edirol fa-101

feyshay · Post by **feyshay** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:59 pm

I have a UA25 and have been very happy with it. Whereas I had had an M-Audio device before that and found it unstable.
I've been looking at the FA101. I need another device for a different work area and need a few more inputs. I've looked at the Firebox but wonder if the amount of inputs would be limiting. I'm so tempted by the FA101.

gomi · Post by **gomi** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 11:03 pm

j wrote: And finally, it makes my pbook buzz , but once I start up Live that goes away. You can also get rid of the buzz using the CHUD tools that come with OSX. This has been discussed on the OSXaudio site (hardware forum?). Could this have been solved with newer pbooks? I don't know...
No driver issues what so ever. That is unless the cpu hit is a driver issue. I don't know...That's one thing about drivers being "native", I have mixed feelings because then any development is up to Apple (I guess) and that may not be a big priority for them (i dunno). Having said that, the unit is always recognized and stable.

what kind of cpu hit are you taking? is it measurable?

i will check out the osxaudio forum aswell.

D K · Post by **D K** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 3:41 am

hello again.
with a blank file and the fa101 set at 16/44.1,
live reads a 3% cpu increase.
obviously, this will increase further depending upon how many ins/outs
you use. i had no buzzing issues except for the ground loop caused by the power
adaptor.
d

oh yeah, it's mac

gomi · Post by **gomi** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:09 am

D K wrote:hello again.
with a blank file and the fa101 set at 16/44.1,
live reads a 3% cpu increase.
obviously, this will increase further depending upon how many ins/outs
you use. i had no buzzing issues except for the ground loop caused by the power
adaptor.
d

oh yeah, it's mac

i could probably live with that.
thanks for your help!

anyone wanna buy an m-audio 410 hahah

j · Post by j » Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:31 am

uh...don't want to hijack the thread but DK, really like what you guys are doin (itz so the direction I want to go) and am a big fan in general of a bunch of the bands you guys are playing with(Q AND NOT U/FUGAZI). right on.

Will look to see you out in SF/Oakland area and will also look forward to the visuals.

I'm curious what your're latency/buffer setting is.

Thanks/Regards,
j

D K · Post by **D K** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:58 am

thanks...
never actually played with fugazi, i think...
although robert fripp just confirmed the big chill,
what an honor to be on a bill with him!
anyway, we should be touring the west coast in sept,
check the site for dates.
latency for me is acceptable at 3ms in/3ms out,
i forget the exact buffer, maybe 236.
cheers
d

j · Post by j » Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:05 am

jeez, you're gettin WAY better latency than me....hmmm lot to learn here...what are the specs on your mac?

ya I definitely will come out when you come through!!!...sorry for the gush on the Dischord/Fugazi thing...just a big fan.

Thanks,
j

D K · Post by **D K** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:18 am

it's a 1.33gz 17" powerbook...
hmm, that latency/buffer may be at a 96k setting, which i use when processing
external signals as well...i go back and forth alot, haven't come up with a standard use setting for live or the fa101, soooo many options and capabilities!
the unit is in transit right now so i'll double check when it catches up with me...
you can still run live at 44.1 and have the interface at a higher rate for faster throughput processing..
cheers
d

gomi · Post by **gomi** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:07 pm

D K wrote: latency for me is acceptable at 3ms in/3ms out,
i forget the exact buffer, maybe 236.
cheers
d

perfect!
thanks so much for the information.

Bazz · Post by **Bazz** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 7:45 am

I think there's a CPU/Latency issue with slower Macs and the FA-101.

Firstly ther is no driver as such for the FA-101 and OS X. It runs under the Firewire upgrade that came as part of Panther.

I've got a 1Ghz iMac with 750 megs of RAM. If I try to get any less than 7ms & 5ms latency the sound breaks up badly! In addition the CPU hit over the internal audio is substantial.

Given comments I've seen elsewhere I think that it's not CPU load as such but a minimum speed thats required to get it to run acceptably.

Sound quality is good but I'd have to say that I'm finding it a little frustrating.

Bazz

phunktion · Post by **phunktion** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:44 am

i got a fa-101 when i got my laptop(1.8ghz pentium M). i'm pretty happy with it. i can get my latency down to 2ms i get an occasional pop and click when the cpu gets above 60%, but nothing major. droping it to 4ms its rock solid.

heaphone monitor only lets you hear the 1/2 outputs..so using 3/4 as your mains lets you use 1/2 as a cue. the driver software is kinda basic..and doesnt let you see the latencies your setting but it gets the job done.

kimyo · Post by **kimyo** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 2:20 am

i just got the fa-101 - very good initial impression....more to follow shortly.