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Recording interface hardware issues

BooDoggie

BooDoggie

Typical Dumb-ass with a degree
Mar 29, 2014
575
972
www.spsclub.org
#1
Hey all,
I have been trying for the last several years to write songs and as such I have purchased a couple of USB interface devices. (I have limited funds so I'm not talking about the top of the line gear.) I just built a new computer with an intel core i7 (6th gen) with 16GB of 2133mhz ram. The performance level has actually gone down from when I was using my old i5 (3rd gen) with 32gb 667mhz RAM.

The only real difference other than the amount of RAM is the old computer has an SSD HD. I am completely baffled by the increase in lag time (latency) on the new computer vs the old one. On the same buffer size settings I get 5.8 ms delay on the new computer and only 2.8 ms on the old computer. Both are Windows 10 64 bit. At first I couldn't even get the new computer to work at all with the newest model USB device. In fact, It would not even see my midi keyboard. When I connected the older device the keyboard worked. I have a new SSD HD ordered that should be here in a couple of days, but I don't think that will make much of a difference. I have to unplug the USB device prior to booting the computer or it will not work at all... ???

Any ideas or suggestions as to what is causing the problem? I do not have the new computer connected full time to the internet, and I have even gone through all of the Windows startup and disabled everything that is not required for the computer to function properly. I am considering ordering another interface that uses USB-C 2x2 rather than the standard USB. My problem is that will end up costing me another $200 that I really can't afford right now.
 
#4
BooDoggie said:
That's why I posted this in OFF Topic??? I have been a member here for several years, and I know there are a lot of really smart people here that may be able to point me to someone that my have some answers...
Click to expand...

Sorry. Wasn't trying to be a jerk. I just asked a lot of computer questions so im pretty sure its in "recording gear and equipment" if that's the exact spelling. I can't answer your question. I've had a heck of a time figuring out if more slow ram or less fast ram is better and if there is some equation to figure it out. Roughly. But ya. Sorry. Not here I dont think.
 
#5
TOOL460002 said:
Sorry. Wasn't trying to be a jerk. I just asked a lot of computer questions so im pretty sure its in "recording gear and equipment" if that's the exact spelling. I can't answer your question. I've had a heck of a time figuring out if more slow ram or less fast ram is better and if there is some equation to figure it out. Roughly. But ya. Sorry. Not here I dont think.
Click to expand...
Hey I'm not suggesting that you are a "jerk". I didn't find that forum before I posted this. Thanks for pointing that out :)
 
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#7
I think everybody's sleeping in that forum today :) .

I could be way off here as I suck with this stuff, but a long while back when I had a similar issue (upgraded everything, yet started getting latency) I had to use a different ASIO driver than what came with my interface. ASIO4ALL solved my problem.

I'm plugging in here also because I just placed an order to upgrade my interface. I know its its only a matter of time before I'm pulling hair out of MY head again. I don't like the technical side behind recording music. Its not fun unless yer into that kind of thing.
 
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#8
SSD drives vs spinning hard drives is the single largest improvement you can make to a computer audio system. it should make a noticeable difference in the performance of the computer in general and especially if you are recording / playing back many tracks at a time--but won't affect latency. The suggestion of checking for the correct drivers is a good one too and could affect latency (and the midi keyboard). Also--make sure you check sample rate, not just buffer size. If you are at 44.1k and 2.8ms on one system, and 96k and 5.8ms on the other... well that's basically the same performance given the settings.

For what it's worth, 2.8 ms of latency is almost impossibly small and 5.8ms is totally acceptable/imperceptible to most folks.
 
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#11
Which interface are you using? Asking because I'm having issues that might be the same as what you're experiencing:

After the latest Windows 10 update, my drivers for my M-AUDIO Air 192|4 stopped working. They worked perfectly before the update and I was getting around 2.5ms latency. Tried re-installing drivers but no luck there. Sent a support ticket over a month ago to M-Audio - no reply yet. Also, ASIO4ALL doesn't work with this interface, so I'm currently using the generic Windows drivers which do work, but I'm getting like 100ms latency now, and the audio playback glitches out occasionally. I might just give up on that interface (it's ok, but not great) and purchase something else since M-AUDIO support isn't helping.

For your situation, I'd check that you have the latest drivers installed for your audio interface, and that you're plugging into a fast USB 2.0 or 3.0 input on your computer. As an example, my computer has 4 fast USB3 inputs on the back panel, but the ones on the front panel are really slow USB 1.0 inputs.
 
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#13
AceOfBassFace said:
Which interface are you using? Asking because I'm having issues that might be the same as what you're experiencing:

After the latest Windows 10 update, my drivers for my M-AUDIO Air 192|4 stopped working. They worked perfectly before the update and I was getting around 2.5ms latency. Tried re-installing drivers but no luck there. Sent a support ticket over a month ago to M-Audio - no reply yet. Also, ASIO4ALL doesn't work with this interface, so I'm currently using the generic Windows drivers which do work, but I'm getting like 100ms latency now, and the audio playback glitches out occasionally. I might just give up on that interface (it's ok, but not great) and purchase something else since M-AUDIO support isn't helping.

For your situation, I'd check that you have the latest drivers installed for your audio interface, and that you're plugging into a fast USB 2.0 or 3.0 input on your computer. As an example, my computer has 4 fast USB3 inputs on the back panel, but the ones on the front panel are really slow USB 1.0 inputs.
Click to expand...

I'm using both an Presonus Audiobox USB and an Audiobox USB 96. Both have issues. I can't even use Analog Lab Lite because of latency and crackling noise on playback. I ran Intel's CPU test and it passed with flying colors. The USB 96 is actually worse than the older one. Could be the latest batch of MicroSlops OS updates... I owned and operated a PC repair shop for ten years. After the Windows 8 disaster, I gave up and closed my shop because I could no longer fix simple issues that I had been doing for nearly 20 years.
 
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#14
Interesting that you're having issues with the Presonus Audiobox USB, as I have that same interface on a Win 10 box with similar specs and it works great. What DAW are you using for recording? Studio One Prime here, and we've had this PC since early last year. I did have to download the latest driver from Presonus when setting the PC and DAW up initially.

Re: the interface not working when plugged in during bootup, if your BIOS is set to boot off of USB and encounters the interface, it may be disabled since it's not a bootable device. (I'm a long-time IT guy also.) Just a thought.
 
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#16
BooDoggie said:
I have been dabbling with computers since the first TI99 came out I think in the 80's, and I'm still struggling to figure this one out... :)
Click to expand...
Same here :) . I bought Cubase in '85 or '86, before there was even digital audio, and then Digidesign's Session 8 as soon as it was released. My first digital recording set up cost me close to $5000, and was obsolete within 2 years. You can do more with an app today than I was able to do with that first investment.

And I still don't know what I'm doing :)

Apologies for the derailment, and ill stop now.
 
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#17
And I said:
For what it's worth, 2.8 ms of latency is almost impossibly small and 5.8ms is totally acceptable/imperceptible to most folks.
Click to expand...
This

2.8ms of latency, despite what many interface manufacturers will tell you in their specs, is not something easily achieved in real world conditions. Furthermore, 5.8ms is perfectly acceptable. You can find many tests online where you can test your perception, but the common finding is that ~8ms is about the threshold for human perception of latency. Anything smaller than that is interpreted by our brains as being the same source and is therefore indistinguishable. There are outliers who can hear smaller latency than that, but it's the exception rather than the rule.

Addendum: If it's really that big of a deal to you then just don't monitor in the box. Use an interface that allows for input monitoring of the preamp stage prior to the AD. As long as you don't need to hear any DSP from the computer for what you're doing you'll have latency that can be roughly calculated as the speed of light over the total run of your cables from your bass, into the interface and then back out to your monitors or headphones, which is effectively instantaneous.
 
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#18
Same buffer size with the same sampling frequency?
I get 2.8ms at 96khz but not at 44.1.

Also, when you add a bunch of plugins that buffer size is very likely to come short and you will have to increase it anyway. For this reason I only ever use direct monitoring and record both line level and amped(or modeled) tone.

With 5ms latency my sense of groove is already completely destroyed.
 
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