Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[kevinpwhite]

My setup is:
-   Win 10 Pro x64 20H2 running MC28
-   Feeding a Creative X7 DAC-pre-Amp and thence 5.1 Audioengine active speakers

I have two VU Meters available. TBProAudio’s mvMeter2 https://www.tbproaudio.de/products/mvmeter2 and Klanghelm’s VUMT deluxe https://klanghelm.com/contents/products/VUMT.html. Both run perfectly as plugins under JRiver MC28 DSP Studio and display whatever source file is playing in MC28. I would like to be able to run the meters undocked / in separate frameless window, rather than having to have the full DSP window open, obscuring the MC desktop. I have trawled Interact but have been unable to find a means of achieving this.

VUMT has a standalone version in the package which opens correctly. mvMeter2 can be run in SAVIHost to achieve the equivalent ‘standalone’ instance. However, I am completely unable to get either of these to access MC28. The only settings which have produced life in (either) meter is when:
a.   An input to the Creative X7 is selected (eg. Line In)
b.   Something like a Logitech webcam with a live microphone is selected as the source- but that is picking up the ‘in the room’ audio from the speakers and not the output from MC28.
I have tried setting MC28 to all the available Audio settings (Direct, WASAPI, ASIO) with no effect. 

I have no doubt missed something basic and would greatly appreciate advice and wisdom on how to achieve the intended objective !

With many thanks,

Best regards,

Kevin   

[Chipicui]

hi kevin!
You should download vburel audio bridge or voicemeeter banana, both freeware or donationware, don’t remember now...
Then... configure jriver audio output to vburel audio bridge
Then set klanghem vumeter input to receive audio from vburel audio bridge and finally its output to your selected output device, wdm, asio, vburel banana or whatever your soundcard output is.
Latency might be an issue with this setup though... there are other audio cable bridge solutions but i didn’t check them.
Same with savihost.
You essentially make a bridge to your standalone vumeter and output from there

[Chipicui]

Sadly jriver doesn’t support to float non modal vst windows outside its dsp, as far as I know.
It would be truly nice and useful if it did.

[kevinpwhite]

Hello Chipicui,

Many thanks for the information. I will check out your recommendations over the weekend and report back on progress 

Best regards,

Kevin

[kevinpwhite]

I have now had a chance to look into the virtual audio cables and related options....

The solution I've presently settled on is very similar, but making use of the built-in Windows Sound Panel 'What U Hear' functionality which I have discovered as a result of looking into Chipicui's very helpful leads. This detects the L & R channel signals at the Creative X7 DAC and, with MC set to use Internal Volume (at 100%) results in a suitable feed for the meters without having to introduce the additional links between MC and DAC required by the virtual cable drivers. The following summarises the now working setup:


-   MC28 Volume set to Internal (at 100%). Actual Volume controlled by Creative SB X7 volume control.
-   MC Audio Device – set to Sound Blaster X7 (Kernel Streaming). Settings: 24-bit integer; 0.5s Buffering and Volume Device Sound Blaster X7
o   Selecting the Sound Blaster X7 ASIO is currently an anomaly: It will only work at all with MC Buffering at 50ms or greater and the Driver Control Panel Latency set to the maximum of 100ms. BUT, although Windows Sound Panel What U Hear (Sound Blaster X7) registers normal output VU / RMS levels on both L and R Channels, the X7 is only actually outputting an analogue signal on the Left Channel. Toggling between SB X7 ASIO and SB X7 (Kernel Streaming) toggles the behaviour. This is being flagged to Creative.
-   VUMT as VST Plugin under MC28 (within DSP Studio) – Works, provided the Output Format is set to 2Ch. (If changed to 6 Channel, it shows ‘Format Not Supported’ error). Fine within DSP Studio window but unable to be undocked or sized appropriately.
-   VUMT standalone version – Works, provided with audio feed from What U Hear (Sound Blaster X7) with following settings:
o   Set as Default Recording Device
o   Listen to this Device - Unchecked
o   Levels: 100%; Balance 100% L+R
o   Advanced: Format – 2 Channel 24 bit, 96000 Hz (Studio Quality)
o   Allow applications to take exclusive control - Unchecked
o   Meters are set to -18dB as standard OOB for 0 VU (-9 DIN, +4 for BBC, per VUMT Meter Scale Appendix), but can be further calibrated using sine wave test tones if required
-   If the What U Hear (aka Stereo Mix) is not available (due to being hobbled in firmware on some PCs) an alternative option is to use one of the virtual audio cable solutions available. Examples are Jack Cable, Virtual Audio Cable and VB-Audio Virtual Cable. This however introduces a virtual chain of additional ‘connections’ from the between the media source - meter - DAC and eventual analogue output.

I will update further if anything meaningful emerges regarding the quirk with the Creative X7 ASIO Driver.

My thanks again to Chipicui for the steer 

Best regards,

Kevin