What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency?

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The Maillard Reaction
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2013/05/19 08:47:17 (permalink)

What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency?



Every time I inspect my MIDI setup I am amazed at how sloppy it is.

Every time I complain about how sloppy the timing is I review comments, from people that know more about MIDI than I do, and they say that it doesn't matter.

The thing is, I have visitors who sometimes claim to be able to hear the slop and I'd like to minimize it so that I know I have done my best to make them comfortable. 

I'm setting up a new DAW and it seems like a great time for me to buy a new MIDI interface.

I made the "mistake" of reading Martin Walkers analysis of MIDI jitter last night and the news is grim... USB has the worst case MIDI jitter... and it seems like the only choices today are USB MIDI interfaces.





Which one has the best timing in Win7 64?




Thanks.


best regards,
mike




edit grammar
post edited by mike_mccue - 2013/05/19 11:31:50


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    timidi
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/19 20:17:43 (permalink)
    Midi sucks.
    That's a bump BTW.

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    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 07:25:40 (permalink)


    Thanks!!!


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    Jeff Evans
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 09:05:50 (permalink)
    My midi interface (emagic Unitor 8) runs on the serial port would you believe. It is incredibly solid. Sound on Sound ran an article about what ports work well and the serial port is one of them. There is nothing else on that port for starters. The PCI buss is also good. I also only put one synth on each port and most often send it only one midi channel as well.

    I also think that it has something to do with the software as well. Are you talking external midi timing to external hardware for example. 
    I found with Sonar 8.5 that external midi timing was compromised somewhat when the audio side of the program was under considerable load such as a heavy duty plugin running on the masterbuss. I would not be surprised if the midi clock is somehow related to the audio clock. (I could be wrong of course) I am not talking virtual instruments here either I am referring to external synth control. Cannot speak for X1 or X2.

    Studio One has rock solid midi timing and is relentless, plays back exactly what is played in. Regardless of what the audio side of the program is doing. Interesting don't you think. They talked about it at the NAMM show earlier this year. 

    post edited by Jeff Evans - 2013/05/20 09:16:45

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    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 10:02:41 (permalink)


    Thank you Jeff.

    My old ISA card seemed to work well. The newer usb stuff I have is the stuff that seems squirrely.

    I have a Korg padKontrol and I use it's MIDI IN as my midi interface it seems ok but not great.

    I have an Alesis USB drum kit that has vey loose timing.



    I am considering the MOTU MIDI Express XT USB.

    I like many of it's features.

    I am hoping to learn that it plays nice with USB3.0 ports.


    best regards,
    mike


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    Jeff Evans
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 11:24:21 (permalink)
    I am not a fan of using instruments and other things as midi interfaces. While they may work their performance might not be up to par. I think you will find a lot of your trouble will be right there. A decent midi interface should set things straight. They come in handy.

    The Alesis being a drum device should be OK too. I have not had problems with them but I am thinking their drum modules etc..

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    wst3
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 13:27:57 (permalink)
    The only MIDI interface I've used without a problem is the Frontier Design Sierra, which connects to their Dakota PCI card. It has been rock solid through MANY generations of CWPA and Sonar, Presonus Studio One, and demos of a variety of other DAWs.

    I think part of it is the fact that it is a PCI card (a serial port connection should be just as stable).

    I think a bigger part is that way back when the devices were designed MIDI was still a staple, and the engineers at Frontier Design put a lot of effort into 'details' like stable MIDI timing.

    I do know that eventually I will have to leave this set up behind, but for now I will probably switch from Intel back to AMD because most of the AMD motherboards still boast 'real' PCI slots, while most of the newer Intel (1155, 2011) motherboards are briding PCI to PCIe, and in some cases they are not providing 5V to the PCI slots.

    I've tried a handful of recent motherboards, and the bridged slots don't seem to be causing a problem, BUT, I get maybe a day or two for these tests, so caution/conservative approach suggests that the AMD might be the trick.

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    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 13:40:24 (permalink)


    I would have loved to have found a clear cut "best of"...

    I just bit the bullet and ordered a MOTU MIDI Express XT USB.

    I hope it is at least as good as what I'm phasing out... it has to be. :-S

    It will be the first time I have multiple MIDI ins and I am really looking forward to setting up some "controller stations" that are semi permanent. 

    I hope to be able to no longer have to patch up a controller in the middle of a creative moment.

    :-)


    Thanks everyone!


    best regards,
    mike




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    timidi
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/20 19:40:39 (permalink)
    Hey Mike. I have a Motu Midi express. I have the 4x4 version. It seems to work OK.. I mean for midi. 
    I had to abandon my Opcode 128 that ran off the printer port cause, well, those kind of ports don't exist on my new rig. But, it was iffy at best and drivers aren't available.

    Also have the Padkontrol which I seldom use. That is on it's own USB port. 

    To me, midi is at the heart of making music and I just can't understand why they don't update the technology.

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    Teds_Studio
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    Re:What USB MIDI interface has the least jitter and latency? 2013/05/21 00:33:41 (permalink)
    If I could have found a parallel card that would work...I would have kept using my Music Quest 8 port SE.  It was always rock solid and never gave me a hiccup in 20+ years of use.

    Of course the problem is...as you stated...is the fact that NO MBs come equipped with a parallel port...and finding a PCI card with one that WORKS for midi is a shot in the dark.  I tried two different ones and neither of them worked.

    I even have a WIN7 driver for the old Music Quest interface from a guy over seas.  I had gotten a driver from him for XP that worked perfectly...and he has now written a driver for WIN7 but I've never gotten to try it because of the parallel port problem.

    I finally bought a used MOTU MTP USB on Ebay and it has worked fine. 



    edited for typo
    post edited by Teds_Studio - 2013/05/21 00:36:29

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