9.5ms latency Macbook Pro and Logic

Kjv1993

Kjv1993

Busking a Subway Near You
So for the longest time, Ive been using a Powermac G5 running reaper with an original Mbox. I don't know the exact latency I was getting, but it was low enough not to cause any issues. With my first year of college coming up in a month, I went on a whim and bought a new(ish) 2011 MBP and actually decided to pay for a DAW for once (Logic Pro).
I did all this with the thought in mind of using a Steinberg CI1 that I had sitting around but never used (long story). Man am I disappointed. I was setting everything up, all excited to record on my new mac and did a test session. I laid down a simple chord progression on 1 track, then did a beat on my guitar on a second track just to test the latency. It is pretty noticeable, logic reported 9.5ms. I have logic set on the highest settings which the system handles awesome. I know it is this shit box. For kicks I set the I/O to the onboard audio and what do you know, only 2.8ms of latency! So it is defiantly this box, not my mac. And with my FW800 being used by my recording drive, I have to settle with a USB interface.
Long story short, anyone have a creative suggestion for making this work, or should I look to a different interface?
Thanks much
Kevin
 
I'm misunderstanding you. What settings are set highest? A buffer setting should be set to the lowest setting for lowest latency.
 
Im sorry, by highest I meant lowest. Not that that makes any sense.....
Buffer at 32
Recording delay set to 5000 but theres no difference in latency no matter where it is set to.
 
Yes, it is the latest driver. But I think I just answered my own question. I think by setting the recording delay slider to 5000 was actually causing the problem. I just found that it is meant to counteract latency, and should normally be set to 0. Is that right? Cause now it seems fine, or at least closer. Ive never seen a DAW with a recording delay, or if so never touched it.
 
Yeah, that is for delay compensation for plugin delay. That should most likely be at 0. I am not a Logic user, but that should not be messed with unless there is an issue.

Glad you got it working. :)
 
haha yeah, thanks for helping anyway.
Just when you feel like you know it all......Guess Im still a noob after all these years :facepalm:
 
Kjv1993 said:
haha yeah, thanks for helping anyway.
Just when you feel like you know it all......Guess Im still a noob after all these years :facepalm:
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Dood, we are all noobs to some degree. I still learn something new everyday. The ones who stop learning, are idiots. :)
 
OSX - Applications -> Utilities -> Audio MIDI setup. Make sure those settings are correct... the Format listed on your output matches what you are using in Logic. I record at 48000 through a Presonus Firepod, so these settings within OSX are at 48000, but IIRC, either the DAW or the MIDI settings needed to be changed in order to function properly (Been awhile since I set up Logic). Make sure your clock source is set properly (should be fine, but you never know).
 
Doesn't the original MBox have a simple analog input monitoring feature? Latency should be 0ms regardless of digital settings.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Doesn't the original MBox have a simple analog input monitoring feature? Latency should be 0ms regardless of digital settings.
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Latency comes from the digital world... in analog there is no latency, but when you digitize the signal it takes time to process the signal, convert it, then bounce it back to you.

All latency issues need to be address through your computer settings and DAW settings. Most of the time, it's just matching up the proper settings and optimizing your computer to handle the tasks properly.

But, yes, he should be using the MBox to monitor whats going on... that's what the headphone jack on it is for =)
 
Michael Mason said:
Latency comes from the digital world... in analog there is no latency, but when you digitize the signal it takes time to process the signal, convert it, then bounce it back to you.

All latency issues need to be address through your computer settings and DAW settings. Most of the time, it's just matching up the proper settings and optimizing your computer to handle the tasks properly.

But, yes, he should be using the MBox to monitor whats going on... that's what the headphone jack on it is for =)
Click to expand...

The original MBox has an all-analog input monitoring signal path. It is not subject to buffers, optimization, DSP or anything else inside the computer. Its latency will be 0ms regardless of any digital settings.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
The original MBox has an all-analog input monitoring signal path. It is not subject to buffers, optimization, DSP or anything else inside the computer. Its latency will be 0ms regardless of any digital settings.
Click to expand...

Provided he is listening to an unprocessed or preprocessed signal through the MBox, via speakers or headphones on the MBox jack. If he's jacking through the computer, there will be latency. If he's running through the MBox into the computer, through DSPs and back out through the MBox, there will be latency. It really depends on his signal flow.
 
Michael Mason said:
Provided he is listening to an unprocessed or preprocessed signal through the MBox, via speakers or headphones on the MBox jack. If he's jacking through the computer, there will be latency. If he's running through the MBox into the computer, through DSPs and back out through the MBox, there will be latency. It really depends on his signal flow.
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True but so far the OP hasn't mentioned using the DAW for effects during tracking.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
True but so far the OP hasn't mentioned using the DAW for effects during tracking.
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Even if he's not using effects, if he is using the MBox as a "sound card," the unprocessed analog sound will run through the MBox, into the DAW, become digitized, and run back out through the MBox, creating latency.

The only way he can get 0 latency is by monitoring the analog sound through the analog out of the MBox BEFORE it goes into the computer. If he were to add effects, he wouldn't be able to hear them by monitoring this way, unless the effects were through hardware processors in the signal flow BEFORE the MBox.
 
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