Hi!
I recently started digging more into the loopback feature, and I'm starting to realize more of its benefits, this started especially when I was using Virtual Cam in OBS to share on Discord (its only something I do with friends, so it doesn't matter THAT much)
For context, I installed new hardware, just HDDs and an M.2, and I noticed a degrade in sound quality (eventually even listening to only the left side on In 1/2, so I immediately assumed it was driver conflicts), so I had to do a bunch of stuff to reinstall drivers, uninstall the motherboard (Z690 D4 Plus) Realtek drivers, uninstall VB-Audio software, which was what I used before, for OBS Virtual Cam to have audio routed into Discord, and eventually it seems everything is back to normal now.
I'm just trying to understand how I can get the best of my interface. I researched a lot, I tried to find keywords on this forum, google searches, I looked at all the Motu videos and the manual, but nothing seems to answer my question.
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Here we go:
Previously, I did a lot of testing, and I tried to look for ways to test it, but I was doing it wrong, and my testing environment was using audio processing techniques in the background, for voice purposes mainly (such as Discord Echo cancellation, Automatic Gain, Noise Suppression, etc)
Obviously that didn't bring great accurate results, and I'm dumb enough not to have tested with my DAW, pure and simple.
I got past all that, but I spent a lot of time understanding how to get the best quality I can get, through drivers and audio processing
Why: Because when I saw the video about loopback on Motu M series Loopback function:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX0VkOIhcnE
I started to wonder when he said: (for reference, at about 0:20 on the video)
But there's Windows default drivers, and there's my motherboard manufacturer drivers, which are based on Realtek drivers.For Windows users, the Loopback feature is installed with the necessary [Windows] drivers.
I was trying to experiment, and I did research about it, but I can't quite understand how can i get the best out of this feature, if it always uses Windows drivers regardless, or if Realtek overwrites the drivers used for the Loopback feature. I'm not saying it's bad quality, most of that doubt I had, came from the unnecessary processing involved with my testing process.
Note: Realtek also has an HD Audio option in BIOS, I was wondering if that could affect the quality in a positive or a negative way. I didn't do enough testing because I already had a headache from dealing with things not working properly when I started messing around with drivers and virtual I/O's uninstalling
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Also, point 2: I haven't messed around with it much, but Loopback Mix has very different levels from Loopback itself. Loopback only, has better volumes (still lower, but acceptable), yet the Loopback Mix channel sets the Loopback output way too low compared to the Mix with my input 1/2 (Mic) - my mic sounds at normal levels, while the loopback output in Loopback Mix is right at the bottom (at about 20% volume or less).
Is there any way I could control this directly in Windows, (for example through volume mixer), or am I basically stuck into using a third-party app to use Loopback+In 1/2 and mix the channels as I wish? (including boosting the signal, because its WAY too low at max volume). Loopback Mix, even at maximum level, there's a very clear difference in volume, it's like listening to In 1/2 at 100% with Loopback at 20% volume, which is not ideal.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just looking for ways I can improve this feature naturally, without use of third party software, and THEN I can start looking into bettering it through external ways. I can see that people might find a lot of confusion in my post, but I just want to understand the Loopback feature as much as I can (and how it interacts with drivers), and how can i get the most of out its raw input quality.
TL;DR:
1. How to get the best quality out-of-the-box with Loopback in Motu M4
2. Loopback is associated/installed with the necesary Windows drivers- do Realtek drivers affect that? Does HD Audio option in BIOS (from Realtek) improve the quality of inputs? Or is it just for that specific output?
3. Can I control volume of my own In 1/2 in Loopback Mix, without adjusting the interface output gain (that would be a terrible idea).
