You can also control the input monitor settings that will be used when the US-224 first starts up. You can choose either the last settings in effect at the previous system shutdown, or any one of the four snapshots.
5.2 Buffer Size Adjustment
The US-224 Control Panel contains a second page, tabbed “System”. On this page the buffer size can be adjusted. Smaller buffer sizes will result in lower latency, but requires a faster system.
About Buffer Sizing:
The US-224 driver temporarily stores input and output audio samples in buffers. Larger buffers provide more safety against other system activities interrupting the audio and producing clicks, pops or other audible artifacts. Smaller buffers provide lower latency when using the computer to send input audio to output channels in order to monitor the input. The driver lets users select which buffer size works best for their computer and audio application. Note: This adjustment does not affect the latency of the US-224’s hardware input monitor, which is always less than an ultra-low 1.5 ms.
To adjust the buffer size, run the US-224 Control Panel and go to the System tab. The Audio Latency slider lets you change the buffer size from a minimum of 256 samples (128 samples on the Mac) to a maximum of 2048 samples. All audio programs that use the US-224 must quit before a new audio latency setting takes effect. Using Cubase VST at 44.1 kHz sampling rate, a 256 sample buffer size gives appx. 12 ms of monitoring latency, while a 2048 sample buffer gives appx 43 ms latency.
Illustration 5.02 – System Tab
5.3 The Chromatic Tuner
Open the US-224’s control panel and select the “Tuner” tab.
In the “Input” section, select the US-224 input channel that you want to tune (A or B).
Play a note and adjust the trim knob for that input until the signal is strong, but not clipping.
The “Level” meter on the screen should display bright green segments without lighting the top red segment.
If desired, you can change the Tuning Standard in the “Reference” section. Normally, the Tuning Standard is set to 440 cycles per second for a middle “A” note, but you can use the up/down arrows to change it to a number between 430 and 450 cycles per second.
As you play, the detected note will be displayed below the Tuning lights (A# or E, for example). If the note is sharp, the “Sharp” arrow and a Tuning light to the right of ‘0’ are bright red; if the note is flat, the “Flat” arrow and a Tuning light to the left of ‘0’ are bright red.
21
