I'm having a very strange problem in Cubase 10.5 that just happened recently. It's a long shot, but I'm hoping someone has either had this happen, or might be able to offer some insight.

I've never had ANY problem with latency, and the response when using a keyboard controller with a 128, or even 256 buffer size, in my RME interface. Cubase reports the latency as very low as well, but all of a sudden when I'm playing there's noticeable latency. When I was playing back a chord track there was even latency to the metronome.

Here's the other weird thing, which I'm sure is related. The Windows volume control never used to have any effect on my Cubase volume, and now it totally controls the overall volume. Something must have changed somewhere in the last couple of weeks, and I can't for the life of me figure it out. I even removed most of the plugins and vsti's from the project, and the problem persists.

Any insight into this is appreciated. The only thing I can think of is that I did add some icons to the tracks a little while ago, but that wouldn't have effected Windows volume now being factored into the equation when it never used to be.

 

You don't say which operating system you're on. Assuming it's windows...

WINDOWS:
Start Menu->control panel->sound
Ensure your RME Asio driver is set as default audio interface.

CUBASE
Studio->Studio Setup->Audio Devices (or similar, i've not used 10.5 for years, might be slightly different)
Again, ensure your RME ASIO interface is set as default device.

Sometimes after an update or some such, windows can mess with audio device order. Or something.

 

Almost sounds like your Cubase is running in WASAPI instead of ASIO.

 

How well do you know RME devices? Specifically the bit about needing to create WMD drivers for non-asio applications on windows machines? Go to your system sound devices, set it to whatever the WMD port you opened is. Back to Cubase, make sure its actually the RME selected, then to TotalMix to fix the routing mishap and return peace upon the world... or at least your pc.

 

The problem comes from Windows; sometimes Windows messes things up, and you have to restore it to how it was originally.

1. Check your device properties to make sure that your devices have not been disabled by mistake. Select Start > Settings > System > Sound .
   
   
2. Under Advanced, select More sound settings and select either the Playback (output) or Recording (input) tab

Play an MP3 through your player—this way you'll see the volume levels and set the device as the "default device."
This way, Windows devices will play through your sound card chip.

Spoiler: Fix sound or audio problems in Windows

Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
Go to Step 5. Check sound settings
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...-windows-73025246-b61c-40fb-671a-2535c7cd56c8

Spoiler: Check to make sure your audio devices aren't muted and haven't been disabled.

Check to make sure your audio devices aren't muted and haven't been disabled.

1. Select and hold (or right-click) the Speakers icon on the taskbar.
   
   
2. Next, select the arrow to the right of the speaker volume slider to open a list of audio devices connected to your computer. The tool tip should display as Select a sound output when hovering over the arrow.
   
   Note: If you don't see Speakers displayed, it may be in the overflow area. Select Show hidden icons to check there.
   
   
3. Select settings icon to the right of the Volume mixer slider to open Volume mixer settings. The tool tip should display as More mixer settings when hovering over the settings icon.
   
   
4. You’ll see a set of volume controls for your devices. Make sure none of them are muted. If any of them are muted, you’ll see an "x" next to the volume control . To unmute do one of the following:
   • Select the volume control and adjust to the desired volume level.
     
     
   • Select the Unmute speakers icon .
     
     
5. Check your device properties to make sure that your devices have not been disabled by mistake. Select Start > Settings > System > Sound .
   
   
6. Under Advanced, select More sound settings and select either the Playback (output) or Recording (input) tab.
   
   
   
   

 

Reinstall your RME driver and be sure to check that Cubase uses the right driver. In this case the RME driver. In Cubase you can change driver in Studio Setup/Audio System/Asio Driver

 

yeah it sounds like windows updated the driver to some generic blah blah, as Daskeladden suggested I would reinstall the RME driver, restart, make sure cubase has the right Asia selected in the studio setup. Theres a way to force the driver to use the rme one if it doesn't work, but it's a bit more complicated.