Latency in headphones with vocal track

J

Jae

New member
I'm new at this recording thing as far as using a computer goes. I've been playing with two different softwares so far (Vagas & Audacity) and when I speak into the mic, there's a slight delay. So I don't think it's the software. I've been searching on line for a solution. Figured I would join a forum to search for more answers. Here's the breakdown of what I'm doing.
-I'm currently using Audacity.
-I'm using a usb cord for the mic into the computer.
-I'm using Windows 8.
-There is a delay in the headphones but the signal on the meter seems to be dead on when I "check" the mic.
Anybody got any ideas?
 
Jae said:
I'm new at this recording thing as far as using a computer goes. I've been playing with two different softwares so far (Vagas & Audacity) and when I speak into the mic, there's a slight delay. So I don't think it's the software. I've been searching on line for a solution. Figured I would join a forum to search for more answers. Here's the breakdown of what I'm doing.
-I'm currently using Audacity.
-I'm using a usb cord for the mic into the computer.
-I'm using Windows 8.
-There is a delay in the headphones but the signal on the meter seems to be dead on when I "check" the mic.
Anybody got any ideas?
Click to expand...

Several. Trade the usb mic in for a "proper" one and an audio interface. If you want a make and model: Steinberg UR22.
That interface comes with a cut down but still very powerful version of Cubase a much better DAW than Audacity for general recording purposes.

Yes, this will entail the expenditure of some $200 or so but that is about the inescapable minimum for good quality computer recording.

And my final idea? Read! The stickies here and pay particular attention to matters of "latency" and "zero latency monitoring".

Dave.
 
Dave's reply is a bit short, but the issue is that you are having the first problem that everyone has when they start recording with a computer. There are literally thousands of posts on this board that are identical to yours and thousands of replies. A little research on your part would have found at least a few of there.

The problem is called latency and it is the amount of time that it takes your computer to input the signal. process it, then send it back out to your headphones. You didn't provide very much information on what kind of interface you are using to plug your microphone in. A USB cable can not connect directly to a microphone, there must be something else going on here. If there is a headphone jack somewhere between the USB and the microphone, try monitoring (plugging your headphones) in there instead of your computer.

Personally, I think the UR22 and Cubase are not the best options, but you will find that everyone on this board is biased to the point of religion about what the best tools are. You will have to learn a bit more on your own (and Audacity may be a good starting point). The first thing that you need to get right is that stuff between the USB and the microphone.

How exactly (with what products) are you connecting the microphone up?

Glen
 
gcolbert said:
Dave's reply is a bit short, but the issue is that you are having the first problem that everyone has when they start recording with a computer. There are literally thousands of posts on this board that are identical to yours and thousands of replies. A little research on your part would have found at least a few of there.

The problem is called latency and it is the amount of time that it takes your computer to input the signal. process it, then send it back out to your headphones. You didn't provide very much information on what kind of interface you are using to plug your microphone in. A USB cable can not connect directly to a microphone, there must be something else going on here. If there is a headphone jack somewhere between the USB and the microphone, try monitoring (plugging your headphones) in there instead of your computer.

Personally, I think the UR22 and Cubase are not the best options, but you will find that everyone on this board is biased to the point of religion about what the best tools are. You will have to learn a bit more on your own (and Audacity may be a good starting point). The first thing that you need to get right is that stuff between the USB and the microphone.

How exactly (with what products) are you connecting the microphone up?

Glen
Click to expand...

Good advice, though it seems you are the one that is 'biased to the point of religion' as far as what the best tools are. No description of what you would recommend other than claiming others advice is bad-just like religion.

Recommendations of quality lower end gear is not something most here take lightly. We have been through the same startup/learning/evolving stage.

I am not starting an argument, but best advice does not come from generalizing the opinions of 'everyone on this board'. That infers that you are the only one who is right. Sorry, I don't know you to be the official of everything.

Maybe you worded it incorrectly. Just saying that, it came across as if the members here do not know what they are talking about. That is completely false and disrespectful in my opinion.

Other than that, sound advice Glen! :)
 
gcolbert said:
The problem is called latency and it is the amount of time that it takes your computer to input the signal. process it, then send it back out to your headphones. You didn't provide very much information on what kind of interface you are using to plug your microphone in. A USB cable can not connect directly to a microphone, there must be something else going on here. If there is a headphone jack somewhere between the USB and the microphone, try monitoring (plugging your headphones) in there instead of your computer.



How exactly (with what products) are you connecting the microphone up?

Glen
Click to expand...

There are literally hundreds of USB microphones on the market. They have a USB plug on them and they plug directly into the PCs USB port.
 
Sorry Glen but, where you bin mate?!

A mic CAN connect directly to a computer via a usb lead! Called a "usb" mic and I am pretty sure the OP is using one and the computer's built in sound card to boot. These two factors are contributing most of all to the latency he is experiencing. I have never tried a usb mic but I would think the PC sound card is the worst offender.

My reply was succinct because the guy simply needs a decent AI and a mic, end of. I suggested the UR22 because..
1) It has received good reviews and I have not read a single bad thing about it.
2) It has what I consider the basic I/O for the beginner. Two mic channels and MIDI
3) It costs about £100 here and that is about the minimum for a good machine IMHO.
4) Cubase is a very, very competent DAW... and finally ..
5) Because these pages (and others) seem littered with tales of woe regarding Focusrite Scarlet AIs and the Lexicon Alpha. Now EITHER peeps are only buying THOSE AIs, or there is a bit of am issue with them?

If the guy wants something really bombproof let him buy an NI KA6.

As for religion? I "Saw The Light" at around age 14 and have been a devout Cathode Follower ever since.
"Amen and may all your filaments be a smooth 6.3 volts".

Dave.
 
arcaxis said:
:eek: :eek: :eek: No, no, no!!! :facepalm:

Not sure if there's a British equivalent, but these were some of the types of tubes I played around with as a kid and I still have a couple of Zenith radio's with them.... note the filament voltage :)
1T4, Tube 1T4; Röhre 1T4 ID429, Vacuum Pentode

I'm tempted to buy a cheap USB mic just so I can have the experience :D
Click to expand...

Ah yes! The "D" series. I saw a lot of these in the Mullard guise, DF91, DK91 etc.
As the link shows they we intended for portable operation and thus had the 1.4 filament voltage and the low current drain of 50mA. Filament battery change was still quite frequent and costly however so Mulls' developed the "96" range with half the heater current.
I worked on shedloads of such portable radios in my yoof as an apprentice R&TV tech'. The mains/battery radios were tricky to set up since the heater volts had to be spot on. Too high and they would burn out, too low and the FC local oscillator would not start. No transistors around then to make a regulator!

I have toyed with the idea of finding one of those valves and using it to build a guitar or even mic pre amp? Trouble is, ongoing supply would be dubious.

Other valves with odd heater volts were the "P" series in tellies, e.g. the triode pentode type PCL85, all the P's had 300mA heaters and the PCL85 a Vh of 17.5.....Geeez! that is all a lifetime ago!

Dave.
 
Well, with all due respect to everyone, it doesn't seem like anyone has given the most obvious candidate for the latency problem: make sure the DAW (which ever one your using) is using ASIO rather than the Windows sound drivers or whatever. ASIO allows adjusting the buffer size and using it is the easiest way to minimize latency.
 
PTravel said:
Well, with all due respect to everyone, it doesn't seem like anyone has given the most obvious candidate for the latency problem: make sure the DAW (which ever one your using) is using ASIO rather than the Windows sound drivers or whatever. ASIO allows adjusting the buffer size and using it is the easiest way to minimize latency.
Click to expand...

Hmm? Now I am an old fekker, as my previous post will testify and I came VERY late to computers but I think IF the OP is using the OBSound, ASIO is not an option?

And! In any case an AI will give him direct monitoring.

Dave.
 
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ecc83 said:
Hmm? Now I am an old fekker, as my previous post will testify and I came VERY late to computers but I think IF the OP is using the OBSound, ASIO is not an option?

And! In any case an AI will give him direct monitoring.

Dave.
Click to expand...
There are third-party add-ons that claim to provide an ASIO driver for on-board sound, but I have no experience with them and don't know if they are either effective or address latency issues. As a rule, USB or Firewire audio interfaces come with ASIO drivers that are specifically written for them and which are designed to minimize latency.

Monitoring from the interface is a possibility, but if you're using an interface, why not use the ASIO driver that comes with it?

BTW, I'm also an old fekker and this is all just a hobby for me. :)
 
The cord I have connects to the mic and the other end is a usb end. Its says "Tracklink USB Interface" on it. I bought it for about $30.
 
Okay. I knew this was gonna be a journey. If you have the time, I have these questions.
What does AI stand for?
What do you mean at the end when you said "am issues".
Do you suggest trying the interface before doing something about the sound card?
 
Jae said:
Okay. I knew this was gonna be a journey. If you have the time, I have these questions.
What does AI stand for?
What do you mean at the end when you said "am issues".
Do you suggest trying the interface before doing something about the sound card?
Click to expand...

AI - Audio interface. A couple have been suggested. You are only using one mic now but think if you want more capacity in the near future? Then do your research and buy the AI

I think that was a typo and should have been: ...an issue.

Yes, as said, select a AI. Then get a proper microphone that plugs directly into the AI you buy. The goal here is to not use the PC sound card for any of your recording playback projects. They, simply put, are rubbish. Your new AI will have outputs as well as the mic (and possibly MIDI) inputs. So all audio in and out of your computer will be handled by the AI and the sound card will be disabled.

Hope this helps
 
Jae said:
Is ASIO something that has to be installed or something that is downloaded?
Click to expand...

Both... download it then install it.

what you need depends on what you are recording. If you are just doing pod cast or voice recording then you probably have all the equipment you need. Make sure you have your ASIO settings correct. Audacity is fine for making podcast or simple recordings, just tweak the settings. All DAWs (eg Audacity, Reaper, Cubase, et al) have settings to adjust latency and monitoring, Google: "Adjusting latency in audacity" or whatever DAW you are using.

If you are, on the other hand, trying to record multi-track music, then you are going to want to get an actual hardware interface. As PC soundcards, as described above, are rubbish. Read the sticky thread "Introduction to multi-track computer interface recording"

GL
 
The cord says "Tracklink USB Interface" on it. Does that make the cord itself an interface?
 
Jae said:
The cord says "Tracklink USB Interface" on it. Does that make the cord itself an interface?
Click to expand...

It makes it a crappy interface.

It is an interface in the basic definition of the word, but not a high quality audio interface.

an audio interface converts analog signals to digital.
 
Like I said, it will work fine for basic voice recording if you are not concerned with getting good tone and quality (like you would want for a vocal recording for music)
 
mdainsd said:
There are literally hundreds of USB microphones on the market. They have a USB plug on them and they plug directly into the PCs USB port.
Click to expand...

Yes unfortunately, and there are literally tens of thousands of neophytes that buy them before they get a clue... if they get a clue. There are literally zero USB mics that people should be using for anything more than pretend recording. I mean, using a USB mic is like kids playing with toy phones and toy guns and that's how those of us who know not to embrace all this USB crap see it. ;)

This kid knows this is not a real dog. That's pretty much the difference between kids today and kids back then. (Of course we all know that's not a real kid or a real toy dog, but only a depiction of one.)

toydog.jpg
 
Beck. I am in 100% agreement with you. A USB mic is not suitable for much. That post was to correct another poster offering that there "is no such thing as a microphone that plugs into the USB port" That was patently wrong.
 
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