Net Talk

I got a new PC for Christmas, and I'm afraid Windows 8 has rendered my formerly high-quality recording setup unusable. Would love to hear from an engineer type who's willing to help out.

The old system, with which I recorded many national commercials: Windows XP, Adobe Audition 3.1, Sound Blaster Audigy sound card, ElectroVoice RE20 mic, and Behringer 802 mixer, plugged into the Line input of the sound card. It all added up to blow-away-good recorded sound.

The new system: Windows 8, Intel Core i7, 3.4 GHz, 64 bit. 10G of RAM, a few terabytes of memory. Software: Adobe Audition 3.1. Hardware: brand new Soundblaster X-Fi PCI Express sound card (with the latest driver they offer), same mic and mixer, also plugged into the Line input.

Problem 1: Serious latency -- approximately .25 second of delay between the time I say it, and the time I hear it through my headphones.

Problem 2: Audition will not recognize the CD drive, so I can no longer rip or burn through Adobe Audition, as I used to in my old 'puter.

Anybody know anything that might help this former 30-year radio vet?

Your problem is going to be Adobe 3.1, which Adobe has completely taken off the market. It doesn't work with 8. Best bet: Adobe Audition 6.

I'm starting to think that what I really need, is to rip Win 8 right out of this machine, and replace it with XP!

I wouldn't go as far back as XP. XP is no longer supported and by computer standards is quite long in the tooth. I expereinced a similar situation when I moved from XP to Windows 7. My scanner was no longer compatible and there were no Windows 7 drivers available so I went scanner shopping. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the scanner was now a part of the printer. I wound up getting a nice wireless printer/scanner/copier and now I no longer have to print for everybody in the household. I did have to update my audio software, but I try not to be too many versions behind so I bit the bullet and upgraded. My software offered the option of installing either a 32 or 64 bit version. I installed them both and discovered that the majority of my plugins would not work in the 64-bit version, so I use the 32-bit version. Works fine. I would say if you were running version 3.1 of Audition and they are now at version 6, you should probably upgrade. Staying current isn't always easy or cheap, but it beats being left in the dust.