UMIK-1 and REW issues (soundcard not provide any input data)

[jmbgator]

Hi Everyone-

New user here and I hope you can help. I've spent countless hours trying to get my UMIK-1 and REW to work on my laptop with no success. A little info about my setup:

-Laptop: HP Spectre x360 running Windows 10 Pro
-Output: HDMI output from USB hub that's included with the laptop to a Denon X4500H AVR; connected via front HDMI slot
-Input: UMIK-1 mic connected directly to USB port on laptop
-REW Version: REW v5.20 vRC13b
-ASIO Version: ASIO4All v2.15 Beta 2 (I later installed FlexASIO v1.7a to see if that worked instead)

I followed the instructions posted in this forum setting it up in Windows. Windows seemed to have no issues identifying my UMIK-1 and my Denon AVR as soon as I plugged them in. I properly went into the the sound settings in Windows and made the proper configurations found in this guide, as well as ensuring that my mic is "allow access to my microphone" is enabled in my Windows privacy settings. I have also restarted my PC countless times; as well as closing all other applications (chrome, outlook, etc) before I open REW.

The biggest issue that I seem to be having is that I can't get REW to work nicely with my UMIK-1. In-fact, every time I try an SPL Meter within REW I get the error message below after a few seconds. It doesn't matter whether I have Java selected in my REW preferences menu, or ASIO; I still get the same error message.

Below are my preference settings when I either select Java, ASIO, and FlexASIO. Is there anything I'm missing or doing wrong? I can't seem for the life of me to get it to work...

JAVA

ASIO4All

You can see below that I've been having trouble getting my ASIO4All devices to "Active". They just sit in "idle" status even after restarting my PC and ensuring there are no other open applications. The output HDMI is the "HD Audio Driver for Display Audio", and the input UMIK-1 is the "Intel Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio".

FLEXASIO
With FlexASIO below, you can see that I can in-fact select the Denon AVR and UMIK-1. But I still get the same failure to connect issues when trying to run the SPL meter.

Unfortunately, I am completely lost in what to do next. I'm not sure if this is maybe due to a faulty UMIK-1 or due to something in my settings menu. Any help would be appreciated.

One test I did try to do was to use the stock Windows Voice recorder to see if the UMIK-1 recorded my voice. Unfortunately, the UMIK-1 did not seem to record any audio through that app. However, I was able to record a voice memo using the UMIK-1 connected to my Apple iPhone using a lightning to USB camera adapter. So the UMIK is able to record audio, I have just been having zero success with it working nicely with my PC.

Any help is appreciated guys. Apologies for the long post but I felt it is necessary to provide you the most amount of info.

 

[jmbgator]

Update. I tested the UMIK-1 and REW on a friends laptop that I borrowed and it seemed to work fine (therefore, the UMIK-1 seems to not be the issue). I'm thinking the issue has something to do with my laptop settings that's not playing nice (both are HP laptops running on Windows 10 Pro).

 

[John Mulcahy]

Could have a look at the Windows Audio Properties for the UMIK, particularly the Advanced tab, to make sure there aren't any 'Enhancements' being applied.

 

[jmbgator]

Could have a look at the Windows Audio Properties for the UMIK, particularly the Advanced tab, to make sure there aren't any 'Enhancements' being applied.

Thanks... I checked to be sure its off see below...

I ran the SPL meter test and it would work properly for a few seconds then I would get the error again. I have no issues in generating the pink noise through the AVR speakers.

I even made sure to deactivate any devices from my sound control panel that are not either the UMIK-1 or Denon AVR

This is my Windows 10 version...

If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.

 

[John Mulcahy]

What is the default format on the Windows audio properties for the Denon?

 

[jmbgator]

What is the default format on the Windows audio properties for the Denon?

24/48

 

[sam_adams]

You can try 'reinstalling' the UMIK-1.

Leave all the devices that you have already disabled, disabled.

Unplug the UMIK.

Open the Device Manager.

Click the View menu and select Show hidden devices.

Toggle open the Sound, video and game-controllers item.

Right-click on Umik-1 Gain: 18dB and select Uninstall device.

Close the Device Manager and restart the computer.

Once restarted and logged-in, plug in the UMIK. It should now show up in Device Manager.

Open REW and check the ASIO control panel in the preferences to see if the device is active.

Do a levels check to see if there is input from the UMIK.

 

[thothsong]

Have you tried running the USB Port Test in the HP UEFI Hardware Diagnostics to see if the USB port has a problem? Is there another USB port that you can try?

 

[jmbgator]

You can try 'reinstalling' the UMIK-1.

Leave all the devices that you have already disabled, disabled.

Unplug the UMIK.

Open the Device Manager.

Click the View menu and select Show hidden devices.

Toggle open the Sound, video and game-controllers item.

Right-click on Umik-1 Gain: 18dB and select Uninstall device.

Close the Device Manager and restart the computer.

Once restarted and logged-in, plug in the UMIK. It should now show up in Device Manager.

Open REW and check the ASIO control panel in the preferences to see if the device is active.

Do a levels check to see if there is input from the UMIK.

Have you tried running the USB Port Test in the HP UEFI Hardware Diagnostics to see if the USB port has a problem? Is there another USB port that you can try?

Thanks. I've tried both of these options to no success. I uninstalled the driver of the UMIK from the Device Manager settings, restarted laptop, plugged UMIK-1 back-in and still ran into the same issues in REW.

I also ran the HP UEFI Hardware Diagnostics for the USB Port Test and it passed. My laptop has only one USB-A port, and two USB-C (thunderbolt 4) ports. The USB-A port works perfectly with other peripherals (keyboard, mouse, external USB drives), and the two thunderbolt ports work fine with my HP dock that I attach to it. The dock also has a couple of USB-A ports which I also tested the UMIK-1 with. Same issue on all of them.

Since the UMIK and REW works perfectly when connected to my friend's laptop (who's on a different version of Windows 10), and since other peripherals work perfectly on all of my USB ports on my current laptop, I'm led to believe that this issue is software related (either on this particular version of Windows 10; or something within REW perhaps not playing nice with my version of Windows?).

Note that when I restart my laptop, plug in the UMIK-1, and open the default Windows Voice Recorder, it captures sound. It seems to only freeze up once I open REW and start running SPL tests where I get that error message.

 

[John Mulcahy]

When you plug in a microphone Windows usually sets it as the default recording device. If anything else is using that device and it is set for exclusive access it will not be available to REW or other applications. Try making sure it is not the Windows default recording device and/or is not set for exclusive access.

 

[WISVW]

Sounds like this may have never been resolved? I have the same issue. Just received my Umik-1 today. Brand new Dell laptop running Windows 10 Home. Umik works for a few seconds then stops outputing in REW. I haven't tried it without REW. I tried a different USB cable with the same results. I get the " soundcard did not provide any input" error. Pretty sad right now...

 

[John Mulcahy]

A possible solution was posted in this thread, another possible solution (if using ASIO4All) may be to start the REW generator first.

 

[WISVW]

John,

Thank you, that worked! I had to disable the driver for the Intel Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio. The UMIK stayed connected, and I was able to do some sweeps. Now, the real work begins!

Bonus... I got an award for my first post