Skip to main content

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode (Read 2219 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Hey all, I've got something I was hoping you could help me out with. I just got a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 2nd Gen USB audio interface to replace my M-Audio ProFire 610, and I've run into a small issue. When outputting with ASIO, everything seems to be playing fine, and my receiver displays a matching sample rate to the files being played. The strange thing is that the Windows sounds can be heard as well. This tells me foobar is not running in exclusive mode. When I try to output using WASAPI, which I had been using successfully with the ProFire 610, I get "Unrecoverable playback error: Device in use". I have both exclusive mode options checked in Windows advanced sound properties, have tried reinstalling all of the drivers, and even tried uninstalling the Focusrite Control software, but nothing I do gets WASAPI to work. Is it possible that the Windows "system sounds" is preventing me from having foobar take over exclusive mode? I just want to ensure that I am achieving bit-perfect playback. If anyone else has the 6i6, I'd love to hear what your optimal settings are, as well.

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have!

(I am running a Windows 10 PC, and connecting the 6i6 to a Sony receiver via coax S/PDIF)

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #1
I don't have the device you have but since no one else replied I decided to do so.

System sounds can't prevent WASAPI exclusive mode from working with the settings you have. Only another exclusive WASAPI session can prevent a new session from opening.

You might be able to see what has the device locked by running "powercfg -requests" in an elevated command prompt.

Note that ASIO is still bit-perfect even if it can mix in audio from other sources. If you want to prevent extra sounds IMO the best option is to disable the unwanted sounds.

 

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #2
If you don't want to hear sounds from random Windows applications, you can study the Focusrite Control application to identify where Windows sounds are coming into it, mute that mixer strip, and play back music via another ASIO channel. I don't have this hardware, but articles on the internet suggest that Windows is assigned to "Playback (DAW) 1/2" (at least for stereo).

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #3
Thanks for responding! If I understand correctly, running ASIO is bit-perfect, and I don't need to worry about WASAPI, but it's kind of driving me crazy not being able to figure out what is running that is preventing foobar from being able to take exclusive control over the 6i6. Here are the things I've tried (unsuccessfully) so far:

1. Disabled Windows sounds ("no sounds") and restarted.
2. Ran powercfg -requests" in an elevated command prompt. Nothing happening there.
3. Looked up the Physical Device Object Name for anything related to the Focusrite in Device Manager, searched for the name in Process Explorer. The only thing that came up was "ASIOhost64.exe" while foobar was playing.
4. Muted the monitor outputs and line outputs in Focusrite Control.

Is it possible that the 6i6 doesn't support WASAPI? How else could I go about finding out what would be giving me the "device in use" error message?

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #4
OK, so I thought I'd resuscitate this thread as I ran into the problem again (and it's been so long, I can't remember if I found a fix for it or not).

Basically, I'm using the new foobar2k v2.0, and I'm trying to play music through a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 (2nd gen) for a 2nd zone in my house. When running in exclusive mode, everything plays fine as long as the audio file and the sample rate on the 6i6 match (say 16-bit, 44.1kHz). If I play a song with a different sample rate (say 24-bit, 96kHz), I get the "Unrecoverable playback error: Audio device in use" error message. I can then manually change the sample rate in the Focusrite Control app, and that song (96k) will play fine, but the previous (44k) song will get the error message again.

All songs will play when the output device in fb2k is set to the non-exclusive mode, but my understanding is they are not being played bit-perfect, but rather output at whatever the default format is set to in the windows speaker properties.

Is there a way to get bit-perfect playback automatically in exclusive mode in fb2k using a Focusrite 6i6 (2nd gen)?

Thank you!

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #5
As the problem is that the Focusrite device cannot handle a change of sample rates without being manually switched to each one first, this question is better posted in Focusrite's support board.  Foobar is doing nothing beside passing along the original sample rate of the file via Wasapi Exclusive; it has no access to the Focusrite control app.  BTW, your understanding that "when the output device in fb2k is set to the non-exclusive mode, ... they are not being played bit-perfect," is correct.

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #6
OK, I'll reach out to Focusrite for the solution, thank you for your help!

Re: Issues with Scarlett 6i6, WASAPI and exclusive mode

Reply #7
Is there any update from Focusrite? I'm having the same problem with my 2i2 2nd gen and it is rather annoying to keep changing the sample rates manually.