Q. Will there be support for the Creative Labs Extigy and Audigy2 NX?

Q. Under which Operating Systems can I use the kX driver?

A. The kX driver conforms to the WDM (Windows Driver Model) specification and is therefore compatible with the following Microsoft Windows operating systems: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98 (Second Edition only), and Windows Me. Windows Server 2003, Vista, Vista x64, Windows XP x64, Windows 7, Windows 7 x64 are supported. Windows 98 (First Edition) will not be supported since it has no built-in support for WDM drivers (v1.1 or later).
Mac OS X version is available on our support forums.

Q. Why should I use the kX driver and not the drivers that came with my soundcard? What are the advantages of the kX Audio Driver?

A. The kX driver may or may not suit your own particular needs, although you have little to lose by giving it a try. The kX driver is part of an independent development project, and already offers most if not all of the same features included in the original manufacturers' drivers. In fact, the kX driver set is continually being updated and improved, with frequent driver and supporting application releases.

general advantages

• smaller download / software takes up less space on disk
• mixer is skinnable
• API is open -- SDK, documentation and sample code available for download
• skilled users can write their own effects and plugins
• open API allows development of custom mixers and other software applications

• better DSP support [hardware-accelerated custom sound effects]
• virtually unlimited signal routing possibilities
• complete and flexible control over hardware (without artificially imposed limitations)
• direct uninterpolated SPDIF recording from Optical, Coaxial and CDSPDIF sources
• GSIF support
• bit-to-bit 16/48 playback and recording (SPDIF, Audigy)

• ASIO is supported for all the 10k1 & 10k2-based boards
• ASIO v2 based hosts are fully supported

• kX VSTi and kX Automation provide MIDI-based control of DSP effects
• extended MIDI CC support
• both SoundFont 2.01 & AWE NRPN support

Q. Are the kX drivers aimed at musicians or gamers or both?

A. At present the kX driver is aimed primarily at musicians, and especially those who wish to get the most out of their soundcards (and who have traditionally been left behind by the big soundcard manufacturers, who prefer to concentrate their efforts on the more lucrative gamers market). Features designed specifically for gamers will however be added as development of the drivers continues.

Q. Does the kX driver have ASIO support? ASIOv2?

A. ASIO v2.0 - based hosts are fully supported, however, some ASIO2 features are not implemented due to hardware limitations. 24-bit ASIO support is planned for 10k2-based boards.

Q. What kind of latency can I expect to see?

A. The minimum expected ASIO latency is expected to be 5.33 ms (and possibly as low as 2.66 ms, depending on your hardware/software setup).

Q. Will I get low latency with Cakewalk's Sonar?

A. The kX driver is a kernel-streaming WDM driver, and a latency as low as 10 ms can be expected under Sonar (depending on your hardware/software setup).

Q. Does the kX driver incorporate DirectX support?

A. Currently, DirectSound2D and DirectSound3D are fully supported. DirectSound3D support is under constant development, however it can cause issues with some games. Any offers to help with implementing support for DirectSound3D would be gladly accepted (skilled programmers only please!).

Q. Does the kX driver support multiple soundcards? How many?

A. Multiple soundcards are indeed supported by the kX driver. In theory, an unlimited number of soundcards could be used at once, but in reality you're likely to be limited by the number of PCI slots in your machine. Any combination of EMU10k1 and/or EMU10k2-based cards can be used with the kX driver (together with soundcards by other manufacturers, running their own drivers), provided the BIOS and the OS recognize the cards and assign the resources correctly.

Q. Can I use SoundFonts with the kX driver?

A. Yes, your soundcard will continue to function as a SoundFont-compatible device under the kX driver. SoundFonts can be loaded and unloaded via SoundFont-aware applications, or via the kX Mixer's SoundFont control page. Currently only SF2 files are supported, however SF1 (SBK) files can be converted to SF2 files using a freely available utility.

Q. Is there a SoundFont control panel included with the kX driver set?

A. Yes, the kX Mixer includes a SoundFont control panel, which allows loading and unloading of SoundFonts to compatible soundcards running under the kX drivers.

Q. Can I use the Vienna SoundFont editor with the kX drivers?

A. The current kX driver version provides support for the Vienna SoundFont editor (with the exception of 'wave playback' feature).

Q. Can I use the Alive SoundFont editor with the kX drivers?

A. The Alive editor is currently not fully compatible with the kX driver (improved support is under investigation -- please contact SoundFaction for details).

Q. Is there a 32MB limit on sample playback? Does this apply to the Audigy as well?

A. SoundFont sample playback is limited to 32MB of wave data at one time, although SoundFonts larger than 32MB can be loaded.

Q. Can I use the standard Windows Mixer with the kX driver?

A. Basic Windows Mixer functionality is provided, although the audio mixer (kX Mixer) included with the driver package allows access to many more features. The Windows mixer allows Master, Wave and Synth Playback and Record levels to be controlled. A Line-in slider has also been added for compatibilty with TV-card software.

Q. Is there a dedicated mixer included with the kX driver set?

A. Yes, the kX driver package includes a feature-rich audio mixer, the kX Mixer.

Q. What are the mixer features? Can I save and restore my mixer settings?

A. The kX mixer includes level controls for all inputs and outputs, full control over the AC97 Codec, separate record level controls, selectable digital output mode, etc., etc. The kX Mixer supports save, load and restore of all mixer settings.

Q. Are DSP effects supported by the kX driver?

A. Yes, the kX driver supports DSP effects, with Reverb and Chorus loaded by default for MIDI Synth compatibility.

Q. Is there an effects control panel included with the kX driver set?

A. The kX mixer includes a DSP control panel, allowing editing, loading, patching and unloading of custom DSP effects. A command-line utility is also included with the kX driver package, allowing direct access to many functions.

Q. Are there new effects included with the kX driver set?

Q. Can I write my own DSP effects for use with the kX driver set?

A. Yes, the kX driver package includes a DSP compiler and loader, allowing skilled users to program their own DSP effects.

Q. Where can I get support for the kX Audio Driver?

Q. Why do I experience shutdown problems with the kX Mixer?

Q. Why do I get 'Debug assertion failed' message (Expression 'SUCCEEDED(hr)&&gpPicture')?

A. This error indicates that your Internet Explorer installation is corrupted. In order to solve this, re-install Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.

Q. Why can't I load large SoundFonts?

A. This is caused by Windows memory management restrictions. Try tweaking the following register keys (for Windows 2000 and Windows XP only):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\
PagedPoolSize
NonPagedPoolSize
NonPagedPoolQuota
PagedPoolQuota

Q. How do I tweak my computer for optimum performance?

Q: My MIDI playback is crackling no matter what SoundFont I use - what should I do? I have VIA chipset and AMD processor.

A: If you are using any cooling software like VCool, CPUCool, CPUIdle, etc you need to disable it(in VCool you need to disable NB Cool Bit, in CPUIdle disable 'AMD hardware-specific' options).

Q: Why is there no 'Wave 2/3' device?

Q: Why is my CT4830/SB0090/SB0220 recognized as CT4832/SB0092/SB0222?? Does this affect sound quality?

A: The CT4830 and CT4832 are almost identical cards with different PCI IDs (as programmed into the onboard EEPROM). A CT4832 card is generally an OEM version of the CT4830, although both cards might be marked as 'CT4830'. Neither kX Audio driver performance nor sound quality are affected by the way in which these cards are recognized by kX (the same applies to SB0090/SB0092 and SB0220/SB0222 cards).

Q: Does kX support ASIO 2 Direct Monitoring?

A: When this option in the Audio System Setup dialog is activated, monitoring is handled by the actual audio hardware, that is, the monitored signal does not pass through Cubase VST. Instead, the ASIO driver for the audio hardware is instructed to send the audio from the monitored input directly back to a specified output, thus providing monitoring with practically no latency, i.e. ASIO2 Direct Monitoring simply provides zero latency monitoring of inputs. However, zero latency monitoring is already provided by kX ("direct monitoring" is enabled when you unmute an input on the kX Mixer's "Ins'n'Outs" page), so there is no reason to tax your CPU with ASIO2 direct Monitoring. Contrary to what many people believe, ASIO direct monitoring does not allow monitoring of the incoming signal with VST effects; it only provides monitoring of the dry input signal. In other words, this means that the only thing missing without ASIO2 "direct monitoring" in kX is the lack of direct control from Cubase (or other ASIO host) over hardware pan/level/peakmeter for unprocessed dry signal, although even these can be controlled via the kX Mixer. And of course you can always apply VST/DirectX plug-ins to as many input channels as you want using the kX ASIO driver.

Q:Why cannot kX Mixer find kxskin.kxs file, although it is in the same folder?

A: You should not try executing kX Mixer from the folder you have manually copied it to. kX Mixer should be installed into your Windows/System32 folder by the setup application. Do not try to install it manually - simply re-run the installation program.

Q:After installing kX Driver I cannot hear anything. Why?

A: Before you can enjoy the sound quality offered by the kX Audio driver you need to make sure it is configured correctly. For example, Front and Rear outputs are swapped by default -- make sure you have your speakers plugged into the 'Rear' jack, or disable the swap on the 'Master' page of the kX Mixer. If you have more than 2 speakers (4.0/4.1 or 5.0/5.1 speaker set) - set the desired configuration in the 'Surrounder' window (you can access it via 'Effects' submenu or by clicking the 'Surrounder' button on the main page of the kX Mixer).

Q:Why do I hear audio feedback when using NetMeeting? How do I turn off the recording feedback?

A: kX Audio driver enables 'What you hear' recording mode by default. In order to turn it off, open the kX Mixer, and set Wave and Synth recording levels to the appropriate values on the 'Recording' page.

Q:Why do I experience clicks and audio artifacts in games?

A: Our 3-D Engine is under constant development and might be not 100% compatible with certain games. In order to avoid audio artifacts either disable hardware acceleration in your game or select 'Wave 4/5' as your preferred device.

Q:Why my audio application doesn't detect any ASIO inputs?

A: Select 48000 sampling rate. Due to hardware limitations, the recording functionality is available for this sampling rate only.

Q:How to get quadrophonic MIDI out of an SBLive with SoundFonts using VMM?

Q:How to setup an SBLive for quadraphonic audio playback?

Q:Why cannot I hear any sound when using GigaStudio / GigaSampler?

A: kX Audio Driver fully supports GSIF specification. There are currently two GSIF driver sub-sets: VxD and WDM-based. Since kX Audio Driver is a WDM driver, it supports WDM GSIF only. Under certain circumstances, this causes certain compatibility problems with GSIF-aware applications (such as GigaStudio and GigaSampler), especially under Windows 9x / Millenium. Please upgrade your Giga application (and install any patches available from Tascam). If this doesn't solve your problem, the solution is either install Windows 2000 / Windows XP or use the original Creative VxD drivers.

Q:Where can I find additional information?

A: The main sources of information:

Q: Does kX Driver support SB Live! 24 Bit, Extigy, Audigy2 NX, Audigy LS, USB, Firewire or AC97 audio hardware?

A: NO. These cards are not compatible and there will be NO support for them.

Q: Where can I find the latest version?