Foreword

Microsoft offers a Windows version for ARM CPU – that’s nothing new, although these having received not much attention, especially in the audio world. That changed in 2024, when Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X CPU in current ARM notebooks, together with Microsoft offering a well working emulation for native Windows apps, made these new notebooks really useable with standard Windows software.

Now audio is always a bit different, and emulation does not work for interface drivers. So one needs WDM and ASIO drivers that are compatible to Windows 11 ARM to be able to use pro audio interfaces. It is our pleasure to announce exactly that – a MADIface and a USB series driver that works with x64 Intel computers as well as current Snapdragon X ARM notebooks running Windows 11.

Unrivaled Support

We tried our best to not give you a half-baken preview that misses a lot of stuff, but instead a finalized product where everything imaginable just works. 100% compatibility, with the latest feature set of drivers and TotalMix FX. This is huge, because these drivers support ALL USB interfaces ever built by RME, back to the year 2009 (Fireface UC) - we’re talking about more than 27 different devices. Many of them are available used, so if you want to check out what Snapdragon-Arm can do for you the audio interface will not be in your way.

Supported are:

USB series driver: Fireface UC / Babyface / Babyface Pro / UFX / UCX / UCX II / 802 / 802 FS
MADIface series driver: MADIface XT / XT II / USB / Pro, Fireface UFX+ / UFX II / UFX III, OctaMic XTC, ADI-2 Pro/AE/FS/DAC, ADI-2/4 Pro, Digiface USB / AVB / AES / Dante / Ravenna, DO USB.IO

The Details

The USB series driver 1.270 and the MADIface series driver 1.0. are now 64 bit drivers, compiled with latest Microsoft tools and using latest Microsoft guidelines. They work on both Windows 11 Intel computers as well as Windows 11 ARM computers. Minimum requirement is Windows 10 (1709). While these drivers do not support 32 bit Windows as OS anymore, 32 bit apps can still be used on an x64 system (standard Windows compatibility).

Both WDM and ASIO are available. For Arm ASIO is included as 32 bit and 64 bit, both ARM 64EC and ARM native.
The installer is completely reworked and now copies current files to C:\Program Files\RME\MADIface and C:\Program Files\RME\Fireface.

Changing between the former and these new drivers on Intel systems, back and forth, is easy and showed no issues in our testing.

As a bonus from the new installer a restart after initial installation is no longer necessary, and will also no longer be required for future updates. TotalMix FX and Settings dialog are immediately available in the notification area and are also updated instantly. A manual restart is necessary mostly when changing from the current drivers to the new combined x64/ARM ones.
To completely uninstall the driver start meininstaller.exe from the driver archive and choose Uninstall. Uninstall via Windows Apps (Add & Remove) is no longer supported.

Performance

A quick note on our Snapdragon performance experience so far: Some audio apps on ARM might require to set the power mode not to Best Performance, but Best Power Efficiency, to be able to use latencies below 1024 samples. This might be true only for low CPU apps, though, and needs further investigation, but in any case the driver has no influence on this. As an example, on current computers Reaper and Cubase need about 256 sample buffer size for a fully click-free operation.

Download the latest driver

RME is pleased to announce the release of Windows 11 ARM 64-bit drivers for the HDSPe series and HDSPe MADI FX, ensuring seamless compatibility with the latest Arm notebooks featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon X CPU.

Breaking New Ground in Audio Compatibility

With Microsoft’s enhanced emulation technology for native Windows apps, current ARM-based laptops are now ready for professional audio production. However, audio is a unique domain where driver emulation is not an option. To meet this challenge, RME has developed WDM and ASIO drivers that are fully compatible with Windows 11 ARM, unlocking the potential of Snapdragon X ARM chipsets and ensures seamless integration with the latest computing platforms.

Unmatched Support for HDSPe Serie and HDSPe MADI FX

RME's new drivers are designed to ensure that all cards in the HDSPe series, including the HDSPe MADI FX, deliver flawless performance and functionality to explore the full potential of Snapdragon ARM systems without compromising audio quality or performance.
100% compatibility, with the latest feature set of RME drivers and TotalMix FX.

The new PCIe audio drivers works with x64 Intel computers as well as current Snapdragon X ARM notebooks or PC’s running Windows 11. WDM and ASIO drivers are available in 32-bit or 64-bit configuration and offering full cross-compatibility with effortless switching between the former and these new drivers on Intel systems.

ARM ready for PCIe – RME takes the next step

Last year, RME was the first pro audio manufacturer to set new standards with native USB drivers for Windows 11 on ARM. At that time, however, one crucial requirement was missing: Thunderbolt support on Snapdragon-based notebooks – and thus the ability to use PCIe-based HDSPe cards.

This has fundamentally changed with the new generation of ARM notebooks. Thanks to USB4 with Thunderbolt 3 support, external PCIe chassis can now also be used on ARM platforms. RME is making consistent use of this technological advance, enabling professional users to utilise the HDSPe series on modern ARM systems without compromise for the first time.

Download the latest driver