MOTU Track16 - Desktop Studio FireWire/USB 2.0 Interface - Manual (Page 54)

R E D U C I N G M O N I T O R I N G L A T E N C Y
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Figure 8-4: In Cubase or Nuendo, choose Devices menu> Device
Setup. Select MOTU Track16, then click the Control Panel button to
access the window above and the Buffer Size setting.
Figure 8-5: In Logic Pro or Logic Express, go to the Audio Devices
preferences to access the Buffer Size option shown above.
Lower latency versus higher CPU overhead
The buffer setting has a large impact on the
following things:
■ Patch thru latency
■
The load on your computer’s CPU
■
Possible distortion at the smallest settings
■ How responsive the transport controls are in
AudioDesk, Digital Performer or other audio
software
The buffer setting presents you with a trade-off
between the processing power of your computer
and the delay of live audio as it is being patched
through your software. If you reduce the size, you
reduce patch thru latency, but significantly increase
the overall processing load on your computer,
leaving less CPU bandwidth for things like real-
time effects processing. On the other hand, if you
increase the buffer size, you reduce the load on
your computer, freeing up bandwidth for effects,
mixing and other real-time operations.
Figure 8-6: When adjusting the buffer size to reduce monitoring
latency, watch the ‘processor’ meter in Digital Performer or
AudioDesk’s Performance Monitor. If you hear distortion, or if the
Performance meter is peaking, try raising the buffer size.
If you are at a point in your recording project where
you are not currently working with live, patched-
thru material (e.g. you’re not recording vocals), or
if you have a way of externally processing inputs,
choose a higher buffer size. Depending on your
computer’s CPU speed, you might find that settings
in the middle work best (256 to 1024).
Transport responsiveness
Buffer size also impacts how quickly your audio
software will respond when you begin playback,
although not by amounts that are very noticeable.
Lowering the buffer size will make your software
respond faster; raising the buffer size will make it a
little bit slower, but barely enough to notice.