On 10/26/2010 1:00 AM, Jay Ts wrote:
Well, the discussion was maybe 6 months ago, or at least
long enough that I don't remember how long ago. 
It was about
the "Wave From Hell" example relating to the question of
whether we should avoid normalizing to 0 dB.
This is something that's completely within your control. Why
blame M-Audio? Oh, never mind - this is the Internet where
manufacturers are always responsible for problems that users
create. You shouldn't be normalizing any waveform to 0 dBFS
is you care about quality.
I do remember some discussion about a "wave file from hell,"
a test that someone derived to test or prove something, but
I don't remember what it was. Arny???
My AP 2496 card (which is several years old, and I assume not the
most recent version) didn't handle the Wave From Hell properly.
To me, it seems like a minor issue, but one I'd like to
avoid in the future.
Do you recall what the file was, or in what way it didn't
handle it properly?
Perhaps you should think about how you can keep your present
computer running for another ten years.
But it's already been running 5 years, and my computer
was made by me, not Honda. 
Lots of Hondas run for 20 years.
I keep hoping that if I wait long enough, some companies
will deliver PCIe audio cards. ESI claims to have some
PCIe audio interfaces. Maybe there will be others. I
hope that is not just wishful thinking!
It'll probably happen about two weeks before they decide to
stop making computers with a PCIe slot. The trend seems to
be toward devices that don't require opening up the
computer, though no doubt there will be some niche
manufacturers that make internal bus interfaces. Probably
the next big thing will be USB3.
Haha. But wait, Has anyone ever patented multitrack recording
using wax cylinders? There might be an opportunity there.
Well, there was the fabled Ellington stereo disk recordings
made on two disk cutters, but scholars differ on whether it
was actually planned as a stereo recording or just a backup.
I subscribe to the backup supposition.
I'm starting to wonder if my next computer-based audio
platform might be some kind of Android tablet from India. :-|
There have been 4-track and I believe 8 track DAW-like
applications for the iPhone for more than a year now, but
these are all production programs. I don't recall anyone
having made a multi-channel interface for it yet, but there
are a couple of better quality stereo interfaces.
--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be
operated without a passing knowledge of computing, although
it seems that it can be operated without a passing knowledge
of audio." - John Watkinson