MPC Studio Latency Distortion!

I've recently purchased and installed an Akai MPC studio and am running it on what seems a very competent Windows 7 - 64 Bit PC with
8gb Ram +
Intel i5 3.2Ghz Processor.
The computer has some guts but I seem to be having problems with latency in the MPC software. When I change Audio buffer rate in Edit > Preferences to a higher value, the samples become obviously delayed in playback which is predicted, but when I lower the value, to achieve more responsive sample playback on the pads, the audio begins to distort and become inaudible beyond recognition. This problem cannot let me find equilibrium between clear signal and responsive playback of the samples.
I have seen/heard other people set their audio buffer rates very low and have clear playback but mine is viciously painful to listen to and cannot figure out it's cause. I cannot believe that this could be performance based as it's a new PC?? Could anyone offer help?

I don't have any software/tasks/services running in the background and the computer is just over a week old so it's not chocking on data.

Kind regards!!

Hopeless....

What audio interface/sound card are you using?

I'm using just the on-board sound driver that I believe came with my mother board (ASrock Z87 Extreme6). I have the "Realtek HD Audio manager" icon in my tray which I think is just the standard driver. I am connecting the MPC studio to the motherboard via the USB cable provided.

u can try asio4all but on a long term get a asio soundcard

Realtek Motherboard sound is a bust all day. You'll be lucky if you can even get by on a 512 or 1024 sample buffer.

Try ASIO4All immediately. Emulated ASIO driver is gonna beat the tar out of of a WDM driver. WDM/Direct X can do much more than web audio/video audio and media player audio. Those drivers don't run on low kernel level straight to CPU like ASIO does. Too many OS topology layers for the data to travel through to handle playable low latency Audio/MIDI.

Some Studio owners posted that they got ASIO4ALL to work, some did not. I hope it works foe you.

This is just to elaborate on what pull-over posted.

samv wrote:I'm using just the on-board sound driver that I believe came with my mother board (ASrock Z87 Extreme6). I have the "Realtek HD Audio manager" icon in my tray which I think is just the standard driver. I am connecting the MPC studio to the motherboard via the USB cable provided.

I suggest getting a dedicated USB audio interface and use ASIO drivers. There are quite a few on the market at reasonable prices:

Steinberg UR 22 $150
Presonus Audio Box $150
Focusrite Scarlet $150
Mackie Onyx Blackjack $150
Avid Mbox Mini $160

Just to name a few.....

Yea man, just get a cheap audio interface. Asio 4 all should only be used as a stop gap solution, imho.

The AKAI MPC only has once connection which is USB it has two other MIDI adapter ports but it's main connection for power is USB.

What interface would take a USB connection?

Or would I connect to my computer via usb and monitor (listen) via the interface?

I have a Pro Tools 003+ Rack that connects via Firewire to my PC Tower seperately. Could I use that somehow??

The Studio (as well as the MPC Ren) can utilize any audio interface connected to your computer. Your fireware device should work fine. You just need to go into the MPC Software's Audio Preferences and select your firewire device as the input and output. Note - Use the same audio device as the input and output for best performance.

If your firewire device has MIDI, you can also use that with the MPC Software. You just need to set it up in the MIDI Preferences.