Latency issue w/ syncing two or more computers

[aminderm455]

My drummer and I currently play shows where we sync our macs via a gigabit ethernet switch, in which I have the master bpm (using a macbook) and his macbook pro follows mine when I hit play. We have tried other methods like basic ethernet, wireless, and midi (via my firebox to his audio box) and the ethernet switch seems to have the least amount of latency.

Regardless, it is not perfect and there are often issues during shows. We have noticed that since he is on slave mode, his audio is often degraded in quality (especially with plug-ins playing midi notes, but also even with flattened audio clips on beats and complex mode). Also, there can be strange warping issues, where his audio loses tempo and gets way off (usually speeds up ALOT) and then immediately catches back up. This is a problem because it is often loud and obvious.

The most problematic issue is when one of our macs gets a bit off tempo from the other and they stay this way, even after stopping and starting the song and even restarting ableton/macs. I think I troubleshooted this down to my axiom midi controller's loose input that was connecting and reconnecting causing a glitch.

We are both running the most recent update of live 8 and both run up to 6 usb devices, requiring a powered hub for both systems.

Can anyone suggest any techniques or methods in avoiding some of these issues (other than simply syncing computers manually like a dj may)?
Thanks!

Side note- I have read tons of posts on this with not a whole lot of gratifying advice or methods> I heard even glitch mob was having these problems pretty badly.

[sitonka]

Hi aminderm455
Did you ever resolve your latency issue? I have just started using the ethernet sync functionality and find tempo to jump around