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RME User Forum → FireWire & USB series → Lagging when seeking in audio tracks using ASIO (Foobar2000)
Just installed the newest drivers for my RME babyface which is connected to the computer using usb 2.0 . Dpc latency checker reports no lag spikes. I am using the ASIO component plugin for foobar2000.
Comparing to my ESI Juli@ a PCI-card it's like night and day. On that card i get no lag whatsoever during playback. Neither with FLAC nor mp3.
Anyone got any idea?
Thanks!
What audio buffer size do you use (Fireface Settings)?
What audio buffer size do you use (Fireface Settings)?
Tried 1024 and 256.
I also tried changing usb-ports and removing the other usb-accessories except the mouse, however the problem still persist.
Im using an Intel Q6600 quad processor and 8 gigs of ram and Windows 7 64-bit.
I have zero 'lagging' when scrolling through a song in Foobar 1.1.18 with ASIO, at any buffer setting. There is something wrong with your system, obviously, as there is no one else complaining about such an effect.
I have zero 'lagging' when scrolling through a song in Foobar 1.1.18 with ASIO, at any buffer setting. There is something wrong with your system, obviously, as there is no one else complaining about such an effect.
That's strange.
I've tested the Babyface with my friends system, a AMD Phenom II X4 965 and 8 gigs of ram. Same thing there. Changing tracks or scanning them resulted with the same high latencies no matter if it was a normal encoded mp3 or a 24-bit 192Khz encoded audio file. Setting the Buffer Size to 48 didn't help either.
It takes few microseconds to load the files or moving to another time index (another part of the track).
I have tested it with Ableton (ASIO) but i can't really measure the same thing there since the program doesn't play instantly when starting a track or seeking in it.
You can make Live do instant seeking by turning off "Launch Quantization".
I can reproduce long seeking times within single songs, but these happen with other interfaces, too. Foobar's "Buffer Length" setting doesn't seem to be the source, so I have to search a bit through Foobar settings.
Seems to be an issue of the ASIO plugin to me, as DirectMusic works without lag.
I compared seek lag with volume control and equalizer lag (the latter of which is affected by the Buffer Length setting) and my conclusion is that seek lag with ASIO output module is a Foobar limitation/bug.
I compared seek lag with volume control and equalizer lag (the latter of which is affected by the Buffer Length setting) and my conclusion is that seek lag with ASIO output module is a Foobar limitation/bug.
Changing volume and changing eq when the audio track is playing? I noticed when changing the eq whilst playing the track showed some latency/delayes but not as high latency as with seeking within the audiotrack. That is the only thing where the Babyface falls flat for some reason. I was thinking of the usb interface my computer is showing the babyface using usb 2.0 high speed (480mbit/s) in isochronous transfer mode. So it can't be it.
In ableton using ASIO both the ESI Juli@ and the Babyface had more or less the same latency using a buffer size of 48.
Is something wrong with foobar2000 itself or the asio component in foobar2000?
The default "Buffer Length" setting of Foobar is 1000 ms (1 second) for everything that involves DSP (like EQ). This buffer is added on top of the audio buffer. The minimum Buffer Length setting is 50 ms. The maximum audio buffer setting of the Babyface is 48 ms (2048 samples) at 44.1 kHz. So whatever you set up in the BF settings, you will never get less than 52.5 ms latency with Foobar (albeit the volume control does not seem to use the Buffer Length at all and thus offer lower latencies).
By the way: Even the developer of the ASIO module advises against its use! So just stay with the DM output and be good with it.
Please note that this component is meant for systems where ASIO is the only available output method. It is highly recommended to use the default output modes instead of ASIO. Contrary to popular "audiophile" claims, there are NO benefits from using ASIO as far as music playback quality is concerned, while bugs in ASIO drivers may severely degrade the performance.
And getting comparable latencies in Ableton Live when comparing a PCI to an USB interface is a good testimony for how good the USB interface/driver performs.
The default "Buffer Length" setting of Foobar is 1000 ms (1 second) for everything that involves DSP (like EQ). This buffer is added on top of the audio buffer. The minimum Buffer Length setting is 50 ms. The maximum audio buffer setting of the Babyface is 46 ms (2048 samples).
Even the developer of the ASIO module advises not to use it! So just stay with the DM output and be good with it.
Please note that this component is meant for systems where ASIO is the only available output method. It is highly recommended to use the default output modes instead of ASIO. Contrary to popular "audiophile" claims, there are NO benefits from using ASIO as far as music playback quality is concerned, while bugs in ASIO drivers may severely degrade the performance.
And getting comparable latencies in Ableton Live when comparing a PCI to an USB interface is a good testimony for how good the USB interface/driver performs.
Well it doesn't explain why there's a difference between Ableton and Foobar2000 despite using ASIO. Changing the buffer lenght doesn't do anything for me.
The explanation is that the Foobar ASIO module isn't working as good as Ableton Live. I can make playback stutter and stop just by using Seek while playing back via ASIO4ALL over my build in Crystal audio interface. It's a module meant for people who cannot use anything else, it's not a solid solution.
The best you can do is to set the Buffer Length to 50 ms and set the Babyface to 64 or 128 samples. Do the latter while Foobar is not running or do a restart of Foobar whenever you change buffers, because Foobar doesn't seem to like changing buffer sizes too much.
Seek does not seem to be affected by "Buffer Length", it's really a setting for DSP and visualizations.
If you want to get better results you should try Winamp + ASIO output addon. It made my system BSOD at least once, but when it works it works lag-free. Or use Ableton Live for playback.
As I couldn't believe that my famous laptop operates better than others, I checked again. If I use the mouse to change the playback position via the slider the change is immediate. If I assign a key to the seek forward/back function it lags terrible. That means this whole thread is obsolete, as it is fully clear that the effect is caused by Foobar, not our drivers.
The definitely best ASIO driver support we ever found in a media player is in JRiver Media Center. Also worth mentioning is AIMP, which in its current version 3 point something supports DirectSound, WASAPI, WASAPI Exclusive and - you guessed it - ASIO. And there scrolling/seeking through a track via keyboard also doesn't lag at all.
I got the lag via mouse clicking, but in any case there are obviously alternative players that work better.
As I couldn't believe that my famous laptop operates better than others, I checked again. If I use the mouse to change the playback position via the slider the change is immediate. If I assign a key to the seek forward/back function it lags terrible. That means this whole thread is obsolete, as it is fully clear that the effect is caused by Foobar, not our drivers.
The definitely best ASIO driver support we ever found in a media player is in JRiver Media Center. Also worth mentioning is AIMP, which in its current version 3 point something supports DirectSound, WASAPI, WASAPI Exclusive and - you guessed it - ASIO. And there scrolling/seeking through a track via keyboard also doesn't lag at all.
Too bad. It works better with less lag using the WASAPI plugin for foobar2000 but is is not satisfying either. Unfortunately i can't get in touch with the author of the asio plugin. He seems not to have any e-mail of any sort.
RME User Forum → FireWire & USB series → Lagging when seeking in audio tracks using ASIO (Foobar2000)
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