Looking to buy a pro Level, Low Latency Audio Interface (Not named Apollo) for many VIs

Good afternoon,

I am on the PC Platform (Intel i7-6850k, Gigabyte x99P-SLI, 32 GB Corsair LPX RAM, Apollo 8 Quad TB) using Sonar Platinum on Windows 10. I use almost all virtual instruments to create my music, and I record vocals/acoustic instruments through a Slate VMS. I purchased the Apollo 8 Quad Thunderbolt and am unable to get it to a latency low enough without the audio engine constantly dropping out. My computer has more than enough fire power to execute this. I've checked the UAD forum and it seems UAD is more focused on stability than lower latency. So they recommend 512.

So that leaves me with selling the Apollo 8 for other viable options. My concerns are I/O, converters, and low latency drivers so I am able to play my many virtual synths and record through the Slate VMS in realtime. I previously had a Delta 1010 and was able to do this with no issue, but I recently upgraded my PC and it doesn't have PCI-Legacy slots. 

I am trying to decide between one of the newer MOTU interfaces (leaning towards the 1248 if the latency is low enough) or an RME UFX. Turning to my fellow 'slutz for advice, particularly those running pro level studios with virtual instruments. Looking for something where I could get an Apollo Twin later to take advantage of the Pres(but not be my main interface)

Thank you in advance,

Hi. I can only comment on RME, but I am very pleased with my Uxc. It is very stable, and low latency. And the TotalMix is a beast of its own. It has given me zero problems this past year and a half I have owned it.
Can recommend RME with all my heart 
All the best.

Definitely RME, and you should really take a look at Antelope audio. I've owned both and they're both great.

Good luck,
Dean

Well I guess I'm old school but to get around latency I use an external mixer... its always Zero latency issues.  going back to my Delta 44 up to my Tascam 1800 recoding 14 mics of drums to a backing track. is this an old trick is there a reason one would not want to do this? 

RME.

tenfoot

11Dreams
Well I guess I'm old school but to get around latency I use an external mixer... its always Zero latency issues.  going back to my Delta 44 up to my Tascam 1800 recoding 14 mics of drums to a backing track. is this an old trick is there a reason one would not want to do this? 

An old school solution indeed! Pretty foolproof way to get your tracks down, but you will introduce noise from the desk and your audio interface latency will still come into play if at any stage you are going to use midi and vst synths/fx.

Not a debate in anyway but I have no noise issues. their simply isn't any noise, there is color when I use the Mackie but that's a good thing too me. :) The only noise I ever find is system related and below -90.
 
I thought I would have a latency issue when I put an amp plug on my bass and hit echo but it was still zero.
I think Cakewalk has nailed the latency thing at least for me.
If I happen to use a midi controller it plugs in usb with zero issues. I think though, there are too many setups and drivers that can fix or mess up  an audio chain. It's definitely a balancing act and if I can get it to work anyone can.
ha!
 
Kind of why I asked is because if I spent $3000 on an interface I would want to use it. It seems to me that routing through a council would keep me rolling plus they look cool! :)

RME Totalmix is basically a mixer, and has no latency apart from the tiny AD/DA conversion (only a few samples). Additionally, it lets you route the signal from every input to any combination of outputs at any level individually for each output. And that's in its "basic" mode. It's easy to use (at least the basic mode is) and mind-bogglingly powerful. At 0% CPU load. Really, if budget doesn't stand in the way of getting a UCX, 802 or UFX, they're killer options.

And as was already mentioned, their dedication to current drivers for all their devices is awesome.

RME!

RME for sure!

11DreamsI thought I would have a latency issue when I put an amp plug on my bass and hit echo but it was still zero.
I think Cakewalk has nailed the latency thing at least for me.
If I happen to use a midi controller it plugs in usb with zero issues. I think though, there are too many setups and drivers that can fix or mess up  an audio chain. It's definitely a balancing act and if I can get it to work anyone can.
ha!

Latency is determined by three things more than anything else.

The first is how well the computer can handle the requirements of near real-time audio processing, which is related to the processing power of the cpu and data bus but can be thrown by things such as badly written device drivers or drivers which take too much time in their share of the multi-tasking jobs, amd may have nothing to do with audiomprocessing at all. On Windows PCs wi-fi drivers are a notorious example of this, though Macs generally don't suffer from the same issue despite using similar hardware.

The second is how efficient the audio interface's driver is and the interface hardware itself. Many interfaces have a kind of built-in "secret safety buffer" which is added to the buffer set by the driver but not reported by the driver to the DAW. Few interface manufacturers will acknowledge what the real-world minimum possible latency of their products is. RME are one of the exceptions and do explain this, and the internal latency of their devices is about as low as the laws of physics allows them to be. Their PC and Mac drivers are also very well behaved indeed.

The third factor is plugins. Some can cope with doing all their stuff within the time allowed by a very small audio drover buffer so add no additional latency. Others can not, or rely on things such as "look ahead" and add varying amounts of latency to the driver-set value. Things like convolution reverbs, compressors with a "look ahead" function and linear phase eqs tend to be the worst culprits. Again, few manufacturers say what the latency implications of their products are, Waves being a notable exception.

So your bass amp plugin is presumably coded to create as little internal latency as possible, which is what you'd expect from a competently written amp emulator because it's very likely to be monitored through the DAW.

As for mixers, an RME UFX is basically a 12 input channel (8 line, 4 mic/line), 8 hardware output channel digital mixer controlled by their Totalmix software which looks and behaves like a high-end traditional mixing console with a huge number of routing possibilities, comprehensive eq and dynamics, basic reverb and delay and the ability to further inputs and outputs via ADAT plus SP/DIF. Which can be configured as a rack mount live mixer controlled by an iPad if you want. Their mic pres are also pretty good as it happens.

I have the RME UFX and would highly recommend it. 

I've used an RME Fireface 800 since Windows XP and now on OSX and it's been relatively problem free. I say relatively because there was some issue at one point with corrosion on the line inputs. It was a known issue and RME fixed it for free. But as far as software goes it's been good.
 
Even though the preamps at the time where supposed to be pretty good, I've found them to be very flat and dead sounding compared to a Tascam M2600 which is only a very average mixing console. I really don't use the mic pre's on the RME.
 
As far as A/D conversion I really can't tell a difference between the analog signal and the digitized conversion. So that's good.
 
Latency for soft synths has never been a problem.
 
I would not have any issues with purchasing another RME.

I've used a a few interfaces over the years: M-Audio 2496, EMU 1212M, Roland V-Studio 700, ESI Juli@, and now an RME Babyface. And the RME is far and away the best I've ever worked with in regards to stability, sound, efficiency and ease of use. I am a total convert to RME, and I can't see me buying anything else going forward. 

• RME
• MOTU is a close second

 
Both RME and MOTU offer low round-trip latency.
 
RME audio interfaces are more expensive, but it's the type of interface that'll last a decade... and you won't give it a second thought.

Lynx