Yes, they are a fall back for when the monitors are not an option, and they are not the best available, but they do provide a wow-factor when it comes to bang-for-buck.

Honestly even with the monitors, my studio is far from ideal or capable of top notch mixing, its just not an issue for me because these days when I get time for music activity it is purely recreational, I can't even remember the last time a complete track emerged from my gear. I can burn hours just trying to recreate a synth sound, or get a better understanding about the workings of a single instrument. Wish I had time for more.

Thanks man, but yeah headphones are no substitute for a decent pair of monitors. Having said that if you can get tuned in to a decent pair then you can go pretty far, but don't skimp if they are your only audio source...the best studio/equipment in the world will only sound as good as the speakers you are hearing it through :)

:eek: Ordered the 702s. Should arrive tomorrow.

Couldn't quite justify the extra for the 712s whose main difference seems to be an artificial 3dB boost to the low end which would probably be a good thing given they're headphones.

But we'll see how these go.

Well, I was expecting to be excited! :lol: But then I've nothing to compare them with - other than the single!! computer speaker I was running everything through! So at least I'm getting stereo :cool:

With Komplete, however, I am picking up lots of clicks and crackles. Not on everything. Some samples, but not all, and some synth patches. I thought it might be overstretching the CPU but the Task manager is only showing 25%.

Could this be a prob with the Virus audio out?

The virus is notorious for introducing pops & crackles into the audio but usually when using the TI software. Could be a ton of things depending on how you are using the Komplete instruments & your computer set-up. Without a lot more details it's hard to even hazard a guess & I'm on a mac so can't help much I'm afraid.

Ah...

Just running Maschine in stand-alone mode and monitoring through the Virus headphones output. Not running the Virus software although, of course, the audio driver is routed via Maschine.

I anyone has any suggestions, things to try, that'd be great.

Otherwise, maybe a dedicated audio interface would do the job (heck, more expense!) although my laptop only has 3 USB slots, all full.

And it defeats one of the reasons for getting a Virus. Sort of...

if your computer has some sort of built in sound try that as the audio output & see if the problems still persist.

I've lost track of exactly how you have things configured, but a few ideas:

1. The CPU showing 25% could be indicative that a single core is struggling (remember the theory that Maschine is single-threaded?). On a quad core CPU that would be about right.

2. But why is it struggling? Hard to know exactly, but the first thing I would do is try something other than the Virus ASIO driver. You might remember my recommendation about introducing new gear into your setup one item at a time, because too much at once can be overwhelming. Part of that is because it gives you time to understand the quirks of each piece of equipment, and makes it easier to isolate and use process of elimination to troubleshoot.

3. What do the buffer / latency settings say for each driver choice you have? Two kinds of popping and crackling are common topics, one has to do with audio streaming over USB (i.e. Virus or some other instrument + the limits of USB) and the other has to do with driver buffer/latency. I would focus on the latter since Maschine is not streaming audio.

4. Might try separating the USB input from Maschine from the USB from the Virus as much as possible, like if your PC has ports on the front and back try having one front one back. This can help keep them off the same internal hub, there could be some sort of USB conflict there.

5. Try running Masching as a plugin in the DAW to see if it makes a difference.

Thinking a bit more about the problem, I have a late 2011 macbook pro & it will not run Maschine & the virus together they are both total usb hogs so it probably is a usb/bandwith issue. Like MBTC says try narrowing down a few thing, try some of the NI instruments in stand alone & see what happens.

Thanks Guys!

Lots of things to try :)

Only thing I've done so far is switch the USB connections. I had the Virus and Maschine plugged into two USB 3 sockets next to each other. I've moved the Virus to the other side of the laptop and into a USB 2 socked (and moved the mouse onto the USB 3).

Only tried one synth so far - Rounds - which was causing noticeable crackles an it's a def improvement but still need to do more testing.

Fingers Xed!