Why is the external audio from the Rytm out of sync?

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#22

I don’t think it’s a driver issue, nor an interface issue. I’ll run some tests tomorrow but, audio should not have latency. It is being passed analog through a desk straight through to my interface, Steinberg UR44. I don’t experience any latency with any other instrument in my studio.

I am convinced having OB enabled is introducing latency to the analog outputs of the Rytm,. Tomorrow I will try a new session, will not enable Rytm /OB in my DAW, and will monitor the audio output direct from the Rytm through my desk to see if the timing issue is there.

The thing is, the problem is difficult to notice, unless you having the Rytm sending audio over USB and at the same time in parallel have audio going through the analog outputs. This is when I noticed the two identical sounds but through different ‘sources’ were out of time. Well, the USB audio was perfect, for example, the kick would sound on the ABleton metronone as one expected, perfectly. However, the sound coming out of the analog outputs of the Rytm would be behind the Ableton metronome by (approx) half a second.

If I simply monitor the rytm through the analog outputs, and without using OB and thus the rytm is not slaved to Ableton, I don’t have a benchmark to identify the latency…I am just going off my hearing and half a second latency is pretty impossible to notice. Even if I try to line up a kick to the ableton metronome by ear, it is not accurate enough.

#23

Could it have something to do with rytm acting as an audio interface? If audio has to travel - convert more then it will add to latency. For example the sound is passing via usb first via the computer, before making its way to the audio outs.
Are you passing audio generated from ableton to rytm?

#24

Yep this is exactly it!

#25

And audio from AR via OB and then sent out from Ableton to the OT, for example, is less latent than audio direct from the analog outputs!! It makes no sense to me at all. But is certainly that way unfortunately

#26

I don’t think I am using the Rytm as an interface. I am definitely not sending any audio from Ableton to the Rytm. In Ableton preferences my interface is my typical UR44.

Actually thinking about it no, I am triggering the sound on the rytm, direct out through the analog outputs, into my desk, then into my interface, this should incur no latency, but it does. The sound must be latent from when it leaves the rytm, it wouldn’t pick up latency at any other point in the signal path.

I believe the OB is messing up the Rytm’s timings in relation to audio output from USB and it’s analog signal path.

#27

Yep!

#28

What about if you press the rytm pass manually when you’re experiencing this latency? Do the outputs still lag with manual triggering?

#29

Yes. If I monitor both the USB audio output and the analog output at the same time, the sound when triggered manually on the pad is out of sync. The analog signal is late. Of course both sounds should be heard identically, as if they were layered. They aren’t.