Having issues with MOTU soundcard (and Max). Steps to rule out problems?
So I've been having some problems in the last few months with my MOTU Microbook II which are kicking my butt. I've had the soundcard since it came out and have never had problems before. The problems only seems to be happening with Max, but I want to try to rule out other variables.
(I've submitted the issues to Max and MOTU but haven't gotten anywhere with either).
I've been having a couple of issues. The first one I noticed was that after a few minutes of playing (duration was random, as well as not happening all the time), there would be a tiny audio dropout, after which all audio was delayed by about 200ms. It stays this way until I restart audio or change vector sizes. Then it goes back to normal (for a bit).
I've tried using the MOTU with Logic and haven't been able to reproduce the problem there, but since it is inconsistent, it's hard to nail down.
The other is that I'm getting (consistent) audio dropouts when sending osc packets over upd. I thought this might have been a monome specific problem, but after troubleshooting, it's only happening with the MOTU soundcard.
Things I've tested:
-Using different audio devices (built-in, RME, and MOTU) - the problems only happens with MOTU
-Using different computers (Retina macbook pro, and a mac mini) - the problem happens with both
-Using different programs (Max and Logic) - problem only happens with Max (though inconclusive as it's inconsistent)
One thing I'm going to try today, which was recommended to me by the monome guys, is to try sending osc over udp in Max (while having audio OFF) and playing music out of iTunes via the MOTU, to see if I get glitches there.
Basically I want to try to narrow down wether the problem is with MOTU or with Max, so I can proceed further. So any suggestions as to steps to narrow down this problem would be super welcome!
Here's a vid showing the audio dropout problem (over udp) on a mac mini, using the MOTU, so you can see one of the problems:
http://rodrigoconstanzo.com/temp/glitch.mov
The more annoying problem (random latency) I've not documented yet (it evades my attempts and only likes to show up during important rehearsals and gigs when I don't have a camera handy!).
Aha, after some more testing I've narrowed it down to a driver problem for sure.
I had a new problem crop up where CueMix wasn't passing any audio through at all, and after poking around I noticed audio was there but waaaaay too quiet (capping out at -48db). This happened out of nowhere (on the day of a gig!) and started working again the next day.
I tested it out with Max, Logic, Quicktime, and the issue was present, so I've gotten in touch with MOTU and let them know the full/new story.
Rodrigo, Did you ever get the the bottom of the random latency issues?
My Microbook II randomly increases it's latency during performance and it's driving me bonkers!
J
Sort of... I bought an RME.
I think there's a serious driver issue with my laptop (2013 MBP) because I was getting all sorts of issues (detailed above) and then had it actually fail on a gig (it was getting audio in, but not passing it through). After more troubleshooting I was able to confirm that there was something specifically wrong with the driver (the issue was there with other apps (iTunes etc...) and not there at all with other soundcards).
I followed up a few times on the bug report but it went nowhere.
It's a shame too because it was a really useful soundcard, but as it stands, I have no confidence in using that soundcard on stage anymore.
But from what it sounds like you're having the exact issue I was having.
Thanks Rodrigo, That's the solution I was thinking about too. Oh well, bit of a shame though - the drivers for my Motu Traveller are rock solid.
Same exact thing here! Had nothing but joy from my traveller, and my microbook was my MAIN soundcard for years. Just neglected on the driver front now.
Hi Rodrigo, I am too having the same audio drop out issues with my new Motu Microbook IIc. When using ether VLC, i_tunes or Spotify I get these audio drop outs. Tons of latency in Ableton Live 9 when only running 3 tracks with 3 or 4 plugins. My machine is a Macbook Air 2015 running the latest OSX. I have installed the latest drivers from the Motu website, even as I type I'm getting audio drop outs just now when playing an audio file! This is just so annoying, after reading your post I have no confidence using this in a live situation. Very disappointed too by Motu's after sales service they're completely useless. They try to blame whatever I'm using but this isn't just happening on my machine! Looking at your post it's a few years now and I guess they've done nothing to improve their products. Wish I'd seen this post before I purchased it! The USB connection on the back is of poor quality and the USB cable is lose as a result of the poor USB port on the unit. Grr....
Yeah it's really disappointing as it was a perfect 'travel' soundcard when you don't need much I/O.