One sound device, two audio streams (sim/ ambient + radio)

[joomie]

Hi!

This topic raised in the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6827&p=45609#p45598

To avoid creating an off-topic conversation over there, I decided to open a separate thread here.

I've read and understood PilotEdge's documentation describing how one can setup the audio stuff
findable here: https://www.pilotedge.net/pages/connect-xplane

This works fine, when using two different computer devices responsible for sound.

Examples:
- on board sound card + PCI sound card
- on board sound card + USB sound "card" (USB headsets)
- PCI sound card + USB sound "card" (USB headsets)
- etc.

I experienced CTDs when listening to PilotEdge radio (as reported in the thread referenced above).
The developer of the Carenado aircraft assumes, that this "[SASL ERROR] Setup error 40963" is an audio issue:
http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/fo ... nt=1047323

I reported the crashes to a friend who uses the computer for serious music creation/ mixing etc.
He said, mixing/ using different sound drivers/ cards at the same time is something I should always avoid.
This is why I replaced the USB Logitech G930 headset by a wired analogue Sennheiser headset and bought a better
sound card with more (cinch) interfaces.

After a quite high investment I can plug my surround system (three cinch cables) and the headphones (two cinch cables) into one sound
card but it's not possible to use the surround system (simulator) and the headphones (PilotEdge radio) in parallel (when using just this one sound card).

Keith recommended what I already read:

Regarding audio (a separate issue), it's trivial to have your xplane engine/ambient sound routed to one device and the PE audio routed to another. It can be done by specifying the speakers as the 'default device' and the headset as the 'default communications device' in Windows, OR, you can specify the headset as the playback device from directly within the PE plugin preferences.

The problem is, that this is possible when having the surround system connected to one sound card (in my case ASUS Strix Soar) and connecting
the headset to the second (in my case on board) sound card. Exactly what I was recommended to avoid.

Having the surround system and the headset connected to one sound card, I can not set one as "default device" and the other as "default communication device".
The according menu items are just disabled.
The two attached screenshots and the one in the other thread (download/file.php?id=1089) may help, to understand that...

Do you all use one sound device for loudspeakers and an additional device for the headset (beside the case where all is played back via the headset)?
Do I need to buy a better sound card or one, having a more flexible controlling software?

Any hints/ tips will be much appreciated!

Many thanks for reading that!

Greetings,
joomie

[Keith Smith]

It may be bad form for high end audio recording setups to utilize multiple USB audio devices at the same time, but for consumer grade audio applications, it is absolutely normal to have audio comms going through a USB headset while ambient noise is coming through speakers. I, and others, have done this for literally thousands of hours without issue.

[joomie]

Keith,

Thanks for your feedback. That's good to know.
Was unsure, if a setup with two different sound cards
is common or not.
So I leave the setups as possible and won't change hardware/ sound controlling
software for now:

Scenario with all sound on headset:
- Loudspeakers and headset connected to ASUS sound card
- Headset default playback device and default communication device

Scenario with simulator sound on loudspeakers and radio on headset:
- Loudspeakers connected to Asus sound card and set as default playback device
- Headset connected to on board sound card and set as default communication device
- Headset selected via PE plugin

Expect that to be stable with aircraft other than the Carenado having that SASL issue.

Cheers,
joomie

[tshuff]

I'll add my use case.

I currently run a setup that uses 4 total audio devices.
1x Creative USB sound card
2x Behringer USB sound card
1x Presonus USB audio interface

I route my main sim sounds, ATC, skype/discord, and microphone to their own distinct output channels.

I've been running with this setup since June and never once had a crash related to audio. I've also never had the crash you're describing in any Carenado aircraft. I would say reach out to them for support, providing a copy of your log.txt, and see if they're able to help.

Also note that most consumer grade audio equipment does not expose the individual output channels through the windows sound manager as you are describing. You will be able to find some high end stuff that does this, but my experience has been that getting multiple, unique, channels out of windows without spending an arm and a leg is not terribly easy to do.

[joomie]

I really appreciate your feedback, thanks for that, it helps!
There's a lot to learn beside the setup, which is hopefully okay now.

danklaue (the dev of the Carenados) mentions a support ticket system
(http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/fo ... -requests/).

I had a look and checked http://www.carenado.com. There are 16 "articles" for a chunk of Carenado aircraft.
Doesn't look like a support system and I read some user's feedback. Users not being satisfied when it comes
to issues and needed help.
Anyway. The SASL error is known and appears in Log files of other users.
I referenced the according forums.x-plane.org thread. I have to note, that I was used to overclock my GPU.

This resulted in crashes ending with that SASL error code occuring more often.
Now, I let it run with the base clocks and hope, SASL 3.0 will solve this still appearing error codes.

Greetings,
joomie