No problem. I think I’m getting the idea…
So I’m guessing a bit about the outputs, you’ll want to try a few connections to sort out what’s actually happening.
My initial guess is this…
The chip itself probably has 4 channel outputs total.
My guess is that you get 4 hardware outputs on pins 1-4…
The first 2 will go to the internal speakers in the laptop (See Red Box).
The second 2 will go to the headphone jack (See Green Box).
Channels 1-4 go directly to hardware.
Channels 5 - 64, you’ll have free for ‘virtual routing’.
For Inputs, it looks like you’ll only have 2 showing up top. Depending on what you plug into the mic jack, you might end up with one signal on channel 1 (mono), a duplicated mono signal (both 1 and 2 have the same signal, perhaps with phase inversion of some sort on the right channel), or a true stereo signal.
You’ll have a number of options for sending a mix to both your speakers and headphones at the same time if you like. One raw and basic example might look like this. The grey LOOPER rail connections might be a bit hard to see here, so look close in the red box. I’ve sent channels one and 2 to LOOPER OUT, and then routed LOOPER IN 1 & 2 to the headphone outputs 3 & 4.
Snapshot
Note, if you tap those IN MIX, OUT MIX buttons in ASIO Link Pro (most of the rails have one), you can also do connections and gain adjustments in a grid that pops up (the tiny knobs actually turn with the mouse).
You’ll also have options to control different monitoring mixes in Reaper and/or Bidule (as opposed to direct routing on the main asiotool.exe instance). I’ll need to study up how to do independent monitor mixes in Reaper, but I’m pretty positive it’s possible. I.E. Set up two busses on the mixing console with everything routed into both of them in parallel…hence the ability to easily swap back and forth between headphone and speaker monitoring right there in Reaper.
Since you only have one jack to plug stuff in, be aware of whatever options your device might offer for setting the base gain staging for whatever device you plug in. There might be switches for different kinds of mics, vs plugging in line level devices (a keyboard, iPod, whatever).
So, be aware that you might have quite a few options/settings at your disposal for both the inputs and outputs should you run into issues.
I usually start with the outputs by disabling Exclusive modes (so multiple clients can use the hardware all at the same time).
I also recommend that while doing stuff with Reaper/Bidule, disabling any ‘effects or audio enhancement’ options for your Realtek chip if it offers them. You’ll probably find some faders to gain stage the hardware for speakers/headphones/mic as well. You want the cleanest/purest, unmodified signals you can get.
On the inputs, be careful before you plug something in and power it up. Some chips have ‘protection’ built in and will handle this stuff automatically for you, and some might require you go into settings and tick off options. Cheap mics for something like a laptop will typically be quite ‘low gain’ and send a weak signal (adjust the gain for them in this control panel), while something like an MP3 Player, a music keyboard, or even some guitars/direct boxes/keyboards/etc. might send a pretty hot signal! In the latter cases, don’t forget to check (if possible, toggle between mic or line level options)…if devices send hot signals (I.E. an iPod’s output with headphone amp behind it) pull levels way down on the device before plugging them in and gradually bring it up in tiny increments until it sits at levels you want.
When I get a chance, I’ll come back with some bidule scenarios.
