Can I use OASYS PCI with another audio card?
OASYS PCI Website
Contents
Can I use OASYS PCI synths and effects with another audio card?
Can I use OASYS PCI and another card together via ASIO, for more inputs and outputs?
Can I use OASYS PCI and another card together via MME, for more inputs and outputs? (Windows)
See also:
Setting up OASYS PCI for use with other audio cards
OASYS PCI and MOTU PCI-324 (2408, 1224, etc.)
Can I use OASYS PCI synths and effects with another audio
card?
Yes, you can!
At its core, OASYS PCI is a combined synthesizer and effects processor, with high-quality digital and analog I/O. In this way, it's just like any other professional audio device, except that it's a card inside a computer instead of a box in an external rack.
OASYS PCI's synths and effects are well-integrated with its computer audio I/O features - but it's just as happy to work as a stand-alone synthesizer and effects processor, just like any other external device.
In other words, you can use the OASYS PCI as a synth and effects processor without using it as an audio I/O card - while using another card as your main audio I/O.
Korg has tested OASYS PCI in conjunction with various other audio cards running in the same computer, including MOTU 2408 (and other MOTU PCI324-based systems), Creamware Pulsar and Scope, Digidesign 001, and ProTools TDM.
Other audio cards will most likely work as well, although we cannot make guarantees for cards which we have not tested.
Can I use OASYS PCI and another card together via ASIO, for
more inputs and outputs?
The short answer: no, unfortunately this is not possible with any two cards from different manufacturers.
You can use OASYS PCI for synths and effects, while using the other card as the ASIO device - for more info, see above. Or, you can leave both cards installed, and then switch back and forth between them as necessary. You just can't use both of them as ASIO hardware at the same time.
For more background information, see below.
Background information: ASIO supports only one hardware driver at a time
The ASIO standard is designed to support only one audio I/O driver at a time. Each hardware manufacturer writes their own audio I/O driver for their hardware. Using audio I/O hardware from two different manufacturers would require the ASIO software (Cubase, Logic etc.) to connect to two different ASIO drivers at the the same - which they cannot do.
So, you can't do this with any two audio I/O cards from different manufacturers.
Can I use OASYS PCI and another card together via MME, for
more inputs and outputs? (Windows)
In some cases, you may be able to use OASYS PCI and another card together as Wave devices, via MME. For several reasons, however, this is not generally recommended; see below for more details.
Even without using both cards via MME at the same time, you can get a lot of mileage from combining OASYS PCI with another audio card. You can use OASYS PCI for synths and effects, while using the other card as the MME device - for more info, see above. Or, you can leave both cards installed, and then switch back and forth between them as necessary.
Start-point synchronization
Windows does not automatically synchronize MME devices to one another - even when the devices are just pairs of inputs and outputs on the same audio card. This means that each pair of inputs and outputs may start and stop playback at slightly different times.
Korg's MME driver uses custom software to ensure that all of OASYS PCI's inputs and outputs are synchronized. For more information on this, see the OASYS PCI User's Guide, in the Wave Device Settings chapter, under Synchronization.
However, there is no standard way to synchronize inputs and outputs on separate audio cards from different manufacturers. If you experiment with buffer settings, playback and record delays, and so on, you may sometimes be able to find settings which work well enough for your needs - but in other cases, you may not.
Copyright 1999-2002 Korg Inc. FAQ Version: 8/19/02