Which interface is better?

ronnie_cessna

Looking at the Motu 4x4 and the Apollo Twin Duo. Not really worried about the software bundle as much as the interface itself. Reducing latency is what I'm thinking, for running real time audio.

LostInFoundation

All the “not on the cheapest side” interfaces nowadays act good in relation to latency.

The 2 you named seem pretty good (I already used the Twin and read good reviews about the Motu).

Don’t forget to take in consideration also what you’re gonna plug in. Some interfaces are praised cause they have good mic preamp, but when it comes to line or instrument inputs they are overpriced cause others (costing less) have the same quality on this ground.

And also don’t underestimate your needs about inputs: many people buy 2 inputs interfaces just to regret it later cause they start plugging in line in devices (just one of them needing stereo will occupy all your inputs), and have to change it for one with more possibilities.

Sometimes spending less is spending more

Kubrak

I would also look at forums concerning drivers and drivers support. I do not have experience with MOTU or Apollo, but I have read notice from a guy, who complained about MOTU drivers....

RME interfaces have low latency and exellent drivers and SW. But they cost fortune even secondhand.

Isotoxin

What about Behringer UMC1820?

Because 4 input and 4 output ports is a very, very, very little for audio production.

Maciej Repetowski

If it’s PC - then RME is the best.

ronnie_cessna

I’m running Windows 11 on a Surface Laptop Go i5, 8gb ram. Used LatencyMon last night and going to run it again tonight. Haven’t changed any Power Option settings yet except for some browser settings which brought CPU and RAM usage down a little.

I use mostly Native and Heavyocity products with Ableton Live so I want something that works well with both. I’m definitely on a budget. I was reading an article comparing interfaces that said Motu is good but if you’ve got the money go for the Apollo, it’s studio quality ( I found one used). Now I’ve been reading people’s reviews and they’re really mixed, now I’m not so sure.

Isotoxin

Latencymon is used to measure dpc latency. I don't think this is the latency you are trying to achieve with external audio interface.

ronnie_cessna

I know it’s an internal problem. Kernel mode driver framework runtime and direct graphics driver seem to be the issue. Did a clean boot and that helped a little. I was hoping getting the right interface might help a little before I change power settings. I read changing power settings can wear down the battery and other components sooner than later.

LostInFoundation

Unluckily, also your model being from the Go series could lead to not the best results

ronnie_cessna

So I went with the Motu. Anyone have any experience with Motu or Yamaha Hs5 monitors? I'm not getting sound through Ableton but I'm getting sound through YouTube.

6xes

so long as the computer you are running... can reduce the buffer size and still operate without glitching etc... your existing interface should be suffice.

i doubt changing an already good interface for another will make alot of difference... ultimately its the buffer size that makes the biggest difference in latency reduction, the sound coming out of the PC whether its glitching on a low buffer size... is related to your computers performance & how well the drivers were written

Kubrak

@6xes

whether its glitching on a low buffer size... is related to your computers performance & how well the drivers were written

And so, the brand of interface may matter...

For Win I have good experience with RME. Excellent build and excellent drivers.

ronnie_cessna

I chatted with a guy at Motu and we got the sound going. I used LatencyMon while playing Maschine Mikro 3. One project played fine with 8 tracks with effects it passed latency test. The other project was an expansion pack drum kit where I ran each pad to its own channel (16) This didnt pass and again said Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime. Windows 11 says drivers are up to date. Any ideas to find a better driver update?

ronnie_cessna

I've been at it all day. Had to do a lot of things manually but eventually I came across tweaking.com has anyone heard of this? it seems to have fixed the issue. I opened Live and ran LatencyMon. I did, shortly after that, experience a blue screen but it was only saying windows ran into a problem and had to restart.

Kubrak

@ronnie_cessna

You cannot expect wonders using MS Surface Go i5. Which model do you have? Does it have 4 core i5, or older 2 core?

I have MS Surface Pro 7 i5 (4C/8T) and while it is fine for Traktor, for music production it is usable just for simpler sketching. It is good, I like it, but one cannot expect to run CPU hungry projects on it and have low latency. For that one needs stronger maschine. Double, quadruple more....

6xes

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/89195#Comment_89195

i use the tweaking.com application...

it is used to fix system errors... due to BSOD's

windows is prone to BSOD's occurring at the most irregular times... and is one of the oddities you can expect to occur at least a couple of times a year...

its my view that tweaking.com fixes any corruption of system files... and attempts to restore the system to a working point.

you may not recognise any issues after the BSOD occurring & rebooting as normal... however if you find you begin to have issues with audio drivers and audio acting different from before the BSOD... then use of the tweaking.com can be helpful... this is not always a fix, and in some cases i've had to replace the system drive with a backup drive i made.

it cannot be stressed enough how important having a backup drive is... especially if you have plenty of VST's and configurations set on a system drive.

So in essence Tweaking.com is only a temporary measure in the off-chance it will restore the system drivers... backup system drives are the failsafe to prevent a complete restore from scratch

live&learn