2 audio interfaces

[Branko]

I have tried to run:

https://www.presonus.com/products/AudioBox-USB-96

and

https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/audio_interfaces/ur_series/models/ur22mkii.html

so I can record 4 audio channels and installed ASIO drivers for both.

It seems that Cakewalk can only take one device at the time since the first one installed is immediately grayed out and disabled in Preferences as soon as the second one is installed. Then only the second device is available in preferences.

Is there a way to run 2 audio devices in Cakewalk?

Thank you

[James Argo]

14 minutes ago, Branko said:

I have tried to run:

https://www.presonus.com/products/AudioBox-USB-96

and

https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/audio_interfaces/ur_series/models/ur22mkii.html

so I can record 4 audio channels and installed ASIO drivers for both.

It seems that Cakewalk can only take one device at the time since the first one installed is immediately grayed out and disabled in Preferences as soon as the second one is installed. Then only the second device is available in preferences.

Is there a way to run 2 audio devices in Cakewalk?

Thank you

ASIO mode will not let you run more than 1 instance of audio driver at the same time. That means if you run in ASIO mode, you can only run 1 audio driver to use with your audio application.

If your audio driver allows running 2 cards at the same time (for example, my PC has 2 MAudio Delta 1010LTs running 1 driver), then I can use both cards in Cakewalk.

I guess it will not happen if you run 2 different cards from different manufacturer, unless you run Cakewalk with WDM, WASAPI or MME mode.

Preferences --> Audio --> Playback and Recording --> Driver Mode.

 

 

[msmcleod]

@James Argo is correct - if you need to use more than one interface, you can swap to WASAPI or WDM instead of ASIO.

Alternatively,  you could use ASIOLink which wraps up both your "main" ASIO interface, and the rest as WDM, presenting everything as ASIO to Cakewalk:

Note however. In both cases, you'll need to ensure that the interfaces share a common word clock in order for them to stay in sync, otherwise you'll probably exhibit timing issues.

Normally this is done using a wordclock connection, or connecting the digital output of one to the digital input of the other (either ADAT or SPDIF). Given that neither the AudioBox USB 96 or UR22 has these options, it may be difficult... unless ASIOLink can somehow cater for this internally.

[CJ Jacobson]

1 hour ago, Branko said:

have tried to run:

https://www.presonus.com/products/AudioBox-USB-96

and

https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/audio_interfaces/ur_series/models/ur22mkii.html

so I can record 4 audio channels and installed ASIO drivers for both.

Its impossible to run 2 different audio interfaces for recording. Its a clocking issue (sample rate issue) as even if they are both set to 48kHz, the clocking will be slightly different for each audio interface.  If you where to use 2 of the same interfaces and they are capable of being daisy chained, then you can do it. But not 2 different ones

 

So you cannot use 2 different audio interfaces at the same time for recording to get more inputs into your DAW

[msmcleod]

Just now, CJ Jacobson said:

Its impossible to run 2 different audio interfaces for recording. Its a clocking issue (sample rate issue) as even if they are both set to 48kHz, the clocking will be slightly different for each audio interface.  If you where to use 2 of the same interfaces and they are capable of being daisy chained, then you can do it. But not 2 different ones

 

So you cannot use 2 different audio interfaces at the same time for recording to get more inputs into your DAW

You can if you use a common word-clock. But your interfaces need the facility to act as a clock master or slave, and have the appropriate interfaces.

You need to designate one interface as your clock master and every other interface needs to slave to that. You can use a BNC word clock connection, SPDIF or ADAT, depending on what you have available.

This is how things like the Behringer ADA8000, ADA8200 or Focusrite OctoPre work with other ADAT compatible interfaces. They share a common wordclock.

I use the 2 x Yamaha i88x, a Yamaha 01X,  a Behringer ADA8000, a Fostex VC-8 and a Focusrite 18i20 all together, with the Focusrite 18i20 being the clock master.

The Behringer and Fostex get their clock input from the Focusrite's BNC output, one i88x uses either SPDIF or ADAT (depending on my patching needs), which propagates the clock to the other i88x & 01X via mLAN over firewire.

Normally it's recommended to have an external wordclock device for so many devices, but I've not as yet had any sync problems so far using the 18i20 as the master.

Using ASIO Link, I can record up to 64 simultaneous channels - though, I've never really tried anything beyond 32.

[CJ Jacobson]

1 hour ago, msmcleod said:

You can if you use a common word-clock.

I never saw the OP mention he was using it in his signal chain. If he is, then he can do it, if both cards allow master and slave designation

[Gswitz]

Yes, you can definitely use all the clock sync'd devices you like. As long as they are sync'd you can record on different computers across the room.

[JonD]

4 hours ago, Branko said:

Is there a way to run 2 audio devices in Cakewalk?

Thank you

Bottom line, if you need to record 4 channels simultaneously and be able to mix them as discrete channels, you'll need an interface with 4+ ins/outs.

Alternatively, you can buy a small mixer (with at least 4 inputs) and feed the stereo outs into your interface, but of course you won't be able to mix the separate channels.

[Branko]

Thank you all for the very detailed explanations. I had no idea it was that complicated really. Now that you explain it, it makes sense but I really though I could do this. I tried changing the driver mode but it didn't help. The only way forward is the new 4 channel interface.

Thanks again!

Edited August 4, 2019 by Branko

[chuckebaby]

I picked up a Focusrite 18I8 for this very reason. It has 4 combo XLR-1/4 jacks and 4 line in jacks.

Ive seen them as low as 199.99 used at Guitar Center. Good drivers, works/plays nice with Cakewalk.

[Jim Roseberry]

By very definition, ASIO can't use more than 1 audio interface simultaneously.

Some manufacturers get around this by allowing using two (or more) of that same/similar model of audio interface... that each use the same ASIO driver.

IOW, The additional audio interface shows up as more audio I/O... using the same (single) ASIO driver.

You can create an aggregate audio device using ASIO4ALL, but then both devices would need to share a common clock (otherwise tracks would drift apart over time - due to the slight difference between the two clocks).  It's (at best) a half-baked solution.

If you need more I/O, you're infinitely better off getting a single audio interface that has the necessary I/O.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Jim Roseberry

[Apessos Andreas]

i have latest version of cakewalk and two behringer cards umc 1820 with the last firmware. I have conected together with optically for clocking. Can i see the two devises on my daw simultansly. The best option  is ?              a) wasapi shared b) wds/ks c) wasapi exclusive d) mme 32 e)Asio

Edited February 10 by Apessos Andreas

[Bristol_Jonesey]

Please start a new thread. This zombie one is in its fifth year

[Colin Nicholls]

On 2/10/2024 at 2:58 AM, Bristol_Jonesey said:

Please start a new thread. This zombie one is in its fifth year

So? Is the information above out of date? Or would you prefer that everyone write out their replies again in the new thread?

[Bristol_Jonesey]

<shrug> generally, people on here don't like resurrecting ancient posts whose content may not be applicable any more

And I'm not prepared to wade through pages of dated information to see if any of it is still valid or not.

[John Vere]

@Colin Nicholls

As a personal choice I don’t answer high jack questions on old threads. Apparently there’s a majority of regulars that agree with this practice.  
The main reason is people are not aware they are reading an old post so it’s a huge time waster. 

And what if the high jacker starts getting answers and questions and so on? The thread becomes very confusing because nobody knows who is talking to who.  
 

High jacking is frowned upon in all user forums for good reasons. And most times the high jacker never returns anyhow. 
 

We welcome Mr Andreas to the forum and I'm sure all will be more than happy to help if they start their own thread. 

Edited February 11 by John Vere

[Byron Dickens]

2 hours ago, Colin Nicholls said:

So? Is the information above out of date? Or would you prefer that everyone write out their replies again in the new thread?

After 5 years very likely.