Topic: Latency issues : USB midi - PCI sound card

System specs:

C2Duo 3.0Ghz (OCed)
2GB dual-channel DDR2 (soon to be 4GB after going Vista...)
ASUS mobo (good enough, have a Thermalright sitting on the northbridge)

I have the Razer Barracuda AC-1 (gaming sound card) http://techgage.com/article/razer_barra...und_card/2
This has the Razer fidelity chipset.

It is decent for games but it does not have the ASIO hardware implementation.

I am already using ASIO4ALL and I have a horrible 1-1.5 second delay from the time I press the key until the sound comes through.

Now, on Pianoteq the key stroke corresponds to the real life keystroke which is good but the sound doesn't come through until a second later so I know it is not my USB<->MIDI interface that is lagging. So, the sound card?

The funny thing is when I use DirectSound I get almost no latency! Haha. There is maybe a 20ms or less latency when I use DirectSound but ASIO4ALL is ULTRA SLOW.

Albeit small the latency still bugs me as I still do hear a delay from the sound the piano generates vs. the Sound from the Sound card.

I don't know what you guys do to tune the sound but mine still sounds very "MIDI-like" and nothing near what the people in the testimonials speak of... Nothing like what the Demos sound like...

Re: Latency issues : USB midi - PCI sound card

First,

is your asio4all set up correctly and do you have the latest asio4all or the most compatible version for your set up?

Second,

I don't undrstand why your razor barracuda AC1 doesn't have an asio driver with it!

Try using a dedicated asio driver or asio4all compatible version and if that doesn't work it will be you settings somewhere!

Hope this helps a little.

Re: Latency issues : USB midi - PCI sound card

The AC1 doesn't have ASIO (no hardware as it is a 'gaming' soundcard).

I got the latest ASIO4ALL driver. Tried tweaking the latency with no avail.

It surprises me that there doesn't exist a guide for doing this on Pianoteq's website esp when latency seems like THE deciding factor for a good number of potential customers.

The FAQ does not show the ASIO4ALL config so it isn't useful as a generic instruction. Perhaps there can be a simple tuning guide made in the future to better assist those who have issues with latency.

It works with DirectSound but I want a even lower latency if possible with my current setup before I resort to shopping for new hardware.

Re: Latency issues : USB midi - PCI sound card

you shouldn't need new hardware! I'm sure it is a simple matter of settings somewhere along the line. I have an intel duo coe as well with just 2GHz and have no problem with latency. I would be extremely suprised if your expensive gaming card could not support some sort of asio driver. I suggest you get in touch with razer support and see if they can help you set up your system.

http://help.razersupport.com/us-en/plat...uda+AC%2D1

Last edited by sigasa (16-02-2009 18:00)

Re: Latency issues : USB midi - PCI sound card

sigasa wrote:

you shouldn't need new hardware! I'm sure it is a simple matter of settings somewhere along the line. I have an intel duo coe as well with just 2GHz and have no problem with latency. I would be extremely suprised if your expensive gaming card could not support some sort of asio driver. I suggest you get in touch with razer support and see if they can help you set up your system.

http://help.razersupport.com/us-en/plat...uda+AC%2D1

I got it when it was $20 on a special clearance. Lets see what the guys at Razer will say but for now I will enjoy my tiny bit of lag.