Appendix E: PureWave and SuperChannel
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Appendix E: PureWave and SuperChannel
Appendix E: PureWave and SuperChannel
What is PureWave?
While the Windows WDM audio architecture is fine for consumer applications
such as games and watching DVDs, it is not entirely suitable for professional audio
applications. PureWave is an Echo-exclusive feature that gives your audio
applications a more direct connection to your Echo hardware, allowing your audio
data to pass through unmodified.
Here’s a diagram to illustrate the difference:
WDM PureWave
Microsoft
WDM wave
driver
Audio
Application
Echo
PureWave
driver
Audio
Application
Echo
hardware
Echo24
WDM driver
Microsoft
Windows
kernel mixer
Microsoft
Windows
kernel mixer
Echo24
WDM driver
Echo
hardware
As you can see from the diagram, PureWave mode completely bypasses the
Windows kernel mixer to deliver your audio data directly to the hardware.