Dj mixing and CUE in my headphones are slightly off.

[gravtrax]

I hope someone can help
My set up is 2x cd decks,digital mixer, USB studio monitors and citronic ac-1usb using on vista..
I have been using this same set up for about 2 years and it has been pretty much plug and play, No big changes to settings.
I had a move recently and since then the set up has not been running correctly.
I get a slight hum (not too big of a problem..adjusting different volumes here and there)
And now my biggest problem is when cueing and trying to mix...There is a slight delay.
Sadly , seeing i have never touch the settings ..I do not recall exactly what i was used for recording and playback.
realtek+audacity only reads my "recording"as USB audio codec (i do not remember if this was my original output...i dont think so)
Sorry for the long story..but it has been driving me nuts..trying to fix.
Thanks..I hope someone can help....I think ive tried everything.

[kozikowski]

USB Audio Codec is how your citronic digitizer would appear. That's perfectly normal. All of my 'simple' audio USB devices appear the same. It allows plug and play without installing software.

Unfortunately, the delay you have now is perfectly normal, too. I would have said what you had before is unusual. You will not get a delay if you monitor at the mixer or the Citronic. The delay comes when the computer has to think about the sound going in and then coming back out again. That's always going to take some time.

If you have software that has or employs ASIO software or drivers, you can reduce the delay to the point where you could probably deal with it, but without that, this is what "one computer delay" sounds like and it's burned into hardware.

This is what it would look like for zero-delay recording -- and overdubbing which is where this picture is from.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/ ... Lenovo.jpg

As a rule, you can't plug headphones into the computer. This is the magic place where a computer is not a Digital Audio Workstation.

Koz

[kozikowski]

This is the thing we wrote on multi-track and overdubbing. Those people have the same problem you do.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Tuto ... k_Overdubs

Koz

[gravtrax]

Thanks, I'll keep looking around.
I can't understand what could be wrong...I am using my dj mixer for cueingand going thru citronic usb to the comp. and coming out of the speakers..never had the delay problem after 2 years..
The "codec" i had mention was originally a mic input that i renamed and set to stereo. But still never made changes until now.

[steve]

USB mixer?
Going from one USB device (the mixer), through the computer software and out through another USB device (the speakers) will always have a delay, mostly due to the time it takes for the signal to be passed on by the software (software is a lot slower than hardware).
How are you cueing up the tracks? Where are your headphones plugged in?
When cueing you need to be monitoring both the currently playing track and the new track from the same device, for example if monitor both from the mixer then there will be no delay, or if you monitor both from the USB speakers then there will be exactly the same delay for both tracks. The problem will occur if you are monitoring the current track from one device (the USB speaker) and the new track from a different device (the mixer).

[kozikowski]

The "codec" i had mention was originally a mic input that i renamed and set to stereo.

Please don't do that to us. Mic Input on what? Renamed how? If you had been using the analog inputs and outputs of your computer and you switched to a USB interface, then the system delay is likely to go up. Any time the computer has to think about (process) the show, it takes time.

There are conditions on a Windows machine where you can manage almost a pure pathway with no delays, but it only happens with the build-in audio card and then only certain ones. Koz

[gravtrax]

Sorry, Maybe im not explaining well enough due to freaking out over it..lol
CD decks connected to -
DDM4000 digital mixer. - phones connected to ddm4000 (normal dj set up.
Out from the mixer to citronic AC-1usb.
sound settings -recording says: "usb audio codec" (which was labeled "microphone" mono which i set to stereo and renamed it)
playback says: speakers usb codec.( which i have not had to change anything)

For over 2 years i had never had a problem...Like i said it was pretty much plug and play..
Now.....as soon as i play the decks.goes through the mixer to computer fine ..but i am NOW hearing a delay trying to CUE (used to be perfectly in sync with each other)
In any case...alot of people mix this way into audacity...Even if i am getting the delay..How do DJs/musicians (that record intrument over other instruments keeping time) get rid of the delay?
I know now it's just my sound card or settings (which at first when this problem occured i did change settings)
I hope that's clear enough...Just at the end of my rope here...
Thanks for your help big time.

[steve]

Sorry, Maybe im not explaining well enough due to freaking out over it..lol

Have a nice cup of tea, a few deep breaths, and reeeelaaax, then we'll see if we can offer some constructive help

• CD decks connected to - DDM4000 digital mixer.
• Phones connected to DDM4000
• Out from the mixer to citronic AC-1usb.
• Device Toolbar - Recording: "usb audio codec"
• Device Toolbar - Playback: speakers usb codec.

At the moment I can't see how that would have ever worked without a noticeable delay.
If you were previously using Audacity 1.2.6 there would probably have been a shorter delay because Audacity 1.2.6 used lower latency settings, but there would still have been a delay. (The latency setting was increased in Audacity 1.3.x because the lower setting caused too many problems on too many sound cards for too many users).

The problem is that there is no direct signal route (no wire) connecting the citronic AC-1usb to the USB speakers. The signal from the mixer has to go through the citronic AC-1usb, then get routed by the software through to the USB speakers. That takes time so there will always be a delay between the signal going into the computer and the signal coming back out again. If you are monitoring the mixer with your headphones, it will always be a bit ahead of the sound coming out through the USB speakers.

For over 2 years i had never had a problem

So what exactly has changed? It can't just be an update from Audacity 1.3.14 to Audacity 2.0 because the delay would be pretty much the same in both cases.

[gravtrax]

Thanks for your help.
I have been tring different things...
I have no clue what had changed.. Over 2 years of plug and play/record..I guess was just lucky...LOL
Now i have just changed my set up differently,
Mixer directly to my studio monitors and another output from my mixer to Audacity for recording...
Just trying to get a crisp sound now..
Again.. Big thanks on your help.