Unwanted playback delay

Tresca

Hi
When I trigger play via my airturn (or press play on iPad) I get a random delay of anything between 1 and 10 seconds. I can’t see a pattern - not always the same songs and not always the same duration.

I run audio out via camera adapter to a mixer. Playback triggered by airturn.

Any ideas?

I just tested and it seems ok when nothing is connected to the lightning connector.

I have a gig in a few days and getting a bit anxious about this!

Lishy

Tresca think you’ve probably answered your own question and it’s likely to be the lightning connector. What brand is it?

peter

If there is no audio delay through iPad speakers, the fault is always in your audio connection. The original Apple lightning adapter is the only one I know that works reliably.

AnthonyB

I've been using this $10 adaptor for over a year without any issue. https://amzn.asia/d/8ThLRpm

That said, when avoiding the official Apple stuff (which I do at every opportunity), there is always risk. Especially with the number of cheap Chinese adaptors on Amazon, eBay, etc.

For mine, the cost saving is worth it 😁 in fact, after testing the above adaptor for a couple of months and having no issue, I bought another just so I had a spare (and still had spent less than half of 1 Apple adaptor).

Tresca

Thanks all. It’s a cheap no-name job from Amazon but it hasn’t been a problem until recently.
I run my iPad in dark mode with very low brightness, so a 3 hour show should be no problem without charging - think I’ll go down that route as it avoids any kind of powered adapter! I can simply run direct from lightning out to my mixer, albeit through a lightning to USB type B adapter. In that likely to cause the same issue, or is it the powered element that’s the problem?

peter

No, it‘s likely not the powered element. Each adapter has a small chip that can cause this issue. So it is hit and miss when you buy 3rd party adapters and cables. Sometimes manufacturers change their product from one generation to the next so even getting the exact same brand and type can give you different results.

Tresca

peter
Thanks for the explanation Peter - much appreciated. Given the mission critical nature of the connection, perhaps an Apple product is a wise investment.

AnthonyB

To add to Peter's comment above about chip obselence, Apple has been known to effecively 'render unusable' an entire generation of 3rd party adapters by making changes and claiming that they are doing it to 'improve security' or some other BS (it's all about preserving their revenue on their wildly over-priced accessories like adapters, cables, power supplies, etc).

If that risk is something you can't live with, then you do just have to foot the inflated cost of Apple original products. Remember, Apples adapters still vanish or get damaged (they are still the same plastic as the cheap Chinese ones) so make sure you have a spare and keep it in a different gig bag/flight case for redundancy!