I’ve heard Cakewalk Sonar (and Homestudio) now supports the audio format ASIO. How do I utilize this? Should I switch to ASIO? I’m experiencing high latency.

This is true – Sonar version 2.2 and above and Homestudio 2 and above now supports the widely accepted ASIO protocol (Audio Streaming Input Output developed by Steinberg). This is a pro-audio low-latency method of getting audio to and from your audio card and software. ASIO is almost always more stable and allows for very low latencies, especially in Windows 98 and ME systems which do not use WDM well and were previously stuck with using MME. Windows 2000 and XP also offer more stability using ASIO. It’s highly recommended to use ASIO drivers. Here’s how you make the switch:

If you are using Sonar 3.0 or 4.0 or Homestudio 2 or 2004, there’s no need to download an ASIO update, it’s built right in. (Although it’s always best to have the most current version.)

If you have Sonar 2.0, you’ll need to first download the upgrade to 2.1 and then 2.2 and install them in order.

This upgrade is available at Cakewalk’s website:
http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/SONAR/default.asp

Then, launch Sonar, go to Options – Audio – Advanced, select ASIO as Driver Mode. Close & relaunch Sonar, go to Options – Audio – Drivers, and if the audio card you intend to use is not selected, you will first need to deselect ALL inputs and outputs before selecting a different audio card. Close & relaunch Sonar again, and everything should work fine.

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