0 latency with a pc?

harley_ou812 · #1 11-23-2002, 02:52 PM

I have a pentium 2 300 and 128 m of ram using the stock sound card I am getting about 1 second of latency. I am curious as to what hardware/software solutions are available. thank you

Hefferstud · #2 11-23-2002, 03:05 PM

according to my knowledge, i dont think the CPU processor speed matters. i think it matters on your connection. What kinda connection u runnin? cuz i have a pentium 200

and i got DSL and my latency is perfect. u might be dial-up/56ker? or maybe ur ISP is having trouble with their routing switch. Many times that makes people lag.

JMX · #3 11-23-2002, 03:06 PM

Hefferstud, he doesn't mean ping, he means soundcard latency, which does depend on cpu speed and the soundcard. It has nothing to do with the internet.

A second is a lot. It's probably a POS card with just MME drivers.
A decent soundcard with ASIO drivers (or at least WDM drivers for 2k/XP) will give you single-digit milliseconds latency.
E.g. my Midiman/M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496 works rock-solid with 8 ms and less (PIII 800).

The better/faster your cpu, the lower your latency.

The best choice in terms of latency (and pretty much everything else) is a RME Hammerfall card.
It has fully hardware-accelerated ASIO 2.0, which means 52 tracks with 0% cpu load and a latency down to 1.5 ms.

www.rme-audio.com

BTW: ASIO 2.0 is a driver protocol/interface developed by Steinberg.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/.../ASIO-2.0.html

Hefferstud · #4 11-23-2002, 07:00 PM

oopsy poopsy. guess i didnt see that. sorry bout that

cephas45 · #5 11-24-2002, 11:47 AM

i own the nuendo 9652 card along with a nuendo 8 i/o and because it supports ASIO 2.0 (and therefore direct monitoring) my recordings in nuendo have 0 latency. totally sweet setup!

lneal · #6 11-24-2002, 11:54 AM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...item=923866723

That'll do it.

Brooks · #7 11-24-2002, 01:27 PM

Ummm....there is no such thing as 0 latency...first, it's not possible, and second, if it's 0, it's not latency

harley_ou812 · #8 11-24-2002, 03:28 PM

Alright I think I should explain my goals with this. I want to be able to record demos a track at a time on my pc. I dont know how much latency I can get away with but I know the less the better. I am looking for a fairly cheap way for me to do this. If I record drum parts now then listen to them to record bass I will have about a second difference and that is a BIG problem. I thank you for all that have replied so far. Also I am looking at being able to record 2 tracks at a time. Not a hard feet to record a left and a right but I dont need to re able to record 8 tracks at a time. It would be nice biut for the level I am doing it would be almost a waste of money.

Thank you
Jared

lneal · #9 11-24-2002, 07:33 PM

That's cool. Check the Aardvark link in the auction description. They have more affordable stuff, too.

cephas45 · #10 11-24-2002, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brooks
Ummm....there is no such thing as 0 latency...first, it's not possible, and second, if it's 0, it's not latency

sure there's such a thing as 0 latency.. its when you monitor through the hardware directly as opposed to through the software, which always has latency. check out ASIO 2.0. the software itself, always has latency, but you don't experience it when using this technique.

cephas45 · #11 11-24-2002, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by harley_ou812
Alright I think I should explain my goals with this. I want to be able to record demos a track at a time on my pc. I dont know how much latency I can get away with but I know the less the better. I am looking for a fairly cheap way for me to do this. If I record drum parts now then listen to them to record bass I will have about a second difference and that is a BIG problem. I thank you for all that have replied so far. Also I am looking at being able to record 2 tracks at a time. Not a hard feet to record a left and a right but I dont need to re able to record 8 tracks at a time. It would be nice biut for the level I am doing it would be almost a waste of money.

Thank you
Jared

well, the only thing that i've tried that was successful for what your talking about, and is cheap, is the M-Audio Quattro. i had absolutely no problems with it, and you can monitor your input signal through the hardware along with the sound coming from your DAW... as brooks mentioned there is always some latency, but you won't experience any if you use the direct monitoring technique.

harley_ou812 · #12 11-24-2002, 08:37 PM

If I monitor direct will the latency affect what I am hearing off the hard drive? or will it be alright I am concerned about listening to my drum tracks I recorded while playing a bass part and having them line up. In my head it has been telling me that any latency qwill affect this from happeneing. Will it work if I am monitoring dirrect even though there is still latency?

cephas45 · #13 11-24-2002, 09:41 PM

well. the M-Audio Quattro has a button on the front named 'Direct Monitoring'. What it does is splits your signal out to your speakers along with the program material from your computer (on the other stereo bus) and it does so in a way that the signals will match up perfectly. I'm talking about the Quattro, because its the only piece of gear which is very affordable which performs this way, and that I've used. There could be other units out there that do it too for all I know...

So the answer to your question would be yes, you can monitor tracks coming from your computer on channels 3/4 of the Quattro for example, and run your bass through 1 or 2, or both if your feeding it from a stereo out from a mixer, and they will line up perfectly. I used this hardware with a program called Nuendo, so I don't know how it will work with what you're using. I'm pretty sure that if you use Cubase or Nuendo it'll work fine. I have no experience with Cakewalk, Logic, etc.

harley_ou812 · #14 11-24-2002, 09:53 PM

I am currently using Pro Tools Free. Cubase would be a option if it is availabe for the PC. Like I said I am willing to buy what is necesary and If I need another piece of software I will get it.

cephas45 · #15 11-24-2002, 10:04 PM

yes, Cubase is available for PC, but you need an ASIO compatible soundcard for it to work... hence, the Quattro i mentioned above. the Quattro is only one piece of hardware which i know works in that price range, because i used it successfully, but there's probably a ton of other stuff out there as well that works fine. if you're lookign to spend more cash, i would definately check out the RME stuff at http://www.rme-audio.com - it is the top sound card for PC's IMO.. and their ADI8 DS converters are awesome as well.. same box as the Nuendo 8 i/o

harley_ou812 · #16 11-24-2002, 10:09 PM

Well the Quatro is looking promising... I just didnt know where the latency occoured. I am new to computer based recording. I didnt know if there would be a lag from the hard drive to the speakers for what is already on the computer and I didnt know if there would be a lag from my playing till it got recorded

JMX · #17 11-25-2002, 11:44 AM

harley, get a M-Audio Audiophile - hassle-free audio power @ less than 200$.
ASIO, EASI (Logic) and GSIF (Gigastudio/sampler) included.

USB devices like the Quattro can be fickle and have higher latency.

Oh, and you can use Cubase with ANY soundcard, but the fun starts with an ASIO card.

cephas45 · #18 11-25-2002, 11:57 AM

yes, when I was using the Quattro, I set it up so that the latency would be as high as possible. that way, there was no possible way I would get pops and clicks while recording and during playback. the reason why this worked, is because of the 'direct monitor' feature on the unit. even though i raised the latency to its max level, what i heard while tracking was the equivalent of what "0 latency" would sound like. i don't believe any of M-Audio's gear can do this, besides the Duo. no contest IMO...

harley_ou812 · #19 11-25-2002, 05:46 PM

I just played on my computer some. I can mute what I am playing for monitoring purposes. What my problem is is that if I listen to the drums I recorded on the computer while recording the bass Iam fine while recording I lay right with the drums but when I go back and listen there is a difference they arent together that is whatI am worried about. I can plug headphones into the pod or a line out or into an amp for monitoring what I am playing but somewhere in the computer it is losing a step and not being recorded with what is already there

lneal · #20 11-25-2002, 09:33 PM

I found the Aardvark LX6 for $350.00 at Musician's Friend. It is the little brother to the Q10 and will solve all your latency problems. Here's the link:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...ome?q=aardvark