Is my FireWire UltraLite-mk3 underperforming?

[UltimateOutsider]

I've had my FireWire-only UltraLite-mk3 since 2010, and I haven't had too many issues with it other than occasional squeaks/squeals during playback- maybe once or twice a week.

Thing is, I've never been able to use the UltraLite reliably at anything less than 512 samples; any lower and the squeals get more frequent, and I begin to get pops/clicks as well. But I've just recently realized that many people operate at much lower sample rates than I do- and I'm wondering if I'm facing a fundamental limitation of the UltraLite, or whether there's something else going on.

At 512 samples, I get an input latency of 12.9 seconds. My PC details are in my signature.

Other UltraLite users: What sample rates do you typically use when you're producing? Are you able to get away with less than 512 samples/12.9ms?

One more thing- my UltraLite takes about 12-15 seconds to start up after I press the power button. Someone told me that this is a function of my PC, not the UltraLite itself. Is this true? Does your UltraLite start up faster than mine? My PC's 2 1/2 years old, but surely it should be more than adequate for DAW use, yeah?

[MrFisse]

I am using 96 samples on my MK3 Hybrid without any issues, have run it lower as well but saw no point in doing so. It takes around 5 seconds to start. You must have some issue with drivers or the firewire ports on your mainboard. Using my Asus built in Firewire ports.

[UltimateOutsider]

I am using 96 samples on my MK3 Hybrid without any issues, have run it lower as well but saw no point in doing so. It takes around 5 seconds to start. You must have some issue with drivers or the firewire ports on your mainboard. Using my Asus built in Firewire ports.

Thanks. That's very odd that our startup times are so different.

I spent last night doing DAWBench tests on my system. Below I'm listing my own benchmark results against the author's reference system (specs below). The results in parentheses are his. His processor has a lower clock speed than mine (they're otherwise pretty similar), but he was also using a PCIe RME interface versus my UltraLite. My system isn't overclocked, and I don't know if his was. Oh, and he was running Cubase 5.x, while I have 6.5 (32-bit Cubase on 64-bit Windows... one of the benchmark plugins was 32-bit only.)

My system:
Intel i7 950 / X58 / 12GB DDR3 / Win 7 x64 / MOTU UltraLite-mmk3 (FW 400)

Reference system:
Intel i7 920 / X58 / 6GB DDR3 / Win 7 X64 / RME HDSPe (PCIe)

DSP RESULTS (256 samples)

• Channel Strip Pro instances: 140 (ref 146)
• Elysia Mpressor instances: 67 (ref 143) ???
• MD5 Multiband Compressor instances: 159 (ref 160)

KONTAKT POLYPHONY RESULTS (512 samples)

• Poly notes with convolution reverb: 730 (ref 760)
• Poly notes without convolution reverb: 780 (ref 780)

KONTAKT POLYPHONY RESULTS (256 samples)

• Poly notes with convolution reverb: 520 (ref 540)
• Poly notes without convolution reverb: 540 (ref 560)

Overall, my results were either the same as or a little bit lower than his (with the crazy exception of the Mpressor tests- I'm wondering whether there's a difference in the version of that plugin that we used), so I seem to be doing all right in terms of general PC and interface performance.

Something I noticed during testing was that in every single round of tests, when Cubase's ASIO meter reached around 90% I'd hear a single squeal out of the interface, just like the problem I mentioned in the original post. It would squeak just that one time, as if to say "GASP!" And then by the time the meter reached around 95% I'd just hear clicks and dropouts, like a skipping CD.

I can guarantee that none of my personal projects even approach 90% ASIO utilization. (The DSP benchmark projects have over 40 tracks of audio with 8 insert effects applied to 40 of them.) So it's looking like the squeaks issue I'm having is more of a spike than a basic weakness of the hardware. I was also surprised by how well my system did at 256 samples. My previous experiments going under 512 samples over the past couple years all resulted in clicks and dropouts... I wonder if some optimization or system change I made in the intervening time improved things and I didn't know it?

The cheapest and easiest thing for me to rule out right now regarding the squeaks is the FireWire. I'm currently using onboard FW. I just ordered a highly-rated PCIe FW card (and a new cable) to see if the spikes go away.