i just got the 6i6 and i love how it sounds, much more perceived depth between me and the speakers, great plug-ins...


that said, i have noticed that during playback, the music sometimes will dropout for a nano, then resume. it's almost as if it runs out of breath, then resumes. the dropout is barely noticeable, just at the threshold of hearing it, but it is there. 
 
i'm using the focusrite 2.1.5 usb driver, and adjusting buffers from 128 upward doesn't make a difference. nor does upping sonar's buffers. this is playback only. it occurs outside of sonar as well. if i do audible mix and hear a glitch, that glitch is not written to the export. i checked carefully in sound forge, no gaps at all, yet playback in sf may have a glitch somewhere else, but when i play it again the glitch is not there and may occur down the line.
 
i'm going to try the wasapi driver today, but other than that i'm out of ideas. any other 6i6 users see this? have a fix?
 
 

Def have it plugged in to a USB 2 port ? I know they will work in USB 3 but not consistently.
Im using the latest drivers from Focusrite on my 18I8 and all is good here. don't think its a driver problem. (although a corrupt driver I wouldn't rule out.)
possibly a bad port or bad cable ?
What were using before ? ASIO4ALL ? if that's the case remove it.
 
PS- there is a firmware update for the 2G. should have downloaded when you plugged it in.
 
 

I had an 18i20, had to return it much to my dismay it just would not work as advertised on my system. I would get glitches that I could set my watch to, plus random times where SONAR would lose connectivity with the device and I would then get the squeal of death through my speakers....not fun. It was possible I got a bad unit, but I think it was more driver/firmware.
 
One thing I can tell you is make sure you do the following:
 
USB 2.0 vs. 3.0: It shouldn't matter but it does, you will get better results with 2.0
 
Bandwith: These Focusrite usb devices are bandwith hogs. Make sure the 6i6 is plugged into a usb port that has its own root hub with no other devices connected. Too often if it shares bandwith with other devices you will get glitches, hiccups in the audio etc. Also, if this is a desktop, sometimes the usb ports don't have a hub, that data is handled by the chipset which can also cause things to bottle neck. 
 
 

yes, chuck, usb2 port. before was m-audio firewire 1814. should i also uninstall the 1394 driver? how do i check the firmware version?
 
emwhy, how do i check to see if the usb port has its own root hub?
 
thanks.

I personally got a defective unit from Focusrite once (One mic pres/input was dead). They sent me a brand new unit.
I worked with them over the phone vs. bring it back to guitar center where I bought it.
it was a few days after the return policy expired but they were cool enough to let me bring the unit back and exchange it for a new one that  they shipped out to GC. It was perfect.
 
That was my old Focusrite. I have had good luck with these units other wise so they have been getting my business for years now because they update drivers, build units like a tank (much along the lines of Mackie's old boards) and besides this one problem have been rock solid. I don't buy in to the "Award winning Mic pres'" this is a selling point. But what I do buy in to is quality and sound. They are great sounding units. By that I even mean the award winning Mic Pres' as well.

emwhy, how do i check to see if the usb port has its own root hub?
 
You will have to go into Device Manager to do this, find all the usb devices and see how they are listed. When the Focusrite shows up, it should tell you what else is on a specific port.
 
Chuckebaby, although I gave up on my unit, their support was great, both via email and over the phone. I also don't buy the whole mic pre thing, but I'm lucky to have some really good external pres so I only need an audio capture device for line input.
 

Power fluctuation?

dlion16 I see from your system specs that you have multiple usb drives. Just for the heck of it, try unplugging all the usb stuff you don't readily need and see if things improve. also, what is your power profile and have you disabled USB Selected Suspend setting? If not your PC may be doing power saving to your usb ports.
 
 
 
 

Just a long shot,,, there are certain plug ins that in demo mode behave that way. 
 
But I doubt this is a driver issue. 
 
Check with Latency monitor to see if there are background apps using the CPU. 
 
I would also check cables. 
 
I would test it by playing a WAVE file via Media player, or better yet play a wave file of a pure sine wave ( test tone)  which you can download free. 

Focusrite tech support rocks! Chatted with nick, went through the drill, long story short, he sent me a link to a beta driver, works flawlessly, not one glitch in sonar or sound forge.  Case closed. Bookem' dano… always wanted to say that. 
Thanks, guys.