Windows 8 Audio Interview

Assuming there have been any changes in Windows 8 regarding audio-related topics, it would be interesting to have an interview from some engineers when time comes. There are a lot of folks using PC's to drive their music systems who are interested in developments in this area. As far as I understand Windows 8 has a redesigned USB software stack, which is also of interest to people interfacing with USB DAC's. Maybe we'll see a B8 post on the topic though. Audio underwent huge changes in Windows Vista, so I don't expect that much new stuff, but who knows.

Yup, having a Windows 8 device with a multitouch screen will be great for people who use virtual instruments because it's means that we can make all the interesting interfaces we want and run then on the same device as the instrument itself instead of using it just as a MIDI controller and having another computer actually make the sound.

In other words people will be able to run REAL VSTs on a tablet like device unlike now where you need to hope that your favorite instrument can be ported over to iOS.

Of course if Win8 can help with giving us even better latency that will be even better.
Small latencies and having audio interface manufacturers care about making stable Windows drivers again (I'm talking about YOU MOTU) will cause interest amongst creative types which in turn trickles down to the general public.

I REALLY want to see that some of the people working on Win8 sound are actual musicians who know what needs to be done to make Win8 a fun creative tool for everyone.

Windows 7 performs really well against OS X when it comes to low-latency audio. The smaller the buffer sizes, the better Windows compares to OS X, and in almost all cases beats OS X by a long shot when the audio buffer sizes are set to 64 samples or less. See this DAW benchmark comparison.

Now Windows Phone on the other hand... Maybe if the rumors are true and Windows 8 also runs Windows Phone 8, that might be good news for WP apps audio-wise.

The primary concern for me, as an audio enthusiast, is the not bit perfect playback or short buffers. Bit perfect playback is possible on both Windows and OSX. Short buffers are of interest for interactive audio. As a consumer the primary criteria is jitter performance and in this regard I am interested in three software aspects:

1) WASAPI (different styles)

2) ASIO

3) USB

This of course along with the actual hardware. I don't know how much difference there is in terms of WASAPI and ASIO and imagine it also differs depending on driver implementation.

Then there is USB, which is a multi-headed creature. In an abstract sense I prefer async USB, which ideally should completely isolate against supply-side jitter, leaving it up to the external converter to have a precise crystal oscillator.

I'm also interested in resamplers but there is a huge difference between them in terms of ringing and aliasing artifacts. So I use SoX and state of the art iZotope 64 bit hybrid interpolator. It would be cool if Microsoft licensed iZotope SRC for use in Windows but that's probably stretching it.

@dentaku: All Microsoft products that are consumer focussed must have a superior audio experience going forward, as music is such a huge part of everyones lives, from those that create. it to those that listen.

I use my Traktor S4 (sometimes - when I am not on my Technics SL1210 MK2's) and I am yet to experience a failure in Windows 7. I would have got a MacBook if I'd had the public humiliation of an OS failure, BSOD or Restart. Stability and quality are paramount.