Optimizing Performance

The vast majority of Omnisphere Patches will play comfortably in your host, without over-stressing the computer’s CPU or memory. However, certain Patches employ more sophisticated effects or large numbers of streamed samples, and those may require special attention. If your system is not configured properly, playing those Patches may produce audio glitches.

This section describes actions you can take to minimize audio glitches and CPU overload. You should consider all of them, but note that some may not be appropriate for your individual circumstances. They are listed in the recommended order of implementation, starting with the easiest ones that have the biggest payoff. In some situations, you may need to perform several of these operations to remedy CPU overload issues.

Enable Sample Thinning

Depending on your system, when Omnisphere is using sounds that contain a large number of samples, you might encounter CPU overload or streaming issues. This is most likely to happen when multiple large sample-based Patches have been loaded, or when using certain larger Keyscape sounds in Omnisphere. In these situations, the first step is to enable THINNING with the SAMPLE THINNING button in the Soundsource Zoom page. This method allows you to individually optimize the Soundsource in each Layer.

NOTE: Thinning only helps for sample-based Patches: it has no effect on synth-based ones.

Alternatively, if you are using Keyscape Patches in Omnisphere, you can achieve the same optimization by simply using the THINNING button on the Custom Control’s Settings Page. The thinned versions of the Patches have been optimized to maintain the highest possible quality for each sound. The THINNING button can also be locked, ensuring that all Keyscape Patches load the thinned version automatically.

Limit Voices

Omnisphere allows up to 64 notes per part to be played simultaneously. You can adjust the maximum number of notes per Part with the Voices menu on the Main Page. High values can put tremendous demand on the CPU. Reducing “Voices” to 16, or 10, or even fewer is one of the first things you should try in order to significantly reduce CPU usage / overload.

Terminate Other Applications

When performing live, it is better to terminate all non-essential applications. Each application consumes CPU power and RAM and indirectly reduces the capabilities of the host. Close as many applications as you can, including browsers, mail, etc. Your computer may also be running several “background” applications, such as disk backup utilities and anti-virus utilities. These background applications also consume CPU and RAM. You can determine if your computer is running any background applications by using the Activity Monitor (Mac) or Task Manager (Windows). Whenever you can, disable or terminate them when running your host.

Increase Host Buffer Size

If your performance is overloading the CPU, audio glitches can occur. One solution is to increase the host’s audio buffer size. Increasing the buffer size diminishes the CPU load and reduces audio glitches, but at the price of increased latency. A buffer size of 256 is usually a good compromise between good performance and acceptable latency, but a larger value may be needed if you need more CPU power. Each host has a unique process for setting the buffer size, so consult your host’s documentation for details. For example, in the Omnisphere Standalone, the buffer size menu is on the Settings page:

Check Host Sample Rate

Omnisphere has been designed for optimal playback at 44.1k or 48k sample rate. If a host’s sample rate is higher than this (88.2k, 96k, 192k, etc) it can significantly reduce Omnisphere’s performance without any real sonic benefit. In fact, certain Patches may not play correctly at higher sample rates. We recommend keeping your host’s sample rate at 44.1KHz or 48KHz for the optimal experience with Omnisphere. Each host has a unique process for setting the sample rate, so consult your host’s documentation for details—typically it is within the host’s preferences.

Disable Effects

If you are using any FX (such as reverb) in the live venue’s sound system, disabling any duplicate effects in Omnisphere can greatly reduce your CPU load. Effects are disabled in the FX Pages by clicking on the blue oval that contains the effect name. In the example below, the Velvet Verb effect is OFF, while Multiband Compressor, Super Channel, and Optical Leveler are ON.

Move STEAM data to a faster drive

The performance of Omnisphere depends on the speed of the drive on which the STEAM data is stored. The fastest drives are Solid State Drives (SSD) and are preferable to HD drives which use a spinning platter. In addition, it is strongly recommended that the STEAM data be located on an internal drive, using an internal buss such as PCIe or SATA. If you must place STEAM on an external drive, we recommend a fast connection such as Thunderbolt or USB3. If using USB3, make sure the computer supports the USB3 interface.

RAM

Some computers allow you to add RAM after purchase and some do not, but to aid in your computer’s performance, the more RAM, the better.