USB audio interface compatible with Cakewalk

[Adam Gill]

Hello,

Can anyone recommend a cheap, very small USB audio interface compatible with Cakewalk or other DAW??

I require something like this while travelling/ on the road ... I see a lot of USB audio interfaces on Aliexpress and other places which look good, but I'm not sure if they are detectable by the DAW

My Realtec soundcard inside my laptop work OK with Cakewalk, however, if I am multitasking with other apps & YT etc, I will need an external dedicated external audio interphase which is recognised by cakewalk and use the internal Realtec sound card for  normal computer work/other multitasking. (The internal Realtec sound card cannot be used with Cakewalk and other apps at the same time)

Any suggestions please??

Many thanks,

Adam G

[msmcleod]

I've used the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with my laptop while out and about, which is great... however if I know I'll not be recording, I'll just use the internal sound card.

You should be able to use your internal Realtek device with Cakewalk at the same time as long as:

1. You set Cakewalk to use WASAPI Shared
2. You set the Windows sample rate to match your Cakewalk project
3. The "Suspend Audio Engine When Cakewalk Is Not in Focus" is unchecked:

[AndyB01]

+1 for the Focusrite, I have an ancient Gen 1 2i4 - still rock solid.

Andy

[Adam Gill]

52 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

I've used the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with my laptop while out and about, which is great... however if I know I'll not be recording, I'll just use the internal sound card.

You should be able to use your internal Realtek device with Cakewalk at the same time as long as:

1. You set Cakewalk to use WASAPI Shared
2. You set the Windows sample rate to match your Cakewalk project
3. The "Suspend Audio Engine When Cakewalk Is Not in Focus" is unchecked:

Thanks for the input ... I was using ASIO in Cakewalk with Realtec .. a bit buggy ... so Thanks, I will try WASAPI shared .. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 looks good but still a bit large? Anything smaller on the market?

 

[Adam Gill]

43 minutes ago, AndyB01 said:

+1 for the Focusrite, I have an ancient Gen 1 2i4 - still rock solid.

Andy

Thanks .. I may consider it!

[msmcleod]

3 minutes ago, Adam Gill said:

Thanks for the input ... I was using ASIO in Cakewalk with Realtec .. a bit buggy ... so Thanks, I will try WASAPI shared .. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 looks good but still a bit large? Anything smaller on the market?

 

Yes, the Realtek ASIO driver is not really fit for purpose.  WASAPI Exclusive will give you low latency close to ASIO, but will prevent other applications from using it for audio. WASAPI Shared has higher latency, but can share the device with other applications.

[Adam Gill]

35 minutes ago, msmcleod said:

Yes, the Realtek ASIO driver is not really fit for purpose.  WASAPI Exclusive will give you low latency close to ASIO, but will prevent other applications from using it for audio. WASAPI Shared has higher latency, but can share the device with other applications.

I have tried your suggestion ... this works well many thanks for your solution!