One DAW, Two (or more) Audio Devices

WaveLab
1

For the longest time, I struggled with the limitation of one Audio device in most DAWs. But I wanted to solve at least 5 challenges:

  1. One audio device I could dedicate to monitoring and room-correction.
  2. Another audio device I could dedicate to AD/DA into and out of my analog mastering chain without having to enable/disable room-correction.
  3. Use the External FX plug-in without having to use the same audio device or be subject to room-correction.
  4. Quickly bypass room-correction if I want to listen to headphones.
  5. Deploy an accurate audio meter, not affected by room-correction.
  6. Quickly switch between these scenarios with little effort.

NOTE: This demonstration works best on Mac OS, but can still be done in Windows if you know how to manage sending shortcut keystrokes to Wavelab in Windows.

Hardware I’m using:

  • MOTU 8D (an incredible, but not terrible costly digital audio router and USB audio interface)
  • Benchmark DAC3 D/A converter (USB audio interface)
  • Crane Song HEDD-192 DA/AD converter

If my exact scenario here isn’t a perfect fit for your situation, it’s not far off from addressing your needs, too.

(Not sponsored by any software or hardware manufacturer)

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