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MOTU Ultralite AVB ADAT iPad?

edited February 2023 in Hardware

Hi,
Can anyone please tell me if the ADAT ports on the Ultralite AVB work with an iPad?

Thanks

Comments

  • @Solar_Wave
    Saw the PM, but will reply here for everyone.

    The adats on the motu are visible. All the routing software is browser based so you can also see that from the ipad.
    You are still limited to the 24in/24out for the USB connection on the ipad. Any of the adat channels can be routed to and from these (even in the ipad browser)

    AVB to the mac is great, but it has some caveats. Your mac needs to have an ethernet port or a THUNDERBOLT to ethernet (not usb-c to ethernet). All switches that you use also need to be AVB compatible if you are not going straight MOTU to mac. It also does not handle MIDI.

    As far as "the numbers" go, AVB spec is under 2ms latency over 7 hops. An all MOTU setup is just over .6ms.
    Measurements on my setup from ipad (usb) ---> motu ---> Mac (ethernet), and back again (round trip) are 1.6-1.8ms
    (i personally have 0 use for this latency)

    The ipad chokes on 24channels out before the mac chokes on recording 24ch in (m1 mini).

    (bonus round: if you want another ipad on those ADATs, I use these: https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/usbstreamer-box)
    (they also are 40$ more than what they used to be)

  • Thanks for the reply,
    I was more looking for info on the iPad ADAT functionality on it’s own through USB, no mac, no AVB.

    I’ve been waiting for those nifty USB ADAT boxes to be in stock in the UK but a relative will be in the US and will hopefully bring me one back to the UK in the summer for me.

    I saw that you previously said that they lost external clock. How often does that happen? Is that still an issue or was it resolved?

    Cheers

  • Oh, sorry, I saw you were answering questions about AVB from my PM

  • Wouldn’t 1.6 -1.8ms be okay for running iPad as reverb unit and wouldn’t it be half that to trigger a soft synth as audio only going one way, so 0.8-0.9ms?

  • edited February 2023

    @Solar_Wave said:
    I was more looking for info on the iPad ADAT functionality on it’s own through USB......

    The ADAT ports are just like any other available port on it. If you want to use adat, you just route the adat in to the usb in, or usb out to adat out.

    You have 24usb in and out from the ipad. After that, the routing in the interface is all up to you. All of the available inputs and outputs you see listed on the ultralite's tech specs page are available to you.

    (hope i understood your question)

    @Solar_Wave said:
    Wouldn’t 1.6 -1.8ms be okay for running iPad as reverb unit and wouldn’t it be half that to trigger a soft synth as audio only going one way, so 0.8-0.9ms?

    Your milage will vary, but AVB latency will always be under 2ms as long as its in the AVB/ethernet pipline...any additional latency would come from outside of the AVB part.

    AVB isnt a solution i'd recommend to 90% of people as there really isnt a need for it in a home studio setup, unless youre trying to go network based everything...
    Despite its enticing features, there are still some drawbacks to consider.

  • edited February 2023

    To clarify, I would be looking to connect the iPad on it’s own to the Ultralite AVB then via ADAT to either a Motu 828 Mk2 on a Mac or my old Pro Tools MIX system via ADAT bridge.

    If I got the Minidsp box for the iPad I could hopefully stream to and from the Macbook using Ultralite AVB/USB/MOTU driver on the MacBook, to the iPad with Minidsp box via ADAT giving probably less latency, and a more portable setup.

    Of course the latency from the Minidsp box is another issue I hadn’t previously thought of.
    What are the figures on that?

    I do have a memory of someone here
    saying around 0.5 ms through ADAT though probably through a different set up.

    What are the other drawbacks, apart from latency, in your experience, of the AVB protocol as implemented by MOTU?

    Cheers

  • If you’re just looking to use adat, your fine.

  • edited February 2023

    Well that's great news - thank you kindly.

    There should be an Ultralite AVB arriving with me next week, so I’ll look forward to
    putting this stuff into practice.

    If I can also use the iPad and Mac together using AVB then that will be a lovely portable setup
    and the addition of a Minidsp box in the summer should help with latency, or I might bring
    an iPhone in to the equation when I finally update mine.

  • edited February 2023

    @Solar_Wave said:
    I do have a memory of someone here
    saying around 0.5 ms through ADAT though probably through a different set up.

    Probably me... that time is the hardware latency of a full roundtrip on a plain Adat lightpipe connection, no software buffers (AU, Asio, etc) involved.

    For example if you use an external fx unit with your PT Mix system in the following way:
    PT send -> FX in (processing skipped) FX out -> PT receive
    (IIrc I once measured 20-25 samples with a Korg 168 RC digital mixer)

  • Hey Telefunky,
    Thanks for that, it clarifies the comment from AlmostAnonymous
    about having 0 use for 2ms latency.
    How are you doing with the Pro Tools MIX setup?
    I’ll reply more to that other old thread when I get time.

  • edited February 2023

    @Solar_Wave said:
    Hey Telefunky,
    Thanks for that, it clarifies the comment from AlmostAnonymous
    about having 0 use for 2ms latency.
    How are you doing with the Pro Tools MIX setup?
    I’ll reply more to that other old thread when I get time.

    I don’t have a use for next to 0 latency cause I don’t have anything that isn’t clocked/synced. The only latency I have to deal with is the tiny lag after I press start, while the buffer fills up. I’m not playing live guitar or anything. When someone says they cannot deal w/ 8-10 ms (yeah, this is a bit higher than I’d like), and they NEED 1ms, I don’t think the latency is gonna fix it…..

    I keep everything in the iPad domain and just play it all over Ethernet in 1-3 go’s (depending on track count) into a DAW, and scoot the wave form over that 1ms….

  • edited February 2023

    @AlmostAnonymous said:
    @Solar_Wave
    Saw the PM, but will reply here for everyone.

    The adats on the motu are visible. All the routing software is browser based so you can also see that from the ipad.
    You are still limited to the 24in/24out for the USB connection on the ipad. Any of the adat channels can be routed to and from these (even in the ipad browser)

    AVB to the mac is great, but it has some caveats. Your mac needs to have an ethernet port or a THUNDERBOLT to ethernet (not usb-c to ethernet). All switches that you use also need to be AVB compatible if you are not going straight MOTU to mac. It also does not handle MIDI.

    As far as "the numbers" go, AVB spec is under 2ms latency over 7 hops. An all MOTU setup is just over .6ms.
    Measurements on my setup from ipad (usb) ---> motu ---> Mac (ethernet), and back again (round trip) are 1.6-1.8ms
    (i personally have 0 use for this latency)

    The ipad chokes on 24channels out before the mac chokes on recording 24ch in (m1 mini).

    (bonus round: if you want another ipad on those ADATs, I use these: https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/usbstreamer-box)
    (they also are 40$ more than what they used to be)

    Nice !
    How do you deal with midi between you iPad and Mac while channeling the audio via adat ?
    Do you think it would also work on PC ?
    Cheers

  • edited February 2023

    @Solar_Wave said:
    How are you doing with the Pro Tools MIX setup?

    The (basic) Mix setup quickly expanded, atm a single Adat Bridge (16 digital channels), 888/24 and 2x 882/20 io (24 analog channels), 3x 882/20 as spares.
    The converter boxes are dead cheap if bought with cables included, otherwise the latter cost a small fortune.
    A good external clock is obligatory, which I needed anyway to sync multiple systems.

    Imho PT has a solid routing and bus system, but age has to be considered with such gear.
    (if self service isn‘t possible, it‘s a significant risk)

    The low latency doesn‘t matter that much to me, too. More important is the fact that it‘s constant and can be compensated sample accurate. PT has documentation about latency of specific operations, which one may apply or simply ignore.
    It only matters if a single source is routed to several fx paths and that source is an important part of the track. In most cases the difference isn‘t even perceivable.

    Regarding the latency figures above:
    they represent only the hardware part of overall latency.
    In Asio or AU context a software buffer is added in any case.
    Instead of (roughly) 4x6 samples on a DSP system (no software buffer), you‘d have to add (minimal) 4x16 to 4x128 (or even more) if 2 AU systems „talk“ to each other through the io buffers.
    Resulting in 24 + 64 = 88 samples to 24 + 512 = 536 samples, a range from 2 to 12 ms.
    Not a problem at all in most applications...

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