ASIO4ALL, PT 2018, Windows 10 Audio Issue

[bkfinch]

I have been using 2018 for a few years now, with Windows 7 and ASIO4ALL. Everything has been great - no issues whatsoever. After being "forced" into upgrading to Windows 10 the sound quality has dropped drastically. I never had ANY issue with this before switching to Windows 10. Nothing in my setup has changed at all except the Windows 10.


I have a small set of studio monitors with a headphone jack on the front of the right monitor. This same monitor also has the on/off control knob that controls the volume as well. This is how I have always worked in Pro Tools since the beginning.



NOW - since switching to Windows 10 the issue is that in order to listen to anything I am working on at a decent/comfortable level, I have to turn the volume knob up to about the mid-way point. In doing so, I also get a lot of "air" or "hiss" that was never present before. Again, before the switch to Windows 10 everything was perfect. I could have that volume knob at about "9:00" or lower and get perfect sound.


Needless to say, this new development is effecting everything. I have trouble setting levels, recording, mixing - because I have to turn the volume up so loudly to hear well and try to overlook the "air" or "hiss" I'm hearing as well.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.


BTW - when I use these same speakers/headphones through the Realtek sound card on my computer for other audio - ie. YouTube videos - (in other words, not using ASIO4ALL) the sound is perfect as it should be.

[albee1952]

I assume you have no dedicated audio interface? Start by opening Windows Sound Properties and making sure that everything is turned up all the way. My personal recommendation will not be what you want to hear, but....using a dedicated audio interface for Pro Tools(or any DAW) is going to give better results in almost all cases. You don't need to break your wallet. Something like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is plenty

Here's a link to a list of several options:
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/be...io-interfaces/

[bkfinch]

Hi Dave. Thanks for your response. I checked to see that all windows audio settings are at 100%. I do have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Same situation. It worked 100% perfectly for me until the Windows 10 update. It actually does the same thing my speakers do. I wish there was a way to record what it's doing so folks could here it. The best way I can describe it is this: When I'm all plugged in and have my headphones on, I hear 100% complete silence. Then I launch Pro Tools. As soon as I select my session finishes loading - ready to go - I suddenly hear what I can describe as "air" - almost like what it sounds like when you hear an A/C running through a microphone. The only way to get rid of the "air" noise is to turn the volume down on my speakers to about the "7" on a clock face. This gets rid of the "air" sound, but of course then I have trouble hearing my session. As soon as I close Pro Tools, the headphones are once again silent - no "air" noise. Very frustrating. Again - thanks for the response. Any other thoughts?

[albee1952]

I would uninstall ASIO4ALL and the Focusrite driver and go to their website and download the latest driver(and cross your fingers).ASIO4ALL has always been a band aid solution when nothing else works. Focusrite usually has okay drivers, but its been a long time since I used their interfaces(been on HDN/192 for many years here)

[TOM@METRO]

It may be system specific, but ASIO4ALL has never worked well for me on Windows 10 with Pro Tools.

[bkfinch]

Thanks Guys. Turns out, I'm just an idiot. I actually prayed for wisdom to figure this thing out. The next day the thought occurred to me - try muting tracks one by one - without pressing play - to see if the noise would go away. Turns out this entire time it was a plug-in on one of the tracks that was the culprit. Removed that plug-in and was back to complete silence. I feel like an idiot. I guess we live and learn. Thanks again for trying to help. I really appreciate it.