I've recently discovered that Microsoft is actively developing own "Low-latency Audio Driver [..] optimized for low-latency musician scenarios".

Git: https://github.com/microsoft/low-latency-audio#readme

Note

 

Microsoft, we already have drivers. Don’t interfere with them optimise your own side. Let them do their job without all these endless background services, AI nonsense, spying, and unnecessary OS embellishments.

 

It's probably generic ASIO drivers, which is a good thing if it's integrated directly into Windows inside the sound control panel. That's the first step towards better Windows audio in general. I see no reason to be against it, because if you already have ASIO, this is not for you anyway.

 

Will it be better than WASAPI, which was touted as good as ASIO when it appeared, I wonder? But yes, it's always better to use manufacturer's ASIO drivers. This, just like WASAPI, is useful for those masses of Realtek audio "cards" and possibly for gamers to lower audio latency even further. This could be something like Windows' ALSA (Linux "ASIO" generic audio driver). There's nothing wrong with having that in Windows. Good. Better decades too late than never, eh?

 

Windows is doing something right again. Back then, Windows even listened to user criticism and allowed more MIDI devices to be connected. They increased the number of ports.

Windows 11, MIDI 2.0 and the biggest MIDI update since 1983 --> www.gearnews.com/windows-11-midi-2-0-microsoft-tech

Windows MIDI Services Public Preview - Build 27788

With Windows MIDI Services, Microsoft is releasing a comprehensive redesign of MIDI in Windows 11.
The first major update since 1983 promises an improved music experience and a solid foundation for future enhancements.

 

It would be a nice though belated move but we all know how Microsoft handles things these days.

 

Last edited: Oct 1, 2025 at 11:35 AM

The whining about Microsoft never stops. Finally, be content. Buy a Windows Update Stop, uninstall Defender, and take control of your operating system yourself. Ad blockers and many other tools turn Windows into an operating system with which you can surf the web, make music, watch movies, and communicate. Or install Linux and uninstall Microsoft.

 

About Windows MIDI Services - Windows MIDI Services

 

Doing things at the levels of moron++ warrants criticism. How many non-Linux users who never used Linux in their lives whine about it being this and that ? Micysoft developing an ASIO driver that will be included in the MVS images ? Okay. What about AV1 decoder ? I bet 100000000x more users use AV1 than ASIO, did Mickysoft included an AV1 decoder in MVS images ? Every newer Gen GPU has a dedicated block to decode AV1 but Mickysoft forgot to include it, but how many hardware configurations have ASIO support ? Mickysoft will sure to include that though.

The criticism is partially driven by perceived ability MS had to build great softwares. Windows 7 nostalgia still lingers in the background. Why can't MS do this the way it use to ? The way that made it what it is today ? Oh, I forgot, they fired the competent staff and hired the $8 hour H1B's.

The resolutions you suggested will only take you so far when things are broken at the core level.

Nothing personal, it's not directed at you.

 

Which begs the question - why would one forsake the ASIO drivers given to them by the manufacturer of their audio hardware over microsoft ASIO kludge drivers?

 

MS can't write the driver for your GPU's decoder block. Either your GPU vendor writes a Media Foundation driver or they don't. Microsoft can give you a generic software decoder though (the one on the MS Store).

I guess it's not included in the default image to avoid the legal clusterfuck that is MPEG/HEVC/VVC patent pools and royalties (which AV1 was meant to fix).

MS ASIO might just be a thin WASAPI/AudioGraph wrapper too?

 

Think about it this way: if you want professional audio to work on Windows just like it does on Mac, it has to start somewhere.

Also, people think that ASIO is some sort of magic. The drivers you pay for in great interfaces (RME, Audient, etc) are only there because there are no drivers on Windows. If Microsoft starts supplying ASIO on Windows that just works and is stable, they will have no problem dropping their own ASIO drivers. What ASIO does has nothing to do with your interface features, the virtual mixer app inside your computer or anything else. A better ASIO solution means that the best drivers you can think of are now available for EVERY audio device possible. And that even includes the built-in audio from the motherboard.

 

Thanks @ceo54 for your advice and insights, very helpful, thank you!

I started with Windows 95 in 1098, BSOD included, my first TerrarTec EWS sound card wouldn't work.
The design was classic gray because it was easier on the eyes.

Pretty boring, then Windows XP came along – a real step forward.
With Windows 7, the Windows computer world really got better. I still have it on my second PC today. Really stable and user-friendly.

Then came the gamers with their profitable gaming industry, which is still the case today, and the companies that had to buy licenses for each individual workstation. Linux was on everyone's lips, many tested it, but unfortunately, Linux missed the boat, and Windows became the most widely used operating system worldwide.

Even ATMs have Windows. Unfortunately, Windows isn't Google, and they treat their employees like all big capitalists, making more money at the expense of their employees and users. Many products that Microsoft tried to sell additionally flopped and remained on the shelves.

Microsoft's Office, Word, worked like this: get to market quickly and then fix the bugs...!
Actually, as you've all already noticed, it's an unfriendly company that's only beholden to its shareholders. Pure capitalism.

But many programmers wrote software and programs to provide Windows at home with a good, fast workflow. My thanks go to you; without you, we'd probably all just be using Windows 7. Like all big companies, Windows now collects data because data is the new gold.

 

Windows CORE integration of anything ASIO will only lead to standardizing and improving the protocol. This should lead to software developers adopting the ASIO. If anything, MS now has to pay attention to how their indigenous ASIO works in their own OS and could make small latency/priority improvements for all 3rd party ASIO drivers?! :-D

And remember, MS also fixed that dreadful FLS slot maximum that limited how many different 3rd party plugins you could load, so at least they are paying some attention to the audio community!

 

My interface has its own driver. It would be interesting to aggregate multiple interfaces, like Apple does. Otherwise, it's as useless as the Pope's testicles.

 

Finally low latency game sound.
Its not gonna be adopted for music and audio production. Someone remember direct x plugins? What happened to those? Did they just die because of shitty implementation?
Speaking of DX plugins.. Let's start a thread 'how bad is Microsofts new sound architecture gonna be? '
I'll open with:
It's gonna need new soundchips and first motherboard manufacturers are using those in about 4 years.

 

Oh, they totally can like you said, the one they provide through store. It integrates better with the system. Windows has very capable media foundation built into it with many popular encoding / decoding binaries. And I looked inside Intel / Nvidia driver packages and couldn't locate any AV1 decoder. There are already 59,000 drivers in the MVS image, what's one more ? Because for some capitalist reason, AV1 licensing being eased relative to the clusterfcuk HEVC was, they don't want it to go mainstream ?

Besides, my criticism of newer Mickysoft OS's isn't just about a decoder. There are a million things that's wrong with Windows, wrong in the sense that they could be improved in plethora of ways to make things easy for the end user but that's not the goal here, keep users tied to the Mickysoft ecosystem and make as much money at the expense of users as possible.

Myabe I'm blind but after I couldn't find a compatible AV1 decoder with Intel / Nvidia, I had to resort to the Mickysoft's and it may not be the best but got the job done. MVS image however did have an HEVC decoder which is royalty.

 

Thank you for the kind words. I agree 100% with everything you said. You of course, a more experienced user than I'm know things better. This is the reason I hate capitalism. No it doesn't make me a "commie" because I know the difference between concentration of wealth and free markets.

 

wasapi certainly could (should) have done more, but I feel like you're forgetting the nightmare of windows apps locking the soundcard for exclusive use that was often standard before its integration into windows