• Registered: 2013-12-09
  • Posts: 28

Topic: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

Here we go ....New iPad with latest iOS,  UCX, With Auria, stound stutters crackles , delays and stops when using total mix with Auria. Apps crash and I'm getting hi memory usage warnings with only few tracks in Auria, memory usage spikes and CPU usage spikes. Not very useable  at the mo ...was here before with iPad air but RME guys fixed it! I'm sure you will fix it and is kind of to be expected with new iOS and iPad. Just thought I'd let you guys know...will also let the Auria camp know. Overall  over the last 10 months the UCX has been AND IS  an awesome unit and has been perfect with my MacBook and iPad air.. Bought the iPad Air 2 just for the memory boost and extra CPU powe for Auria . Awesome portable DAW

2 Reply by MC

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Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

Did you update to 8.1? 8.0 seemed to have issues in this regard, but since 8.02 I did not see any high CPU load from TM FX anymore. I saw this with the 'old' iPad Air, but will of course test the 2 with Auria again to verify.

I DID notice that support for external CC interfaces seems to be a bit less reliable than under iOS 7. Sometimes the Core Audio subsystem seems to hang or delay actions of the GUI. Sometimes the connection to the interface gets lost for a few seconds. Un- and replugging the Lightning connector helped. In extreme cases rebooting the iPad might be necessary.

That said seeing the current state of 8.1 I would advise to disable at least WiFi and Bluetooth when using the iPad in CC mode. The next iOS version might fix further things which could mean we don't have to (or can) fix much on our side at this time.

Here is a screenshot of Auria running a multitrack project at 96 kHz via the UCX, with TM FX background mode enabled. It runs like this for hours on my iPad Air, no obvious issues.

http://www.rme-audio.de/images/IMG_0164b.jpg

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

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  • Registered: 2013-12-09
  • Posts: 28

Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

Hi MC,
Yes running 8.1, just seems to have the same kind of trouble I was getting when I first got the UCX and was using the iPad air (1) with Auria and total mix fx about 9 months back was fixed with updates.
If I have the two apps Auria and total mix running  in background mode, whilst I'm in total mix the audio glitches and crashes occur or the audio stops. total mix runs flawlessly with garage band and generally on its own without Auria. I have noticed Auria seems to sometimes get a CPU spike and a CPU warning stops and interrupts play, this occurs also without total mix running. seems to occasionally occur the if  move things on the screen or scroll the time line with Auria projects running at around 50 % CPU, maybe a GPU related with Auria, I have let them know of the issues I'm having.

Thank you MCWill try disabling the wifi and Bluetooth and see if it helps.

  • Registered: 2013-12-09
  • Posts: 28

Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

No... Disabling bluetooth and wireless has no effect... audio Still pops crackles and cuts out.
Disabling the wireless however does stop me writing on this forum wink

5 Reply by MC

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Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

Now is this a good or a bad thing... big_smile

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

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  • Registered: 2013-12-09
  • Posts: 28

Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

Hi MC ,
Just been playing with Cubasis and inter app audio and all working fine with UCX & total mix fx. other people are now reporting similar issues with Auria so it would seem that there is an issue with Auria and Ios8.1. With the CPU spikes and playback stop/ warnings caused by interacting with Aurias GUI I'm guessing when entering the GUI of total mix FX Auria gets very upset indeed!

7 Reply by MC

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Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

As this issue seems to be indentified I would like to add some information in case someone finds this thread. Apparently Apple has problems to handle the new 3 core CPU in the iPad Air 2 efficiently. What looks perfect in standard benchmarks makes several problems in real-world usage. According to Rim, the mastermind behind Auria, Apple has been informed about this and is working on it. Means a version higher than iOS 8.1.1 should provide better real-world performance with the iPad Air 2. There are also many reports about the 2 GB memory not used as efficiently as expected, and some other strange stuff like the need to reboot the Air 2 to get back full performance.

Meanwhile Rim was able to add some workarounds within Auria that even make user Yodasoldier a happy camper again smile

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2013-12-09
  • Posts: 28

Re: IPad air 2 with UCX Auria and Total Mix fx problems

Indeed the latest Auria update seems to of fixed the Auria cpu overload problem and all seems to be working ok. Been doing a fair bit of recording and production over the last few weeks with the UCX on iPad and MacBook pro .. I have owned the UCX almost a year now and I can say it's the finest audio interface I have owned and I've owned and tested quite a few over the years.  Ultra powerful, super portable, amazing sounding and easy to use thanks to the brilliant  total mix fx. It's a keeper for sure!