Instruction Manual

867
Improving Performance with Digital Audio
Improving Audio Performance
3. In the Playback and Recording section, select ASIO from the Driver
Mode dropdown menu.
4. Restart SONAR.
Queue Buffers
SONAR allows you to set the number of queue buffers in the Audio Options
dialog box, in the General tab. A higher number of queue buffers will take
longer to fill, and therefore cause an increase in latency. A lower number of
queue buffers decreases latency, but may cause “dropouts.” The default
setting is 2. For more information, see: Mixing Latency, and Dropouts and
Other Audio Problems.
Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter
SONAR has several tools to help you identify and correct audio problems,
including the CPU meter, the Disk meter, and the Dropout indicator. These
tools are all located on the Status bar, which is at the bottom of the screen.
The Status bar also contains a measurement of available hard disk space. If
you do not see the Status bar, go to Options-Global, select the General
tab, and make sure Show Status Bar is selected. The Status bar contains
the following fields, reading from left to right:
• Cursor location—The left-most field on the Status bar shows the
location of your mouse cursor.
• Audio Running—Whenever the Audio Engine button in the
Transport toolbar is depressed, the Audio Running indicator lights up.
• Dropout indicator—The Dropout indicator is in the same field as the
Audio Running indicator. The Dropout indicator displays the word
Dropout whenever your project requires more resources than your
CPU, main memory, and disk can supply.
• Mute—Whenever a track is muted, the Mute indicator lights up. You
can click the Mute indicator to unmute all muted tracks.
• Solo—Whenever a track is soloed, the solo indicator lights up. You can
click the Solo indicator to unsolo all soloed tracks.
• Arm—Whenever a track is armed for recording audio or MIDI data, the
red Arm indicator lights up. This indicator is in the same field as the red
Aut indicator. You can click the Arm indicator to disarm all armed tracks.
• AUTO—Whenever any control is armed for automation recording, the
red Aut indicator lights up. This indicator is in the same field as the red
Arm indicator. You can click the Aut indicator to disarm all armed tracks