• Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Topic: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

hey!

I have finally managed to setup my RME card, fresh Windows 8 install. And I'm still getting the hang of it. Anywho,

When in Cubase, using my RME card's AIO connection
-32 and 64-bit buffers have extreme distortion and cracking when playing a simple Halion Sonic Piano VST
-When I change it to 128 buffer, I get NO SOUND at all from Cubase.
-When I then change it to a 256 buffer, it sounds like the piano plays the keys I hit in the 128 buffer and plays fine. Latency is 7.5ms by Cubase's measurement.

-Is there something specific I haev to do to get 32 and 64-bit buffers working? Andwhy doesn't 128 buffer product any sound? I used to have a cheap EMU interface and used to be able to play at 32-bit buffer no problem. I'm thinking this is user-error here.

Any suggestions?

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Would also like to note that the same result happens on our Windows 7 drive was well.

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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  • Registered: 2007-05-21
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Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Make sure the OS is set for "High Performance" (Control Panel / System / Power), default is "balanced". Check for a BIOS update from the motherboard manufacturer. Check BIOS for PCIe power management options (should be disabled).

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

thanks! set the performance to high and am going to set the bios settings now. hopefully i'll see a change

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Strange... It seems fixed. Not sure what could have caused it.

Found an article on optimizing the bios. I did that, I saw lower DPC latencies, but barely. I put them back... fired up Cubase. Still had the same problem.

I changed my VST from Halion Sonic SE to EWQL's Play x64 and it worked! I changed it back to Halion sonic and it also worked..

But I notice I have a high pitched sound when I have a program open that uses RME. When I close Cubase, it goes away. Should I open a new thread for this? (New topic)

Optimized Bios LatencyMon Screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/eE7Z5#0
Un-Optimized NBios LatencyMon Screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/oycMn#0

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Also wanted to note that the high-pitched noise only happens with a buffer size of 256 or less. The smaller I go, the higher and louder the pitch is.

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Day 3 with no problem! The high pitched sound seems like it comes from my cable.

No matter what quality cable I use that we have, it still makes the noise. If I hold the cable up, away from my computer, the noise goes away.

Instead of holding the cable in a different position, is there something I can attach to the cable to take away the noise?

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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  • From: USA
  • Registered: 2007-05-21
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Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Are you using the stock unbalanced (RCA) breakout cable, or the optional balanced (XLR)? Using balanced interconnects should help with noise pickup.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Hey. I'm using the outputs right now on my ao4s aio. I think the manual said it was balanced?

I ordered from Amazon and I think I was sent a wrong breakout cable. I only had the unbalanced digital breakout.

Who should I contact about the breakout?

Will a Alva breakout work on my card?

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS
  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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  • From: USA
  • Registered: 2007-05-21
  • Posts: 4,662

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Do you use balanced TRS cables to connect directly to powered monitors? Or something else?

The RME HDSPe AIO card ships with two breakout cables, one for each DSUB port.

This is the included digital breakout (BO968)
http://www.rme-audio.de/images/products/products_cables_bo968.jpg


This is the included unbalanced analog breakout (BO9632CMKH)
http://www.rme-audio.de/images/products/products_cables_bo9632cmkh.jpg



This is the optional balanced breakout (BO9632XLRMKH)
http://www.rme-audio.de/images/products/products_cables_bo9632xlrmkh.jpg

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

11 Reply by crewxp (edited by crewxp 2012-08-31 18:34:27)

  • Registered: 2011-11-08
  • Posts: 33

Re: Getting no ASIO sound at a 128 buffer. 32 and 64 buffers have serious

Thanks jeff. Yeah I only received the digital cable. Missing the analog breakout.

Amazon emailed me a few minutes ago and offered me A $20 credit for a future purchase. They asked that I inquire to the manufacturer. Should I fight them more about this? I had it sitting In the box until our machines were setup the first 2 weeks. I should have checked

Would this be something I might be able to talk to rme about?

A colleague has a Alva baby face analog breakout. Would that work for my card in the interim?

Setup:
i7-3930K / Rampage IV Extreme / 32GBMem / Win8.1 64-bit
Cubase 7.5
RME HDSPe AIO - A4IS&A4OS