Sonar X3 ASIO Crackling Popping on Playback

Ive bin have this problems for years....basically the pc is over working
Probably you have other programs working on back round or here is some other issue like your machine is not capable to run x3 ....my issue is the same i run hs7 my pc is above minimum requirement and still get those cracking sounds.....try to freeze the tracks that helps ....for me anyway

@ThemBonez:
 
Please list the settings for the following:
 
1.  Please list what you are running your sound through - (sound card with ASIO4ALL, or a dedicated audio interface)
2.  For your audio interface, if present, what are the current settings for: Sample Rate, ASIO Buffer Size
3.  For Sonar: Driver Mode, Sample Rate, Record Bit-Depth, Reported Latency values (Input, Output, Total Roundtrip)
 
If using a dedicated audio interface, your sample rate for it MUST match the sample rate in Sonar.  Also, I suggest as a starting point, the following settings: Sample Rate 44.1 k or 48 k, ASIO Buffer Size 128, Driver Mode of ASIO, and try to get your total roundtrip latency at or under 10 milliseconds.
 
The above settings should be a reasonable starting point.
 
Additionally, if you are using a laptop, often having the Wi-Fi transceiver on will cause massive latency spikes that will interfere with streaming audio, such as using Sonar.  There is usually a function key or a little switch/button on laptops to allow turning the Wi-Fi transceiver off or on.
 
There are also a couple of freeware programs that will help diagnose latency issues on your computer.  One is called DPC Latency Checker, and the other is Latency Mon.  You basically download and run these one at a time, without Sonar running, and they will begin checking for latency spikes that indicate system interference with the ability to do streaming audio.
 
DPC Latency Checker can be found at: 
 
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
 
Latency Mon can be found at: 
 
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
Please note that DPC Latency Checker at one time did not correctly report times when running on Windows 8.  I do not know if that is still the case.  It does a wonderful job on Windows 7.  LatencyMon works fine on both.
 
I hope that helps, 
 
Bob Bone
 

What Bob says and please update your footer (see my footer below), without knowing your system specs we are just stabbing in the dark.
Assuming you have an Intel machine often disabling Intel speedstep in the BIOS works wonders. The AMD equivalent is power now...

I know this is a really old thread, but I'm having the same problem as the original poster, so I figured I'd post here.  I, too, am using Sonar X3, and whenever I do a project involving many softsynths (my current problematic project has 10, for example), I get excessive crackling during playback, and quite often the whole thing just freezes entirely and I lose my work. 
 
This is my set-up:
 
Sonar X3 (64 bit)
Windows 10 (64 bit)
8 gb RAM
Intel Core i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20 GHZ
Sound Blaster Audigy 5/Rx  (with ASIO4All)
 
My driver settings for Sound Blaster are:
Audio Driver bit depth: 16 bit
64 bit Double Precision Engine
Sampling Rate: 44100
Buffer size: 4.4 msec, 192 samples
ASIO Buffer latenc: 4ms
 
The synths I'm using are Dimension Pro, Addictive Keys, Garritan Personal Orchestra, and EZ Drummer
(not sure if this is sufficient info....)
 
I've read that Sound Blaster isn't a good choice for DAWs, so maybe that's the problem?  If so, what would be a comparable replacement?  I only use softsynths, so I don't need inputs for mics, guitars, etc, etc.  Or maybe Sound Blaster isn't the issue at all?  I have no idea.  Thanks for any help you can provide!

ASIO4ALL with a sound card may at some point just not have enough horsepower to handle the track and data requirements for your projects, as they grow more complex - just keep that in the back of your mind that you might at some point need to pick up an actual dedicated audio interface.
 
Until that is needed, have a blast with what you have, 
 
Bob Bone
 
 

You don't have to use the lowest setting. Four ms latency is great but if you used say 10 ms instead, you probably would not hear the delay and your processor probably wouldn't protest as much.