How to get zero latency (delay) with Delta 1010 rack

[Bearfanmike20]

I have a Delta 1010 pci recording rack unit.

I should be able to record and monitor that recording without any latency (delay) but for some reason I cant figure out how to get that to work.

I've done "latency correction" in Audacity and I've used the M audio control panel to set up the rack. From everything I've read I should have real time monitoring of what I'm playing or singing but... I still have the delay.

What am I missing??

[kozikowski]

Latency Delay is the difference between hearing a playback from disk and recording a new track, it's not hearing yourself. Self Sound monitoring is computer or sound system delay and it's fixed. The only way to change it is to change the computer or sound system. That's why monitoring your own voice from the Sound Equipment instead of the computer is a big deal. On some computers that's required.

Koz

[Bearfanmike20]

Latency Delay is the difference between hearing a playback from disk and recording a new track, it's not hearing yourself. Self Sound monitoring is computer or sound system delay and it's fixed. The only way to change it is to change the computer or sound system. That's why monitoring your own voice from the Sound Equipment instead of the computer is a big deal. On some computers that's required.

Koz

Ok.. makes sense...

I'm not sure if you are familiar with the Delta rack but it is actual hardware. Its an 8 channel recording device that is wired into a pci slot.

My computer is a dual core celeron procesor with 2 gigs of ram and a sata hd so it should have all the speed and power to do this.

But my next question would be... this. For every channel on the delta there is an out "monitoring" channel. So basically what your saying is that if i'm experiencing the delay its probably something in the Delta rack itself.. right??

[kozikowski]

My computer is a dual core celeron procesor with 2 gigs of ram and a sata hd so it should have all the speed and power to do this.

Only a Celeron? Only 2 GB ram? Actually, the machine speed may have nothing to do with this, It's the sound pathway and processing that counts. The more the computer has to stop and think about it, the later the sound gets.

Where are you monitoring the show? the problem is you need to monitor your own voice and you do that on the Delta monitoring points, but I'm betting you can't hear the music bed if you do that.

That's why many people step up to a real mixer -- outside of the computer -- to do work like you're doing. The Mixing Desk does two jobs: It amplifies your voice and prepares it for application to Audacity. It also accepts the Audacity music bed playback and mixes it with the live microphone and that's the one you listen to. The voice copy you listen to never goes into the computer and is never late.

It's that second mix job that usually kills people. I wrote a review of the Shure X2U. There are three controls on that device. The microphone volume, the headphone volume, and the return volume.

You set the last two for a pleasant mix in your headphones. The thing has little or no live monitor latency, and I adjust Audacity 1.3.12 for show latency.

I don't know if the Delta has any provision for doing that. Consult your instructions.

Koz

[Trebor]

Consult your instructions.

Allegedly "Zero latency monitoring" but the manual is like something from NASA ...

M-Audio Delta1010 block diagram (manual p7).png (9.34 KiB) Viewed 4914 times

http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/ma ... Manual.pdf

[kozikowski]

The fuzzy impression I get from the instruction book is you're missing part of the show. This thing takes care of the digital input/output and is intended to be used with a mixer. The mixer performs all the local monitoring, not the Delta. Page 7.

Koz

[kozikowski]

As near as I can tell, the Delta doesn't do any analog management or switching at all, and that's what you need for zero latency real-time monitoring. Once the show goes to digital bits you have to deal with A/D and D/A delays.

Koz