Latest revision as of 10:02, 22 March 2022

Setting Up Audio Devices

Audio devices enable your computer to create the sounds you hear, either through a dedicated sound-card or simply using your computer's built-in hardware. Regardless of whatever generates the actual sound output, what you control in Renoise is the audio driver, which is what allows the hardware and software to communicate.

Default Setup

By default, Renoise is configured to use the system's default audio output device at a high latency, ensuring that in most cases Renoise is ready to go and output can be heard. No input device (something you can record with) is selected by default. Because the default settings are often not optimal for your particular machine, you should have a quick look at the Audio Preferences in case adjustments can be made.

Audio Preferences

To change the audio settings in Renoise, select "Edit->Preferences" from the Upper Status Bar. On MacOS you will find the "Preferences" in the "Renoise" menu at the very left.

In the Preferences menu, select the Audio tab:

(Example of the Audio Preferences tab on Windows)

What follows is a quick overview of how to set up devices. For a more detailed explanation of the Audio Preferences, take a look at the Preferences section of the manual.

Audio Setup on Windows

On Windows you will have the choice between two different audio architectures:

Direct Sound: This is the Windows default setup for audio and will work with all devices that are recognised by Windows. It is reliable, but also has a relatively high latency (the time it takes for the sound output by Renoise to be heard). Direct Sound only offers one stereo channel as input or output, so if your sound-card offers multiple audio channels you will not be able to use them in Renoise via this method.
ASIO: An audio architecture created specifically for professional audio applications such as Renoise. It offers low latencies and combines recording and playback into one driver, making recording more reliable and stable. It also allows software to access multiple channels at once. So if your sound card has more than one output, you can directly address them in various ways when using ASIO.

Because of its many advantages, using ASIO is highly recommended. Even if your sound-card does not provide ASIO drivers (i.e. your device does not show up in the ASIO device list in Renoise), you could try out a free general ASIO driver for Windows: ASIO4All. This driver will work with most audio hardware, but may not be as reliable as your specific sound-card vendor's official drivers.

Audio Setup on Mac MacOS

On MacOS there is only one driver architecture present and it will work out of the box on all available Macs. Named 'Core Audio', it is similar to ASIO, offering low latencies and allowing the use of multiple sound-card outputs (when present) in Renoise.

To use Core Audio, simply select the device for output and recording and then select the latency and sample rate you want to use. Please see below for a more detailed description of the latency and sample rate setup.

Audio Setup on Linux

On Linux you have the choice between two different architectures:

ALSA: This is the default audio architecture on most Linux systems and it should work out of the box in Renoise. In most cases it is very fast and reliable, but may require some fine-tuning before being usable. Please see the notes just below for more info about the "tweaking" that is needed for Linux Audio in general.
Jack: Not installed by default on many Linux systems, but this is still a relatively common and advanced way to access your sound hardware. Jack does not just bridge Renoise to your sound-card, but also allows the routing of audio between multiple applications (provided they also support Jack). Please visit the official Jack audio pages at jackaudio.org for more detailed information.

Configuring Linux for Audio in general: Many Linux distributions are, by default, not optimized to the standards required for real-time audio creation in Renoise. So when using either ALSA or JACK with Renoise it is recommended to:

use a real-time kernel
configure PAM (/etc/security.conf) to allow Renoise and other applications to create low latency and high priority tasks

Both topics are described in depth in our Linux FAQ. For more information on the subject, this general Linux and Audio FAQ is also recommended: linuxaudio.org

Latency & Sample Rates

Latency is the time it takes for the Renoise output audio to be played on your speakers or headphones. The lower the latency, the quicker Renoise will respond to what you play or modify. So lower latencies are preferable, but they also require more CPU power to maintain. If the CPU becomes overloaded then the audio will start to crackle and choke. If you hear such crackles in the sound output, the first thing you should do is increase the latency via the Preferences menu.

The sample rate defines how much detail is contained within the sound that you hear. The higher the sample rate, the more detail. 44,100 Hz is the rate that is used by CD players, so that rate offers an excellent playback quality. Whether higher rates result in a noticeably better listening experience is debatable, but they do offer increased resolution for effects. Rates below 44,100 Hz are not recommended because there is an audible reduction in sound quality.

Note that CPU consumption is affected by the sample rate. A doubling of the sample rate roughly corresponds to a doubling of CPU consumption in Renoise, because everything requires twice the number of calculations. So be aware that when using higher rates you will reach your computer's processing power limit sooner.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Setting up Audio Devices =
+= Setting Up Audio Devices =
+Audio devices enable your computer to create the sounds you hear, either through a dedicated sound-card or simply using your computer's built-in hardware. Regardless of whatever generates the actual sound output, what you control in Renoise is the audio driver, which is what allows the hardware and software to communicate.
-Audio devices are the parts of your computer, which "make" the sound you hear. This must not necessarily be an internal or external sound card, but can also be built into your computers main board, or can be combined with other parts of the computer hardware. Whatever does the actual sound output, what you do “see” and can control in Renoise and other software is a “driver”. This is a software which communicates with the hardware and software, bridges both. This is also the reason why you maybe will have multiple choices on some platforms to use access the same hardware. We'll now go on and quickly describe how to make Renoise ready to produce some sound:
 == Default Setup ==
-By default Renoise is configured to use the systems default audio output devices, and to use no input device (something you can record with) at a high latency. This will ensure that in most cases Renoise is ready to go, can be heared. Because the default settings are often not always the optimal settings your your setup and also affect the overal performance of Renoise, you should have a quick look at the audio setup in Renoise, even when it works out of the box for you.
+By default, Renoise is configured to use the system's default audio output device at a high latency, ensuring that in most cases Renoise is ready to go and output can be heard. No input device (something you can record with) is selected by default. Because the default settings are often not optimal for your particular machine, you should have a quick look at the Audio Preferences in case adjustments can be made.
 == Audio Preferences ==
-To change audio settings in Renoise, you have to open up the Preferences. This is done by clicking on the main “Edit” → “Preferences” menu entries. On OSX you will find the “Preferences” entry in the “Renoise” menu. The one on the very left in the menu bar.
+To change the audio settings in Renoise, select ''"Edit->Preferences"'' from the [[Main_Screen#Upper_Status_Bar|Upper Status Bar]]. On MacOS you will find the ''"Preferences"'' in the ''"Renoise"'' menu at the very left.
-[[Image:vvoois_renoise_preferences_audio1.png]]
+In the Preferences menu, select the Audio tab:
-(Example of the Audio preferences pane on Windows)
+[[Image:3.4_preferences-audio.png]]
-For a detailed explanation of the audio preferences have a look at the [[Preferences]] page in this manual please. We will only give you a quick overview on how to setup devices here.
+(Example of the Audio Preferences tab on Windows)
+What follows is a quick overview of how to set up devices. For a more detailed explanation of the Audio Preferences, take a look at the [[Preferences]] section of the manual.
 == Audio Setup on Windows ==
@@ Line 22: / Line 25: @@
 On Windows you will have the choice between two different audio architectures:
-* '''Direct Sound:''' is the Windows default setup for audio and will work with all devices that are recognized by Windows. Its reliable but also has a relatively high latency (the time it takes till the sound which leaves Renoise can be heard). Direct Sound only offers up to one stereo channel as input or output, so you will not be able to use multiple channels of your sound-card in Renoise via Direct Sound (when present).
+* '''Direct Sound:''' This is the Windows default setup for audio and will work with all devices that are recognised by Windows. It is reliable, but also has a relatively high latency (the time it takes for the sound output by Renoise to be heard). Direct Sound only offers one stereo channel as input or output, so if your sound-card offers multiple audio channels you will not be able to use them in Renoise via this method.
-* '''ASIO:''' audio setup which was made for professional audio applications like Renoise. It offers low latencies, combines recording and playback in one driver, so recording is often more reliable and stable with ASIO. Further it allows software like Renoise to access multiple channels at once. If your sound card has more than one output, you can directly address them in Renoise in for example the mixer when using ASIO.
+* '''ASIO:''' An audio architecture created specifically for professional audio applications such as Renoise. It offers low latencies and combines recording and playback into one driver, making recording more reliable and stable. It also allows software to access multiple channels at once. So if your sound card has more than one output, you can directly address them in various ways when using ASIO.
-Using ASIO is highly recommended and thus should be preferred. Even if your sound-card does not provide ASIO drivers (your device does not show up in the ASIO device list in Renoise), then you could also try out a free ASIO driver for windows: [[http://www.asio4all.org/]] This driver works with most audio hardware, but might not be as reliable as the vendors official drivers.
+Because of its many advantages, using ASIO is highly recommended. Even if your sound-card does not provide ASIO drivers (i.e. your device does not show up in the ASIO device list in Renoise), you could try out a free general ASIO driver for Windows: [http://www.asio4all.org ASIO4All]. This driver will work with most audio hardware, but may not be as reliable as your specific sound-card vendor's official drivers.
-== Audio Setup on Mac OS X ==
-On OS X there is only one driver architecture present, which will work out of the box on all available Macs. This architecture is called Core Audio and offers like ASIO on Windows low latencies and allows to use multiple outputs of your soundboard in Renoise (when present).
+== Audio Setup on Mac MacOS ==
+On MacOS there is only one driver architecture present and it will work out of the box on all available Macs. Named 'Core Audio', it is similar to ASIO, offering low latencies and allowing the use of multiple sound-card outputs (when present) in Renoise.
+To use Core Audio, simply select the device for output and recording and then select the latency and sample rate you want to use. Please see below for a more detailed description of the latency and sample rate setup.
-On OSX all you have to do is selecting the device for the output and recording and to select a latency and sample rate you want to use for Renoise. Please see below for a more detailed description of the latency and sample rate setup.
 == Audio Setup on Linux ==
-On Linux you will have the choice between two different architectures:
+On Linux you have the choice between two different architectures:
-* '''ALSA:''' This is the default audio architecture on most Linux setups, which should work out of the box in Renoise. In most cases its very reliable and fast but sometimes needs some system fine tuning before being usable. Please see the general comments below for more info about this “tweaking” that is needed for Linux Audio in general.
+* '''ALSA:''' This is the default audio architecture on most Linux systems and it should work out of the box in Renoise. In most cases it is very fast and reliable, but may require some fine-tuning before being usable. Please see the notes just below for more info about the "tweaking" that is needed for Linux Audio in general.
-* '''Jack:''' Is not installed by default on many Linux systems, but is a common and very advanced way to access your sound hardware and to create music on Linux. Jack does not just bridge Renoise to your sound card, but also allows routing audio between multiple applications which all use Jack. Please have a look at the official Jack audio pages at [[http://jackaudio.org/]] for more info about Jack.
+* '''Jack:''' Not installed by default on many Linux systems, but this is still a relatively common and advanced way to access your sound hardware. Jack does not just bridge Renoise to your sound-card, but also allows the routing of audio between multiple applications (provided they also support Jack). Please visit the official Jack audio pages at [http://jackaudio.org/ jackaudio.org] for more detailed information.
-Configuring Linux for Audio in general: Many Linux distributions are by default not optimized for real time audio creation, as needed in Renoise. So when either using ALSA or JACK with Renoise its recommended to:
+Configuring Linux for Audio in general: Many Linux distributions are, by default, not optimized to the standards required for real-time audio creation in Renoise. So when using either ALSA or JACK with Renoise it is recommended to:
 * use a real-time kernel
-* configure PAM (/etc/security.conf) to allow Renoise and other application to create low latency and high priority tasks
+* configure PAM (/etc/security.conf) to allow Renoise and other applications to create low latency and high priority tasks
-Both topics are described in our [[Linux FAQ]] in depth. This general Linux and Audio FAQ is also recommended when using Audio on Linux: [[http://lau.linuxaudio.org/]]
+Both topics are described in depth in our [[Linux FAQ]]. For more information on the subject, this general Linux and Audio FAQ is also recommended: [http://lau.linuxaudio.org/ linuxaudio.org]
 == Latency & Sample Rates ==
-Beside of the device and architecture you want to use, you should also pick a latency (or buffer size) and sample rate for your device.
+Latency is the time it takes for the Renoise output audio to be played on your speakers or headphones. The lower the latency, the quicker Renoise will respond to what you play or modify. So lower latencies are preferable, but they also require more CPU power to maintain. If the CPU becomes overloaded then the audio will start to crackle and choke. If you hear such crackles in the sound output, the first thing you should do is increase the latency via the Preferences menu.
-Latency basically is the time that it takes until sounds in Renoise can be heard on your speakers or your headphones. How much of the sound is buffered. The lower the latency, the quicker Renoise will respond to what you play or what you modify in Renoise. So its good to keep the latency low. But lower latencies also require a bit more of CPU so Renoise is not able to transfer the audio “in time”. As soon as this happens, the audio starts to crackle or choke. If you are hearing such unwanted crackles in Renoises sound output, the first thing you should do is increasing the latency in the preferences.
-The sample rate defines how “detailed” the sound is calculated and then also delivered to your speakers. So the higher the sample rate is, the more detailed will be the sound. 44100 kHz is the rate that is used in CD players, so that rate offers an excellent playback. Everything above that rate often does not result in a noticeable better result, but if you can hear the difference or not, is of course up to you, so your should try it out and to decide by your own. Rates below 44100 are not recommended because they easily sound more “dull” than higher rates.
+The sample rate defines how much detail is contained within the sound that you hear. The higher the sample rate, the more detail. 44,100 Hz is the rate that is used by CD players, so that rate offers an excellent playback quality. Whether higher rates result in a noticeably better listening experience is debatable, but they do offer increased resolution for effects. Rates below 44,100 Hz are not recommended because there is an audible reduction in sound quality.
-Another important point is the CPU consumption at different sample rates. Basically doubling the sample rate means a doubled CPU consumption in Renoise, because everything is done at twice the rate. So if you select rates above 44100 you should also be aware of that you may reach your computers processing power limits sooner.
+Note that CPU consumption is affected by the sample rate. A doubling of the sample rate roughly corresponds to a doubling of CPU consumption in Renoise, because everything requires twice the number of calculations. So be aware that when using higher rates you will reach your computer's processing power limit sooner.

Setting Up Audio Devices: Difference between revisions