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Newbie Latency and Buffer Question...

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notfadeaway...
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August 10, 04 8:13 AM (permalink)

Newbie Latency and Buffer Question...

Let me preface this with the fact that I searched the archives (365 days) for several terms...Most of them assumed a basic undertanding of the concept of latency and buffering..
Now of course Sonar is easy to do several things with and I HAVE been recording for a couple months now.I guess I just ignored several settings or fine tunings I should have before I jumped into it, or before I go any further....Can someone please explain the meaning/importance, and perhaps default settings of latency and buffer size? Thank you VERY much in advance..I'll be at work all day (I"m one of those unlucky musicians who has a day job.I'll put my specs below if it helps...

Pentium 4
3.4 Ghz
200 Gig hardrive
Aardvark Direct Pro Q10

ADK Intel i7 3.6Ghz
Sonar Producer X3
RME FireFace 800



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    zgraf
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    RE: Newbie Latency and Buffer Question... August 10, 04 8:37 AM (permalink)
    Well, I pressed [F1] and this is what the SONAR online help says about these topics (lo and behold--what better source!):

    SONAR has a slider in the Audio Options dialog box, on the General tab, to set mixing latency. Mixing latency is the amount of time SONAR allocates to prepare a buffer full of audio data for playback. Lower latency settings add processing time because of the need to refill the smaller data buffers more often

    Mixing Latency (MME and WDM drivers only)
    The Buffers in Playback Queue values determine the buffer characteristics for transfers to and from the audio drivers. Lowering this value improves audio latency, though making it too low makes your system more susceptible to stuttering or dropouts.

    The Buffer Size Slider enables you to set mixing latency manually, overriding the value set by the Wave Device Profiler. Lower numbers increase the risk of audio problems. WDM sound card drivers offer lower latency than the older MME type.
    #2
    notfadeaway...
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    RE: Newbie Latency and Buffer Question... August 10, 04 8:59 AM (permalink)
    Believe it or not I had found the F1 button my very first day using Sonar,but thanx anyways....I was looking for any experienced users who have insight on these topics, perhaps advantages, disadvantages, or different combinations of each setting........

    ADK Intel i7 3.6Ghz
    Sonar Producer X3
    RME FireFace 800



    #3
    dachay2tnr
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    RE: Newbie Latency and Buffer Question... August 10, 04 10:16 AM (permalink)
    This is essentially a speed versus performance trade-off.

    In most cases you will want to set the latency as low as possible, while still getting acceptable performance from your system (i.e., no dropouts or stuttering, etc.).

    When you run the Wave profiler, Sonar will give you its best guess as to the appropriate settings. This is generally a starting point, but you may want to tweak from there.

    Lower latency settings become important when you try and use Input Monitoring (high latency will give you an echo), or when you are trying to record midi in real time. Otherwise they are not as important, and "might" be perceived as a slight delay between tweaking a control knob and hearing the results of that tweak.

    It sounds as if you are successfully recording without problems, so you might just want to leave your settings where they are. IOW, don't fix what ain't broke.
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    Guillermo
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    RE: Newbie Latency and Buffer Question... August 10, 04 10:59 AM (permalink)
    Even though I have a very fast computer and a great setting, I often find that I have to play with the latency and the buffer sizes. The reason for this is that the more complex the algorythms (memory equations), the more processing time is needed. So, when you use several synths with several effects, the computer needs extra time processing. As the song advances, if the buffer is smaller than the amount of time needed for processing, then the computer starts making little pauses, causing a stuttering effect. If the intensive process doesn't reduce, the audio is dropped to avoid a crash.
    By increasing the buffer size, one increases the amount of processing power. But this increases latency.
    Other things that can be done to improve the buffer / latency relationship are: increasing RAM and making sure that the sound card does not share IRQs with other ports. This is specially immportant if your sound card is a USB card and if you have an added video card.
    The last solution is to record your MIDI before you add the effects and the complex instruments to the tracks. I record the MIDI using the Edirol bank and add the other instruments, as well as buffer size afterwards.
    #5
    notfadeaway...
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    RE: Newbie Latency and Buffer Question... August 10, 04 11:06 AM (permalink)
    Ah, NOW it is making sense.........thank you both of you...I'm doing pretty basic recoring, mostly guitar straight into a pod, mic into the aardvark and drum machines into the aardvark direct pro....I've not gotten into midi yet, but will probably pay close attention to your words since I am thinking of either getting Sampletank or Kontakt!
    thanks again, i can see clearly now......

    ADK Intel i7 3.6Ghz
    Sonar Producer X3
    RME FireFace 800



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