Need Help with V-Fire and Sonar LE

[ascallion]

Hello Everyone,

I’ll apologize up front for the length of this explanation, but I just want to provide as many details as possible. I recently purchased the V-Fire, but I’m not having a great deal of luck at this point.

As I just mentioned, I’m using the V-Fire, Sonar LE, a 2480HD, EMU’s 1212M Digital Audio System - using the firewire input on this card (I’ve also tried the HP firewire port.), and a HP A1520Y Series PC.
It has the following specs:
OS – Windows XP Home Edition
Processor – Intel® Pentium® 4 HT Technology enabled 2.9GHz
HP Sound Card – Integrated 5.1 sound with front audio ports
(I disabled it and use the EMU only.)
Memory – 1GB DDR2-533MHz SDRAM (1X1024)
Hard Drive – 160GB 7200 rpm SATA
Graphics Card – Integrated ATI Radeon Xpress HyperMemory

After some trial and error I was able to get the V-Fire to Sync with the PC. I configured the routing on the 2480 and set the V-Fire panel to Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz, Clock Source: Internal (I also used RBUS1), and Latency: 96…so far, so good.

I set Sonar LE as follows:
Audio Options – General
Playback Timing Master: ASIO Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH1
Record Timing Master: ASIO Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH1
Sampling Rate: 44100
File Bit Depth: 16 (also tried 24)

Audio Options - Advanced
I/O Buffer Size (KB): 64 (I also tried various numbers that Sonar help recommended - 128, 32, 16, etc.)
Driver Mode: ASIO

Drivers:
Input/Output
Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH1
Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH3
Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH5
Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH7

I set up a few different test sessions in Sonar to import some tracks from the 2480.
Input: ASIO Presonus VFIRE 0261c9f7RBUS-CH1 left and right, and so on.

I was able to record the tracks. With these drivers selected, I have my playback sound coming through the 2480.

Sonar lets me playback the tracks once or twice with no issues and then things start to go south. On the third try (or so), playback is rushed (It sounds like scratching a needle across vinyl. The entire track finishes in a matter of seconds…clock issue?) or the track will dropout after a few seconds. It always ends with Sonar not responding. This is where I'm getting stuck. I tried many combinations - I adjusted the clock source, latency, buffer size, and driver type.

I thought that it might be an EMU/V-Fire conflict, so first I updated the EMU drivers…that didn’t work. Then I removed the EMU cards/drivers from the system altogether…same issues. The system still wouldn’t work properly. I also disabled the Realtek Internal sound card so that the V-Fire would be the only thing running. I experienced the same dropouts and crash problems.

I’ve heard that HP computers can be a problem when used for audio recording. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

What kind of PC’s are you using?

I could go without the V-Fire, but I like the possibilities that it offers. For one thing, I want to be able to get my audio tracks from the Drumkit from Hell Superior software into the 2480 as separate files for tweaking at the mixing stage and also have the ability to play in real-time without a great hassle.

Thanks,

Mike

[JayDee]

Is this of any value?

http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/techtips/d--05/24/2002

What happens if you switch the DAW back to internal clock once you've tracked? Is there any mode where you can get it to run at the right speed consistently? Sounds like a 'chasing its tail' situation to me.

[ascallion]

Hi JayDee,

Thanks for the link; I'll check it out. I've tried every combo with the clock and it only runs ok the first few times. This is driving me batty!

Thanks,
Mike

[tovenaar]

Hello,

I have the same problem!
Is there anyone who have a solution?

[AlteredStatesOfBeing]

I have the same problem aswell, please help!

[Sidechain]

In Sonar...Go to Options/Project Options - click on Clock and tick SMPTE/MTC...then click on Sync.......tick Transmit MTC and make sure the device you are using in your output ports is ticked...Also tick Transmit Midi Start/Continue/Stop Clock...Hit OK and restart Sonar...See how you go...

[AlteredStatesOfBeing]

Thanks Sidechain, I gave it a whirl but am still having the same problem! Audio seems fine for a while but will then suddenly go all distorted and play back fast. does anyone else have any ideas? please help:)

[shuckjivehuckstah]

i iknow this is a dumb question but did you check this link?
http://www.presonus.com/media/pdf/hardware_compatibility.pdf

Also, sometimes , if the below steps don't work, your BIOS might be outdated for audio rand you may need to reflash (be careful when doing this!) the BIOS to the latest BIOS and that can help.
Let me know how it goes!
Anyway, here's few tricks (for Windows DAW):
1. disable FireWire networking
2. if you have Logitech webcam, disconnect it AND unistall it's drivers
3. ditch wireless keyboard/mouse/any other wireless device
4. disable wireless networking
5. disable all networking
6. Disable "Speed stepping" from BIOS setup

[shuckjivehuckstah]

Ascallion,
you could als lock timing via midi via cheap USB midi only interface to your PC then Midi it up to your 2408 HD. You can overdub to hearts content and bypass the MIDI over firewire cable situation, which seems to be a big part of problem, wherever it lies.

[the_7th_Samurai]

I'm having the exact same problem as has been posted above. Have tried all of the recommended adjustments and fixes mentioned in the thread with no luck. This is a bit discouraging to me, given the fact that the original problem was identified by ascallion in 2006. Hard to believe an issue such as this has yet to be resolved. In the meantime, (after having purchased the V-Fire, a new PC, Sonar and Addictive Drums), I have to go back to recording on the VS2480 only.