# Soundblaster Live! 24-bit USB External Setup



## Guest

*REW (SB Live! 24-bit external)*

Hi,

I have a Creative 24 bit external soundcard but have been unable to calibrate it despite messing with all the various settings there was always some feedback. The only way I can get a normal looking curve was to use the internal card as output and the external card as input. This gave me a calibration curve similar to that for an internal card.
I then tried a sweep for the sub but it seems with limited success :scratch: 
I've spent all day on this and achieving very little so far. Can anyone help?

Cheers.


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## JohnM

*Re: REW*

I guess you mean the SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit External USB card. 

Ensure in the Creative Speaker Settings that the "Digital Output Only" box is not checked. 









Ensure CMSS is off (green CMSS LED off - push the button on the front of the unit to turn it off if it is on). 
Select Line In/Mic In as the Rec source in the Creative Surround mixer. 
In the Creative surround Mixer Source panel ensure Wave is *not* muted, Line-In/Mic-In *is* muted.









Ensure monitoring is off (click the *+* by the Line In/mic In symbol in the Source panel and ensure Monitor is *not *checked in the Advanced Controls dialogue this pops up (or run the Creative Device Control program and ensure Enable Monitoring not checked).
In the Creative Device Control program set the Output Audio Quality to 48kHz, 16 bits and ensure you select 48kHz as the sample rate in REW. 









In the Creative EAX Console make sure Audio Effects is not enabled, Equalizer is not enabled etc.
If a dialogue pops up that says to hear audio you must enable monitoring, click Cancel on the dialog.
By default the Wizard sets the output level to 0.5 while setting measurement level, for the SB Live! it is typically better to set output level to 1.000, otherwise can struggle to get sufficient input level - if you find this, use the Master Control in the Creative Surround Mixer to increase the volume to 100% at the point in Setting Measurement Level where the Wizard pops up a message saying that it is about to generate a pink noise signal at -20dB
Hope that helps


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## Guest

*Re: REW*

Many thanks John, very helpful. The 16 bits in device control made the difference as all others were as they should have been. Regarding the increase in volume to 100% in soundcard control, does this then stay at 100% or revert back to 50% after the measurement?

Anyhow, I got it working and the curve was exactly as expected. 

I then did an automatic sweep of the sub and that was not :rolleyesno: I set the target level at 77.6 but achieved a peak of something like 36 db. The graph was just a mess with both peak and dips off the graph and only reaching a third along the way. Is my room really that bad or am I (again) doing something wrong? :scratch:


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## Sonnie

*Re: REW*

Did you have your axis settings set properly? Check out post #2 and #3 in this thread.


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## JohnM

*Re: REW*

Regarding the output volume, when you exit REW it will be restored to the level it was at when REW started up. It will stay at 100% while REW is running (unless you alter it elsewhere).

The default for the sweep is to cover the range from 20Hz to 200Hz, you can change this in the boxes below the Automatic Measurement button. 

When setting the target level make sure the speaker type on the tab you are using corresponds to the speaker you are measuring, i.e. it should be set to Subwoofer when measuring the sub.

Did you hear the sweep when doing the test? It is a tone that starts out very low and gradually rises in frequency over the few seconds of the measurement, if you didn't hear it then start looking at the connections to your sub. If you hear the tone OK and you could see your SPL meter needle reacting then check the connections from the SPL meter and that the channel selected in the SPL Meter box (below the red Record button) corresponds to the input you are using. If the meter needle did not react check that it is set to the correct range (usually 80dB).


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## Guest

*Re: REW*

Changing the axis settings made a difference, now I can see the graph - it's still a bit **** but we're getting there :R I made some adjustments to the BFD and ran the sweep again which made some changes but I will connect the midi cable later this week and hope to get things moving.

I downloaded the cal files for the newer digital RS meter but couldn't see how to input them into the REW. My head still sore from all the other stuff! Do I just enter the figures in to the REW somewhere?

Thanks for all the help, and no doubt I'll be asking again soon :T


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## brucek

*Re: REW*



> Do I just enter the figures in to the REW somewhere?


Simply copy the calibration data into notepad and save the file as rs.cal in any directory you wish.

Then start the REW program and under the pull-down METER, select LOAD METER/MICROPHONE CALIBRATION FILE.

You then enter the location of your XXX.cal file and that's it. The next time you start REW it will tell you that the cal file is loaded.

brucek


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## Sonnie

*Re: REW*

You should be able to save the *.cal file just like it is from the Downloads page to a folder on your hard drive. Probably name a folder "REW" under your "My Documents" folder and save all your REW files there... such a *.mdat files, *.req files and your *.cal file. This keeps all your REW related files under one folder.

To load it... in that same thread (post #6) I referenced earlier we have diagram clip of loading the *.cal file... as brucek explains... it's a one step loading process.


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## Guest

*Re: REW*

Brilliant - thanks!


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## Chrisbee

*Re: REW*

Just like to say thanks John for showing the Soundblaster Live! screenshot. 

Until I saw your post I'd just run the device as Plug and Play and was getting nothing except music replay.

Now I've run the software CD and have lots more toys to play with. :T 

The packaging said Plug and Play and (like a fool) I trusted the packaging. :rolleyesno:

The problem is if you connect a device and then run the CD you sometimes get multiple drivers and a non-functioning toy. 
It happened with both my Philips Toucam Pro webcams 1 & 2.

One day all IT will be as easy to use as toasters. Now if I could only fathom out how to work my toaster. :laugh: 

Thanks (yet) again.
Chris


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## TonyB

Just to add some more information to this thread.
I was suffering terrible problems when setting up the soundblaster 24bit external because I was using single phono to mono 3.5mm plugs to connect to the line in/out.
I changed those to stereo 3.5mm plug to dual left/right phono sockets and connected to the Right sound channel on both line in and out (should have followed the diagram exactly, instead of being a cheapskate):nono: 
Things seem to be working as expected now.

Hope this helps someone. :T 

Tony


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## Chrisbee

A quick tip for the SB Live! External Soundcard user: 

Just above the slider on the far right of the SB Surround Mixer box there is REC. with a small symbol just above the red slider. 

Check that the vertical writing alongside the slider shows "*Line-in/Mic-in*" instead of "What you hear". 

"What you hear" seems to be the *default* setting and the mixer returns to this internal monitoring setting automatically!

If you have "*What you hear*" enabled then REW behaves *EXACTLY* as if it is working perfectly. Both bar-graphs will bounce up and down obediently and the SPL boxes will pretend to read the RS meter/microphone input to digital perfection. REW will then chew on the test sweep and show every sign of working correctly.

But all you get in the response graph window after every single test sweep is a mirror-image of your meter correction curve! Not an interesting wiggly line representing your real response curve. 

This had me scratching my head for a while as it's easy to miss the tiny sideways message beside the slider.


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## ransac

I have set up my Live 24 as instructed in this thread, but when I select the input in REW, Line In is not shown. I only have Microphone and What U Hear. Why is Line In not an option?


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## brucek

Did you check the thread above where it says,

'_Just above the slider on the far right of the SB Surround Mixer box there is REC. with a small symbol just above the red slider. 

Check that the vertical writing alongside the slider shows "Line-in/Mic-in" instead of "What you hear"_.

Did that not make any difference?

brucek


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## JohnM

ransac said:


> I have set up my Live 24 as instructed in this thread, but when I select the input in REW, Line In is not shown. I only have Microphone and What U Hear. Why is Line In not an option?


Because the SB Live 24 uses the same input channel for both mic and line in which it labels MICROPHONE, the unit detects which is connected. Select the input called MICROPHONE in REW.


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## ransac

brucek said:


> Did you check the thread above where it says,
> 
> '_Just above the slider on the far right of the SB Surround Mixer box there is REC. with a small symbol just above the red slider.
> 
> Check that the vertical writing alongside the slider shows "Line-in/Mic-in" instead of "What you hear"_.
> 
> Did that not make any difference?
> 
> brucek


 I did do as instructed, but Line In was still not in the list.



JohnM said:


> Because the SB Live 24 uses the same input channel for both mic and line in which it labels MICROPHONE, the unit detects which is connected. Select the input called MICROPHONE in REW.


 Thanks John, I will use the Line In and select Microphone and see if that works.

Next question. I thought I would use the optical out, and it does work, until I got to the step to calibrate the sound card and realized, oops, I can't connect the Opt Out to the Line In. Since the Live 24 has speaker pair outputs (L/R main, L/R surround, Center/Sub), which pair should I use as the output. I do have an optical in and an analog L/R input on the front of my Denon AVR-3805 that I will use for the input. It looks like the Live will encode the LFE channel to the mains out if 2.1 is selected. So, is the L/R main output what I want to use? If I want to run REW on all speakers, do I just select a different output connector for the different channels or will setting the Live to 5.1 encode all channels to the L/R main output? Will the Denon be able to decode all channels from the analog inputs? I know I can just try this, but I have to run out and buy more cables, so I thought I might get an answer before I get another unusable cable.


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## JohnM

Yes, use the L/R outputs. You will only be able to send signals to the left & right speakers and sub, I don't believe the Denon has any facility to route a signal from the L/R input to another speaker. If the Denon has bypass inputs for all speakers you could connect the REW signals to the various bypass inputs in turn and measure other speakers that way, but bass management may not be applied to the bypass inputs.


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## ransac

Thanks again, John. I do have discreet inputs, but due to the electronics being in an entertainment center, they are almost impossible to get to. I will settle for the mains and sub for now. I may use the optical out just to take measurements.


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## Hakka

ransac said:


> Thanks again, John. I do have discreet inputs, but due to the electronics being in an entertainment center, they are almost impossible to get to. I will settle for the mains and sub for now. I may use the optical out just to take measurements.


You could always disconnect the speaker wire at you main speakers and connect it to your center/surrounds to take a measurement of these speakers. You receiver will use its bass management circuitry. Easier than getting in behind a cabinet and changing plugs.

Harry.


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## Guest

Thanks for the great information.


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## Ciscokid

Please help, I have been tring to get REW calibrated with no success. First off let me try and explain what I have done so far. I have started off with the Room EQ index getting started. I have a radio shack meter, Soundblaster live 24 card (external). I purchased all the necessary cables needed to hook it up.I have an Outlaw 990 reciever.I hooked the line in (not mic in) of the SB live to my sound meter with the Y cable .I hooked my Aux in of my reciever to the SB live front speaker plug with Y cable on the right side as stated. I read the thread on how to set up the sound card that JohnM posted. Now when I try and SET INPUT VOLUME I get a message saying (Input volume control is at its maximum) and it will not calibrate.I have tried changing the CHOSE INPUT to Microphone and what U hear and this makes no difference.I have played with the volume level starting it at zero when I click the SET INPUT VOLUME and I still get the same message. I know I probably didn't explain myself very well but hope someone can help me figure this out.
Thanks for any information you can provide me.


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## brucek

Ciscokid,

You are likely setting an internal loopback monitor in the soundcard itself and so the input line is not functioning.

When REW can't see an input it will increase the level to max to try and correct the situation and the end result is the error you are getting.

This is the standard error people make with the soundblaster cards.

Did you read this thread over and also this thread over?

Perhaps best not to post in this Sticky thread. Perhaps start your own thread if you still have problems.. 

brucek


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## Sonic Icons

I am using almost the same setup as Ciscokid. (I mean the RS digital SPL meter and SoundBlaster Live! 24-bit USB, but not same AVR, I have a Marantz SR5500.) I went through the same steps with the same results. My interpretation of what's happening is different from the interpretation of Brucek. I think that the error message you are getting at the "Set Input Volume" step is unimportant, and you should go on to the next steps and take measurements.

Here is what I mean:

(1) When you "Set Measurement Level" (the first step, after connecting all the cables and turning everything on) you set the volume control on the AVR to get a reading of 75 dB on the 80 dB scale on the SPL meter. During this step, you either leave the Master Volume Control on the SoundBlaster card at 50% of full scale, where the program automatically sets it, or manually raise the SoundBlaster volume control to 100% in the Surround Mixer panel, as suggested in this thread.

Note that 75 dB on the SPL meter is also "-20 dB relative to full scale" in REW, in other words 95 dB on the SPL meter would be equivalent to "full scale" or "reference level" or "0 dB relative level" in REW. I found this concept confusing at first, but I from what I've read, I think this is standard practice for audio and recording engineers (I mean, defining a "full scale" or "reference level" and then giving SPL levels in dB relative to that reference level).

(2) Then the next step (before any other calibrations or measurements) is Set Input Volume. In this step, for some reason that I can't understand scratchhead: ), REW tries to raise the volume of the pink noise tone to get a reading of -18 dB relative (or 77 dB absolute) from the SPL meter, rather than -20 dB relative where you just set it in the step before.

But maybe REW cannot raise the volume from -20 dB to -18 dB relative, either because the SoundBlaster volume control is already at 100% and can't go higher, or because, even if the SoundBlaster volume control is less than 100%, REW cannot adjust this control ("some soundcards do not provide programmatic access to their input volume control").

So you get an error message which is effectively saying "I'm unhappy because I couldn't automatically adjust the volume control to raise the volume from -20 dB to -18 dB, but that doesn't really matter much, so ignore my complaint and keep going".

(Let me know if my interpretation is wrong, I just did 30 separate measurements, 5 speakers * 6 positions of SPL in room, and I think the results are good in spite of always getting the "Set Input Volume" error message.)


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## Sonic Icons

BTW: more thanks for the great information about setting up the SoundBlaster Live! card earlier in this thread, I wouldn't have got this far without it.


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## Guest

This may not be the right place to ask this, but I have a problem playing lossless wav files from my laptop over the Soundblaster Live! in that the sound gets choppy periodically. I do not think it is a CPU utilization issue, I have all the latest drivers, USB 2.0 and nothing else is connected to the USB ports. If anyone has any ideas I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

THM


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## Sonnie

If you don't get an answer in this thread... you might want to start a fresh thread... :T


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## MakeFlat

Ciscokid said:


> Please help, I have been tring to get REW calibrated with no success. First off let me try and explain what I have done so far. I have started off with the Room EQ index getting started. I have a radio shack meter, Soundblaster live 24 card (external). I purchased all the necessary cables needed to hook it up.I have an Outlaw 990 reciever.I hooked the line in (not mic in) of the SB live to my sound meter with the Y cable .I hooked my Aux in of my reciever to the SB live front speaker plug with Y cable on the right side as stated. I read the thread on how to set up the sound card that JohnM posted. Now when I try and SET INPUT VOLUME I get a message saying (Input volume control is at its maximum) and it will not calibrate.I have tried changing the CHOSE INPUT to Microphone and what U hear and this makes no difference.I have played with the volume level starting it at zero when I click the SET INPUT VOLUME and I still get the same message. I know I probably didn't explain myself very well but hope someone can help me figure this out.
> Thanks for any information you can provide me.


On the Y cable plugged into the FRONT jack of USB LIVE 24, check for signal on the other RCA plug. Thus if you found this type of error message while connected to the red RCA plug, move the connection to the white RCA plug. (In case one is not doing loop back calibration, always turn down the receiver or amplifier volume level before changing plugs.)


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## koiman

Sonnie,
I have a few questions about the hookup of the Sound Blaster Live 24? they don't have the RCA inputs and outputs as the Sound Blaster MP3 had, so can you explain the exact wire and connectors that I will need to connect the CM 140 to the soundblaster and then to the Pre Amp, in my case a Stereo system. The output on the CM 140 say's it has a 1/8 in output. Do I use a 1/8 in stereo plug or mono plug to the sound card from the CM 140. From the output of the sound card do I use a 1/8 in. stereo plug to with RCA's to the pre amp? Sorry for all the questions I am just a little confused.
Thanks,
Leon:holycow:


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## brucek

> so can you explain the exact wire and connectors that I will need to connect the CM 140 to the soundblaster and then to the Pre Amp, in my case a Stereo system. The output on the CM 140 say's it has a 1/8 in output. Do I use a 1/8 in stereo plug or mono plug to the sound card from the CM 140. From the output of the sound card do I use a 1/8 in. stereo plug to with RCA's to the pre amp?


The CM-140 uses a standard 3.5mm (1/8") mono plug.

The SoundBlaster 24bit external uses standard 3.5mm (1/8") stereo jacks that must be broken out with a stereo Y adapter to two mono like this:


















brucek


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## koiman

brucek,
If I understand you right I would purchase a wire with a 3.5mm mono plug on each end for the output of the CM 140 to the line in on the sound blaster, and a 3.5mm stereo plug that plugs into the line out of the sound blaster with RCA plugs on the other end to attach to the Right and left aux input on my pre amp Correct..
Thanks for all the time and trouble.
Leon


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## brucek

You need *two* 'stereo to mono' adapters like this:










To plug into *both* the LINE-OUT and LINE-IN stereo jacks as shown with the red arrows in this picture:









Now you have 'broken out' the right channel of the soundcard.

Then you need a mono to mono 3.5mm (1/8") male to male cable to go from the Galaxy to the red mono right channel LINE-IN.

Then you need a mono 3.5mm (1/8") male to RCA male cable to go from the red right channel LINE-OUT to your receiver AUX input...

brucek


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## koiman

brucek,
Thank you so very much, I got it now..
Leon


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## koiman

brucek,
Would it be possible for you to give me the RadioShack numbers for the cables that I need.
Thanks,
Leon


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## Guest

I am at the point trying to calibrate my sound card, and keep getting this message.

The highest level in the measurement is just -36.8 dbfs. I am not sure what I have set wrong, any ideas. 

The following are my notes from the measurement.

Sample rate: 48000Hz
-3dB points: 4.0Hz, 21.798kHz
Input device: SB Live! 24-bit External
Input: MICROPHONE (Line-In/Mic-In)
Channel: Right
Input volume: 1.000
Input RMS target: -40.0dB
Actual RMS at 1kHz: -40.0dB
Output device: SB Live! 24-bit External
Output: SPEAKER
Sweep level: -40.0dB
20Hz .. 20kHz flatness: +0.3, -1.3dB
1kHz 2nd harmonic: 0.012%
1kHz 3rd harmonic: <0.001%

Any ideas if I have a problem?


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## JohnM

Set the Sweep Level to -12dB, -40dB is a very low level at which to perform the test.


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## Testpattern

Okay, this is so basic I'm actually embarrassed to ask.... but what is the exact model of the "Soundblaster Live! 24-bit USB External" sound card system which everyone is using and the REW leverages?

I went to buy one and have ran into several versions. I would like to do this only once and not create another layer of difficulty is starting down this path.

Thanks....


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## JimP

Here you go.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...84192&CMP=EMC-TIGEREMAIL&SRCCODE=WEBLET03SHIP

I'm just now going through setting up a new Vista laptop with this external sound card. Be sure that you log onto the Creative site to download the most current drivers.

Update: The driver update (January 2007) for the Creative external sound card doesn't have some of the settings that are shown on this thread and in the Help file of 4.0. Is anyone familiar with this new driver and can comment on how the differences effect REW?


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## bigguy

Next set of Trials.... Anyone do this with a MAC? 
Macbook PRO sporting OS-X :hush:
Live! external 24bit... :bigsmile:
33-2055... :T

Could use some guidance here... :hissyfit:

Thanks
Dan


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## Guest

I have been trying to calibrate this sound card for a couple of days. I am obviously doing something (or a lot of somethings) wrong. I have attempted to set up the sound card like it was explained earlier in this thread. I have made sure that "Enable Monitoring" is not checked. I am not sure that the mic in/line in setting is correct but I have tried it both ways. The legend beside the line is always mic-in/line-in. The caption "What U Hear" only appears in the information bubble and I am not sure if seeing that in the bubble means that it is selected or is available for selection. The calibration graph is shown below.

The red line in the card calibration. It dosn't look anything like examples given in other threads. Any ideas where I am going wrong?:help:

Thanks
Ray


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## brucek

> The red line in the card calibration. It dosn't look anything like examples given in other threads. Any ideas where I am going wrong


Yep, notice that your calibration file for the soundcard is the mirror image of the meter calibration file? It means you have an internal loopback turned on in the card itself and so you're simply reflecting the opposite of the meter file.

You have to find where you have the 'monitor mode' turned on and get it off.

Check the Windows mixer playback mode and see if Line-in is selected. If so, it must be off in playback, but on in record...

brucek


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## Guest

Thanks. I think the main problem is that I am not reading the help file directions completely and carefully.:rolleyesno:

Ray


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## Guest

PLEASE, I am looking for anyone that can help me enable the "Enable Monitoring" feature in Vista OS with the 24-Bit SB Live system. The feature that was available in XP and earlier is no longer there and I can't figure it out.

Thanks


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## JimP

Attention Vista Users

There are new Soundblaster Live 24-bit USB external sound card drivers dated August 23, 2007 for computers using the Vista operating system available here

http://us.creative.com/support/down...&driverlang=1033&OS=26&drivertype=0&x=28&y=14

Special attention should be paid to the instructions about uninstalling your previous driver.


What does it fix?
This resolves button functionality issues for Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX, Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External, Sound Blaster Surround 5.1 and Sound Blaster Digital Music SX 
Removes distortion found in the recorded file when selecting Wave, MIDI or CD as your recording source


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## Joe L.

JimP said:


> Attention Vista Users
> 
> There are new Soundblaster Live 24-bit USB external sound card drivers dated August 23, 2007 for computers using the Vista operating system available here
> 
> http://us.creative.com/support/down...&driverlang=1033&OS=26&drivertype=0&x=28&y=14
> 
> Special attention should be paid to the instructions about uninstalling your previous driver.
> 
> 
> What does it fix?
> This resolves button functionality issues for Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX, Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External, Sound Blaster Surround 5.1 and Sound Blaster Digital Music SX
> Removes distortion found in the recorded file when selecting Wave, MIDI or CD as your recording source


It has been quite a few months since you described that new drivers were available dated Aug, 23, 2007.
Did these drivers fix the issues with REW use under Vista? (I will probably be purchasing this sound-card, since it seems to be well supported with REW, and my newest laptop runs Vista.)

Did the newest driver resolve the issues with the differences in controls available that you described in the post you made back on 6/13/2007.

Joe L.


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## thewire

Can I use my optical out into the receiver instead of my line out? When I use the line out I get a 58dB loud crackling and whining noise where as if I use the optical connection it is dead silence. I don't see not much difference in my test results and there is not much difference for volume level but I don't have to listen to the noise. I have left output and input looped for reference and I loaded the mic calibration file. I checked the scope and it looks good still. Is that an acceptable connection?


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## brucek

> I have left output and input looped for reference and I loaded the mic calibration file. I checked the scope and it looks good still. Is that an acceptable connection?


Generally we don't recommend using the digital output of the soundcard, since you aren't able to accurately create and use a soundcard calibration file. Using the new alternate method of the left channel calibrate cable isn't a good idea either, since it will compensate for the soundcards analog driver section that you aren't using.

It would be better in my opinion to use no left channel calibrate and no soundcard calibration file. It won't be as accurate as using the analog output and input, but if it's a decent card and you assume the digital response is good, then go ahead.

I would try and get the analog working. No reason it shouldn't be fine....

brucek


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## thewire

It looks more like what I was used to seeing and is at reference level again since getting the new card. :whew: I will use the analog. Looks like this right now with my ceiling partially open while I am trying to figure out what to put in it etc.










Thank you


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## lalakersfan34

Hi,

I'm trying to use the SoundBlaster Live 24bit USB card with REW, but it doesn't seem to be working. Whenever I select it in REW's settings under "input device and input", I get the following error message:

Unable to access the selected device
javax.sound.sampled.LineUnavailableException: Line-In/Mic-In (Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External) does not have any lines supporting PCM_SIGNED 48000.0 Hz, 16 bit, stereo, 4 bytes/frame, little-endian

Same thing if I leave it to "default device". Does anyone have any clue as to what is going on? I purchased this sound card specifically because the REW Help claimed that it works. I've tried it on my Macbook (running 10.4 Tiger) and on my Vista PC and I get the same issue with both computers. Thanks.


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## brucek

> I purchased this sound card specifically because the REW Help claimed that it works.


I believe that the Help files are fairly specific that it doesn't work with VISTA, where it says:

Note that the Creative software does not function properly under Windows Vista, the card can still be used but only by loading the Vista-compatible drivers from Creative's website and using the Windows mixer, do not install the Creative software under Vista..

With respect to the Mac, I believe that Leopard OS has proved to work better with this card.

brucek


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## lalakersfan34

Thanks, I appreciate the response. When it said it doesn't function properly on Vista, I didn't know if that meant the included CD or something else. My dad's laptop has Leopard, so I'll see if it works with that. It also has XP, so it's bound to work SOMEHOW! Thanks again .


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## drago

I believe with the new creative drivers and the new software, as of March 11 2008. the software works under VISTA, can any one confirm this.


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## lalakersfan34

You're right. I got things to work today just fine - had one of those "DUH!" moments regarding my SPL meter I was using as a microphone. Everything works fine on my Vista PC.


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## brucek

> You're right. I got things to work today just fine


Interesting. 

So, in the Settings page, do you see the SoundBlaster card in the Output Device and Input Device selection pulldowns? Previously, REW had no access to the card and Default had to be chosen.

If you are indeed able to select the SoundBlaster card now, then is the Wave Volume and Output Volume and Input Volume not grayed out anymore? Do you have control of these parameters in VISTA?

brucek


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## DougMac

lalakersfan34 said:


> You're right. I got things to work today just fine - had one of those "DUH!" moments regarding my SPL meter I was using as a microphone. Everything works fine on my Vista PC.


Would you mind posting some instructions for those of us not quite at the DUH! stage? I can't find a way to turn the monitor off to prevent feedback. I'm using Vista on a Toshiba laptop.

Thanks,
Doug


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## lalakersfan34

brucek said:


> Interesting.
> 
> So, in the Settings page, do you see the SoundBlaster card in the Output Device and Input Device selection pulldowns? Previously, REW had no access to the card and Default had to be chosen.
> 
> If you are indeed able to select the SoundBlaster card now, then is the Wave Volume and Output Volume and Input Volume not grayed out anymore? Do you have control of these parameters in VISTA?
> 
> brucek


Well, things aren't great, but I got an input signal. I do get to choose the SoundBlaster card in the Output and Input device pulldowns. However, Wave Volume, Output Volume, and Input Volume are grayed out. 

Here's my current issue. When calibrating my sound card, I cant get the output and input any closer together than about 8dB. That's way too far off to be making accurate measurements. I've maxed the input for the SoundBlaster, and maxed the output as well, as REW suggests when you can't adjust with REW itself, but I'm seeing about 8dB of separation. Any suggestions?

Edit: the input volume is too low and can't get high enough in relation to the output volume.


----------



## brucek

> I cant get the output and input any closer together than about 8dB


I don't see a real problem there. I might suggest to simply use the left channel calibrate method and then you don't go through the soundcard cal routine.

Connect a cable on both left and right channels with the left channel calibrate checkbox ticked and take a measure and see if you get a nice flat line...

brucek


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## lalakersfan34

Ok I'll try that right now and I'll let you know what happens in a few minutes


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## lalakersfan34

Ok, I just calibrated it and it seemed to work fine. Here's a link to a picture of the calibration. Please tell me if it looks ok. Thanks .

http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/...ction=view&current=sblive24usbcalibration.jpg


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## brucek

Perfect...................


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## lalakersfan34

. Thanks for your help, Bruce. Looks like the SB Live! 24 USB works with Vista. Incidentally, I installed the drivers on the CD that came with the card and updated the drivers, but ended up deleting them all from my PC. Creative's "Vista" drivers might actually cause problems. I don't know that for a fact, but just thought I'd let everyone know that this is without Creative's drivers.


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## affeking

DougMac said:


> I can't find a way to turn the monitor off to prevent feedback. I'm using Vista on a Toshiba laptop.


Doug - Did you ever figure this out? I just bought a Toshiba and was about to head out to buy the Soundblaster. Hopefully you got it to work?

Jeff


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## DougMac

affeking said:


> Doug - Did you ever figure this out? I just bought a Toshiba and was about to head out to buy the Soundblaster. Hopefully you got it to work?
> 
> Jeff


Yes. Essentially, you use the output of one channel to be the input of the other. You can't take a mini plug cable with two males on either end and plug one into the output (speakers) and the other into the input. You have to cross them. You can buy some cables and do it, see some posts above, or the way I did it was to use a Behringer Eurorack mixer that was handy. It could be argued that the mixer will affect the calibration. When I get into critical testing, I'll run by RS and get some female to female RCA adapters.

It's very easy once you think about it.

Doug


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## brucek

> I just bought a Toshiba and was about to head out to buy the Soundblaster. Hopefully you got it to work?


Perhaps you might consider a different soundcard. 



> It's very easy once you think about it.


Not sure I really understand the fix. The monitor capability is an internal loopback in the card itself.

brucek


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## affeking

Well, I've yet to see any other recommendations on USB soundcards that sounded too great. I also saw some more recent posts (March 08) that indicated the newer version of the SB software is working well with Vista.

It also sounds like I can use the card just fine without the SB software. Am I losing out on anything in terms of REW functionality without having the Soundblaster software installed?

Thanks,
Jeff


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## brucek

> Well, I've yet to see any other recommendations on USB soundcards that sounded too great.


Well, I guess you didn't read my review last week of the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage SRM external soundcard. I really like it, and it works perfect with VISTA. No one seemed very interested in the review though, I'm guessing not many people use Vista on a laptop.



> It also sounds like I can use the card just fine without the SB software.


Why do you assume that? I don't consider looping cables etc to trick monitor mode as working correctly. Do you really want the monitor mode on permanent when you use the SB card? It seems this may be a problem.. I sure wish someone would tell us if they have this working *properly* with Vista and REW.  

brucek


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## affeking

Well, I was hoping to use the SB for a few reasons. Mostly, it seems to be the most widely used external card for REW users. Another reason is that it was cheaper than the turtle beach card, and I'm not going to be using this for much beyond my initial setup and tweaking of my speaker placement. The last thing is that I wanted to get started this weekend and I was able to pick up the SB.

However, I agree with your point that tricking out the monitor is not an idea solution. If that's really the only option, I'll return it and order the turtle beach. 

Better yet - maybe I'll install XP on this laptop instead of this piece of **** OS.

Jeff


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## brucek

> Mostly, it seems to be the most widely used external card for REW users


For XP............................



> I'm not going to be using this for much beyond my initial setup and tweaking of my speaker placement


It doesn't hurt to have an external USB card around that will output and input both digital and analog signals.



> maybe I'll install XP on this laptop instead of this piece of **** OS.


Well, I don't think that's the answer. Vista is the operating system that Microsoft is offering right now and there will be no further support of XP at some point. People will have to get used to Vista.

brucek


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## affeking

OK...can someone just explain to me simply why I don't want to use this card with REW and Vista? I'm fairly new to REW so that may be why I don't understand the issues mentioned above. I did see lakersfan mention that it is working, so I must be missing some shortcoming. Is this related to the fact that REW isn't able to control the volume on this device due to issues with the driver? How exactly does this impact me?

Thanks for the help. Just getting a bit confused. I am probably going to return this thing (not yet opened) but was really hoping I could make it work.

Thanks


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## brucek

There have been problems with this card not working with Vista, until recently lalakersfan34 reporrted that now it does work.

I've never personally tried the card. I only know what has been reported from threads like this.

It may be just fine now. It would be interesting to know if the card now works with VISTA combined with the SoundBlaster supplied drivers, along with no jiggery pokey required to make it work......

brucek


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## affeking

OK...I started setting my SB up with Vista and am running into some slightly different issues.

Unlike lakersfan, I was able to get the input and output DB within the 3DB threshold. To do this, I had to turn the input AND output volume up all the way.

The problem came when I built the calibration file, and went to run a test measurement with the loopback still in place. When doing the 'test volume' it tells me that the volume is too high. The issue here is that, when I turn it down, I end up outside of the 3DB threshhold between the Input and Output.

The question is - is that volume high warning an issue or not? I still seemed to get what I believe is a good graph when I ran it. I'll try to post one later if that's helpful.

Thanks,
Jeff


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## brucek

Were you using a full range signal to adjust the levels in the settings page and then using a full range sweep to carry out the measure?

There exists in REW, a sanity check with levels and bandwidth. If someone uses subwoofer bandwidth limited pink noise to set up the levels in the settings page, and then goes to the measure page and sets an upper limit of 20KHz as the measurement sweep, then the levels check on this screen will fail the test (obviously).

Does the Settings page Level check and the Measurement page Level check match and give you a good-to-go report? 



> is that volume high warning an issue or not?


Simply look at the Scope Tab after the measurement and check for clipping. If no clipping... you're good.

brucek


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## affeking

Thanks brucek. 

I attempted what you told me, but encountered more problems. Although I know I was getting the input/output very close before (2DB), when I retested to ensure I had full range set, it was way off. Even reverting back to the sub sweep granted the same results. Somehow, the card is just not working the way it was yesterday. :hissyfit:

I toyed for a while, and finally found that if I used my onboard soundcard as output, and the SB as the line-in, I could get it to work. Any particular issue with doing this? I found that setting it up that way yielded a much closer match - I was easily able to get it within 2db without maxing the output volume.

However, back to square one here - I again got the warning that the output volume was too high when conducting my test. Further, I noticed that if I waited too long between tests, the SB would take a minute to 'wake up' A single test would show it picking up no sound, and then the next test would be fine. Very odd, and something I will keep an eye on.

For now, I have some graphs of this config (onboard headphone jack out, and SoundBlaster USB device line-in). I am almost positive the FR charge is fine. Based on my understanding of one of your older posts, I do not feel the scope is showing clipping, but I'm also not sure it is normal. If you would be so kind as to take a look, I would appreciate it.

FR Graph: http://picasaweb.google.com/jrames/REWGraphs/photo#5192272982088808578
Scope Graph: http://picasaweb.google.com/jrames/REWGraphs/photo#5192273750887954578

Honestly at this point, I'm thinking I may return this and go for the TurtleBeach you recommended. The only prob there is that I already have a rather long coaxial SPIDF cable running from my HTPC to my receiver, and I was hoping to use it with that setup as well as REW!

THanks,
Jeff


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## brucek

The scope looks fine. 

Why is the measure at 105dB and not 75dB?

Using two cards is not a great idea. You would rather use the single card used for Default when dealing with Vista. But, I guess if you can force it to work, why not.

There are coax to optical converters available that you could use, but I'd probably look for the long optical cable if you went that route.

brucek


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## penngray

Im running sound blaster live! 24-bit external on my Vista notebook.

Driver date is 8/6/2007, driver version says unknown ???

Sound in and out works fine but I have no idea if REW works properly, Im just trying to configure things now and Im having issues calibrating REW...maybe it is the sound card. Im going to check for the latest driver update.


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## affeking

I never got it to work quite right. Doing the loopback testing showed it was never getting enough volume. I had to use the notebook mic output and then the SB for the mic. That seems to work, but its been frustrating. Vista seems to get confused sometimes and decides the SB should do both. I often have to exit REW and come back in for it to play sounds. 

Anyway, if you are more specific about the issues you are having maybe we can help further...

Jeff


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## penngray

I just switched over to my XP box and Im getting much further....Its definitely still a Vista thing.


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## Guest

This is the soundcard calibration curve I keep getting...trust me, I've tried EVERYTHING, (monitoring disabled, all settings at 1.000 and -12 sweep, line in muted, etc...) Has anyone seen a response curve like this for your soundcard???? I'm using windows xp with a sounblaster live 24bit usb external..


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## brucek

Clear the Mic/Meter calibration file. It shouldn't be loaded when you do the soundcard calibrate routine.

Further problems should probably be directed to a new thread. 

brucek


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## Guest

thanks for the quick reply, it's still doing it though. i cleared the .cal file and restarted, but i can't seem to get anything but that shape...starting a new thread


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## [IN]Head-Kay

Hey guys, Im so glad to have found this discussion. I recently switched to vista from xp and have been having problems with my card since then. Thing is, I managed to get the card working fine, on both the rear and front channels, but the volume is at least 30% reduced from XP. Im going crazy, especially since i tried everything! Help !


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## brucek

> I managed to get the card working fine, on both the rear and front channels, but the volume is at least 30% reduced from XP. Im going crazy, especially since i tried everything! Help


Not many people have had luck with this card and Vista. 

So, you have it working. Did you do a soundcard calibration with it and the result was successful with respect to setting up the levels?

Are you able to control the levels with the Vista Playback and Recording Devices screens on their Levels tabs? (access these with a right click on the speaker icon in your Desktop System Tray).

brucek


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## [IN]Head-Kay

> Not many people have had luck with this card and Vista.
> 
> So, you have it working. Did you do a soundcard calibration with it and the result was successful with respect to setting up the levels?
> 
> Are you able to control the levels with the Vista Playback and Recording Devices screens on their Levels tabs? (access these with a right click on the speaker icon in your Desktop System Tray).
> 
> brucek


Alright so here is the deal, im a bit of a dumbo when it comes to that stuff, but here is what I did. At first as many here probably did, I tried to get it to work from the CD, but when this failed, I found the updated (aug 07) vista drivers on the creative site and installed them with all the other applications for vista. The card got to work ! :T

You will get a toolbar on top, just like XP, only that it has fewer buttons. The main one is an option called 'Audio Center' which allows you to control the volume levels and so on. 

I have to be honest with you, i dont have a clue about sound calibration, as i told you im really bad at that stuff, so if you could give me a quick guideline it would be extremly apreciated!

After you raise the volume in all channels to the max, you will realise that it is much lower than what you would get from the card on an XP OS. And this was proven further, since my mixer shows the db levels in green and red as the track is playing. I played the same track with the card on the XP and it gave amazing result, it would get to red on every beat, but when tried with Vista it hardly got to the red, even when the bass is maxed out.

I need help :hissyfit: lol


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## brucek

> I need help


OK, we can go through it step by step.

First you need to do a soundcard calibration. This involves creating a file that will be saved in your computer to compensate for any response problems with the soundcard. It will render the card flat.

To carry this out you need to remove all cables (except the USB cable of course) and then connect a cable from the right channel of line-out to the right channel of line-in. The line-in and line-out (a.k.a front) are stereo 3.5 mm phono jacks, so you'll need a set of adapters that splits out the right and left channel of both line-out and line-in before you connect the loopback cable.

From this thread you'll see there are a few types of these break out adapters such as this one or this one.

Let me know when you get set up with the loopback in place.

brucek


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## [IN]Head-Kay

brucek said:


> OK, we can go through it step by step.
> 
> First you need to do a soundcard calibration. This involves creating a file that will be saved in your computer to compensate for any response problems with the soundcard. It will render the card flat.
> 
> To carry this out you need to remove all cables (except the USB cable of course) and then connect a cable from the right channel of line-out to the right channel of line-in. The line-in and line-out (a.k.a front) are stereo 3.5 mm phono jacks, so you'll need a set of adapters that splits out the right and left channel of both line-out and line-in before you connect the loopback cable.
> 
> From this thread you'll see there are a few types of these break out adapters such as this one or this one.
> 
> Let me know when you get set up with the loopback in place.
> 
> brucek


Alright so now ive got the right channel of the rca cabel in the line-in and the other right side in the line-out. What is the next series of steps?

I was browsing through the forums, and I downloaded the REW software plus the help files, so its okay if you give me the instructions all at one go. Cheers for all.


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## brucek

> ive got the right channel of the rca cabel in the line-in and the other right side in the line-out. What is the next series of steps?


The next step is the soundcard calibration routine. This will determine whether the rest of the steps will be worthwhile or not. If it's a bust, then there's no use in carrying on...

In the Settings screen (access from the Settings icon), be sure there is no Meter calibration file loaded (on the Mic/Meter tab of the Settings screen) and be sure there is not a soundcard calibration file loaded (on the Soundcard tab tab of the Settings screen).

Run the Soundcard calibration routine by pressing Measure on the Settings screen. Be sure *not* to check the Use Left Channel as calibration reference checkbox. You won't be using this feature or the left channel at all.

Use a sweep level of ~-6dB to -9dB.

Use the Vista Playback and Recording Devices Levels tabs to set up the required levels of the soundcard.

When finished and you have a successful soundcard file, be sure to save it and be sure its loaded in REW.

Run the Calibrate SPL routine and set it to 75dB.

Before removing the loopback cable, run the Check Levels routine and then do a Measure (Measure icon) of the loopback cable. If you did everything correctly, the result will be a ruler flat response across the audio spectrum.

Show me the soundcard calibration graph and the straight line measure.

brucek


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## [IN]Head-Kay

Im sure I did something wrong along the way. Here is the graph:



Do I have to upload my calibration file as well?


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## FoSheezy

I just bought a used USB External 24-bit Soundblaster and it didnt come with an installation CD.
I went to: http://support.creative.com/downloads/
but it seems like its just a driver update.
I tried it and I couldn't complete the installation on my comp.
Im running XP.
Has anyone else tried to download the driver from online from scratch(no CD)?
Anyone know where I can dl the original driver?


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## brucek

> Im sure I did something wrong along the way. Here is the graph:


You'll need to supply more information.

How did the setting of levels go?

Can you display the REW Settings screen, so I can have a look?

brucek


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## thewire

Just plugged in my external USB soundblaster to my new laptop having Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium with SP1. Everything recognized and with sound from the card so far.


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## [IN]Head-Kay

Hey brucek , ill get to it right away, i just want to add that yesterday i used the card for around two hours and i noticed that the sound glitches a bit every now and then, so maybe i have the same problem as everyone else. Ill upload the REW setting screen asap.


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## thewire

My soundcard appears to be different in Vista-64 bit or maybe it is just the computer hardware. Besides the settings being different... When I run the 75 target for each I get the same result. When I use the settings as the same on each I get very different results. These are not the exact settings I use to measure in REW lately since getting new subwoofers but similar and I was able to use it as a baseline since I had the settings on a screen capture.

This is the other computer.










This is the new computer. Same settings for the bottom example but the top used a different setting to achieve the 75dB target with the -12dB sweep. The lower one is a -20dB sweep that I have so far been forced to use. I just hope the clicking noises are gone now. It happened with my previous soundcard also on the other computer but the hum/hiss noise improved when I added the external soundblaster. 










Scope of standard card measurement. Something still doesn't look right. I will work on that.










Scope of what I had previously measured with but on the new computer this time.


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## [IN]Head-Kay

Hey brucek, could you remind me again what I need to upload again? Im sorry i was away for so long, its just ihad some issues to take care off. Cheers.


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## brucek

You were having trouble doing the soundcard calibrate routine, so I wanted to see your REW settings screen shot..


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## E-A-G-L-E-S

I have SBLive, but don't see basically anything pictured in post #2??
?Creative Speaker Settings that the "Digital Output Only" box is not checked.?
Room with bass management options??
etc. etc.?

My SB Live 24bit seems ultra simplistic with no pictures other than a generic comp. screen for number of speakers typically connected setting.

Mine was installed in '04...do I need an updated version?
I'm so lost already.


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## brucek

> do I need an updated version?


Did you open the application in your Windows Control Panel?

I would certainly download the latest software for your card.....

brucek


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## E-A-G-L-E-S

Yes.
It says it is up to date?(drivers, app.)
Not much of a computer wizz, so Idon't know where to look?(downloads.com)


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## JohnM

Go to Creative's site to get the latest drivers: http://support.creative.com/downloads/SoftwareAutoUpdate.aspx


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## E-A-G-L-E-S

Thanks!


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## Hunter844

I've got a Soundblaster Live! 24-bit External sound card using XP home


I guess I'm just dense...

There is no Line-Out (as noted on the device) on this soundcard....I guess I'm missing the boat on which is to be used as Line-Out....from my choices of output channels there is Front, Rear, C/Sub, Digital Out (coax) and SPDIF (Optical). 

I have my adapters in "Line-in" on the rear of the device and the other adapter in the port listed as "Front" using both the right channels on the adapters and this does not seem to be working for me. Am I supposed to hear sound coming from the laptop speakers? I went through all the sound card steps and have reconfirmed several times that everything is correct. I get through everything and it says -72 is way too low and it should be something like -10. 

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Someone please help the noob out.


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## brucek

> There is no Line-Out (as noted on the device) on this soundcard.


Front = stereo line-out.



> Am I supposed to hear sound coming from the laptop speakers?


No, the soundblaster should be set to the default soundcard - not the internal soundcard in the laptop.

The first step is to connect a cable from line-out to line-in right channel and do the soundcard calibration routine.

brucek


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## Hunter844

brucek said:


> Front = stereo line-out.
> 
> 
> No, the soundblaster should be set to the default soundcard - not the internal soundcard in the laptop.
> 
> The first step is to connect a cable from line-out to line-in right channel and do the soundcard calibration routine.
> 
> brucek


I think I may have got it...I went in to my device manager in windows and disabled the integrated audio...seemed to be conflicting with it somehow and I never could get it to do right. 

The graph looks like the setup says it should look now.


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## Sonic Icons

I noticed on the Creative support site (support.creative.com; for some reason there seems to be a problem posting links here) that there is a relatively new "beta" driver, dated 24-Apr-09, for the Soundblaster Live! 24-bit External on Windows Vista or Windows 7 Beta. People who have reported problems using this card on Windows Vista systems with the previous (2007) driver may want to try this.

(I am still running Windows XP (SP3) on the notebook computer that I use for REW, so I don't need the new driver. I may start shopping for a new, faster notebook later this year, which will presumably have either Windows Vista or Windows 7 depending on how long I wait.)


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## Zen Traveler

Hi guys,

I am about to head to town and pick up supplies so I can start REW and wondered if the current Soundblaster product would work because my local retail establishment no longer carries this product?


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## brucek

Certainly it will work as long as there is a driver available for your operating system.


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## Zen Traveler

Thanks Brucek, I picked up the Soundblaster X-Fi (model sb 1090) and think I have the appropriate patch cords. :nerd:


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## bommers

*No surround mixer in the eax console*

I have just purchased a creative sounblaster live external and am setting it up. I installed the software, but the EAX console doesn't have the surround mixer icon at the bottom so I can make those setting changes per the set-up guide.
I'm running xp sp3, and don't see any addtional downloads on the creative support site for me to update. The only Icon at the bottom of the eax is the speaker settings, (no graphic eq either.) my external card came used with no installation cd for drivers or software. sb0490

anyone know how i can get this on?

Thanks, Paul


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## bayrowser

Hi,
Just spent the better part of the day trying to install soundblaster Live 24bit on Windows 7 OS. Also read a gazzillion threads on this. Finally got the drivers but something is wrong as I dont get the Audio panel and options that I see in the various threads here. 
I have not been able to get the output or calibrate my Radioshack SPL - so pretty down and out!
As a last resort I am attaching whatever screenshots I can muster and hope someone out there has figured soundblaster on Win 7 process. I dont seem to get any of the screens that others are showing - obviously missing something here!
OK - cant seem to upload the screenshots either - file size limitation and something about min 5 posts - sigh!. 
So has anyone done the Win7 Soundblaster live deal - if so appreciate some assistance
cheers
BR


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## Sonic Icons

By the way, here is a link for Soundblaster Live! 24-bit External drivers (that seems to work as of July 2013). It's nice to see that, although this part has reached "end of service life" according to the vendor, Windows 7 and 8 drivers were released. I am currently running this soundcard from an Acer laptop with Win 7 32-bit Professional operating system, with the Windows 7 driver (version 1.02.0000) downloaded from this link, and haven't noticed any problems.
http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=1&subCatID=206&prodID=10702&prodName=Live!%2024-bit%20External&subCatName=Live!&CatName=Sound+Blaster&VARSET=prodfaqRODFAQ_10702,VARSET=CategoryID:1

In case the above doesn't work, here is a link to a search page for all Soundblaster named products from Creative Labs: http://support.creative.com/Products/product_list.aspx?catID=1&CatName=Sound+Blaster


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## abergdc

Hi there, REW newbie here. I'm dusting off some old equipment to try to calibrate a new (used) subwoofer in a new room. It's a DD-12 so i can use the built-in SMS-1, but I want to try to do some measurements with REW that the SMS-1 can't do (e.g. waterfalls), and better-than-1/3-octave.

I have a Sony Windows 7 PC and a soundblaster Live! 24-buit USB external. I have a Behreinger ECM8000. 

I think I have latest driver installed (I tried to install the one linked to above and was told I had a more recent driver).

My problem is that I can't seem to get the output and the input levels matched to do the soundcard calibration. I don't get the controls that the tutorial shows (for windows XP, of course). I have turned up the speakers (output) and micropohone (input) to 100%, but still the input ("rigth channel") is about 12db below the output.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!


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## JohnM

abergdc said:


> I have turned up the speakers (output) and microphone (input) to 100%, but still the input ("right channel") is about 12db below the output.


That's close enough. Also worth taking a quick look at this thread for SB live setup.


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## abergdc

JohnM said:


> That's close enough. Also worth taking a quick look at this thread for SB live setup.


Excellent, and yes that thread is extremely relevant. I'll play tonight.

Thanks!


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## abergdc

I ran the soundcard calibration and took a measurement. The SPL curve looks OK. But it seems like something funny seems to going on with the phase. Attached is the measurement file.

Could my SoundBlaster Live! really be doing that to the phase?


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## jtalden

Did you get this sorted out?
The file you posted is step one of a soundcard calibration not a measurement.
Briefly:
You posted a measurement using a mic as a soundcard cal measurement. This is not correct.
You should remove the mic and the cable to the AVR and instead place a loopback cable from the right output to the right input. Then redo the soundcard cal process.

If it helps you can think of the soundcard cal process as being a measurement of the wire connecting the output to input. The measurement result should be flat for both SPL and phase, but it will tail-off at the lower frequencies. That's okay. When you then save the calibration, REW will be able to correct future measurements for that error. [So after saving the calibration if you then take a measurement within the main measurement panel (not the soundcard calibration window) with the loopback cable still in place then you will get the flat response we expect a wire. This last step is optional, but helps prove that all is well.]

When that works then the loopback cable can be removed and mic plugged back in. The right output is then connected back into the AVR input channel.

REW's help covers this better. Just follow the steps there.


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## abergdc

No, I didn't, I'm afraid. I think I did follow the instructions, though of course I'll end up having made some dumb mistake. When I took that measurement (or rather, the soundcard calibration procedure that measurement), I had the right channel looped back from line out to line in. So I didn't have a microphone connected.

I think I'll go ahead and get a UMIK-1. Seems like a lot easier. As i understand it, the soundcard calibration procedure adjusts both for input and output. The UMIK-1 is a mic/sound-card in one, and it is already calibrated. That leaves the PC output, which cannot be separately calibrated with the USB microphone in the picture. However, I gather that soundcard output is typically very flat, so there is no real need.

Thanks, though.


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## JohnM

abergdc said:


> I ran the soundcard calibration and took a measurement. The SPL curve looks OK. But it seems like something funny seems to going on with the phase. Attached is the measurement file.


The SB Live! is inverting the signal, which is why the phase is sitting around -180 / +180 degrees instead of around zero (phase is cyclic, +180 and -180 are the same point). Tick the 'Invert' box below 'Input Options' in the REW Soundcard Preferences to correct it.


----------

