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Originally posted by cryophonik If you don't have any hardware gear, like synths, or guitars, or microphones that you need to record audio from, then you really don't need any inputs. But, most budget soundcards will have at least a few inputs and a mic preamp and it's good to have a few just in case. If your computer has a FireWire port, I'd look at the Focusrite Saffire 6. If not, you can always add a FireWire card, or look at the Scarlett series if you want to stick with USB. I'm sure other people here will have some better advice and more experience with some of the less expensive soundcards. But, I would say to not skimp on the soundcard - buy the best one you can afford that has enough ins/outs for your current and near-future needs (e.g., if you plan on adding a hardware synth, or think you might eventually plan on recording guitars or vocals). Fortunately, most entry level cards from the most popular brands will have several inputs, and at least one pair of speaker outputs plus a headphone amp.

thanks! ill look into the Scarlett series, this will help with latency also right?

Assuming that the latency problem is due to your integrated sound card, then yes, a dedicated sound card should give you better performance, lower latency, better audio quality, etc.

Just out of curiosity, at what point are you starting to get unusable performance due to latency, or audio crackles/dropouts, etc.? What buffer settings are you using?

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quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Assuming that the latency problem is due to your integrated sound card, then yes, a dedicated sound card should give you better performance, lower latency, better audio quality, etc. Just out of curiosity, at what point are you starting to get unusable performance due to latency, or audio crackles/dropouts, etc.? What buffer settings are you using?

it says 512 samples on asio , so 12ms im guessing

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Originally posted by Newty it says 512 samples on asio , so 12ms im guessing

512 is pretty high - that would explain the latency. Can you lower it without getting audio hiccups?

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Originally posted by cryophonik 512 is pretty high - that would explain the latency. Can you lower it without getting audio hiccups?

do you have skype? if so, add nathanhall85 this would speed up the process.

What do you mean by audio hiccups? like skipping once in a while? what should i try putting the buffer at?

I get this to at times. Usually its like popping and crackling noises

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Phil

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Yup, what scorpradio said. Try lower buffer settings and go as low as you can before it starts to pop, crack, stutter, etc. on playback. Start by putting it at the lowest value and you'll see what I mean....actually, you might get an audio dropout and not even play back at all. That's ok, just increase it until it works ok.

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quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik Yup, what scorpradio said. Try lower buffer settings and go as low as you can before it starts to pop, crack, stutter, etc. on playback. Start by putting it at the lowest value and you'll see what I mean....actually, you might get an audio dropout and not even play back at all. That's ok, just increase it until it works ok.

i thought the crackling and popping was the latency, thats what i meant by lag lol.

Anyways tried putting the buffer down and it helps just a tiny bit

Oh well, time for a soundcard.

Hey Newty, I replied to your PM, but I'll post it here as well, since others may want to read it, or add to it:

The crackles are due to your CPU getting hammered and it's sorta the opposite of latency. The trick is trying to find a buffer size that achieves that balance and you probably have to switch your buffer settings depending on where you're at in the production process.

Latency is the delay that occurs at higher buffer settings. In other words, if you play a note on your MIDI keyboard or record a sound into your DAW, there is a momentary delay between hitting the note or triggering a sound and hearing it out of your speakers. At high buffer settings, the delay (latency) is increased (longer) - this makes it hard to play in time or, if you're recording vocals for example, the vocals will come through the headphones several ms after they're sung and will throw the vocalist off time, annoy the hell out of him/her, etc.

At low buffer settings, the latency is short. So, if you're running your buffer setting at, say, 64, you shouldn't hear any delay. But, it's putting more strain on your CPU to use a small buffer size. So, when you're early in the production process and you're depending on playing your keyboard or recording something and hearing it playback instantaneously, you want to use a lower buffer setting. As your project builds in size (esp. adding CPU-heavy plugins like reverbs), your CPU will start to get hammered at low buffer settings, and you'll start to hear clicks/pops and/or get audio dropouts. So, you need to raise your buffer settings to take some strain off the CPU.

tldr: early in the project stage when creativity/performance or recording is the primary goal, use a low buffer size (i.e., low latency/manageable CPU hit); increase the buffer size as the project progresses and you get more into the mixing stage (i.e., higher latency/smaller CPU hit).

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Curious as I am in nearly the same predicament.
I am going to purchase the focusrite 2I2 because I am not needing any inputs. Question though. When I get this interface, will I need at least one input for adding my midi controller/keyboard?

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Phil

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Originally posted by scorpradio Curious as I am in nearly the same predicament. I am going to purchase the focusrite 2I2 because I am not needing any inputs. Question though. When I get this interface, will I need at least one input for adding my midi controller/keyboard?

That unit doesn't have midi on board, so your keyboard won't occupy that and hopefully it's USB anyway (as 95% are). If it's a synth or rompler then It will take up 2 analogue ins on the soundcard.

What keyboard is it?

Thanks Rann,

Its a Roland EDIROL usb midi.
So, in essence, because I wont be hooking anything like a mic or other instruments...it should be ok then?

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Phil

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