Today we will be looking at the Audio Loop-back feature on the Audient iD14 audio interface,
when you’d use it, and how it works.
Audio Loop-back enables you to record your computer audio
alongside your microphones in your audio software.
Imagine plugging a cable from the outputs and bringing it straight back into the inputs
so you could record the audio from your computer. This is exactly what Audio Loop-back is doing,
but it all happens internally, without the need for cables,
and while still allowing you to use your mic inputs for recording.
Using Audio Loop-back, you can record your computer's audio on separate channels to your
microphones, or you can combine your computer audio with your microphone audio into a single
stereo channel for a stream, or software that only accepts one audio input at a time.
So how does it work on iD14? Well when you select your inputs in your audio software,
you will actually notice that there are 12 inputs listed instead of the 10 you would expect
for your mic and digital inputs. Channels 11+12 are actually your Loop-back inputs,
virtual inputs that we use to record your computer audio.
So create a new channel in your audio software of choice and select inputs 11 and 12,
sometimes displayed as Loopback 1+2, as the input.
You are able to control exactly what is sent to
the Loop-back inputs using the settings in the iD App.
Ensure the iD app is open, then on a Mac, click on the iD icon in the menu bar, and on Windows
right click on the iD icon in the system tray. Hover over the Set Loop-back Source option.
Each of these sources will change where the Loop-back audio is coming from.
The DAW channels refer to the iD14 outputs listed in software,
where DAW 1+2 will normally be the default audio output for most software when using iD14,
so when you select this and play audio from an application, this audio will be sent to
the Loop-back inputs, and can be picked up in your audio software for recording.
This is probably the simplest way of setting up Loop-back,
however, you will need to make sure you aren’t listening back to your audio in your software,
as currently the output will be sent to your main computer outputs,
which is being looped back into your DAW, and therefore creating a feedback loop.
So your options here are to either just ensure that you aren’t monitoring any channels in the DAW
and make sure you are using the direct monitoring on iD14 to listen to your mics,
or alternatively, you can make use of the other Loop-back sources.
If you were to set the audio output of an application to DAW 3+4 or DAW 5+6, and
then select it as the Loop-back source, you will achieve the same result of recording
your chosen application’s audio, however without the risk of feedback from your DAW,
so you can listen through your audio software without any issues.
If you want to go down this route and the application you want to capture audio from
doesn’t allow you to change the audio output, then you can change
the default audio output of your whole computer to these channels instead.
On a Mac, go to finder and click Applications
go to Utilities
and then double click on Audio MIDI Setup.
Select iD14 from the list of devices and select Configure Speakers.
Here you can set your left and right output to either Analogue 3 and 4, or Analogue 5 and 6.
On Windows, go to Settings
then go to System
then the Sound tab and change your output settings to Analogue 3+4 or Analogue 5+6.
Now any audio from your computer will be sent to those output channels, which can
then be picked up in the Audio Loop-back source menu, and sent through to your audio software.
Each of the previous options are generally what you would
use if you're recording your computer audio separately from your microphones.
However the next three are good options for combining audio into a single stereo channel.
The Master Mix and Cue mixes will enable you to build a mix, using your mic inputs,
digital inputs and DAW returns, and send that to the Loopback inputs,
in the same way that you might use the iD mixer to create custom headphone mixes.
These are particularly useful if you are wanting to combine multiple signals, such
as microphones and computer audio into a single stereo signal in order to go out to a stream.
Here you can build your own mix of mic inputs and computer audio
by just turning up the respective faders, which are then combined
into a single stereo audio feed, to be recorded, or go out to stream.
By using any of these three sources, you will need to be mindful of creating
feedback loops by listening to your inputs through your DAW or software,
while also sending it to the Loop-back inputs.
Hopefully this has given you an idea of what is possible with the Audio Loop-back feature on iD14
and that you will enjoy using it for whatever you are working on.
If you have any questions about how Audio Loop-back works
or about iD14 in general then please leave a comment or get in touch with our support team,
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