DAW latency

[egils]

I bought myself a brand new MacBook Pro, and I thought the Helix could replace my trusty old Apogee Duet, as the new Mac does not have firewire 400 ports (no USB either, but I have adapters from USB-C to USB).

 

I have no effects set up on the Helix, just a connected SM58 mic and recording from channel 8, however the latency is definitely an issue. Its not much, but it is enough to be annoying when recording.

 

Any tricks to reduce the latency (and yes Im aware of direct monitoring, and I have tried every setting possible for buffer size etc)? Looking for settings on the helix here that I might have missed.

 

Oh, and I am using Logic Pro version 10.3.

 

I really do not want to buy a new Apogee as long as I have the Helix.

[Dshow]

I guess Helix driver is not the best. I have way too much latency on my Win10 Laptop. I know it's not my Pc because I have a Focusrite 2i2 that has lower usable latency.

[datacommando]

This crops up quite a lot on here, see this thread:

 

http://line6.com/support/topic/20823-helix-usb-interface-latency-problems/

 

The general concensus is don't use your DAW's software monitor system, use the Helix hardware. Even very low buffer sizes can produce a latency of about 5milliseconds - which shouldn't be a problem BUT it seems it is.

 

There are other discussions about this issue on here - have a trawl through some of the threads.

Plus here's a video

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1or7E9h7mEo

[jbuhajla]

Yep, monitor from the Helix. Either use headphones connected to Helix or studio monitors connected to Helix. When you are laying down a track from Helix to your DAW, mute that track in the DAW. There is no latency when doing that.

[PeterHamm]

Direct monitor for the win. Just turn off the "I" button on the channel as you record. No reason to mess around with other possible solutions. It works great.

[amsdenj]

Latency in a DAW depends on what plugins you have running, in the channel strip you're recording and the output channel strip. I common issue is with plugins that have to do adaptive lookahead, like some mastering plugins in Logic. You can customize the toolbar and add a button to switch to low latency mode. This reconfigures some plugins so they behave differently and produce less latency. 

 

Helix's strength is as a performance tool, not an audio interface. It does that, but there are others that do it better at much lower cost.

[kelco]

What's the latency estimate in logic pro x - preferences / audio

 

You should have better latency or equal - all you did was change interfaces but with a "better" cable technology.

 

Now one can argue better- PS/2 has better system latency than USB but it can't send over 500 mbp/s either.

[ADBrown]

I get a negligible amount of latency using my Helix with Logic. Using direct monitoring from the Helix and turning off monitoring in logic as suggested above I have always found to work. 

[egils]

As I wrote, monitoring directly from Helix is not an option, as I need to use some plugins through Logic.

 

I have noticed that I got much lower latency if I skip plugins on buses, witch is doable when recording. Not Apogee latency, but manageable.

 

I have not installed the Helix audio driver, as I am happy with the default sample rate. Could a driver increase/decrease the latency? I kind of assumed that using pure Core Audio would "make things simpler", hence lower latency.

[DunedinDragon]

As I wrote, monitoring directly from Helix is not an option, as I need to use some plugins through Logic.

 

I have noticed that I got much lower latency if I skip plugins on buses, witch is doable when recording. Not Apogee latency, but manageable.

 

I have not installed the Helix audio driver, as I am happy with the default sample rate. Could a driver increase/decrease the latency? I kind of assumed that using pure Core Audio would "make things simpler", hence lower latency.

 

In this case probably yes.  The Helix driver is an ASIO driver which is a direct audio interface and doesn't use the typical operating system audio overhead that is used in more general purpose drivers.  I know that certainly applies in the PC world.  I'm not so sure about the Mac world, but it's likely so.

[datacommando]

As I wrote, monitoring directly from Helix is not an option, as I need to use some plugins through Logic.

The comment from "amsdenj" in post #6 above seems to be most relevant to your situation.

 

Have you tried switching to Logic's low latency mode, as suggested? Otherwise, my guess is that you will be stuck with the problem as long as you want to keep using the DAW's au plugins alongside Helix.

 

Out of interest, what plugins are you using that seem to be so essential? It must be something unavailable in the Helix? Maybe it could be requested on ideascale as a future addition to the firmware?