Does X1c crash more than 8.5.3 (or is it just my impression)?

I didn't use X1a and X1b much because of the lack of separate PRV snap settings, and always returned to 8.5.3. When X1c came out with the "reintroduced" PRV snap settings, I decided once more to scramble onto the X1 bandwagon. This time I've lasted a little bit longer.

However, I find myself once again questioning whether X1 is ready to replace 8.5.3. In X1c, I get crackle/stutter when I save or stop recording, and sometimes saving seems really slow. Even worse, I've been getting a lot of crashes lately.

Yesterday I recorded a great synth solo, but as soon as I stopped playback, Sonar crashed, so I lost that performance. This was very frustrating. The other X1c crashes haven't been so dramatic; they usually happen when I am opening soft synths, changing patches within a soft synth, or fiddling with effects. In short, most of the crashes seem to do with plugins.

And that brings me to my question: Does X1c actually crash more than 8.5.3 or is it just my impression?

The reason I don't trust my own judgements in this matter is I changed several things when I first got X1: a new computer, new OS (Windows 7), 64 bits instead of 32, and, perhaps most significantly, started using soft synths and effects plugins for the first time. Before this new computer, I had to use my Korg Triton for sounds and effects, and very rarely had any crashes. Now I get them a few times a week

So, when X1c crashes now, I don't know what is the true culprit: the computer, the drivers, the operating system, the plugins, or Sonar itself? I almost never get crashes in other applications, so at this point I'm thinking the problem is either in the plugins or Sonar.

Sonar 8.5.3 gave me a few crashes too, but X1c seems to give me more crashes per week. Is that just my imagination or bad luck? Are my projects getting more demanding as I build confidence with plugins? Is my computer slowly going nuts?

So that's why I'm asking on here... For those of you who have been using plugins and the same computer for a long time, does X1c seem to crash more for you than 8.5.3? Or is it actually *more* stable? Or the same?

The reason I don't trust my own judgements in this matter is I changed several things when I first got X1: a new computer, new OS (Windows 7), 64 bits instead of 32, and, perhaps most significantly, started using soft synths and effects plugins for the first time.

I'd lay blame for a significant amount of the instability on going x64 with attendant consequences related to hardware driver changes and Bitbridge, if any of the synths you're using are not native x64.


I went x64 some time before X1 came out, and that's when the issues started for me. I had almost never seen either a BSOD or a SONAR crash before then.

That said, I do think X1 might be a little more crash-prone than 8.5 for other reasons. One example is the way in which SONAR handles bit-rate discrepancies between projects and interface clocks. My interface is slaved to an external audio clock, and X1 doesn't like that it can't force the interface to change rates to match the project. 8.5 didn't care, and would happily play and record at the wrong rate. X1 complains bitterly about the audio format not being compatible, and then crashes when I attempt to close the project. This issue and some others are peculiar to my environment, but there definitely seem to be more of these peculiarities than in the past.

And having been on the forum for a quite a while, I think there's no question that threads about stability are also a lot more common now than in the past. It's just not clear how much of that is attributable X1 alone, and how much is due, at least in part, to big changes in Wintel system architecture during the same time period.

I had issues with X1 & X1a, but have been very stable since X1b.  I haven't installed X1c yet.  I also upgraded several components when moving to X1 - new audio interface, OS (win7) and went from 32 to 64bit for OS and host.  

Aside from the known X1 / X1a issues - my main issues were related to running 32bit plugins in a 64bit environment.  Once I moved to native 64bit plugins as much as possible, my problems decreased significantly.  

I can't emphasize enough to spend time looking at your plugins - use 64bit wherever possible and do some testing with remaining 32bit plugs to ensure they behave properly in a 64bit environment.  Try using jbridge if X1's native bitbridge has issues with a particular 32 bit plugin. 

Hope that helps.
Russ