Akai MPK61 and Cakewalk 7XL latency problems

Welcome to the forum.
What sound card are you using?
If it's the stock sound card, you may be able to reduce latency by moving the latency slider toward the Fast side (Options>Audio). If you move it too far, though, you could get pops, clicks or audio dropout. The trick is to find the spot when the latency isn't too bad and you don't get audio glitches. Use WDM driver mode instead of MME. If your operating system is Vista, the WASAPI driver can deliver low latency levels, I read.
You can also download and install ASIO4All, an audio driver wrapper which makes WDM act like ASIO and sometimes works at reducing latency.
The permanent, and best solution, in my opinion, is buying an audio interface designed for recording.
Not a Sound Blaster.
The latency has nothing to do with SHS or the Akai; it's all due to the sound card and it's settings.