Steinbergusers.com: Loop Record (&) Input/Output Channel Routing Quest

hello...

Didn't realize I could do this w/ WaveLab...but last nite succeeded (at least partially.) I routed the output from a small, multitrack Montage, out & thru an external hardware compressor (RNC1773), back into the workstation; & recaptured it w/ the Record function in WaveLab. My AI is a Lynx Aurora 8/AES16; & I connected its channel 3/4 AES Outs to the RNC; & then out & back into the Lynx's channel 1/2 AES Ins. In WaveLab...in Audio Card Preferences, for Playback, I had the Lynx device selected that would normally represent the 3/4 output...for Recording, the device that would normally represent the 1/2 input; & in the Record dialog, I had the Input selected as 'Audio Card/Hdwe'. These configs were all based on WDM devices. I then did the same thing w/ ASIO...but even tho my Recording selection was grayed out in the Preferences dialog...it still seemed to work (but...my signal was loulder using the ASIO's.)

So my questions are:

1) There was no selection available anywhere in WaveLab (that I could find) to indicate that the signal would be routed to a specific set of Hardware Outs. Am I missing something...is there a way to configure Wavelab's Master Section to output to various output channels (like in a typical DAW, such as SONAR.) Did I do it the right way anyway?

2) I had 'Monitor' selected in the Record dialog...but it seemed like what I heard in the studio monitors was always lower in level than what was eventually recorded. At one point I really cranked the compressor (as a test on the level deviation); & it sounded relatively normal (loud but normal) while monitoring the recording...but then distorted when I played back the recording. Why? And also...why would there be a deviation in level between WDM's & ASIO's?

Thanks very much,

mark4man
WaveLab 5