Weird (to me) problem with DAW and AVR with USB Keyboard

[ultranothing]

Hey folks!

So I've got a Denon AVR with a 5.1 speaker setup hooked up to my PC and out to my TV, via HDMI. I've got a USB MIDI keyboard and I'm using Mixcraft Pro 7.

This weird thing keeps happening. I've got a drum kit queued up and I'm trying to lay down a percussion track, and any time there's a break in the beat, the next hit is always cut off.

Even at the beginning of the track, the first key I press never gets detected. It's like, I can see it on the monitor as having audio but I can't hear it.

If I have the metronome going while I make the beat, it seems to improve.

This same thing seems to happen with any audio I play. Every time I play a song via PC, the first second or so is always cut off. It's as though the AVR needs to be tapped on the shoulder and told, "Hey, there's audio coming through now! Pay attention!"

I was just sort of dealing with that until it came time to do some DAW stuff. It works great if I keep pressing keys on the MIDI keyboard. As soon as I stop for a second or slow down a significant amount, the whole system starts cutting out like it forgot what we were doing. I'll stop playing the keyboard for more than a half measure and it's like my PC or AVR or whatever the culprit is has ADHD and forgets we're in the middle of making music...

I hope I'm explaining this right! Why could this be happening?

 

[ultranothing]

Also, I should probably mention that the problem persists even during playback of the track I created.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I know thing or two about IT, but this stuff may get your hair gray since what you doing is far from recommended configuration.
What you really want is audio interface which supports and has ASIO driver. I going to guess what intel/amd/nvidia video card you're using for hdmi out doesn't such driver.

So, I'd start with separating audio and video paths. Audio using (maybe spdif) or analog if using external interface. You may also try WaveRT Exclusive mode - not sure, but if available it may help to reduce this latency
http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/v7/help/mixcraft_manual/important-sound-setup-information.html
Realistically, like I said your best bet would external audio interface with ASIO support like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-GENERATION-USB-Recording/dp/B005OZE9SA

You could catch it on sale as low as $105 or 2nd gen for generally $150 with hi-res audio support

 

[TLS Guy]

I agree with Bored.

For what you are doing you need pro gear. You need a dedicated DAW. That is what I have. You need a computer and external DAC like RME Fireface. This gives you audio and Midi support. You do need ASIO drivers. Connect to your receiver with optical or RCA SPDIF.

In a DAW to not use an internal sound card.

It will save you money if you can DIY this like I did. If not a good pro rig for what you want will not come cheap. The way you are doing this you will have latency issues up the gazoo.

 

[ultranothing]

Hi! Thanks for all the replies.

The way I have it set up seems to be working? There's a 3ms latency which I can deal with and make slight adjustments to the timing manually if I need to.

The only problem I have, it seems, is that my AVR seems to ...drop out...as soon as there's a second or two of silence. If I put on a track of, say, white noise while I'm using the MIDI keyboard, the AVR stays on and I hear all my inputs through the surround speakers with really zero delay.

Basically, it seems to me that I just need the stupid receiver to stay ON. How can I get it to stop falling asleep every time there's a lull?

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi! Thanks for all the replies.

The way I have it set up seems to be working? There's a 3ms latency which I can deal with and make slight adjustments to the timing manually if I need to.

The only problem I have, it seems, is that my AVR seems to ...drop out...as soon as there's a second or two of silence. If I put on a track of, say, white noise while I'm using the MIDI keyboard, the AVR stays on and I hear all my inputs through the surround speakers with really zero delay.

Basically, it seems to me that I just need the stupid receiver to stay ON. How can I get it to stop falling asleep every time there's a lull?

Thinking about this, it is quite likely an HDMI handshake issue. I would not use HDMI. Does your computer have SPDIF optical or coax outputs? If it does use them. I suspect the problem lies primarily with your PC and not the receiver. I think you need to use one way communication to your receiver and not two way HDMI.

 

[ultranothing]

Thinking about this, it is quite likely an HDMI handshake issue. I would not use HDMI. Does your computer have SPDIF optical or coax outputs? If it does use them. I suspect the problem lies primarily with your PC and not the receiver. I think you need to use one way communication to your receiver and not two way HDMI.

Thanks for the reply. I've now got the system set up to use my ASIO Device (Strix Soar soundcard) and it's hooked up via Optical to the AVR, which is set to use the optical-in on the PC input. The audio was robotic and static-y until I changed the buffer setting.

But wouldn't ya know, the problem persists.

I found an option in my AVR to turn on or off bypass mode (?) but that doesn't help either.

If I can provide any specifics on my hardware or software that could yield more ideas, please let me know!

 

[TLS Guy]

I have never used a receiver or prepro, as a musical interface. On researching this I see all receivers have about 40 ms latency in their digital inputs.

It looks as if your only option is to get an audio only amplifier, or use the analog inputs out of your sound card