Lost confidence in USB audio interface

Having tried the AKAI EIE and suffering various glitches I went for the Focusrite Scarlet 2i4...no glitches for this but crashed the PC every time I hit stop on my sequencer . Focusrite and myself tried lots of things to solve the problem but eventually I lost confidence in it and sent it back.

PC is dedicated audio recently commissioned new and is fairly high spec and set up for audio by the computer shop.
Sequencer is Sonar 7 Producer...old but I am totally happy with it.

I have fond memories of my old EMU card of a few years ago..never a problem with it and Cakewalk.

I am recording a modular synth and nothing else...multi tracking. No vocals ..nothing live. Just one synth via midi one track at a time.
I don't need any USB peripherals.

Would the EMU 0404 PCI e internal soundcard suffice for my needs...? I checked the motherboard which has various PCI slots.
I'm not after top level quality...16 bit is fine for me.

(Sorry ..I may have posted this in the wrong section?)

I agree. Also hope you keep windows update up to date.
If you are having all these problems it might be worth considering backing up, formatting and doing a clean windows install. Saffires are very reliable.

Rarecomponent123
The motherboard is Gigabyte ultra durable B75m HD3
USB is 2.0 and 3.0

Update motherboard BIOS from supplier, and then  go here:
http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect
 

I didn't want to connect to the web on this music PC but I will if this could be the problem ..is this likely to be the cause of the faults ? Drivers not up to date ?

Oh and please don't say you have ASIO4ALL :)

Rarecomponent123
Thanks. ...it's windows 7 ..premium....installed new in March..never connected to Internet . The PC is set up for optimum audio

Oh I see... You need to run Windows update and get your maintenance fully up to date. And yes make sure you are running the latest drivers, BIOS and firmware (I would have through Focusrite would have said this, so I didn't bother to cover this).
 
Cheers...

That is why I asked about ASIO4ALL in your other thread. Akai (EIE) recommends them, but they actually can seriously interfere with legitimate ASIO drivers. Focusrite has legitimate drivers that work very well.

Indeed, suddenly dawned on me I've answered a thread like this...
 
I thought I recognised this issue, you've already posted and I/we have already given this advice (not just remove ASIO4ALL):
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3274616
 
You seemed to have uninstalled ASIO4ALL here, which is a good thing, I hope you didn't reload it:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Solved-ASIO4all-brings-a-halt-to-my-home-studio-m3173328.aspx
 
Also mentioned here:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Akai-EIE-usb-output-problem-m3172666.aspx
 
In my view if you get another audio interface and you haven't fully carried out any of this advice (i.e. run driver updates/firmware/bios/windows update) buying another audio interface is not going to help you whatsoever.
 
By not running updates your machine is not optimized for audio, in fact you are likely to run into the sort of problems your are experiencing right now.. You've now gone through two audio interfaces, the last one I can 100% vouch for being extremely reliable (should be no driver issues if your maintenance is up to date). The problem is your PC.
 
Cheers..

Backup to an hard drive. Get a copy of Acronis so you can restore easily and quickly.
 
Do this (4th time I've recommended it now  ):
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Focusrite-Scarlet-2i4-causing-Sonar-7-crash-m3274605.aspx#3274616

Follow Mettelus's advice as well:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3278537
 
After all this get a copy of latencymon and run tests. Then start plugging in audio interfaces (and check performance with latencymon again).
 
Defrag.

Cheers..

The shop I purchased from said the latest drivers were on my PC as bought in March this year 2015.

But I decided to go to the motherboard website and download the current ones , only the chipset seemed to update (and Lan which I don't think has any significance)

So now I'm using the old Akai EIE with current asio4all and no crashes as before but still sluggish behaviour.
On RECORD it has to think about it a few seconds before proceeding then the now marker stutters to a start with many missed entries....frustrating. It's a case of click..and wait.

So I've tweeked the PC as much as I know how and don't know anything else to try ...

Connect the audio interface only to USB 2 ports.  If you're already doing this, try different ones.  Right-click, Run as Administrator when running Sonar.

Couple other things to try:
 
1) Make sure your USB audio interface is the only device plugged into that particular hub.  It can be difficult to see which devices are on which hub without a lot of right-clicking and memorization, but a quick search on "USB Tree View" will solve that.  This is especially important because you don't want your audio interface and a power-hungry USB device (ie wi-fi) on the same bus.
 
2) I have found some terrible MIDI controllers to be complete offenders to my audio interface if they are setup wrong or are malfunctioning.  A recent incident with a new USB MIDI Keyboard controller caused me to return it as I was experiencing problems with my audio interface with it plugged in.  I replaced it with another USB MIDI controller and the issues went away.

It's too bad you sent the 2i4 back as I think with all the latest software and drivers you would have no issues just like thousand of other using the same set up.
Note: today Musicians Friend is having an hourly sale. My guess is at one point they will feature a Tascam interface for under $100. 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?src=3TP5HUB
 
 

Thanks...I know my Sonar 7 is now old but I'm 100% happy with it...it could well be the problem as you say...please please don't say it's got to go ? I cannot face new software complete with a whole host of new problems....in fact I was happy with Sonar 5 ....!

But I guess I'll consider upgrading Sonar if only to potentially alleviate the glitches I'm getting, (hopefully)
Logically it's the thing Focusrite homed in on as perhaps being the problem. Wonder if anyone else is running Scarlet interface with Sonar. 7 producer ? (And windows 7 premium )

Yes I've tested all my USB connections and interactions etc...one thing I did find is that a certain cheapy hub I once had used to freeze my PC during boot up for a long time...now that's gone it boots as it should.

 
Rarecomponent123,
 
the two PCI cards that I have are kinda old school , 
On my XP machine running SONAR 6 PE I have a Delta 1010lt …with that card , Yikes talk about a tangled mess 
99% of all the music in my sig was done w that card….
Then I have an Audophile 192 …I love the tone of it …..I currently have that card packed away as my spare …
In my situation , the most logical thing to do would be to pick up a desktop and then drop the 192 into it .
 
Take what I'm about to say for whatever it's worth… I seem to be outspoken to a fault 
I happen to think that a persons connection with creating and expressing music is a very personal thing ….
One size simply don't fit all .What works for me might not work for you , what works for you may not work for me 
…You get the drift ..
I ran SONAR 6 PE on XP right up until about 2 years ago …
I liked SONAR 5 Studio so much that I used it primarily for midi and creating arrangements  ….
once I had something I liked , it was then taken into S..6 PE and completed there and combined w my audio tracks.
 
What I'm saying is ….You dig SONAR 7 ..that is good enough for me….trust me I know ….
I think the important thing to consider here is "what will it take for you to get up and running , with what you have already  "
What do you reasonably need to " acquire " so you can express yourself creatively and make music again ?
 
You happen to be in a good position because you already have a computer a mixer and SONAR 7 …
Part of the thing is you are  getting feedback from folks that have moved on from SONAR 7 a long while ago and in many cases some of the folks around here may have had more funds to put into upgrading their hardware and software….
to the credit of many of them I'm sure they are motivated by helping you avoid some of the mistakes they may have learned along the way ….
 
If I was exactly in your shoes I would probably stay focused on researching what sound card would meet my current needs in spades …in addition to  that I would try to future proof it a little bit by getting a hold of a card that has drivers that are stable in W 8 and 10 ready ….then balance the book and try to swing it ….
 
if you happen to find "something dirt cheap w good features"  because it is not supported past W 7 , then that may be just an OK placeholder card until you can swing a better card that will more than meet your current needs.
 
good luck , 
 
Kenny