Random driver compensation values

eventide · Post by **eventide** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:18 pm

As mentioned in this thread

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... mpensation

I got seroius problems with the driver compensation. The value changes from project to project or minute to minute. It´s pretty weird, because the values differ every time.

When I set a value the compensation works fine for a period of time and than my recordings are late or getting early again!!!

What do I use?

Intel Mac Pro Quad 2.66 - Live 6.07 - built in audio card (TosLink/SPDIF) - Mindprint TRIO

Maybe someone got a hint for me!

Eventide

Amaury · Post by **Amaury** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:37 am

Hi,

Do you use some aggregate device or such? Is there any such 'device' turned ON in the Audio/MIDI setup?

The driver error compensation is meant to correct a wrong value that a sound card would report to the OS. Some quality cards report just the right value for their latency, and so there is no need to set Driver Error Compensation. Some card don't, and we offer to correct it. But a 'changing' error sound strange. At least, we would hear from the people owning the same computer as yours, as it is quite popular. That is why I would think the problem lies somewhere else.

You could give a very detailed description of your setup, both hardware and software, includeing the Mac OSX Audio/MIDI utilities.

Regards,
Amaury

samusaran · Post by **samusaran** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:47 pm

im having the same problem. its driving me bug f*ck insane. ive got an intel macbook with osx 10.4 ... using an mbox, i run the test in the tutorials for driver error compensation. the waveform being recorded is about 39ms late, i adjust the latency compensation in the preferences like it says to. i open a project with about 20 audio tracks, i run the test with that set open and the delay is crazy, like 90ms! i adjust the preferences again and do the test once more. its lined up fine.

however, repeated runs of the test in that same set reveal that the latency increases every few times. literally jumping right before my eyes. thought it was maybe the ol mbox crapping out but when i tested it on my friend's m-audio mobilepre i got similar results. no plug-ins on the track im recording to, and no aggregate devices. i try it out on several different sets and the same thing happens, at completely random values.

kinda thought i was losin my mind for a second there but im slightly reassured of my sanity by reading other folks woes with the same issue. wtf is up ??? this is nearly unworkable!! i just bought live a week ago to use as a multitracker and its becoming a huge headache to have to line up every dang track...

Amaury · Post by **Amaury** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 9:40 am

samusaran wrote:im having the same problem. its driving me bug f*ck insane. ive got an intel macbook with osx 10.4 ... using an mbox, i run the test in the tutorials for driver error compensation. the waveform being recorded is about 39ms late, i adjust the latency compensation in the preferences like it says to. i open a project with about 20 audio tracks, i run the test with that set open and the delay is crazy, like 90ms! i adjust the preferences again and do the test once more. its lined up fine.

however, repeated runs of the test in that same set reveal that the latency increases every few times. literally jumping right before my eyes. thought it was maybe the ol mbox crapping out but when i tested it on my friend's m-audio mobilepre i got similar results. no plug-ins on the track im recording to, and no aggregate devices. i try it out on several different sets and the same thing happens, at completely random values.

kinda thought i was losin my mind for a second there but im slightly reassured of my sanity by reading other folks woes with the same issue. wtf is up ??? this is nearly unworkable!! i just bought live a week ago to use as a multitracker and its becoming a huge headache to have to line up every dang track...

Hello,

I do understand your frustration, but that is more of a Core Audio driver problem than a software problem. Do you use the latest Core Audio driver from Digidesign? Is it supporting Mac OSX 10.4? Can you make sure?

Regards,
Amaury

samusaran · Post by **samusaran** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 3:46 am

hey thanks for the reply! yeah, i can confirm that this seems to be an issue with core audio. i installed live on my old 2ghz celeron pc i bought in 2004 and did the latency test in demo mode and it worked perfectly. i've got the latest core audio drivers and updated to osx 10.4.10 but still having issues on the mac. my new macbook's gettin schooled by a 3 year old pc! wha? hope they fix this soon!!!

edit: still having problems with the midi latency when monitoring however

Amaury · Post by **Amaury** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 7:54 am

samusaran wrote:hey thanks for the reply! yeah, i can confirm that this seems to be an issue with core audio. i installed live on my old 2ghz celeron pc i bought in 2004 and did the latency test in demo mode and it worked perfectly. i've got the latest core audio drivers and updated to osx 10.4.10 but still having issues on the mac. my new macbook's gettin schooled by a 3 year old pc! wha? hope they fix this soon!!!

edit: still having problems with the midi latency when monitoring however

Hi,

To experience the best when recording soft synth, you should ensure that:

-you have the smallest possible latency in the Audio Preferences, and in the Plugin latency chooser in the CPU tab of the Preferences ('same as audio buffer') generally works best).
-Then make sure there are no devices on the path of the track you are recording to to add too big latencies, such as compressors with a look ahead, convolution devices..
-If Delay compensation is ON in Live, make sure the track you are recording is directly routed to the MAster track, and not to another track, so the play-through is 'optimized', meaning that you don't experience the latency of the whole set.

Regards,
Amaury