Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, smoerk <smoerk@g...> wrote:
> latencies around 3 ms should be possible. what you need is a 
computer 
> capable processing the input without delays an interrupts, for 
example a 
> linux with a lw latency kernel and sound card, which can be 
configured 
> to only use 64 samples buffer size. 64 samples at 48khz sample rate 
> equals a latency of 1,33 ms, at 96khz you have 0,66 ms. the problem 
is 
> that most operating systems are not designed for low-latency or 
> real-time operation.
> 
> but i think 3 ms should be possible. is this too much? what is the 
> latency of a dtxth, dtxpress, alesis dm5/d4/dm-pro, roland td-
5/7/8/10?

We may be getting into an area that you know far better than I do. 
But I will venture to say that the latency of a drum module with pads 
is next to negligible. Unfortunately, I've never seen any figures on 
it, but then again I've never looked for them. I once read about 
someone who had latency issues with the Alesis DM5 when triggering 
complex samples, preferring the D4 instead, but I've never 
encountered anyone else in any way, shape, or form who was 
dissatisfied with a drum module because of high latency. That said, 
the ddrum4 module is universally considered to be the fastest module 
to play in captivity, mainly because of its analog triggering stage. 
The drawback is that its extracurricular MIDI functionality suffers 
because of it. I hope to do some serious testing of the ddrum soon, 
with particular attention to its speed. I want to know how the theory 
translates into actual performance; I have never noticed any 
difference between Yamaha and Roland modules in this respect.

Maybe people will jump all over me--and if they can, they should, 
because I am nowhere up to speed (no pun intended) on this issue--but 
a latency of 3ms. seems like it would be workable, maybe even as much 
as 5. Latencies of 10, 15, 20ms--fuggedaboudit. But even then, I can 
imagine some happy-go-lucky drummer merrily trampling right over the 
delay without blinking an eye. Somebody want to help me out here? 
What are the acceptable latency readings that people are getting with 
their sequencers and other MIDI processing equipment?