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playing around with qjackctl and jack_mixer is kinda cool and makes me think it could probably replace my analog mixer... if only i had enough discrete / separate inputs into my computer

i suppose this is where pro audio interfaces come in

of course the given downside remains, you don't get hardware faders unless you add midi control into the mix and also you have worse latency while monitoring
infinite love ⴳ
i do think it's better than voicemeeter banana on windows, at least
jec&
I can do 8 96khz inputs with 4ms latency and no xruns with Jack. It really depends on the interface, and in the case of Firewire, the FW chipset...
jec&
"Prosumer" interfaces are more than enough for this
infinite love ⴳ
zero latency is still better than a few ms at best from the digital monitoring, is what i meant (though the latter may be practically imperceptible)
jec&
I guess you can always get one that lets you monitor the input directly, like this (not all do)...



Though of course then you won't be hearing any digital plugins being applied to the signal.
jec&
I also assume than tweaking the parameters of Jack and maybe forgoing some recording quality, you could even get 2 ms or leas... tho at that point you may be approaching the limits of human physiology to even hear and respond (e.g. move your fingers) to the cue
infinite love ⴳ
yeah, neither is gonna be perfect except for specific simplified use cases

i personally lean toward analog since it's easier to get an "all in one" package and not have to deal with software that you don't need -- this works better for a live streaming setup especially with analog sources like retro game consoles

i suppose if i was making music instead, i would prefer direct inputs through an interface and then do everything digitally (rather than investing in hardware effects/processing)
jec&
Oh, sorry, I never knew this was about streaming and not music. Cognitive biases and all.

In that case, it probably makes much more sense to have an external mixer, since you'll probably be using fewer inputs anyway (you're not gonna be recording from several consoles at once), and it probably also lends itself to live use better. I don't think I'd wanna be dealing with a keyboard and mouse and alt-tabbing windows in a live setting
infinite love ⴳ
yeah i was thinking the same thing, having it all done in hardware also opens up the option for external recording without a computer

also yeah the physical control you have with knobs and faders is much nicer than doing it on a computer, and you also don't have to buy a separate midi controller and hook that up

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