Topic: Latency and Linux

I have an i5 based computer and I purchased pianoteq yesterday for Windows 10. But now I am having second thoughts, thinking that maybe I should install Linux with realtime extensions as a dual boot setup and get the Linux version of pianoteq. I like computers a lot and this would be an interesting project for me. What are your thoughts about whether I should go ahead and do this or whether I should give Windows 10 a try for a while first? My Kawai vpc1 is on back order and will not arrive for about 3 weeks, so I have some time here.

Re: Latency and Linux

I must say I'm not having any latency issues even on W7... A good audio interface with well written ASIO drivers is all that you really need...

Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

Well that is encouraging. But I have read that Windows 7 is actually better than Windows 10 in the latency Department. But also I've read that there are various things you can do to make Windows 10 have less latency . I will try doing those things and see how it goes. Thanks!

Re: Latency and Linux

Also, I'm reading about the asio4all drivers and I'm going to try and use. Will this work with my built-in motherboard  sound interface? I am not sure which might be better, to use the analog output 3.5 mm Jack, or to use the toslink s/pdif digital connection.  My motherboard has a pretty good audio chip with 110db signal to noise ratio.

Re: Latency and Linux

Running Pianoteq on an i5, you'll probably have the same latency in Windows and in Linux. No need to change.

If you really like computers, though, I think that exploring different operating systems is something that will enrich your knowledge a lot. Start with a popular distribution (any Ubuntu variant), test an audio-specific distro (e.g. KXStudio, AVLinux), dive deep with Arch... Then explore the alternatives: build a Hackintosh, discover Haiku, run the fastest android with Android-X86... OK, I'm going too off-topic. ;-)

Re: Latency and Linux

Okay! Great input. Do you know if I would have to pay for pianoteq again to run it in a different operating system?  But, for the beginning I will see how things go with Windows 10, properly adjusted.

Re: Latency and Linux

You can install it on 3 different computers or operating systems at the same time, with a single license.

Re: Latency and Linux

I see another interesting thing. I might be able to upgrade the processor on my motherboard. It is 2.9 gigahertz. But I think the newest Intel processors go all the way to 4.2 gigahertz. And even that might be overclockable. But this would be a bit expensive, and probably big-time Overkill.

Re: Latency and Linux

alessandro wrote:

You can install it on 3 different computers or operating systems at the same time, with a single license.

great, that is thoughtful of them.

Re: Latency and Linux

For OS, all i can say is try it out For latency, you'll probably get similar results on the same computer for any OS. I'm very satisfied with my linux setup on a 3.4GHz i3 with 4GB of memory.

gibbyj wrote:

I see another interesting thing. I might be able to upgrade the processor on my motherboard. It is 2.9 gigahertz. But I think the newest Intel processors go all the way to 4.2 gigahertz. And even that might be overclockable. But this would be a bit expensive, and probably big-time Overkill.

Well, it's always nice to have CPU cycles to spare, especially when running several instances of the plugin, or with other instruments, etc etc... really depends what you use it for. Also, CPU frequency is not the only factor that determines how fast it will be.

http://soundcloud.com/delt01
Pianoteq 5 STD+blüthner, Renoise 3 • Roland FP-4F + M-Audio Keystation 88es
Intel i5@3.4GHz, 16GB • Linux Mint xfce 64bit

Re: Latency and Linux

gibbyj wrote:

Also, I'm reading about the asio4all drivers and I'm going to try and use. Will this work with my built-in motherboard  sound interface? I am not sure which might be better, to use the analog output 3.5 mm Jack, or to use the toslink s/pdif digital connection.  My motherboard has a pretty good audio chip with 110db signal to noise ratio.

It would be better if you use a proper audio interface instead of A4A (which is a kludge that wraps WDM into ASIO). Instead of getting a better CPU (2.9 GHz is quite enough for Pianoteq), get a decent audio interface instead of relying on motherboard's chip. There are reasons for this. Onboard chips aren't made specifically with low latency in mind - they're there just to play some MP3s and games and not much more.

Last edited by EvilDragon (01-04-2016 08:30)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

So let me see if I understand, the difficult thing is to get the output of pianoteq to my speakers with low latency and good quality. I may start out using my motherboard onboard Sound Processing, but apparently I may find that is not good enough. Is the hard part going from digital to analog? If I use the toslink s / pdif output from the motherboard into my Yamaha amplifier, that digital to analog conversion would be done where, by the Yamaha? But if I connect the 3.5 mm jack of the motherboard to RCA inputs on the Yamaha, the D to A would be done on the motherboard sound chip, right? I'm trying to understand where the latency and distortion gets introduced. I might even go ahead and buy a good sound card before my vpc1 gets here, if I can understand the issue and see that ultimately that's what I will need.  Which pci sound card would be a good choice?  Thanks for your help!

Re: Latency and Linux

Latency is always there - regardless of the connection you use, digital or analog. DA conversion probably takes somewhere in the vicinity of 1 ms, regardless of where it's done.


I'm not using any PCI soundcards, what I have is TC Electronic Impact Twin, which is a FireWire audio interface. I would suggest perhaps checking out Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, or if you have a bit of cash to spare, the best compact choice would IMHO be RME BabyFace or BabyFace Pro - these can use either FireWire or USB.

Last edited by EvilDragon (01-04-2016 10:36)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

I would also recommend a RME interface if you can afford it. They seem to provide a good quality product with long term support of their products.

Re: Latency and Linux

Okay, but still I feel like I don't really understand where the problem occurs, and why I need the extra Hardware.  Am I correct that there's no difficulty getting from the vpc1 to the computer via USB? In my earlier question / post I was trying to delve into what the problem actually is and what the alternatives are going from the pianoteq to my speakers. Please excuse me for being a little difficult...

Re: Latency and Linux

The problem occurs in the fact that onboard audio chips on motherboards are not made for very low latency operation (and you need the lowest possible latency without overburdening your CPU, so you can play effortlessly).

Please read this article:

http://www.presonus.com/news/articles/T...io-Latency


Note that the above article is talking about a live recording scenario - a singer, or a guitarist. There's additional latency in that case (AD conversion, getting stuff INTO the computer). In the case of you controlling Pianoteq, the only input latency is defined by your MIDI controller and the connection it uses (USB or MIDI), and is generally very small.

Last edited by EvilDragon (01-04-2016 14:00)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

@OP Don't overthink it. Go with the OS you are most comfortable/familiar with, work with your existing hardware, and see how you go. Read Modartt's documentation/installation instructions. If you're used to Windows and new to Linux, then a Windows based setup will be easier. (I say this as a Linux user and advocate, and Windows ditcher for 16 years. But I also believe in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and KIS principles.) With an i5 you should have no issues for normal use (i.e., playing a piano). Several ms latency is neither here nor there. Sound travels only about one foot in a ms, so you're likely to have more or at least about as much latency from sound having to travel from your loudspeakers to your ears as you'll have from the software and audio interface.

Last edited by SteveLy (01-04-2016 16:39)
3/2 = 5

Re: Latency and Linux

Great advice, all.  Will start with what I have.  But have read the Prosonus article and will study it carefully; very helpful.  Thanks so much!

Re: Latency and Linux

As one who is messing with latency for a while, I will quickly add in that I replaced my very old laptop running Windows 7 with the Microsoft surface Pro 4 tablet that I could use both for the digital piano as well as to take on trips with me. No matter what I did with latency settings, both using ASIO as well as Windows sound, I could not bring the latency down to a comfortable level. Didier Martini suggested that I get a Steinberg UR22. This effectively fixed two problems: I think I had loosened one of the inside contact on the earphone jack of my first surface tablet, and I had to exchange it at the store. With the Steinberg, I used the USB both for inputs and outputs, and then was able to connect my monitor speakers to the back of the Steinberg with quarter-inch phono plugs instead of the 8th inch plug that was getting stretched putting it into the corner of the computer, especially as I frequently was moving things around. The second thing is that the latency on the Steinberg as an external sound processor is so low, that I can play my acoustic 1885 Steinway piano with its MIDI strip and Pianoteq is virtually simultaneous with it – it makes for an awfully rich upright piano to have the real acoustic piano playing at the same time as the Pianoteq Steinway D or Steinway B.

In summary, choose whatever operating system you want, but go with an external sound processor.

David

- David

Re: Latency and Linux

Well I think I've made reasonable progress:
1. Got asio4all working, set for 2.9ms latency (128 samples) with good quality sound for the Blues demo. (Are there other demo's I can load and have played?)  Am using optical s/pdif connection from computer to amplifier. The HD analog speaker output works also, but I found I needed a ground loop isolator and that attenuated the signal a lot.  Optical S/pdif avoids the hum/noise, and I read that it introduces very little latency, is that correct?
2. Advice about external sound I/f (or internal pci card) well taken, but so far it appears my MSI motherboard with Realtek ALC1150 sound chip may be adequate for what I'm doing at first (i.e., just playing Kawai VPC1).  I suspect this hardware is superior to the Surface Pro4 audio I/f.
3. While playing the Blues demo, my I5 processor is loafing along at about 12% on just one of the 4 logical processors.  I did set my system for "high performance," and apparently Windows 10 and my computer are more than adequate.  I set my sample rate in Pianoteq to 44100 Hz instead of 48000, is that reasonable?
4. Pianoteq has Maximum polyphony set to 48, is that OK for what I'm doing?  I'm no great pianist, just trying to get back into it some, and let my 5 year old take some lessons.

All in all, I'm super happy and can't wait until my VPC1 arrives, which unfortunately will be at least 2 weeks from now.  Thanks for all the help.

Re: Latency and Linux

IMHO nobody should have the maximum polyphony set LOWER than 128, unless they're on really weak systems.

I have it set at 256 all the time.

Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

I will change it then but I wonder how it got set to 48. I didn't do it...

Re: Latency and Linux

Could be it's a default value.

Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

EvilDragon wrote:

Could be it's a default value.

I just checked, and there's where mine was set too, and so I think that you're right.  I've gone into the Performance section of the Options dialog for the first time and discovered this. I also see that there are two "auto" options, one being auto-pessimistic and auto-optimistic. Does anyone use either of these two options, and if so, which?

Re: Latency and Linux

I've been using the auto settings since I got pianoteq. I changed them once when I got sick of trying to get noticeable sound drop out from pianoteq, and I cannot remember whether I changed from or to auto -pessimistic.

Re: Latency and Linux

Tip re latency: if you're using a controller that is also a sample-based digital piano, its latency will be almost non-existent. This makes it easy to assess how well you've managed the latency of Pianoteq: listen to the onboard and Pianoteq sounds together. If you cannot here a short delay between the two sounds then your latency is low enough.

3/2 = 5

Re: Latency and Linux

I am running pianoteq on the quadcore processor board below (QT1900-TX. It is not even an i5. I build it inside my piano.
No fans on the board so no disturbing sounds.
I running ubuntu 14.04. With pianoteq directly on alsa. Latency 1.5ms.
Running on pulseaudio gives a higher latency at about 5ms. But then you can e.g. youtube at the same time.
I use a sandisk usb 3.0 stick as system disk. Use a usb stick with the lowest direct access time.
Startup time 16s.
Buffer size 256
Polyphony 128. A not noticeable latency.
For work i use an i7 with windows 7. Lowest latency i can get there is 5ms.

PunBB bbcode test

Last edited by Joe (27-04-2016 11:09)

Re: Latency and Linux

Joe wrote:

Latency 1.5ms. polyphony 128. A not noticeable latency.
For work i use an i7 with windows 7. Lowest latency i can get there is 5ms.

Are you talking about driver reported latency, or round-trip latency measured via loopback? These are not the same things.

Last edited by EvilDragon (12-04-2016 10:56)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

I am talking about the lowest latency that you can select in pianoteq at which the pianoteq sound is not disturbed.
Low latency means working with the smallest possible audio buffer. You then need high performance processor or a highly speed optimized operating system.

But you are right. The total latency is the time between hitting the key and hearing the sound.

Last edited by Joe (12-04-2016 11:15)

Re: Latency and Linux

Presently, I'm running a Asus laptop with an Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU  N2830  @ 2.16GHz, Linux Mint 17.3, and Pianoteq hardly performs at all.  No matter how much you dimish the Pianoteq performance, it still sucks.  The harpsichords work, but the advanced pianos such as the Model B have serious issues.  My advice: never buy a computer with a Celeron it just doesn't have the muscle.

Last edited by GRB (12-04-2016 18:10)
Pianoteq Pro 7.x - Kubuntu Linux 19.10 - Plasma Desktop - Hamburg Steinway

Re: Latency and Linux

Are you using the built-in sound card of the mini-computer?   If so the latency you quote is even more impressive since typically it is advised to use an external soundcard to get best sound quality and lowest latency.     Also in linux you can use an jack + alsa loop back device to allow audio from multiple sources (such as youtube) instead of pulse.  Since you use Ubuntu 14.04 you could consider using the kxstudio repository which offers a lot of linux audio software (and includes alsa loopback configured by default).

Re: Latency and Linux

As the originator of this thread, I want say how grateful I am for the excellent posts!  I'm really learning a lot.  And VPC1 is getting delivered tomorrow! 

You guys are a good bit beyond me on many things, though I may refer back to these posts in the future. But I could use answers to a couple of basic, practical questions, related to the below progress points I wrote earlier:

1. Got asio4all working, set for 2.9ms latency (128 samples) with good quality sound for the Blues demo.  Am using optical s/pdif connection from computer to amplifier. The HD analog speaker output works also, but I found I needed a ground loop isolator and that attenuated the signal a lot. 

Optical S/pdif avoids the hum/noise, and I read that it introduces very little latency, is that correct?

Tonight I think I will try this even lower, 64 samples, but does it really matter much at this point?  Isn't 3ms quite good?
...
3. While playing the Blues demo, my I5 processor is loafing along at about 12% on just one of the 4 logical processors.  I did set my system for "high performance," and apparently Windows 10 and my computer are more than adequate.  I set my sample rate in Pianoteq to 44100 Hz instead of 48000, is that reasonable?

Is there any practical reason to sample higher than CD quality, for just live playing?

4.  For now I set my polyphony to 96, hopefully that is plenty for the kind of basic playing my son and I are capable of.

Re: Latency and Linux

gibbyj wrote:

Isn't 3ms quite good?

3 ms is as good as no latency. Note that you may not get that in practice though. Pianoteq only calculates the theoretical best case for your settings.

Is there any practical reason to sample higher than CD quality, for just live playing?

48kHz sampling rate is becoming more commonly used and depending on your system you may get better performance; e.g., if the system hardware/software natively runs at 48kHz and Pianoteq outputs 44.1kHz, resampling would be required. Try it and see what works best.

Don't use the blues demo for testing the settings. Play the keyboard and play it hard, i.e., "torture" test it with lots of notes right across the entire KB and plenty of persistent use of the sustain pedal. You want to make sure the setup is robust enough to handle pretty much anything you might like to throw at it.

3/2 = 5

Re: Latency and Linux

gibbyj wrote:

As the originator of this thread, I want say how grateful I am for the excellent posts!  I'm really learning a lot.  And VPC1 is getting delivered tomorrow! 

You guys are a good bit beyond me on many things, though I may refer back to these posts in the future. But I could use answers to a couple of basic, practical questions, related to the below progress points I wrote earlier:

1. Got asio4all working, set for 2.9ms latency (128 samples) with good quality sound for the Blues demo.  Am using optical s/pdif connection from computer to amplifier. The HD analog speaker output works also, but I found I needed a ground loop isolator and that attenuated the signal a lot. 

Optical S/pdif avoids the hum/noise, and I read that it introduces very little latency, is that correct?

Tonight I think I will try this even lower, 64 samples, but does it really matter much at this point?  Isn't 3ms quite good?
...
3. While playing the Blues demo, my I5 processor is loafing along at about 12% on just one of the 4 logical processors.  I did set my system for "high performance," and apparently Windows 10 and my computer are more than adequate.  I set my sample rate in Pianoteq to 44100 Hz instead of 48000, is that reasonable?

Is there any practical reason to sample higher than CD quality, for just live playing?

4.  For now I set my polyphony to 96, hopefully that is plenty for the kind of basic playing my son and I are capable of.


Good news for you!

I hope you will not have problems with Windows 10.
When I used Win10, my computer, an old i5 was at about 15%, but suddenly I don't know why, some Windows process started and caused dropouts... I couldn't fix the problem despite all what I read on the net...

For the latency, it depends... 128 samples setting is enough for most people. I personaly feel really connected with a 64 samples setting.

I don't hear any difference between 44100Hz and 48000Hz

Last edited by stamkorg (13-04-2016 07:45)

Re: Latency and Linux

Joe wrote:

I running ubuntu 14.04. With pianoteq directly on alsa. Latency 1.5ms.
Running on pulseaudio gives a higher latency at about 5ms. But then you can e.g. youtube at the same time.

You can get normal desktop audio (and probably with almost the same latency in pianoteq) by running both pulseaudio and pianoteq through jack - just lower the priority of the pulse server, and raise that of the jack server. On ubuntu you'll probably need to apt-get install pulseaudio-module-jack to get both to play nice. On my cheap onboard intel sound chip i get 5ms latency with no xruns ....if i don't have tons of stuff hogging my (relatively little) 4GB of memory

http://soundcloud.com/delt01
Pianoteq 5 STD+blüthner, Renoise 3 • Roland FP-4F + M-Audio Keystation 88es
Intel i5@3.4GHz, 16GB • Linux Mint xfce 64bit

Re: Latency and Linux

Hi,
Well I'm playing my VPC1 and it's very nice, thanks for all the help!  I've got the asio4all down to 64 samples and I've not heard any problems.  But when I was using the TOSLINK s/pdif to connect computer to amp, I could notice the lag and did not like it.  So I switched to analog out, and the delay is gone.  BUT, now I hear a tiny bit of hiss.  With my headphones (fairly cheap ones) I can hardly hear it, and with a set of pretty good powered speakers it's not very noticeable, but into my Yamaha RX-V675 analog inputs, it's not acceptable.  I don't think it's a ground loop; kind of high pitched sound.  Why do I hear it more with the Yamaha?? The sound chip on my motherboard is top-rated ALC1150, 110db S/N, thought it would do the job...   But maybe not.  Do I have to buy a sound card?  Am now extremely tempted to buy an ASUS Essense STXII sound card, which by almost all the reviews will sound wonderful with no hiss.  Need a bit more advice...
Thanks.

Re: Latency and Linux

The hiss could be caused by the fact that you connected your VPC1 to your pc with a usb cable.

Really, a good external soundcard is recommanded. You could then plug your VPC1 with a standard midi connection.

Re: Latency and Linux

gibbyj wrote:

Hi,
  Am now extremely tempted to buy an ASUS Essense STXII sound card, which by almost all the reviews will sound wonderful with no hiss.  Need a bit more advice...
Thanks.


My advice is to go for a clean audiocard made for music, with solid Asio drivers and midi in/out.
For example:

- Steinberg UR242
- Focusrite 2i4
- Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6
- Roland UA-55 Quad-Capture

All these cards are in the 200 euros range and will give a pristine sound quality with a very low latency.

Last edited by stamkorg (18-04-2016 18:02)

Re: Latency and Linux

Stamkorg - how do these audio interfaces work; VPC1 connects to Midi input, then USB out connects to computer?  Then computer connects BACK to the audio interface, via USB again?  Then audio interface to amplifier via analog cable.  Is this right?  So if my guesses are correct, this approach uses USB twice, once to get from audio interface to the computer and once to get back to the audio interface.  With an internal card, USB is only used once, with very fact PCI bus getting Pianoteq output to DAC.  I'm not disputing what you are saying, just am trying to understand it all.  With MIDI over USB, I'm not sure I understand how that could introduce hiss, since it's digital, not analog.  Is it possible I have the ASIO buffer TOO small?

Re: Latency and Linux

gibbyj wrote:

Stamkorg - how do these audio interfaces work; VPC1 connects to Midi input, then USB out connects to computer?  Then computer connects BACK to the audio interface, via USB again?  Then audio interface to amplifier via analog cable.  Is this right?  So if my guesses are correct, this approach uses USB twice, once to get from audio interface to the computer and once to get back to the audio interface.  With an internal card, USB is only used once, with very fact PCI bus getting Pianoteq output to DAC.  I'm not disputing what you are saying, just am trying to understand it all.  With MIDI over USB, I'm not sure I understand how that could introduce hiss, since it's digital, not analog.  Is it possible I have the ASIO buffer TOO small?

You are right, that's how usb soundcards work. There is no latency problem with a good card and good drivers.

And you are also right, PCI bus îs faster than usb. If you chose a pci or pci express card, be sure there is an asio driver for it. If not you could also use asio4all.

I don't know why the usb connexion produces a background noise but it is a common problem currently reported.

Re: Latency and Linux

Well, the plot thickens.  I see that if I buy a fancy PCI card, it may not fix the problem, if the problem is actually on the input side, from the VPC1 to the computer.  Note that this hiss/high pitched sound is there all the time, just at idle without playing any notes.  I will do some experiments - like, exit out of Pianoteq.  If the hiss goes away, that might tell me something.  Play around with the asio buffer size.  Also I can hook my phone straight to the analog inputs of the Yamaha and see if the hiss is there, to make sure it's not coming from the circuitry in the amp.  I better wait, before I buy anything else, until I really understand this.  Although, it's pretty clear that if I buy the device you recommend, things should work well.

Re: Latency and Linux

Upon further reading, I think I may have a ground loop problem.  Since I have a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) at home, I'm going to plug one or more devices into that (and unplug it from the wall) and see if the problem goes away.  If it does, maybe I will buy one or more Hum X devices...  or something like that.

Re: Latency and Linux

Success! I tried a few different things and ended up unplugging a couple of cables and plugging the computer into the UPS battery, and the hum stopped. I think this means I can buy the Hum X hum exterminator and plug the computer into it, and all will be well. Will let you know.

Re: Latency and Linux

gibbyj wrote:

What are your thoughts about whether I should go ahead and do this or whether I should give Windows 10 a try for a while first? My Kawai vpc1 is on back order and will not arrive for about 3 weeks, so I have some time here.

Using audio software on Linux has its problems but latency is not one of them once you have everything configured correctly. Certainly not a bigger problam than in Windows.

Re: Latency and Linux

@GRB
Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU  N2830 is a 2 core processor. You at least need a quad core for the calculations.

Re: Latency and Linux

I ordered a Hum X to plug my computer into.  But now I'm understanding this situation better and I think I see better some advantages of the external audio interface device.  With the external device, the analog connection to my amp would be from it, not from the computer, and the device must be built with isolation etc., so as not to have any problem with ground loops or hum.  So I can see how it would solve my noise problem.  Perhaps at the slight expense of adding one more D/A conversion (for USB from computer back to the device), I would have a high quality audio interface with no hum, better ASIO drivers, etc.  $50 of the cost of the device would be paid for by returning my Hum X to Amazon if I do it soon.  There's a beauty however, in my mind, to keeping the processing on the computer and avoiding the USB overhead.  One day I could buy a really nice audio interface internal PCIe card, which I imagine could accept real MIDI from the VPC1, talk to Pianoteq over fast PCIe, and output to my amp with great DACs, and have everything isolated well like the Focusrite etc. so again, I would probably not need the Hum X.  And theoretically, it seems this solution would have less round-trip latency and would sound great.  I'm not sure how much this (RME?) PCIe card would cost.  This is all interesting, but I should probably be spending more time playing my piano instead of tinkering with this stuff...

Re: Latency and Linux

GRB wrote:

Presently, I'm running a Asus laptop with an Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU  N2830  @ 2.16GHz, Linux Mint 17.3, and Pianoteq hardly performs at all.  No matter how much you dimish the Pianoteq performance, it still sucks.  The harpsichords work, but the advanced pianos such as the Model B have serious issues.  My advice: never buy a computer with a Celeron it just doesn't have the muscle.

Interesting, then a N2830 dual-core would perform significantlly slower than a N2930 quad-core. I'm using a N2930 under Debian Linux ("Jessie") since 2014 in an fanless Acer 11" netbook and don't need anything else ( 48 kHz, 64 samples (1.3 ms), polyphony 64, onboard codec). There are several hints & tips in this forum, for example http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic.php?id=3397

Re: Latency and Linux

Joe wrote:

@GRB
Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU  N2830 is a 2 core processor. You at least need a quad core for the calculations.

Pianoteq is fine with 2 cores, as long as they're not too slow. Say, anything below 1.8 GHz. 1.6 at a stretch. 2.0 GHz is an ideal minimum - I used to run Pianoteq on a dualcore for quite some time, without any issues whatsoever. However, it was not a Celeron, but a regular Core2Duo...

Last edited by EvilDragon (20-04-2016 23:15)
Hard work and guts!

Re: Latency and Linux

My setup is working well now, with VPC1 connected to tower computer (i5 Windows 10), on-board ALC1150-based analog output going into Yamaha amp.  I now have 2 ground-loop eliminators, Hum X on PC power plug, the other between PC and amp (Rolls HE18).  I may be able to remove one of the ground-loop eliminators; I plan to check that.  I simplified/removed extra cables connected to the PC as much as I could.  64 sample asio4all buffer, 44000 sample rate, auto-pessimistic (or 128, can't remember) polyphony. It sounds really good! Am also going to add trip-lite Isobar power strip.  All devices plug into one power strip.  I really can't hear the hum anymore, and am happy with the setup.

Last edited by gibbyj (25-04-2016 15:17)

Re: Latency and Linux

I had the chance to install Pianoteq trial on a Celeron N3050 yesterday. It is a newer generation than my N2930 (14 nm vs. 22 nm), but has "just" two cores and a slower clock 1.6 GHz (burst 2.16 GHz). RAM is just 2 GB instead 4 GB in my older netbook.

For platform I chose the experimental, lightweight Linux-Desktop "LXQt" that is available now in Debian (Stretch) for testing.

The N3050 system is slower. Performance index is 19 instead of 23 with the N2930 and I have to set buffersize to 128 samples (2.7 ms) instead of 64 (1.3 ms) at 48 kHz. Although I prefer the latency to be as short as possible, that is acceptable.

Cheers

PS: My standard-tunings: intel_pstate set to performance; limits.conf; alsa direct to hardware without conversions.
PPS: onboard-codec on the N3050 is ALC255.