Checklist for eliminating latency?

Question

Level 1

14 points

Checklist for eliminating latency?

Using LE8, I've tried everything I know, including increasing the sample rate to 192000, and there is still some slight latency when I use my Yamaha XS8 to play Ivory (stand-alone) piano voices, as opposed to playing the synth's internal voices.....at 44.1 it's completely unplayable. My piano guru/friend runs Ivory at 44.1 samples on a Mac Pro, with no latency whatsoever. Although my Mac isn't a quad core, At 2.8Ghz and 4GB RAM, mine is pretty fast. (I have Ivory sounds on the first partition of a 7,200 RPM Firewire Extreme Lacie, and the software on the Mac.)

Anyway, hints or checklists for all the specific settings I should be looking at would be appreciated. My Interface is the Alesis io|26.

24" iMac, 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM -- 17" MacBook Pro, 2.0GHZ, 2GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.4.10), Alesis io/26 - Digi 002 Rack

Posted on Dec 20, 2007 6:13 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 20, 2007 9:48 PM in response to cedarflute

Go to Logic Express Menu > Preferences > Audio
Lower the I/O Buffer size to 64 if possible.

Lowering the buffer in the Core Audio settings will also lower the latency, but increase cpu usage. I have DP1.25 Powermac and a Digi 002R and I can get my buffers down to 64. It's barely noticable.

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Answer 2

jaap

Level 2

470 points

Dec 21, 2007 7:13 AM in response to cedarflute

Hi,

I'd like to add that on my Mac, both LE7 and LE8 somethimes have more latency than expected (that is, noticable instead of totally un-noticable). When I check the buffer size, it's 128 samples. If I change that to another value, and then back again, the latency is fine again.... strange, but, at least, it works.
And most of the time, nothing's wrong.
So, you could try and see what happens it you do the same thing....
Kind regards,
Jaap

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Answer 3

Dec 21, 2007 8:44 AM in response to jaap

I've had similar experiences. I have a Digidesign 002R and you have to select the buffer size in the Core Audio manager first then launch LE, then set the buffer size to match. Not sure about other interfaces but I assume it's a core audio thing not specific to Digidesign. btw ... my mbox can only go down to 512 buffers. Uggh.

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Answer 4

cedarflute Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 25, 2007 5:03 AM in response to Ultraslide

Ultraslide wrote:
I've had similar experiences. I have a Digidesign 002R and you have to select the buffer size in the Core Audio manager first then launch LE, then set the buffer size to match.

Thanks for your feedback. When you refer to the Core Audio manager, are you talking about the "Audio MIDI Setup" found at Applications>>Utilities? I can't find a buffer setting on that panel....and I can't find anything called "Core Audio Manager". Sorry for the basic question, but I'm obviously missing something.

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Answer 5

Guitartist

Level 4

1,204 points

Dec 25, 2007 5:29 AM in response to cedarflute

The Digi CoreAudio Manager is a Digidesign driver that is installed automatically with Pro Tools. If you don't have PT installed you must have the standalone CoreAudio Manager installed in order to use your digi002R. You should be able to find it in Applications/Digidesign.

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Answer 6

cedarflute Author

Level 1

14 points

Dec 25, 2007 5:39 AM in response to Guitartist

Guitartist wrote:
The Digi CoreAudio Manager is a Digidesign driver that is installed automatically with Pro Tools.

Cool....thanks. I do use Pro Tools for most of my work. I'm wondering if Digi's Core Audio manager has any effect when using Logic....for example does it leave any Buffer setting remnants intact in the Mac system, even when using Logic? I'm having trouble eliminating latency when using Logic -- have tried everything I can find in Logic and Mac settings -- and am wondering if the Core Audio manager is an issue? Thoughts?

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