• Registered: 2010-04-29
  • Posts: 3

Topic: RME Fireface 400 DA latency vs external non-RME ADAT DA latency?

Hi, has anyone tried adding a non-RME ADAT DA convertor to a Fireface and checking if the conversion latency matches with the FF400's DA?

I need to add 8 channels of output to my Fireface 400, but before I buy a new 8 channel DA I want to make sure there's latency between the FF400 convertors and the ADAT convertors are going to match.  I have tried using my Lavry ADDA with RME before and the the ADDA conversion latency definitely did not match.

Thanks!

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
  • Offline
  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,599

Re: RME Fireface 400 DA latency vs external non-RME ADAT DA latency?

And why do they have to match? As long as you don't put one channel of a stereo signal on the FF 400 and the other one on the external converter you will not notice any delay, as it is below one millisecond. Not sure about the Lavrys, they might have higher values than usual due to additional buffering.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2010-04-29
  • Posts: 3

Re: RME Fireface 400 DA latency vs external non-RME ADAT DA latency?

I do a lot of parallel compression so there's phasing issues when there's conversion delay.  I run Pro Tools with RME Fireface, and it looks like Pro Tools only does automatic hardware delay when used with Pro Tools HD hardware.  Also the Lavry's delay is quite a bit longer, it does change the feel of the song when I use it with the Fireface at the same time on a mix.

Which conversion latency is longer, the DA or AD?  I only need DA conversion as I will be mixing in analog.  Perhaps I can find a cheaper ADA convertor that has a more similar latency to RME if there's no easy way to sync the latency in Pro Tools.