Sudden Huge Latency Problem

What brand and type audio interface do you use?

Generally, these ridiculous latencies can occur when you are simultaneously using other programs that also access coreaudio (webbrowsers, musicplayers (iTunes)). However, either restarting coreaudio from within Logic or restarting Logic itself always clears these latencies.

As a general thing, set your number of processing threads to the highest available number (NOT automatic). Also, your recording delay should be at 0 samples (unless you've done the required tests and they point to this small (smaller than your buffer, actually) latency.)

Also, your buffer is at the highest setting, and it already reports almost 25 ms output latency, which is on/over the edge of useable. You could NOT have had NO latency, as you claim. In general, 256 is used as the LARGEST useable buffer (most prefer 128 or even 64 and the happy few can use 32, choose whatever is the lowest that still works) when recording/tracking, and 512 and 1024 are only used when mixing, because they introduce too much playing latency.

Do you need Rewire in live mode? I guess not, so, turn it off. Also, Process Buffer range: set it to medium or small, only set it to Large when mixing (you should consider it the buffer for the mixer - so if you only have, say, less than fifteen to twenty channel strips, you can keep it at small or medium.

Since 10.0.5, I have the same issue with my Mac Pro 4,1 Nehalem.

I haven't changed my settings and now I got a huge latency. Whatever I try is the same result.

I am helping my dad compose music on Logic. He currently composes on a Korg Triton Studio, and was wondering if the sounds from the Korg can be transported into Logic.

We have a 2009 Mac Pro 2.8G Dual Quad 8GB RAM running OSX 10.5.8 & Logic Pro 8. Since the Korg & the MP have S/P-DIF I/O, I thought an audio interface was not required and connected the two through a TOSLINK cable. I can now hear the sounds from the Korg on Logic. However, there are two problems - (1) there is latency of atleast 2secs between keystroke to sound on headphones (on Mac Pro), and (2) random noise (disturbance) is recorded in Logic.

1. Since the Korg spdif OUT is directly connected to the Mac Pro spdif IN, why is there so much latency?

2. Will an audio interface (say, RME Babyface) substantially reduce the latency?

3. Any suggestions on eliminating the random noise?

Thanks

In actual fact I find that resetting core audio does at least remove this latency from the recording process. In my case, however , following the inevitable core audio reset the problem then recurs on playback. While this can be resolved by chopping out sections of the audio file, this takes time and really irritates me. While I have used Logic 9 and then X for 6 years I never encountered this problem until, like all the thousands of other users who are complaining about this issue, I updated to Yosemite (I bypassed Mavericks when, from all accounts, the problem first appeared). It is sad to see a company like Apple that was so supremely proactive in the time of Steve Jobs slip so badly in allowing a software glitch like this that affects so many to rumble on for so very long without any serious attempt to solve the problem. Trawl the net and you will find hundreds and hundreds of Logic clients are experiencing the same instability in Logic.

Come on Apple - Stop fiddling around designing pretty but functionless watches that no one really wants and even fewer people can afford. It's time to get on and sort out existing problems with a product which many of your customers really DO use.

While your plea to Apple is both understandable and worthwhile.... Posting it here is not......

Why doesn't Apple answer the questions that we ask about Logic Pro?

As for this issue that seems to affect certain hardware configurations....

It's doubtful it's actually "hundreds and hundreds of Logic clients" that have this issue.... though it might seem like it. The actual percentage is probably quite small.... baed on my client base at least. Many of them have reported such an issue but once the items in #1 & 2 have been investigated and dealt with... In almost all cases the problem has largely vanished.

So....

1) Make sure Logic uses no more than 8 Cores if you have more available to you.... via Logic's preferences. Change the setting from Automatic (or any higher number than 8) to 8.... if you have more than 8 cores available including Virtual ones.

2) Typically if its not the 'core issue' then it comes down to three main causes...

a) Problems with poor performing Graphics drivers and graphical hardware in certain Macs... Yosemite (and mavericks before it) make much higher demands on system resources, ion particular the graphical hardware and so almost all users see a decrease in overall performance when upgrading to newer OS X versions.. This is why a few of us here, for as long as is possible, stick with Snow Leopard and LP9 as our primary Studio rigs... The only solution for such poor drivers currently is waiting on Apple to release updated drivers for Macs from either AMD or Nvidia and such drivers seem to take a long time to filter down unfortunately. Retina based Macs seem to be particular affected by such issues i should note.

b) User Error / System misconfiguration....... Macs with other apps/routines/drivers running in the background sapping resources... Using the excellent and free Etracheck can often assist in the process of identifying these apps, drivers and background routines so they can be removed/disabled when running LPX

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

c) Poor performing/unstable/unreliable Audio/Midi drivers/Hardware. Spending a bunch of money on a Mac, Speakers, Midi Keyboards, plugins and so on... and LPX and then scrimping on a cheap audio/midi interface... is always asking for trouble, However, it's not always the cheap external devices that can cause issues.. some of the more expensive ones too have badly written or incompatible drivers with the latest OS X versions... The resolution to such problems is to do some research first and ask around for good, solid working combinations of devices/drivers/Macs and OS X...

For my main testbed Logic Pro X system here I'm using a 2011 i7 Quad Core 3.4ghz 32GB RAM 2GB VRAM AMD with 10.10.3 and LPX 10.1.1 without any such issues...

My secondary testbed Mac is a 2015 Mac Pro 32GB RAM with Dual AMD D500s.. and again with Cores set to 8 max in Logic's Settings.. I have no such issues as you and others are reporting...

In all cases I use Motu Midi/Audio interfaces such as the Ultralite range... utilizing either Firewire or Thunderbolt depending on available ports on my various Macs.... The hardware and drivers provided have been rock solid and promptly updated throughout all the recent OS X updates from Tiger through to Yosemite.

Another observation is... I have always found USB2/3 audio (and some midi ones too) interfaces to be unreliable to varying degrees.. and so I simply don't and wouldn't use them on my systems here.

Finally, I believe that one other thing that seems to help is having a lot of RAM installed.....I have 32GB installed on all my systems here now... but frankly I have no real evidence to back that up... other than personal observations... of the difference between 8GB, 16GB and 32GB equipped Macs.. They just seem faster and smoother in operation and performance once I upgraded them to the larger amounts of RAM.16 GB Macs should be considered the real absolute minimum these days for intensives apps like Logic running under Yosemite in my personal opinion even though you can do so under much less RAM of course..

I haven't checked recently but one thing Apple could do is post a realistic minimum spec/configuration for running Logic-X, it's unfair to post a minimum spec in which the software is basically unusable, you would think they're trying push new machines. 😐

With the current OS & Logic I would say minimum RAM would be 8GB & a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor.

you would think they're trying push new machines.

No.. surely not? 🙂

The weird/somewhat surprising thing is... My trusty older 2011 i7 iMacs actually seems to out perform any of the more recent iMacs.... in regards to using LPX and Yosemite... as a combo on them.

I just got a 5K i7 iMac from a client to help set up and the overall performance drop between it and my older iMac is quite noticeable....

The Art Of Sound wrote:

you would think they're trying push new machines.

No.. surely not? 🙂

The weird/somewhat surprising thing is... My trusty older 2011 i7 iMacs actually seems to out perform any of the more recent iMacs.... in regards to using LPX and Yosemite... as a combo on them.

I just got a 5K i7 iMac from a client to help set up and the overall performance drop between it and my older iMac is quite noticeable....

Interesting... good to know though, that's something I can probably find around here at a very decent price.