Windows 8 sound latency monotoring live recording

skahaskaha

New Member
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For all of you experiencing a sound lag while trying tomonitor a live recording in Windows 8, all this talk of updating drivers andtweaking what not is pure B.S. I havedone extensive research on this issue that first reared its ugly head with the onsetof window 7 (the problem did not exist in XP or Vista) at that time thousandsof musicians actually signed a petition that was sent to Microsoft asking themto deal with this issue… THERE IS STILL NO FIX!!! The problem is in the OSitself and the way it processes an analog signal into digital… After severalexcruciating mind numbing calls to the upper reaches of the Ganges River where customer serviceis apparently located (and no one there knew what the hell I was talking aboutanyway)… I finally reached a tech that was actually located in the good old USAand he confirmed my suspicions that there is absolutely nothing that can bedone until Microsoft issues an upgrade to the OS itself… until that day comes (ifever) you will not be able to monitor a live recording in real time withoutbeing subjected to a significant time lag…:mad: Your only choice is go retro with Vista or XP or dump Microsoft all together and go with a Mac...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I have a recording studio. We "fight" latency issues regularly. The latency issues have been there since before Windows XP, its not something that started with any particular OS.

BTW, Vista handles audio functions the same as Win 7. XP handled some audio functions differently but nothing that affected (recording studio) latency.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
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    i7 6700K
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    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
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    16 Gb G Skill TridentZ DDR4 3400
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    Sonar Platinum 64 bit recording studio software with MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface unit.
There may have very well been some live sound monitoring latency issues prior to XP... However I was not aware of them as they did not appear in my home studio until I went from Vista to Windows 8 while all off the other components involved remained unchanged... I have even tried several different sound cards and followed members tweaking advice on other threads regarding this issue and they were all to no avail...etc...etc... It was Microsoft that informed me that the issue is with the OS and a fix should be forthcoming in 8.1...Here is one of many petitions sent to Microsoft regarding the issue that started with Windows 7... If the problem does not reside within the OS as you claim then there is a fix and I'm all ears if you care to share your secret...

Windows 7 Line-In/Recording Latency Petition
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I don't use the internal sound card for my recording studio, I use a separate recording interface unit, as do most studios. My main interface is a Roland Octa-Capture 8 channel USB connected device. I also have a backup, an MAudio Fastrack Ultra 8R, also USB connected. I use Sonar X2 Producer for the recording program. I've used Sonar since XP, with an external recording interface unit.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
    Memory
    16 Gb G Skill TridentZ DDR4 3400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel (i7 CPU)
    Sound Card
    RealTek Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" Dell SE2717HR
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    500GB Samsung 850 SSD, 3TB for backups
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 750 G2
    Case
    BeQuiet Silent Base 600
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    Deepcool Captain 120EX
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    Microsoft Wireless
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    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Cable - 100MB Downlink
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    Antivirus
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    Other Info
    Sonar Platinum 64 bit recording studio software with MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface unit.
I don't use the integrated sound card as my primary studio either... I use a Zoom HD 16 for multitracking and use the PC with Cool Edit Pro for editing...etc... It was while I was in the editing mode on the PC (I sometimes over dub solo's, background vocals, etc... via line in) that I noticed the live time lag... All of your above information is nice but it does not address the time lag issue... I have simply gone with a outboard mixer connected to the line in to bypass the problem while dubbing...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
There are some nice USB recording interface units. Roland Duo-Capture, Focusrite Scarlet 2 channel, etc. I realize it will cost $$ but they will help to eliminate the latency issues. I would consider one of these, or something similar, if you are serious about recording. My Roland Octa-Capture's latency is around 6ms which does not affect any recording issues for me for overdubbing, adding instruments, vocals, etc.

Getting away from the PC sound "cards" will make life easier in recording.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
    Memory
    16 Gb G Skill TridentZ DDR4 3400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel (i7 CPU)
    Sound Card
    RealTek Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" Dell SE2717HR
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    500GB Samsung 850 SSD, 3TB for backups
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 750 G2
    Case
    BeQuiet Silent Base 600
    Cooling
    Deepcool Captain 120EX
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Cable - 100MB Downlink
    Browser
    Edge/Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft
    Other Info
    Sonar Platinum 64 bit recording studio software with MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface unit.
What i did was change my power setting to high performance and the latency issue went away. I was too frustrated with the latency, that actually fixed my issue
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Professional
Great work, and thanks for the post, there is another member here who was aggravated with a similar issue with microphone delay, Ill find his post and suggest the power plan fix, giving you credit..
 

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    Windows 8 & Windows 7 Dual Boot
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    HP G60
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    3 GB
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Although the power plan fixed this one instance, it won't fix all. I see too many posts about latency on recording forums, even with PC's that have been "tuned" for recording. Internal PC sound cards seem to be the worst.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
    Memory
    16 Gb G Skill TridentZ DDR4 3400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel (i7 CPU)
    Sound Card
    RealTek Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" Dell SE2717HR
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    500GB Samsung 850 SSD, 3TB for backups
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 750 G2
    Case
    BeQuiet Silent Base 600
    Cooling
    Deepcool Captain 120EX
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Cable - 100MB Downlink
    Browser
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    Antivirus
    Microsoft
    Other Info
    Sonar Platinum 64 bit recording studio software with MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface unit.
Found this somewhere and it works!

Hi,I think found of a solution to our problem. (Maybe it is a workaround but it works)
I wanted to use my USB wireless microphone just to sing and to hear my own voice so I searched without luck for days for some sort of a program or driver.
I understand that if microphone is connected through USB to my PC
And My PC is connected through HDMI to receiver which has all the speakers attached,
so no way the analog signal from microphone can go all the way to speakers without being converted to digital and than back to analogue.
So the only way is to minimize signal conversion delay as much as it is possible.
Luckily one guy wrote audio repeater program.
Virtual Audio Cable Home Page
Here is direct link:
http://software.muzychenko.net/vac410.zip
Simply unzip file, DO NOT INSTALL the application. You are only interested in 1 file. There are 2 folders x64 and x86.
They have identical content (audiorepeater.exe and audiorepeater_ks.exe)
I have Windows 7 64 bit, so I selected x64 of audiorepeater.exe.
There select:
input device - (USB Microphone)
output device - (ATI HDMI output)
local buffer - (50 ms)
priority (realtime)
These settings might differ (depending on how fast is your hardware)
Press start. And ... voilà, you can hear yourself almost without any delay. In my case this works fine with karaoke software.
I tried audiorepeater_ks.exe and set all the settings as with audiorepeater.exe but when I start karaoke software I don't hear music. Only my voice.
If somebody could get this working let me know how. Apparently audiorepeater_ks.exe is a bit faster as it uses some kernel options (Need to be verified)
Sergey
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 660
Gotta lol sometimes about misinformation as in the OP.

I have a home based studio, based on the MOTU Traveler which I have been using perfectly for over five years, dual and sometimes triple booting with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

No issues to speak of. Not even the slightest, on any.

The main key to smooth sailing on 7 for firewire units, is to install the IEEE 1394 driver already on the system with "Legacy" in its name.

For 8, you'd have to import that driver from 7. Nothing terribly difficult, but gotta know what you're doing. Anyone needing help, let me know.

Windows never was, is not now, and never will be designed as a real-time operating system. That being said, it still performs beautifully as the basis for any home studio. Latencies still can be kept lower than recognizable, in any case.

Keep hardware drivers up to date, and leave software with unnecessary drivers such as things like TuneUp Utilities (to give an example) off of the machine.
 

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  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
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    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
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    Intel DQ965MT
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I think I fixed some of the latency problems by turning on HPET mode in BIOS and windows. It's worth looking into that !!!
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
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    Asus Prime x470 Pro
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    16GB Kingston 3600
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I think I fixed some of the latency problems by turning on HPET mode in BIOS and windows. It's worth looking into that !!!

heh, latency has a different meaning to musicians and live recording compared to computer dudes.

In computing, like you mean it, it's probably in relation to deferred procedure calls. i.e. dpc latency

For musicians, when the term is thrown around, generally what is being discussed is the time it takes to strike a note, and to hear it from the speakers, after the audio went through the audio interface, processed by the pc and returned to the audio interface for export to amp or similar. After about 10-15 ms, a very trained and sensitive person will just begin to start to notice. The average person would be sensitive to it only at a far greater time length than that.

DPC latency is also of a concern, naturally, so good on you for finding something that seems to be working out well for ya.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DQ965MT
    Memory
    Hyundai 2 GB DDR2 @ 333 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Hard Drives
    1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W
    Cooling
    stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
    Keyboard
    Alienware/Microsoft Internet kb
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    Optimum Online, fast for US
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky integrated into ZoneAlarm+Antivirus
Thanks for clarifying that, it is somewhat a HW/SW issue with computers so it might help with PC programs for musik too. I was avare of HPET table problems with micro stuttering and latency problems and toyed with that but did not know that Windows did not turn it on automatically but to activate it one has to insert line :
"bcdedit /set useplatformclock true (then reboot) enable HPET
bcdedit /deletevalue useplatformclock (then reboot) disable HPET"
into Elevated Commend Prompt to enable or disable it. In some BIOSs there is also option for 32 or 64 bit table so it should be set according to OS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
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    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
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