Hey all,

I'm running Sonar Platinum on a Windows 10 Pro laptop. I just got an Alesis DM7X electronic drum kit. When striking the pads, there is a significant delay between that and when I hear the tone in my headphones. It is worse when using the laptop's native sound card via MME. It is better, but still not acceptable, when using the ASIO driver and my Behringer X(R)18 mixing board and digital software. The X (R)18 connects to the laptop via a USB 2.0 cable. The DM7X connects the same way.

I still have Sonar Professional installed, and experience the same problem. I've been reading the documentation online and can't seem to identify which parameters in Properties might fix this.

FWIW, the laptop is a Lenovo IBM ThinkPad, i7 processor running at 2.8 GHz. Windows is installed on a 250GB SSD, there is 6 or 8 GB of RAM, and the data drive is 2TB, with 5400 rpm. Both drives are relatively new and mostly empty.

Any suggestions?

Scott

Are you input monitoring the DM7X's sound module through SONAR or playing a soft synth? If playing a soft synth, you'll only have to worry about Output latency, but if you're monitoring the DM7X through SONAR, you'll have to deal with Total Roundtrip time reported in Preferences > Audio > Driver Settings. Also, if you're driving the DM7X via MIDI echoed through SONAR (usually the preferred setup), that will double the MIDI transmission delay vs. playing a soft synth. MIDI transmission time isn't usually a big deal, but it depends on the speed of the interface and it all adds up.
 
So clarify the MIDI and Audio routing, and let us know the ASIO buffer size and Total Roundtrip latency. You should also measure the actual RTL using the free CEntrance latency tester, to see if the reported value is accurate. Often there is hidden latency that needs to be compensated by adding a Manual Offset. This won't reduce the real-time monitoring latency, but it will ensure that the latency get properly compensated after recording.
 
http://centrance.com/downloads/ltu/

At the moment, I am playing a soft synth (SI-Drum Kit 1).  I am monitoring the Behringer X(R)18 via headphones. 
 
(((side note:  forgive the really basic question, but there's all this talk about native sound cards on computers usually being very slow contributing to latency.  The X(R)18 itself *is* my sound card now, when using ASIO drivers, right?  Isn't that why the drum latency seems less when hearing it with that using the ASIO drivers?  And the punchline question - I *don't* need to go out and get a new sound card to deal with latency issues?)))
 
Here's the ASIO Buffer Size setting:  1024 samples. (USB Streaming Mode:  "Relaxed")
The Reported Latencies are:
 - Input:             25.3 msec, 1216 samples
 - Output:           29.3 msec, 1408 samples
Total Roundtrip:  54.7 msec, 2624 samples
 
This morning after reading your reply, I changed the ASIO Buffer Size to 256 samples and "Low Latency" streaming mode.  That appears to make the latency go almost entirely away.  (512 samples didn't quite eliminate it).  Also, can anyone explain the USB Streaming Mode parameter?  I've never found a good explanation.  But it all clearly has some effect.  The Total Roundtrip is now at 14.7 msec.
 
Is that it?  Is this the ideal solution?  My goal is simply to play using Sonar drumkits (better quality than the Alesis I think - I really see the drumkit only as a midi controller for composing and recording in Sonar.  Similar to the cheap midi keyboard I also run through Sonar and only use soft-synths, not its on-board tones.
 
Also, isn't the trade off to using smaller ASIO Buffer Sizes an increased risk of audio engine dropouts?  I'll have to experiment some more with it.
 
I'll give CEntrance a try and report back.
 
Thanks!

You've got the solution.  When recording (or playing/practicing) you want a low buffer setting.  If you experience dropouts or clicks/pops you can try to turn off some effects (especially ones that look ahead), freeze midi tracks you aren't working on and, as a last resort, increase your buffers.
 
When you go to start mixing, you can increase your buffers so your system can handle more and heavier plug ins.