Is this good?!

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dRolan
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2011/02/26 07:02:55 (permalink)

Is this good?!

Hi There - I'm running a quad core, 4gb RAM, X1 PE system with an M-Audio Delta 2496 sound card on Win7 x64 with everything on latest drivers.

Although I'm far more stable than I was in 7 or 8.5 and love X1, I can't help feeling that Sonar in general just isn't stable enough.

I came from a studio yesterday that wasn't a particularly huge setup but running a Mac with Pro-Tools and ok, no system is without its flaws, and personally I hate working on Pro-Tools... but it's still far more stable than I am. 

I also occasionally use a studio that runs Logic on a Mac Pro which is also far more stable than I am.

My latest project on Sonar has 30 tracks - 26 of which are audio, 4 of which are instruments. Recording at 1.5ms latency at 24bit, 44.1Khz which is beautifully stable until you get to around the 20th track then i get pops and clicks on recordings so I have to redo them.  Then when it comes to mixing stage (where I actually use plug-ins other than a couple of instances of compression and 1x bussed reverb) I increase the latency to around 93ms but I get pops, clicks, crackles, crunches... everything making it very hard to mix anything without getting put off.  (And forget about recording anything once some plug-ins have been added!)

My question is: is this normal for everyone? Or do I need a better sound card/computer/different DAW? Or do I need a Mac with Logic or Pro-Tools...??

Any help would be great!

Thanks,
dRolan.
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    Lemonboy
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/02/26 07:08:20 (permalink)
    Are those two you are talking about are running systems dedicated to running music software ONLY? - I think this aids stability, but I would wait for the X1b patch before spending any additional money making any changes to soundcard, system etc.  

    Andy
    #2
    dRolan
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/02/26 07:13:29 (permalink)
    The Pro-Tools set up is dedicated but the Logic setup that I use isn't.  My PC with X1 is dedicated too though... 

    If I'm spending any money, I just don't see many reasons to stay on PC... the only reason I've still got my PC is because I love Sonar.
    #3
    THambrecht
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/02/26 07:21:11 (permalink)
    The problem is the Delta 2496. I have changed to RME, because of the bad Windows-7-drivers.
    Now I have no problems with 30 or 40 tracks, running 15 VST-Instruments, 30 effects on a 18 months old Intel-Quad-Core, 8GB, Windows 7 (x64), running Cakewalk as 32-Bit. Soundcard RME HDSP 9632. This PC is - ONLY - for Music. There is no other Software, no EMail, no Virus-Scanner.
    Output latency with Asio 13,4 ms.
    The projects are 44,1kHz and 24-Bit.
    #4
    dRolan
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/02/26 07:25:53 (permalink)
    can you run at 1.5 or 2.9ms without any problems during tracking stage though and without any pops or clicks??

    13.4 or greater wouldn't be a problem during mixing....
    #5
    THambrecht
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/02/26 13:39:35 (permalink)
    YES, 1,5 ms (Buffersize 64) without problems.
    But 0,7 ms (Buffersize 32) with a lot of clicks and pops.
    VST-Synthesizers are: 4 x Gladiator, 2 x Real-Guitar LPC, 2 x Kontakt, 3x z3ta+, 2 x Pentagon, SI-Bass, Steinberg Virtual Guitarist, NI Battery.
    Ca. 30 Effects: 2 x Guitar Rig 4 and Delays, Chorus ...
    With my old Delta 2496 and Delta 1010 I've had a lot of problems with timing.
    #6
    JonD
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/02/27 02:49:17 (permalink)
    1.5ms may be a bit unrealistic, especially with a fairly heavy load (on an M-Audio device anyway).  Just because it can get that low doesn't mean it'll work consistently.   Are you unable to work at 2.9ms?  (I have a Delta 66, and even 5.8ms is acceptable to me -- and I use a lot of soft synths).



    SonarPlat/CWbBL, Win 10 Pro, i7 2600K, Asus P8Z68 Deluxe, 16GB DDR3, Radeon HD5450, TC Electronic Impact Twin, Kawai MP11 Piano, Event ALP Monitors, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, Too Many Plugins, My lucky hat.
    #7
    dRolan
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    Re:Is this good?! 2011/03/02 14:50:29 (permalink)
    I'm able to work at 2.9 but to be honest, there's no real improvement stability wise. Going down to 5.8 releaves the system more, but still not a lot more. My machine seems to be very "all or nothing"... it runs fine at 1.5, then when it doesn't like that anymore the only alternative is like 95ms!
    #8
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