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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Internet sound not playing thru

mkkov - Jan 7, 2007 - 1:52 am

I have recently installed (connected thru fire wire actually) the Edirol FA66 Audio interphase.

After connecting the Edirol to the MAc via firewire I have connected my external speakers to the Edirol.

In the system preferances, I've chaned both the 'output' and the 'input' in the sound section to the Edirol FA66

When I am playing a song thru Itune or Quick time, all is fine and I listen to it thru the external speakers.

THE PROBLEM:
When I am listening to streaming sound throu the Net, like Pandora, I do not here it via the external speakers but thru the small internal speaker in the Mac.

Please help,.
Thank you,
Micha

Stuartpau - Jan 8, 2007 - 4:50 pm

HI.
When you are using items, like the Edirol you need to have software that is capable of using add on audio devices.

Most of the time you can direct all the system sounds to whatever device you want, however some software may default to the system default which is usually the built in speaker on the computer.

Now you don't specify exactly which Mac you are using and some Macs have different audio outputs, such as a digital Optical I/O, a built In Line I/O and of course the built in speakers which are the usual default.

It is possible that Pandora was using the built in speakers to start with and it may have got stuck on that set up. There area some things you can do that may remedy this problem.

The first thing to do is to try and locate the preference file .plist file for Pandora and to trash it. Next time you use Pandora it should create new preference file and if things work out as they are supposed to, you should get the audio coming out of the Edirol.

Some preferences are located in the Library that is inside your Home Directory. So open your home folder, locate the Library folder, open that and look for preferences. Open that folder and look for the preference file associated with Pandora. It should be in that Library.

There are 3 Libraries in OS X, one is inside your Home Folder and contains most of the preference files that you use personally. The next Library is at the root or main level of your Startup disk and that contains preferences that are available to all the different users of the computer.
The third library is inside a folder called system, and unless you are really certain about what you are doing here you should not alter anything in that Library unless Aple's tech support or some other qualified person recommends that you do. This is the Library that holds a lot of the Information yor OS needs to work properly.

There is a chance that any preference file could be in the Library that is on the main level of your startup drive, You can trash it safely from here as well.

DO NOT alter the Library that is inside the folder called System.

There is anpther preference file for the sound part of your system preferences and that is located in your main library at the main level of your startup disk, and this is called com.apple.soundpref.plist. You can trash this item, then go back to the sound system preference and set it up the way I suggest below.

Another thing you can do here is to reset the PRAM on your system, by holding the CMD, Option and P R keys down after a system restart, just as the computer starts up again, so make sure you have those keys held down as the computer restarts, but not while it is shutting down.
Keep thesse keys held down until you have heard the startup sound at least 2 times or even 3. On the 3rd time let go of the keys and the computer should be set to its factory defaults.
This means that you will have to go back to the system preferences and make sure that it is set up as follows.
In the first panel Sound Effects, make sure that the sound output is sent to the Edirol. Do the same for the output and of course the input.

The way Macs are set up these days you can have some audio going to one output with another set of audio going to something like the Edirol.

Try that out and let me know how that works for you. IF that does not work I will take a closer look at Pandora to see what they are doind OK.

Stuart

mkkov - Jan 9, 2007 - 2:33 am

Hi Stuart
Sorry, there is a misunderstanding. Pandora was just an example for streaming sound I have used: ALL streaming Internet sound is going through the internal speakers.

1. I tried different web sites with 3 different brousers: Safary, FireFox, IE. All streming sound was played thru the internal speakers.

2. I tried streaming sound thru iTune - that went well and played thru the Edirol.

3. I've reset the PRAM to no avail.

4. I've trashed the com.apple.soundpref.plist to no avail.

I believe it is the way my mac is handling streaming sound throu the NET that needs to be changed.

Thank you very much for your help,
Micha

Stuartpau - Jan 10, 2007 - 6:02 pm

HI, I apologize for not getting back to you yesterday, our Satellite Internet connection was out due to bad weather.

I am nnot too sure from your response whether or not you wish to troubleshot this issue, it is up to you.

One point however and that is whatever system you are using to output the system sounds from your Mac, should be the system that your Mac uses to output any audio, unless you have deliberately separated the sound outputs as some people do.
I really don't have any information about what specific Mac you are using or whther or not you are experiencing this issue on several Macs.
If you wish to get into this further I am definitely willing to go deeper into this issue. So let me know how you wish to proceed OK

Stuart

mkkov - Jan 10, 2007 - 9:01 pm

Hi Stuart
thanks for the help. Sorry, I thought u have the info of my Mac from my prophile.

Anyway, it is a Mac G4, 733 MHz Power PC, 1 MB L3 cache, 768 MB SDRAM, OSX 10.4.8
Here is audio info I pulled from the system profiler:
--------------------------
Built In Sound Card:
CODEC: Texas Instruments TAS3001C
Sample Rate: 44.1 KHz
Number of Inputs: 0
Number of Outputs: 3
Devices:
Output:
Type: Internal Speaker
Output:
Type: External Speaker
Output:
Type: Headphones
--------------------------------------
I am using only this Mac. I have not deliberately separated the sound outputs - I don't know how to. If I'd knew I would go there and check.

Please let me know if there is more info I can provide if needed. I wish to troubleshot this till solved.

Perhaps I need to connect the Edirol to one of the Output for External Speaker?

After buying the Edirol, I first run the firewire cable between the Edirol and my Mac, then took the cable that was going to my external speakers (from the earphone output on the Mac) and connected that cable to the Speakers output on the Edirol. Then I changed the System preferences to reflect the Edirol at the sound "input" "output' and "sound effects".

Thanks so much,
Micha

Stuartpau - Jan 11, 2007 - 3:36 pm

HI Micha, I guess I missed the profile, we have had a really bad time with our ISP lately and I have been lucky to be able to get online period, so when I do manage to get to MacOSX I don't always get the Pages displayed properly. IT does seem to be working OK now though.


It certainly seems as if you have everything plugged in OK.

Have you checked with the Edirol support site to make sure that you are running the latest audio driver for that unit. A lot of times the drivers on the CD's that come with these things are a bit out of date.
I strongly advise you not to connect the output of your Mac to the Edirol, unless Edirol says it is OK. IF you do that you will have to divert your all your audio into the Macs audio for the Macs speaker output to send it to the Edirol.
Then you will be using the Edirol as an input Device and not as an output device. Also a lot of the ime the inputs of thee higher quality units are not reall compatible with the output impedance and signal strength you get from the Macs speaker output.
Most of the time the Inputs to the Edirol are use for Guitars which do have a high output signal but still not enough to drive a speaker, and they are also switchable to be able to accept Microphones as well. Som of thee Microphones may also need a 48V Phantom power to drive them.

There is also anpther utility on you Mac designed t ohandle units such as the Edirol, and that is the Audio Midi Setup which is found in your uti;lities folder.
This has 2 parts one for the MIDI side of your computer so you can control Midi devices and the Audio side. Both sides need to be set up so that your Edirol is recognised.

As the Edirol also supports Midi you will probably have t oset it up in both parts of the Audio Midi Set up.
So run that utility and let me know what happens after that. OK

This is really quite an odd situation as Macs usually handle audio really well, so I would also definitely make sure you are using the latest driver from Roland (Edirol). OK.

Stuart.

P.S.
Are you planning on using the Edirol for recording etc?

TechSupport - Jan 23, 2007 - 1:40 pm

mkkov - Jan 23, 2007 - 1:41 pm

I played a little with the Audio Midi set up in the utilities. No help. I'm about to give up on the Logic Express. Seems to big for my computer at the moment. Is there a symple sound recording and editing software? Not a monster software like Logic Express or cuebase...
tnx
Micha

mkkov - Jan 25, 2007 - 4:08 pm

well? What's going om?
Micha

TechSupport - Feb 1, 2007 - 1:50 pm

Stuartpau - Feb 1, 2007 - 2:18 pm

Hi Micha, I apologise for not responding to your message, but you haad taken so long to get back to me I thought you were in good shape or had resolved the issue..
Logic is a big application and it is pretty much designed for people who want a complete Digital Audio workstation, and Logic Express is the same but watered down a bit.

A lot of stuff is out there, for recording and even basic editing. IF all that you want to do is record some of your Albums Cd's tapes Etc and then clean them up, then Logic is way overkill.

If you are trying to create music and do not use Midi devices, you might want to check on CNET for Audio Apps some of these will be free or shareware.

It all depends on exactly what your goals are.

If you want a recommendadtion from me, why don't you let me know what you want to achieve with thesoftware hardware combination you have.

You do have a pretty good audio Interface with the Edirol and it also supports MIDI, so if you have external Synthesizers you want to control, you will need to have something that will have a built in sequencer, that will allow you to edit your music, before you actually comit to recording it.

IF you are doing Live recording and playing back say a guitar rhythm track, and building on that with another live track whilst the other track is playing, you will also need a Multitrack audio package.

IF you ar doing both then Logic Express is a pretty good package to work with. It has a lot of bells and whistles for sure, but you really want to see bells andwhistles, get the Full Logic Pro, it is a killer App and does just about everything.
There are lower end packages than Logic Express but in my experience most musicians, if they are serious, usually want to have as many tools at their fingertips as they can afford.

There are also 2 track applications like Peak or Peak LE. These guys are limited to 2 tracks only and peak itself is usually used for mastering, creating Podcasts MP3's etc. Peak Le again is a watered down Peak that is more aimed at people who are simply interested in having an audio tools that is a lot more powerful than I tunes when it comes to editing and track cleanup. Itunes of course Itunes reaelly is more of a Library of tunes than an editing application.

There is so much out there it is almost impossible to recommend something unless you know what the person wants to do with their equipment so drop me some feed back on that one will you.

I assume that you are still not getting the sound through your Edirol ??, is that right. By sound I mean the net streaming content.

There is one thing that you really need to watch out for, especially with higher end audio interfaces, and that is the sample rate settings. Most of the higher end equipment can sample has high as 96Khz and even 192 Khz at 24 bits, which gives amazing clarity but takes up so much space that it is impractical for use in Net Streaming.

Make sure that all you audio stuff is set to 44Khz at 16 bits, this is the usual setting that will allow almost any sound generated on the Net to get through so to speak. This setting is reall important.

The thing is, if you are trying to get a good qulity recording of your own music, you will probably want to have things set up to 48Khz and 24 Bits as a minimum, to allow for any degradation that may be introduced as a result of processing whatever it is you have recorded.

SO we can definitely take this up from where we left off, I apologize for any delays, I really did think that you had got a resolution, especially as a lot of the people we help here once their problems are solved, never let us know how things went, they just move on, and that is their privelege. OF course when someone does not reply to you for a while and usually I believe that 10 days is the limit, the site itself closes the question down, unless of course it is the tech who has not responded.

We can go at this until we solve the problem to your satisfaction, and we can even open it up so the other techs can help if needed, but I did notice that your question had not been picked up by anyone, and as I do audio and Video for a living, it fitted my profile.

So just let me know where you want to go OK

Stuart

mkkov - Feb 3, 2007 - 2:16 am

Hi Stuart
Thanks for your detailed answer.
I will tell you a little about mysef and my plans.
I was a video editor using many softwares and operating many machines. I got tired of studying softwares...

I am playing the saxophone and I am part of a trio - Piano, percussions, saxophone - these days. I live in a very quiet place so we can record the trio and the saxophone live. That is the main reason I bought the Edirol and Logic.

I also want to be able to play back say a piano rhythm track, while recording on that another live track - the saxophone - whilst the other track is playing. This means I need to be able to import, easily, MP3 tracks stored in my iTune library (I believe they are 44,1K).

I do not plan to become a sound editor - I've had enough of that. All I want from the edirol and the computer is to do the two things mentioned. I will max use 4 tracks, and I will do perhaps very simple editiing - cut and paste, for cleaning - if any.

So the Logic seems like an over kill for me. Also, it takes so much space on the disk and I believe it needs to be stored on the operating disk. Once I have a much simpler software I will remove it.

Thank you for your time and help, and if u take your time in answering - no problem, I am in no hurry and you are doing me a big favor...

Take care,
Micha

Stuartpau - Feb 5, 2007 - 12:46 pm

Hi Micha, after Looking ove your requirements I would recommend that you take a look at Mackie Tracktion 2
It costs $99 and should cover all of what you need and more. It has a bit of a unique user Interface, but it is a pretty good program and will do all that you need and more, plus it is not expensive.

There area ton more just like it, but if you are into serious music, then you do need something good and Traktion is good.

MOst of the other commercially available apps are overkill for what you need plus the cost and setup is more. So take a look at Traktion, I think you can get a Demo download frm Mackie online. I think it id mackie.com. They are a pretty good company.

Stuart

mkkov - Feb 6, 2007 - 1:48 am

Hi stuart
I downloaded the Tracktion Demo. Seems to work. I also found that my Edirol was set to 192K which caused me a lot of problems. I set it now to 44,1k but that didn't of course changed the streaming audio problem.
Thank yyou for all your help and I think the matter is closed.
Thank you so much,
Micha