Did some upgrades, have a few questions...
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  1. #1
    Tech Mentor jthompsn's Avatar
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    Default Did some upgrades, have a few questions...

    Hi all-

    So I recently did a few upgrades to my set up and I have a few questions. Here is what I did to my MacBook:

    Upgraded to 4 gig of Ram
    Swapped the 160 gig 5400 HD for a Seagate 500 gig 7200 HD

    I also picked up a Presonus Firebox to use instead of my Audio Kontrol 1. With only 2 usb ports I had to switch to firewire.

    Everything was installed and set up properly and correctly.

    So now when I run traktor pro the cpu bar on the top is slightly bigger. I thought that the upgrades would have reduced the the stress on the cpu, no?

    Also my main concern is now while a deck is playing and the other deck is cued, if I seek through the cued track with the jog wheel I can hear some very small pops in the audio through the phones and the main output. It doesn't do it all the time only while seeking through a cued track, but its been happening often enough to have me concerned.

    Even after the upgrades that I though would make me a little faster I find myself changing settings for a slower pc. I increased the latency to around 15 - 19 range and it still happens. With the Audio Kontrol 1 I could drop to around 7ms. I also had to change the key lock quality from the fast cpu setting to the slow ones. What gives?
    [Macbook 2.2ghz core 2, 4gb ram, 500gb 7200 Seagate Momentus HD, Western Digital 500gb external HD, Lion 10.7.2, Kontrol S4, Midi Fighter #67, Pioneer HDJ-2000, Traktor Pro 2

  2. #2
    Tech Mentor DennisHuiberts's Avatar
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    Why did you bought another soundcard in the first place? A (powered) USB-hub would have done the trick for you. From what the specs say, the firebox looks like a decent audio interface. It's just weird that you need so much latency to get it close to stable. Data processing with FireWire is done by the FireWire chip, as with USB this is done by the CPU, so theoretically the move to FireWire should have given you more CPU resources. Have you tried disabling/quitting all the applications and processes that you don't use when DJ-ing?
    Last edited by DennisHuiberts; 08-11-2009 at 10:20 AM.
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  3. #3
    Tech Mentor jthompsn's Avatar
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    Totally, I turn off everything. I'm kind off stumped. Other than turning off Bluetooth/Airport and background programs and changing the energy settings what else should be done?
    Could it be the hard drive? I can put the old one back in and test it with the firebox. Those are the two new variables, the HD and the firebox.
    Last edited by jthompsn; 08-11-2009 at 10:30 AM.
    [Macbook 2.2ghz core 2, 4gb ram, 500gb 7200 Seagate Momentus HD, Western Digital 500gb external HD, Lion 10.7.2, Kontrol S4, Midi Fighter #67, Pioneer HDJ-2000, Traktor Pro 2

  4. #4
    Tech Mentor DennisHuiberts's Avatar
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    Wouldn't bet on it. If you have the Seagate Momentus 7200.4 16MB cache 500GB, you have the fastest laptop harddrive (except for SSD) at the moment. Don't you have a friend who has an other decent soundcard which you could borrow, just to look what kind of latency you could accomplish with it? The best would be an NI soundcard, just to try if you could use your "old" settings...
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  5. #5
    Dr. Bento BentoSan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DennisHuiberts View Post
    It's just weird that you need so much latency to get it close to stable.
    Lots of people on this site own a Presonus firebox, myself included - Your the first person that i have ever seen here complain about the latency.

    Do you own one of these devices ?

  6. #6
    Tech Mentor jthompsn's Avatar
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    I still have the AK1, hooked it up, and had the same thing, more cpu usage in the bar and little pops in the main out and phones only while seeking through a cued track. Other wise I can drop the latency down to say 10 or 11. This is the only way I get any kind of latency issue.
    I was gonna try to pick up a power adaptor for my vci today to see if that helps. Maybe its power related.

    Also tried different usb cable for the vci.
    [Macbook 2.2ghz core 2, 4gb ram, 500gb 7200 Seagate Momentus HD, Western Digital 500gb external HD, Lion 10.7.2, Kontrol S4, Midi Fighter #67, Pioneer HDJ-2000, Traktor Pro 2

  7. #7
    Tech Mentor jthompsn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BentoSan View Post
    Lots of people on this site own a Presonus firebox, myself included - Your the first person that i have ever seen here complain about the latency.

    Do you own one of these devices ?
    You are the main reason I made the switch from the AK1. I'm just wondering what the heck is happening!
    [Macbook 2.2ghz core 2, 4gb ram, 500gb 7200 Seagate Momentus HD, Western Digital 500gb external HD, Lion 10.7.2, Kontrol S4, Midi Fighter #67, Pioneer HDJ-2000, Traktor Pro 2

  8. #8
    Tech Mentor DennisHuiberts's Avatar
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    I don't own one, but the topicstarter was complainting about that he had to set his latency between 15 and 19 milliseconds. I personally don't think that the harddrive eats latency, so if the topicstarter tried another soundcard, you can get that out of the equation.

    You should check the specs of your old memory and the new memory. Maybe your old memory was faster than the new one (CL 4 vs. CL 5). That's the only thing I can come up with...
    Check out my work!

    Vestax VCM-600 (for sale!) - Allen & Heath Xone:62 - Focusrite Saffire LE - Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 Pro - Traktor Pro 2.1 - Ableton Live 8 - MacBook Pro 15"

  9. #9
    Retired DJTT Moderator DvlsAdvct's Avatar
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    I'm going to ask a really stupid question cause I don't own a mac and don't know how it works but...

    Are the drivers up to date for everything?
    It's the FAQ. Read it.

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  10. #10
    Tech Wizard misa's Avatar
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    This does seem strange. I am using a MacBook Pro 2.8 GHz, 6 GB RAM, and 500 GB hard drive at 7200 rpm with a Presonus FireBox. The CPU bar in Traktor never reaches past ~10% and don't experience audio artifacts with 5 ms of latency. I think a lot of people in this forum use the FireBox and have good experiences with it.

    Have you downloaded the latest firmware/drivers/software and set up audio preferences correctly in Traktor and the Presonus Mixer?
    Last edited by misa; 08-11-2009 at 10:55 AM.

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