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Optimisation of Latency

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mumblecake

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Optimisation of Latency

PostThu Apr 16, 2015 12:49 pm

Hi there,

following the article on "The barde" about sound hardware:

http://www.contrebombarde.com/concertha ... ed/limit/6

I started to experiment a bit around to see how far I could push my onboard soundcard with some amazing results which I thought might be interesting to other users on a budget as well.

I first started off with the windows DirectSound drivers. I reduced the buffer to 1024 with a resulting latency of 23.2ms*.

I had previously found a project called ASIO4ALL (first hit on google) which claimed to access about any sound hardware at a very low level, transforming it into an ASIO soundcard.

With these drivers installed I was able to reduce the buffer to the minimum of 256. I also optimised all settings on the driver side for minimum latency and eventually got a latency of 5.8ms* which I find quite incredible for an onboard soundcard. I always thought I had to spend at least $400 for a latency level like this.

This does obviously not change anything about the sound quality you will be getting.

*all latencies as reported by Hauptwerk

P.S. if there is a better place for this please feel free to move the thread
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winelight

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 3:02 am

That's great.

I have done something similar to you, also using ASIO4ALL (in spite of the comment in the Hauptwerk manual!) and am using the built-in sound on a several years old HP, and I get similarly spectacular results. Indeed, this is why I switched to Hauptwerk from jOrgan.
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mdyde

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 3:56 am

Yes -- ASIO4ALL can certainly be better than DirectSound drivers for PC built-in outputs that don't have manufacturer-supplied ASIO drivers. For dedicated semi-pro/pro audio interfaces with manufacturer-supplied ASIO drivers, our experience is that the best performance is usually obtained with the manuacturer's dedicated ASIO driver.

We cover drivers (including ASIO4ALL) and audio interfaces in depth in the 'Technical info' document on the prerequisites page on the website:

https://www.hauptwerk.com/learn-more/requirements/
https://www.hauptwerk.com/clientuploads/documentation/PDF/HauptwerkBackgroundTechnicalInfoOnComputerHardware.pdf
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
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mumblecake

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 6:49 am

Hi Martin,

thanks for that. One of the daunting things when diving into the Hauptwerk world is that there is quite a steep learning (and reading) curve. I simply missed that one.

Now the document recommends to only use non professional grade sound hardware as a temporary measure. I think we can safely assume that everyone roaming this part of the forum is on a budget, considering it's called "Free Edition support". Let's assume for a second that I have managed to save up $600. What shall I spend it on? Pro-grade soundcard or "Hauptwerk Advanced" (continuing to use the consumer grade soundcard)?

What's your opinion on that? ;)

BR Mathis
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mdyde

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 7:20 am

Thanks, BR.

No problem. Glad to hear ASIO4ALL solved it for you anyway.

mumblecake wrote:Let's assume for a second that I have managed to save up $600. What shall I spend it on? Pro-grade soundcard or "Hauptwerk Advanced" (continuing to use the consumer grade soundcard)?


Ha! A dilemma indeed!
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
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mumblecake

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 7:59 am

Hi Martin,

that's not an answer ;)

I for one will first upgrade to HW advanced when the finances allow and only upgrade the sound hardware at a later stage.

BR (= Best Regards) Mathis
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mdyde

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 8:28 am

mumblecake wrote:BR (= Best Regards) Mathis


Thanks and my apologies!
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
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mumblecake

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Re: Optimisation of Latency

PostTue Apr 21, 2015 9:28 am

Haha, no worries.

Great to have your expert support on this forum :)

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