I have a Saffire pro 40 and I never use zero latency monitoring any more via the mix control app they supply. The latency through Sonar is tiny and perfectly acceptable so I always monitor through Sonar.

I love the Saffire range, drivers are great and stable.

Cheers..

Please consider turning off Intel speed step at BIOS level to see if it makes a difference (or AMD equivalent).


Cheers.

If you haven't already I would download DPC Latency checker run that and see if there are any obvious spikes.
 
I used to use ASIO4ALL on my old Alesis Multimix because of poor ASIO factory drivers and that was a rock solid set up. Alesis did eventually release decent ASIO drivers for it, not long before I upgraded.
 
It's also worth trying lower playback & recording I/O buffers in sync and caching. Buffers not filling quickly enough will also cause problems but that would usually manifest as dropouts rather than stutters.
 
DPC latency is where I'd start though.

ASIO4ALL is best for people using laptops who don't have an external interface. Success with it is hit or miss, sometimes it does the job and sometimes not...MME is the last resort if nothing else works because it's slow and nasty. A good ASIO interface with quality drivers is crucial for a smooth experience.

Folks with laptops often have DPC latency spikes caused by their Wi-Fi adapters, and many folks temporarily disable or shut off their Wi-Fi adapters just prior to launching Sonar, then enable or turn back on the adapter after finishing the Sonar session.
 
If you haven't tried that, well worth testing out.  Lots of laptops have either a little switch somewhere that turns of Wi-Fi, or that is on a Function key.  If neither, than you can quickly and safely go into Windows Device Manager and simply disable the Wi-Fi adapter, then launch Sonar.  After finishing your Sonar session, go back into Windows Device Manager and Enable the adapter again, and all will be just fine.  Do not do an Uninstall of the adapter - just Disable it.
 
Bob Bone
 

Maybe I am confused about what you are saying, but I am pretty sure that the "class compliant" driver Alesis intends to load for your interface is not a 32 bit MME driver. If you are running a 64 bit Sonar on a 64 bit windows you need a 64 bit low latency driver. Since they suggest that you download ASIO4all if you need to use it with an ASIO compliant host, we can be pretty sure it is not ASIO either. What should load is a 64 bit WDM driver. If that is not what you are using you need to back up and figure out how to get that running. Sonar should be fine with a decent WDM driver. Your onboard sound chip probably is the source of the MME driver, that is typical on RealTek chipsets built into motherboards, hence my earlier advice to disable the onboard audio in BIOS at least during troubleshooting.
If you are having trouble identifying the correct driver try the following:
unplug your Alessis interface, and restart your computer
log in to an account in the administrators group
open device manager http://windows.microsoft....here-is-device-manager
go to and expand by clicking sound video and game controllers
make a list of what you see
plug in your USB interface... a new device should appear write down the name the computer is using for your device.
Right click on the device name and click properties to open its properties window. the general tab should say "this device is working properly"..if it shows an error code write it down http://pcsupport.about.co...anager_error_codes.htm
A device can be working properly but still not be using the best driver.
Click the driver tab click driver details and write down what you see for later reference if needed
click "update driver" and then click to have Windows search the computer and the internet for more recent drivers. Manufacturer's of class compliant drivers sometimes put updates on the Windows update website which can be found this way. You will notice a disable button. Do not use the disable button on this device but do use it on all the other audio devices so that your only audio device is the Alessis during troubleshooting. Test your system using the Alesssis as the interface.
 
If you are using the right driver and still have problems, then most likely there is a DPC latency issue. That problem will generally not be solved by buying another interface. Incidentally DPCLatecnyChecker is apparently still not working properly on Windows 8 so LatecyMon is a better choice.

Please don't use ASIO4ALL. Thanks.

slartabartfast
If you are using the right driver and still have problems, then most likely there is a DPC latency issue. That problem will generally not be solved by buying another interface.

I think that sorta depends. An MME driver can be a "right" driver, but not offer good performance. If there's no custom driver written for an interface and it has to use something like MME or ASIO4ALL, that might set the performance limits.
 
I always give ASIO4ALL props for being a valiant attempt to trick Windows into doing something it normally doesn't want to do, but it is by definition a kludge. I've also seen it interfere with other drivers, and for at least a few users the only solution was to uninstall it completely.

I can promise you that ASIO4ALL is better than using some of the Alesis ASIO drivers. I know, I used an Alesis FW12 Multimix for several years, nearly all of which was with ASIO4ALL. Their WDM drivers are okay but all ASIO4ALL is, is a wrapper for WDM drivers so they are treated as ASIO drivers by Sonar.
 
I got better results with ASIO4ALL than I ever did using the ALESIS WDM drivers. Why? I have no idea but it was definitely the better option for me. Lower latency & rock solid performance.
 
Is ASIO4ALL better than decent manufacturers drivers? Definitely not.
 
Is ASIO4ALL better than crappy manufacturers drivers? Definitely yes.

I've actually had pretty good luck using the IO2 Express on my laptop. 
 
A couple of things that I've found important to making it work:
1) delete ASIO4ALL - Use WDM/KS mode.
2) do not share the USB port used for the IO|2 with any other devices or hubs.
3) Do not use with wireless mouse or keyboard.
4) Turn off WiFi with the physical switch, not just software disable
5) Use laptop with power supply - not battery.  Power settings set to best performance when not using battery.
 
Test with all FX disabled.  Surprisingly, some of the FX may lead you to make bad settings decisions on your buffer size.  They can make latency seem worse than it actually is.
 
Glen