• Registered: 2012-12-17
  • Posts: 4

Topic: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

Hi.

My name is John and i own a RME fireface 400. I have had the card for a while now and i haven't had any problems with it until 4 days ago.

I have a latency problem where the sound starts clipping after I've been producing music for about 2 hours.
At first it is all fine and i have no sound clipping at all, but a while into my production time in the studio it starts clipping and behaving really weird.

I have my Buffer Size on 256 Samples and it shouldn't be a problem when keeping in mind that i have a pretty strong computer (Computer info attached further down).
Also i think its important to note that I've had a Motu card before where my Buffer Size was down at 96 samples without a problem.

I Have Updated the interface to the latest updates (Driver Version: 3.069    Hardware Revision: 1.71) and it still doesn't work.

I have also gone so far to Switch both cables and Firewire In- and out-puts on both interface and computer, in wich i have firewire 400 both on a controller card and on my motherboard.
Also, i have tried to switch projects on my DAW to see if it is a difference between projects with alot of plugins on and projects without any plugins on, and its still clipping.

What is the problem here?



COMPUTER INFO:

Operation system:                                  Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Mainboard:                                            Gigabyte X58a-Ud3r

RAM amount:                                         Corsair Dominator GT 6GB

CPU:                                                     Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz

Network adapters:                                  Network  adapter integrated in motherboard, but i use wireless network with a D-Link USB reciever (D-link EWA140EU)

Graphic card:                                         ATI Radeon HD 4350 (No Cooling fan)

Other installed soundcards:                       No Other sound cards of Sound drivers installed

  • Registered: 2011-05-03
  • Posts: 94

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

If you go into your DAW's preferences, there might be an option to re-init your ASIO driver, basically it resets the ASIO driver, does that resolve the issue?

When it's happening, stop your DAW project (don't quit) and see what your CPU usage is like in Task Manager.  Occasionally I get this but it's not related to my FF400, soemtimes it's just Kontakt or some plugin that's got a memory leak or is eating too much CPU, reloading the project / resetting ASIO fixes it.

Best bet is to check what your CPU load is like when it starts cutting out.

Also make sure Windows is set to High Performance, check that you don't ahve any services running, like AV scans etc;

  • Registered: 2012-12-17
  • Posts: 4

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

Been there done that, but thanks. smile

Also as i said before i have a pretty strong computer so i shouldn't get this amount of latency clipping, and how i know that is because i didn't get this much latency problem with my Motu card at latency on 96 Samples.

To get rid of the problem i have to assign the interface to 1024 samples to get a track without any plugins to perform normally without any problems.... and that is ridiculous...

  • isaac
  • isaac
  • S/Mux specialist
  • Offline
  • From: Auckland New Zealand
  • Registered: 2007-05-01
  • Posts: 339

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

John-T wrote:

Been there done that, but thanks. smile

Also as i said before i have a pretty strong computer so i shouldn't get this amount of latency clipping, and how i know that is because i didn't get this much latency problem with my Motu card at latency on 96 Samples.

To get rid of the problem i have to assign the interface to 1024 samples to get a track without any plugins to perform normally without any problems.... and that is ridiculous...

Wireless update?

I would try disconnecting the wireless. If possible remove the card and uninstall the software. Especially if you have updated it recently. Also I'd try using system restore to roll back to an image before you were having the issues.

Isaac P

  • Registered: 2012-12-17
  • Posts: 4

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

isaac wrote:
John-T wrote:

Been there done that, but thanks. smile

Also as i said before i have a pretty strong computer so i shouldn't get this amount of latency clipping, and how i know that is because i didn't get this much latency problem with my Motu card at latency on 96 Samples.

To get rid of the problem i have to assign the interface to 1024 samples to get a track without any plugins to perform normally without any problems.... and that is ridiculous...

Wireless update?

I would try disconnecting the wireless. If possible remove the card and uninstall the software. Especially if you have updated it recently. Also I'd try using system restore to roll back to an image before you were having the issues.

Isaac P

So can Wireless internet connection be a problem? how can that effect the latency? i mean as i said in teh first post, the card works perfect the first 2 hours, shouldnt the wireless conenction be a problem from the start then?

Also the card gets pretty warm after 2 hours of usage is that normal?

Thanks in Advance // John

  • Registered: 2007-05-09
  • Posts: 174

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

What is "latency clipping"?  Have you a problem with audio latency - the sound coming out with a delay?  Or is it just that as a session progresses, sound output becomes distorted?

  • Registered: 2012-01-08
  • Posts: 35

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

Only 2 things I can think off: Either the FF400s power unit is faulty or your computer overheats due to dust or else.
In my case it was my FF800s power unit going down, causing really weird behaviour. (Needs replacement.)
Or check your CPU for temperature (with Speccy, for instance)

You ruled out any application what so ever, likely to kick in after a while, right?
Like automatic updates, virus protection, any kind of maintenance software etc....?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Erbs

  • Registered: 2012-12-17
  • Posts: 4

Re: Latency problem With Fireface 400.

Laurence Payne wrote:

What is "latency clipping"?  Have you a problem with audio latency - the sound coming out with a delay?  Or is it just that as a session progresses, sound output becomes distorted?

What i mean by that is that get an Audio/level/peak-clip that is a resault of me having problems with my latency on my sound card. wink

Erbs Bischof wrote:

Only 2 things I can think off: Either the FF400s power unit is faulty or your computer overheats due to dust or else.
In my case it was my FF800s power unit going down, causing really weird behaviour. (Needs replacement.)
Or check your CPU for temperature (with Speccy, for instance)

You ruled out any application what so ever, likely to kick in after a while, right?
Like automatic updates, virus protection, any kind of maintenance software etc....?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Erbs

Thanks for the reply Erbs, just some questions i have for you:

How did you end up knowing that it was your power unit inside the card that was faulty, did you have any troubleshooting techniques or did you get help through the support, cos i sent the exact same post to the support, they answered me once (asking some questions), i answered and haven't still gotten any answer back...

And i know its not my computer through dust, cus i often dust it of with special ESD tools at my daytime job, and i also have special filters on to regulate the amount of dust going into my computer.

Again thanks in advance guys, i really hope i can solve this trouble i have with what i've heard is going to be one of the best interfaces out there.

// John