoise isn’t the same as rendering? I mean, I can still render at higher quality while there are lower values in the configs?

3) If the problem is Sonar, how to solve it? If it isn’t, how can I have higher values (both configs in Renoise and rendering from Renoise) than what the card genuinely is? I mean, play around with 24-bit and 48.000 Hz with a 16-bit 44.100 Hz soundcard ?

:huh:

EDIT: I think Realtek is the LAN-card btw.

Rendering quality is not the same as playing quality.
Renoise renders beyond your soundcard. Actually you don’t even need a soundcard to render audio to disk from within Renoise.
I think the message comes from your driver stating your soundcard is being used by another application using a specific type of audio frequency and bit-rate.
It is logical that an audiocard does not support two or more different bitrates at the same time, hence the message.
You can either adjust the bit-rate and audio frequency in Renoise or in the driver configuration but you won’t be able to run two different audio applications using two different audio configurations.

Thanks for the reply…
So I can render in 24-bit and 48kHz with a 16-bit soundcard and the rendered files will sound better at computers with 24-bit soundcards??
As for the trouble I experience in Sonar I’m not really following. I’m not using Renoise at the same time. I think the soundcard does’t support 24-bit at all, so I have to buy a new one…

yep, like Vv wrote rendering is independent of the soundcards hardware.
so yes.

as for the sonar problem, just render it 24/48 to wav.
anything you bounce to renoise or sonar will be the same as your settings during render.
both of those cards are probably not meant to go above 16/44.

Thanks for reply… I actually want to mix and master with this one, so I can do that without feeling that there will be a quality loss along the way? If yes, then I guess better soundcards are just for better listening experience and/or perhaps for more accurate mixing. And I guess all recordings with this soundcard will not get beyond the abilities. Am I thinking right?