Sep 08, 2006 08:53 am Hi Joe, welcome to HRC.
Might I ask what driver type you are using and what software you are recording with? I assume WDM drivers, is that right?
latency problem with x-fi
Posted on Sep 08, 2006 07:35 am
joetink
Member Since: Sep 08, 2006
hi all, i'm very new around here. i recently bought an x-fi platinum to do some recording (nothing professional, just fun stuff). Strangely, i'm having more latency problems than i did with much cheaper cards. The latency isn't when recording, it's just when playing through the speakers, both in and out of recording programs. It's a very small amount, but enough to mess me up a good bit. I tried asio4all, which did nothing. I would love some help if anyone has ideas!
thanks
joe
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Sep 08, 2006 08:53 am Hi Joe, welcome to HRC.
Might I ask what driver type you are using and what software you are recording with? I assume WDM drivers, is that right?
Sep 08, 2006 09:21 am hello, and thanks.
I am using sonar4 to record with, though it does not make a difference at this point whether i am in the recording software or not. I am using the drivers that came on the installation disk. I have a dell e510 with 2000mb ram, and an ati radeon x300 video controller. Unfortunately, i'm not very computer savy. I have tried uninstalling all software and drivers, and reinstalling, but no changes.
joe
Sep 08, 2006 09:24 am OK, that brings the picture into a little more focus. I would say the next step is to go to the web site of Dell or of Sound Blaster and find the newest driver, installtion disks are often mass produced and fall a bit behind on the newest version of a driver. That would be my first step to recommend.
Sep 08, 2006 12:04 pm ok, i got the newest driver from sound blaster. no difference there. I also checked to make sure i have all the latest drivers from dell. what should my next step be?
Sep 08, 2006 12:06 pm make sure your OS (windows XP presumably) is all updated...virus and spyware scans are always a good thing to do...
Fill out your profile with the specs of your computer and such too...
Sep 08, 2006 12:18 pm I run virus scans and adaware daily. is there a place that lists all the specs on my computer that i can copy and paste?
Sep 08, 2006 12:23 pm ...probably in "My Computer" properties.
Sep 08, 2006 12:31 pm xp professional version 2002
service pack 2
pentium(r) d 2.80ghz
1.0 gb of ram
is that the info you were talking about???
Sep 08, 2006 12:36 pm Yeah, thats pretty much it.
Well, asside for the ol trusty "SoundBlaster sucks ***" advice, I am kinda stumped, I'll have to think about it a bit.
Sep 08, 2006 12:37 pm well, thanks for your assistance. I really thought this was going to be the sound blaster that didn't suck ***. i guess i should have known better. thanks though
joe
Sep 08, 2006 12:38 pm They are fine cards for DVD playback, gaming and stuff, but not recording.
Sep 08, 2006 12:52 pm i hear ya. hopefully someone else has dealth with this. The delay is VERY slight, but just enough to mess me up. i have heard of someone having this problem on another forum, but i can't find it again, and i don't remember seeing a resolution to it. back to the drawing board. hopefully they will take it back if i can't find an answer. thanks
joe
Sep 08, 2006 02:36 pm Make sure in Sonar that you are using either the ASIO (preferable) or WDM driver and not the MME driver. Also play around with the buffer setting and get it as low as you can without drop outs/pops.
Thinking a bit more on this, since you say it occurs on playback in all apps...
Open the Creative Control panel and go to the part that controls the effects, by default Creative enables a surround sound enhancement that is probably the cause of the problem you're experiencing, turn it off.
I've had my Audigy 2 uninstalled for so long now that I can't give you the exact steps but you should be able to find it without too much problem.
Dan
Sep 08, 2006 04:36 pm thanks for continuing to think about this, guys. i really appreciate the help.
I have already turned off the surround sound feature. I got to thinking....with other sound blaster cards, i have needed to let windows configure the card and not install the drivers that came with them, or else i had BAD latency issues. I hate to lose all the features that come with the card though. any idea what might cause that?
I actually don't know how to use the asio driver in sonar. i couldn't find a place to do that, but i'll keep looking.
thanks again
joe
Sep 08, 2006 04:56 pm i uninstalled the drivers. sadly, windows won't install it, it needs the cd.
Sep 08, 2006 05:14 pm ...or, you go download the newest from SoundDisaster's web site.
Sep 08, 2006 05:50 pm yeah, i have the newest drivers. no go there.
Sep 08, 2006 08:29 pm Joe, in Sonar go to the Options/Audio tab and have a look to make sure you are not running the MME drivers mentioned above. They will definately give bad playback as well as recording latency.
Another thought here is have you dissabled the onboard audio on the Dell? It is not always the case, but there have been issues with the drivers being active for the onboard sound conflicting with the audio drivers for another device. Windows kind of lets them fight it out, which in the end causes the latency and the headache.
I believe the x-fi does have ASIO drivers when it installs. And that should be the best alternative.
But another thought is, when you tried the asio4all install di you run it with the WDM driver chosen in Sonar. Asio4all will not run using the MME drivers. As well asio4all runs alongside the WDM drivers, it needs them to actually emulate an ASIO set up.
If you would have a look at the drivers list in the options/Audio section of Sonar and post it here. We can try and go from there. I have run SB cards with good luck in the past, and still keep one in an old box here just for experimenting with stuff like this.
Noize
Sep 08, 2006 08:40 pm ok, i have already disabled the onboard audio when i got the card, but i double checked anyway. i got the asio driver loaded in sonar, as you mentioned above. No change with that. It now does show asio4all in that menu, though. still trying to get through this as of right now. the beer is helping to keep my frustration level at a tolerable level at the moment. thanks for the suggestions, and i welcome as many more as you have!
is it possible that a conflict would cause this? I though conflicts would cause crackling and popping...
~joetink
Sep 08, 2006 09:06 pm i extracted the files from the most recent driver from the website into a folder, and after i uninstalled all the software and drivers, updated with device manager, pointing it to the folder. I was hoping having the driver with no software might work. no go. back to the drawing board.
Sep 08, 2006 09:32 pm I'll keep thinking on this one Joe. What is odd is the fact it does it in playback only mode and with any software. That by all rights should not be happening.
And indeed, hardware/software conflicts can cause more than just pops and clicks. That is what makes it so hard to determine what is causing it.
Sep 09, 2006 09:59 am well, after uninstalling video drivers and whatever else i could think of, I have written a letter to creative. it was less than nice letter, and i'll let you know about the response.
Sep 09, 2006 06:04 pm Well, sometimes that is what it takes. To be honest, some manufacturers are less then up front with things that could go wrong with their hardware. And even less when it comes to incompatability issues. Creative has sadly been one of the leading contenders for missleading customers when it comes to this type of issue. And I say that having been and still using an old SB card in my surfing and experimenting box.
Sep 10, 2006 01:13 pm It's likely a setup or routing issue, as the card definitley shouldn't have any delay on playback in all apps. How is do you have your system setup as far as monitoring/speakers?
If you have the output going to a mixer and then back into the soundcard you could have a loop going which any card would show a slight delay especially if "What You Hear" is selected for your recording input (which is also the default on SB's).
Dan
Sep 10, 2006 08:36 pm Good point OD. Joe, can you give us the detials of how your are routing the signal, both going in and coming out?
Sep 18, 2006 12:20 pm hey guys. i really appreciate all your help. i brought the x-fi back and got an m-audio firewire solo console. the sound quality is pretty decent, which is nice, and no latency problems. YEAH! But, i seem to be having two problems.
1) everything i record is panned left. when i select only right channel as the input, it records both sides, but it won't let me pan l or r after that (i'm using sonar 4)
2)my old card was playing my midi click tracks. now it's making me select a new midi device, and it plays totally out of time with everything i have recorded. i used to be able to record a track with the click track, then add in a drum sequence i made with drumkit from hell, and it would sync perfectly. i'm hoping i will still be able to do this.
will i ever get recording again? Man, this gets frustrating.
Sep 18, 2006 12:26 pm huh, the audio is recording in stereo now if i select the right track as input, and allowing me to pan. i must have been doing something wrong. still have the midi issue, though.
for some reason, it's giving me a latency of 5.8ms. i thought it was supposed to go down to 1.5? asio4all allowed even my soundblaster to go down to 1.5.....hmmm.
Sep 18, 2006 06:27 pm Well the stereo/mono thing should be easily addressed. You need to make sure youa re selecting the correct inputs in the track istelf in Sonar.
I will do a screen shot later and put it up for you to see. I'll post here and let you know when its up.
But you should have something like
Left M-Audio ASIO 1
Right M-Audio ASIO 1
Stereo M-Audio ASIO 1
And so on for the other inputs.
Sep 18, 2006 06:52 pm yeah, i figured that out, but i have to select the right-m-audio asio or it will ony record in the left channel. no big deal, though. i just need to remember to do that to each track. The midi thing makes me mad, but i guess i just have to sequence all my drums first, then record over them so i have the right rhythm. i thought this would have had midi output on it, but i guess i was wrong. it's a slow road, but i'm getting there!
Sep 18, 2006 09:02 pm You should have at least those choices or more in the track menu. IF you dont then the drivers probably didn't install properly. Or you may need to check for the most recent drivers. Since the odds are really good the driver disc that shipped with your interface is outdated allready, which happens frequantly these days.
When settng up tracks for mono recording you will only record in either the left or right depending on which input you choose. The only way to record a stereo track is with the stereo input driver selected.
As for the click track. I usually create my own click track anyway, then save it as a groove file so I can open it at any tempo and simply stretch it out to whatever length I need.
Sep 19, 2006 06:43 am yeah, i do have more options there. It only records on the left channel if i pick stereo or left. i have to record the right channel if i want to get it coming through both speakers. very strange, i know.
Sep 19, 2006 06:06 pm Well recording on the left with the left selected is OK. But it should not record in stereo with the right selected. And with stereo selected it should of course be stereo.
I would be willing to bet it is a bad driver install, or a conflict with the drivers themselves.
Your drivers dropdown should look something like this only referancing your interface.
By the way, which interface are you using?
We'll get this figured out one way or another.
Noize
Sep 19, 2006 06:53 pm i read some other people had to do the same thing as me to get it to record in stereo. i'm using the M-audio firewire solo. it has 2 inputs (one for mic, one for line in) i guess one is panned left and the other right. i used the console options, but didn't see a way to change it. i'm more concerned about the midi at this point. when i open up a clip i already recorded, it plays slower when i have midi enabled, kind of like the midi i have is slower than the one i used to have.
Sep 20, 2006 06:36 pm It could also be the sample/bit rates for the audio output are differant on the new interface.
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