latency it should be better

Cubase
#1

I have some issues with the latency.
PC ASUS P6T v2 deluxe - i7 2.66 - 18 Go RAM - SSD with windows 8.1. Antelope Discrete 4 audio interface in USB2.

When I compare to Pro Tools 2018.4, I can have a 64 buffer and I play a track with guitar rig 5 or Waves PRS without issue.

In Cubase pro 9.5.21, I can’t because I have crackles with 64 buffer size. Even ASIO guard in all position (low , normal or high).
When I put 128 buffer size I can play but in ASIO guard in ‘high’ I have some crackles … :cry: I can play with 128 and ASIO guard in low
it’s not an amazing performance … :frowning:

It seems like ASIO is less optimized than Pro Tools , maybe Steinberg developers trust too much ASIO guard ? it’s a pity.

Do you experiment same issue with latency ?

#2

I’ve found that to get the lowest latency you can get good results by starting fresh project (no fx on groups or master), and start adding instruments one at a time, and fx one at a time and see which one starts to give you issues.

#3

Yes it’s a good suggestion

#4

Well your problem is not latency, it’s crackle when using low latency.
Antelope has a reputation for delivering abysmal drivers, that would be my first focus.
ASIO Guard should not make a difference, it’s a playback buffer. But I would suggest turning it off and test without it.

#5

Also, go to VST Plugin Manager and each plugin has its latency amount reported there.
So, you can quickly see which are zero latency and which add latency. Very informative and useful to know which plugins can be used for zero latency or which only for mixing.

#6

I have RME Raydat and I still get the crackling if not careful. Lucky to use an amp sim at 128 buffer setting.

#7

Me too. I can’t go lower than 128 without crackling. Ur28m steinberg soundcard here.

#8

Using RME Raydat here, no problem running it at 32 buffers = 0.7ms output latency.
But only if I disable wdm sound in the RME driver, Windows 10 does not play nice when it comes to playing ASIO and Windows sounds from the same device.
My workaround is using the built in soundcard in my Moxf to play windows sounds, and always monitor it in totalmix.

Using the build in audio device on the motherboard ( for Windows sound ) and physically running a cable to your main ASIO sound device would be worth a try.

#9

i do not use windows 10 for my DAW, but the difference is the same, i use windows 7 pro by the way (64 bits of course…).
did you set the energy saving to “high performance”, you can also tweak that template, for instance energy saving for usb disabled…
but the main point, when set to high performance, the processor will always work at his highest clock rate.
it is mentioned many times this, but perhaps, it usefull. and if you know this. ignore this…

#10

Ok so why Pro Tools deals well with these “abysmal drivers” ? (64 buffer size without crackles), I 'm sure it’s not the quality of the drivers but more the cubase management I think ! :smiley:

ASIO Guard should not make a difference, it’s a playback buffer. But I would suggest turning it off and test without it.

obviously I tried …

#11

Not sure you can blame Cubase for this. It’s more likely to be either your hardware combination/setup or drivers.

I can run down to 16 samples (1.4 milliseconds) latency here with zero dropouts or crackles.

Have you tried running latency monitor diagnostic software to check out your rig for timing issues? If this reports problems, then you need to sort those issues out before you attempt to fix drivers or Cubase.

These are the tools you need:

https://www.thesycon.de/eng/latency_check.shtml

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

If you are seeing spikes on these or red bits, you need to sort your hardware and drivers. Make sure everything is up to date and that you don’t have background stuff running which is competing for machine time.

Cheers

#12

Thanks I already knew these tools.
Actually, I have used my ‘AVG Tuneup’ tool which contains an easy way to tweak the PC performances : ‘turbo’ mode , it allows to remove all the unnecessary process in background of windows, and with it I’m able to record at my lowest latency buffer size possible like in Pro Tools.
But it shows Cubase is more sensible than Pro Tools for the latency and it can be improve imho :wink:

#13

"> ‘turbo’ mode , it allows to remove all the unnecessary process in background of windows> "

Did AVG mention which processes it found unnecessary?

#14

not in details, just kind of process it will remove and you check or uncheck what you want or not.

#15

I suggest latency for Cubase at 8 ms, and an empty project does work from beginning.
Also disable hypertrading in Bios (to go below <128 buffer).
And yes every VSTplugin counts, some are latency eaters.

#16

Latency is not an issue while mixing. But when playing/recording using guitar amp emulations and VI’s, it is.

I’ve been testing my real time jam template with Metric Halo ULN-8/2d and a Lynx Aurora(-n) 32 with TB2 on my Skylake Hackintosh.

This template contains of 1 x Pianoteq 6 piano VI, 1 x Superior Drummer 3 drum VI, and 3 mono analog inputs, 1 vocal with compressor/eq/reverb, 1 mono electric guitar with amp sim, and 1 mono bass guitar with bass amp sim.

I use this template for jamming with a band, getting ideas down. Low latency is appreciated/mandatory for a good session.

The ULN-8/2d and the Lynx Aurora(-n) will work with the very occasional breakup with a 64 sample buffer @ 88.2 kHz in Cubase or Logic. This gives better results than 32 samples/44.1 kHz, which is unusable with this template in any DAW I tried.
The roundtrip latency(AD to DA through DAW) is about 4 mS in this situation, which is not a problem for any of the musicians(some with headphones, some listening to speakers) I work with.

There’s an experimental Lynx driver that is usable on my system for even lower latency(about 3 mS)

Logic is a bit smoother with this template, but Cubase is OK too.

In Pro Tools HD 12, I can’t use this template without terrible distortion and/or errors unless I have a buffer of 256 samples(or higher).

If latency is tolerable really depends on the individual musician. Some are very sensitive to latency. other’s not so much. One of the drummers I work with is quite happy to work with a 512 sample buffer (a whopping 27 mS of latency), and his drumming is fine.

#17

Yes I agree latency lowest possible is for tracking/recording an instrument.
For mixing often 1024 for big projects isn’t a problem.