Effect on cleanness of audio with cmASIO

[JJ4SDR]

I was on the air the other day and talked with someone and we fell to discussing verisons of Thetis that have the cmASIO feature implemented. The fellow told me that the audio that he is hearing (not sure if this would hold for transmitted audio as well) appears "cleaner" than it is when using a regular USB/Audio sound-card. We didn't get to the bottom of why this may be so.

Could anyone enlighten me on this and if the above comment is correct or just an impression?

Best!
Juha
NI2M

[w-u-2-o]

It could be real, it could be psychoacoustics. It could be a combination. There are too many unknowns to know for certain.

Consider that anyone who is using cmASIO has probably got a high-performance computer audio interface. This will have measurably better audio quality compared to the built-in audio interfaces of a PC or of Apache hardware.

But is that improvement truly audible over an HF radio channel?

Similarly, a cmASIO user is more likely to have a more expensive, fancier microphone plugged into their fancy interface. Since it is a time-honored tradition to do one's EQ in the microphone, this can have easily audible effects.

The most likely scenario is that anyone who is willing to equip for, and set up, cmASIO, is probably taking a lot more care with both their audio quality and their transmitted signal quality. In this case, it's operator attitude and attention to detail that makes the difference.

What is definitely NOT is any difference in the Thetis code. There is nothing special about later versions of Thetis that include the cmASIO interface.

[JJ4SDR]

Hi Scott,

I am using a Large-Diaphragm-Condenser mic and a pretty good outboard audio interface which is actually a Digital Mixer so, perhaps, I should give cmASIO a whirl.

Psychoacoustics is a pretty convoluted matter and I have come to fall prey to "traps" that can partially be attributed to this "phenomenon." When I have my Digital Audio Workstation in the audio chain, I sometimes (too often) elect to go with a VST plug-in that offers a fancy-schmanzy, kool, awesome user interface, opining that they are always more transparent and "better" than the simple looking ones . But that is not always the case.

Best!
Juha
NI2M

[Trucker]

Just don't add to much echo and reverb!!!

[w-u-2-o]

Or "Roger beeps"

[JJ4SDR]

Never do that, it sucks the "punch" away from the signal. Also, I prefer getting that effect by using tape delay if I can help it