External Sound Card Recommendations

Use this forum for all hardware and technical related issues (i.e. sound cards, etc.).
chuckpuckett
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 9:44 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.5.1
Operating System: Windows

Post by chuckpuckett » Sat Jun 04, 2022 4:08 pm

I am running Sib Ultimate, using NotePerformer, on an HP Pavilion, Win 10, 12GB memory, very decent cpu speed. Runs fine.

However, my Soundblaster Play! always stops working with Sibelius, generally in just a few moments after I start playback.
I've always used an SB device, but I'm willing to try something else.

Any recommendations? I want dependability, but not willing to spend a ton. I've never done gaming of any kind, so that kind of consideration is not an issue.

Thanks!
Chuck Puckett
Against stupidity, the gods themselves strive in vain.
I don’t want to steal the show. I only want to borrow it for a while.


MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Sun Jun 05, 2022 7:42 am

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4. Like you, I don't do gaming. It is perfectly good for Sibelius. You will need to completely uninstall your Soundblaster. If it is an internal one, you will need to remove it and completely blitz any fragments of drivers for it.

Focusrite interfaces are either USB or FireWire or Thunderbolt.

You might take a look at these: https://store.focusrite.com/en-gb/categ ... VjEALw_wcB

They are very reliable. Especially if you use the ASIO driver supplied. There are other makes and models of soundcard available.
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Sun Jun 05, 2022 8:17 am

If you can't remove and uninstall the Soundblaster you can still use something like the Focusrite and tell Sibelius to use it rather than the Soundblaster. I technically have three soundcards in this PC. A Realtek onboard chip (disabled and drivers removed, a venerable M-Audio 2496 (for Windows 7) and a Terratec Aureon Universe (which is the default card on the Windows XP partition, still going strong 11 years after installation - but 'unaware' of the Internet!) All happily co-exist.

Sib uses the M-Audio on both Win 7 and XP.

SB cards usually come with all sorts of bloatware, so if you do uninstall, try to get rid of everything, not just the drivers,

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