AnsweredWhy is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor?

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King Conga
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2017/12/14 23:01:40 (permalink)

Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor?

I recently reset up my studio in a new apt. It's exactly how it was a few months ago and it ran fine then.  Now, the audio engine shuts down if you look at it.  LITERALLY!  I've even boosted it up 1024 buffer, which is useless.  The most I've EVER had to boost it was to 512.  I can't think of anything else I can do outside of buying a new interface, which I would really hate to do.  I bought this in '07 for $350 I think.  It's SOOO CLEAN!!, and FULL of features.  Now, the only boxes out there that have these kinds of features cost right at $1,000.  I was thinking about replacing it with the PreSonus Studio 192, since I already have the FaderPort8.  Learning their Studio 1 ver. 3 is a bit to chew off coming from Sonar.
 
Penny for your thoughts.
KC

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#1
Anderton
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/14 23:39:20 (permalink)
Doesn't it use ASIO4ALL? Or are there dedicated drivers?

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#2
Cactus Music
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 05:14:26 (permalink)
Ya, Alesis has never had a good rep as an audio interface, They never bothered to write proper drivers. Sorry  but if you want smooth sailing with Sonar buy a proper interface with good ASIO drivers. Otherwise might as well use your on board. 

Johnny V  
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#3
dubdisciple
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 05:29:40 (permalink)
Alesis audio interfaces suck. That's why
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King Conga
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 18:42:02 (permalink)
Well, with all due respect, and I DO mean that, it's preamps are as clean as ANY I've ever heard, and as I stated in my post, it has always worked fine...FOR 10 YRS....until now.  I'm not saying I'm completely ignoring your advice, but I would like to ask another favor if I could.  If the Alesis is such a pc of crap, what interface would you suggest for under $1000 that has 8 XLR-Bal. preamps that also toggle to phantom? 16 Ch. of ADAT, 8 Monitor Outs, and SPDIF? Now, I don't need 8 phantom mics, but it's an impressive feature. As mentioned in my original post, I was seriously considering the PreSonus Studio 192 because of it's tight integration to my FaderPort8.  The one review I read about it commented that the USB-3 really didn't improve the latency anymore than the USB-2 interfaces they have.
 
I will also add that looking at a much larger picture of Alesis in the history of this industry, it IS true that but for Alesis, we would still be paying more than $6,000/ch. instead of the $320/ch. that ADAT broke out for digital 8-track recording.  No, it wasn't perfect, and even they would tell you that, but Tascam would have waited WAAY later than when they did to break out their TDIF format.  Just sayin'.
 
Thanks,
KC

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#5
chuckebaby
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 19:28:09 (permalink)
What a great opportunity for me to offer some advise.
Go figure it out yourself. You've done nothing but come to this forum and either A- Complain or B- Ask others for help with your problems. I actually cant remember once you helping some one else on this forum.
 
Im sure others will pity you but I have nothing.
 

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#6
Cactus Music
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 19:49:17 (permalink)
Actually this is the first thread you've started in a long time where you even came back to respond. The last 4 threads you started people tried to help but you never responded. As Chuck said this forum is a matter of give and take and even if you have nothing to give it is only polite to respond to your questions and remain engaged in threads until problem or answers are resolved. 
 
You asked a question and we all seem to have the same answer- Alesis is not a good brand of audio interface.. Hardware is only part of what a good audio interface should be. The drivers are almost more important.  They just seem to not follow through with drivers and support. I think  even the drum modules suffer the same. 
 
Make a list of all the features you need and start shopping, or revert to what ever OS and system you had that worked. This is really your problem, not ours , we cannot shop for an interface for you, only you will know what you need. 
Here's the best place to start
https://www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio-recording/audio-interfaces/
 
( I would be looking at the Motu having what you want) 

Johnny V  
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#7
bvideo
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 21:34:07 (permalink)
The final drivers for the IO26 were pretty good for ASIO. Version v3.5.3.8671 I believe. If setting up your new studio involved any reinstallations, then it's a good thing to check. Otherwise, check DPC latency & other computer magic.

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fireberd
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/15 21:55:32 (permalink)
My first interface was an IO26.  Didn't last long and I moved on.  Never got it to work right, may have been "cockpit error" but the inputs or headset always were an issue.
 
 

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#9
dubdisciple
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 03:57:25 (permalink)
chuckebaby
What a great opportunity for me to offer some advise.
Go figure it out yourself. You've done nothing but come to this forum and either A- Complain or B- Ask others for help with your problems. I actually cant remember once you helping some one else on this forum.
 
Im sure others will pity you but I have nothing.
 


Glad someone said it.
#10
sharke
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 04:46:39 (permalink) ☼ Best Answerby King Conga 2017/12/16 18:31:01
I always felt like Sonar took a large hit in performance over the last year or so of its development. There was a point maybe 12-18 months ago - I think it was after Noel made some very worthwhile internal changes to the way Sonar handled synths - that I was getting absolutely stellar performance from it latency wise. Like you, never had to go above 512 even in very synth and FX heavy projects. For some reason though, it started going downhill and I'm at the point now where I have projects with a handful of instances of Reaktor in them and I'm having to bump it up to 2048 at all times, and even then I'm getting some crackles and pops (despite my CPU meters not even reaching halfway). 

James
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#11
King Conga
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 18:30:28 (permalink)
To everyone here...My most sincere apologies. I'm humbled and glad you brought it to my attn. As for my response on this thread to your initial responses re Alesis.  I only meant to convey that I don't think Alesis deserves such a bad rap that it gets for having cheap equipment and that they have made what was previously very out of reach technology, VERY affordable, despite its shortcomings. Even after reviewing my last post, I don't know how I could have been more respectful, as I started it out "Well, with all due respect, and I DO mean that...." Also, I didn't necessarily complain about Sonar, I just said that I used the same setup that I had when it worked so well, and as Shark reiterated, he noticed a big difference in latency, and he's using VERY serious equipment.  So, I couldn't have been too far off the mark. And indeed, I DID try ASIO4ALL, and that proved to be worse than my Alesis, which is up to date.  They haven't updated that driver in years. Finally, as for asking for advice for shopping comparisons, all I said was "Penny for your thoughts." There are hundreds, if not, thousands of threads that ask the same question.  I didn't insult anyone; at least in the nasty vein that's insinuated. But I apologize nonetheless.

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#12
King Conga
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 18:34:08 (permalink)
So, Shark, I was considering, troublesome as it might be, to upgrade my DAW to Win10 to see if that improved any performance.  The IT guy that services my PC's says he uses Sonar Platinum and when he upgraded from 7 to 10 he noticed a very significant improvement, but what's your take, if you don't mind me asking?
 

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#13
dubdisciple
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 19:28:42 (permalink)
Asio4all is a desperation move if you don't have an interface. Does Alesis have a forum. Doubt you are the only one facing this issue. Also, have you checked other common performance issue triggers like drivers that compound latency? Sonar is unusable on my laptop due to crazy spike when wifi drivers are enabled
#14
dubdisciple
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 19:45:10 (permalink)
This may get you on path to at least knowing if it's interface driver:

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
#15
King Conga
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 19:53:34 (permalink)
Gee! THANKS! Dubdisciple.  I can't get to it right now, but will keep you posted.

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#16
dubdisciple
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 20:04:40 (permalink)
Good luck!
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Cactus Music
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Re: Why is my Alesis I/O 26 latency so poor? 2017/12/16 21:39:46 (permalink)
All is good, I was only trying to convey how some of use who regularly help can get our dandruff up when certain people never reply to threads they start, just me and not a big deal really. 
 
And sorry if my comment about shopping for an interface sounds harsh, but it is true. Nobody but you would know what your requirements are. So the question about which interface to buy only leads to more questions like- how many inputs do you need etc. People are quick to recommend interfaces without really knowing what it is you need. Just because it's the right one for so and so doesn't mean it's the right one for you. 
Here's my handy dandy list with things to think about. You can skip the first stuff , but it's actually all relevant to your question. I personally believe your life will be better with a better audio interface. 
Otherwise your spending ( wasting?) time always troubleshooting and putting out fires. 
http://www.cactusmusic.ca/Recording.htm
 

Johnny V  
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