X3 Popping & Cracking

What are your settings for:
 
1.  Audio interface: Sample Rate, ASIO Buffer Size
2.  Sonar: Driver Mode, Sample Rate - reported latency values.
 
For the project having these issues, what happens if you temporarily bypass all effects, by hitting 'E' on your computer keyboard, and then hit play?  Does the crackling go away then?  If so, then you have one or more plugins that are spiking your latency or chewing up CPU.  There are plugins meant to be used only during mixing/mastering and not for tracking.
 
Bob Bone
 

O.K., so...I don't use any plugins while tracking...yet?
 
Audio interface: Sample Rate=From 256 to 64, ASIO Buffer Size=From 256 to 128, the from/to is because I had a drop out and read the help file, which fixed that issue...and I bet my popping and cracking.

Sonar: Driver Mode=ASIO, Sample Rate=Total Roundup 10.6 msecs.
 
I hope I answered these questions correctly.

Well, by asking if you use plugins, I was referring to effects plugins - I should have made that clearer in my original request for information.
 
You seem to be using multiple copies of iZotope Ozone 5 (3 if I counted correctly - from your buses), and some multiple number of instances of Alloy 2 on presumably a bunch of tracks.
 
And it seems you are also using Pro Channel effects on some number of tracks and/or buses as well.
 
Sooo, you are in fact using a bunch of plugins.
 
As I had indicated in my original post, what happens when you temporarily use the 'Bypass All Effects' functionality in Sonar, by hitting the letter 'E' on your computer keyboard, and then hitting Play, or whatever else you had been doing when you heard the crackles and pops and such?  (After completing your testing of this, you can hit 'E' again to toggle effects back on).
 
There are different kinds of effects plugins, in terms of the kinds of processing they do to do what they do.  Certain kinds of plugins are designed to be used only in mixing/mastering, and are NOT meant to be used when tracking/editing.
 
The kinds of plugins I am referring to include those that use something called 'look-ahead' processing, or otherwise chew up a bunch of CPU to do their thing.  Examples of this would include things like Perfect Space and Boost 11.  There are lots of other ones too.
 
These kinds of plugins add a BUNCH of latency to any project they are loaded into, and that's fine, but NOT while you are recording or editing.  When recording or editing, you want your project's latency to be quite low, around 11 milliseconds or a little less, so that you don't hear lag, but if these 'mixing plugins' are loaded, they can really spike your latency AND chew up CPU, and you can get both a noticeable lag and/or pops and crackles and dropouts.
 
This is why I asked you to perform a test of bypassing all of your currently loaded effects, because if your pops/crackles/lag/dropouts go away with the effects turned off, then one or more of them is CERTAINLY the culprit.
 
You will NEED to have an operational understanding of what to set your ASIO Buffer Size to, for recording, and for mixing/mastering, and what to look for when deciding to include a given plugin - so you know its effect on your latency.
 
During recording, you want your latency down to around 11 milliseconds or a little less, and you do NOT want to load in plugins that use look ahead processing or otherwise chew up a bunch of CPU.  I generally recommend using an ASIO Buffer Size of 128 during recording, and being careful about which plugins are loaded.
 
Once you finish recording, and move on to mixing, you may want to set your ASIO Buffer Size up quite a bit, perhaps as high as 1024.  This will give enough room for the 'mixing plugins' to do their thing, without having pops/crackles/dropouts and such.  The latency doesn't really matter at this point, since you are no longer trying to record something - you are simply mixing.
 
For the rest of time, you will move your ASIO Buffer Size back and forth, as you either are recording or are mixing.  It's just part of the process.
 
So, please run the test of bypassing the effects, and also, please list all of the plugins you have loaded.
 
I have to look up the iZotope Ozone 5 plugin on the web, to see how much latency it adds, even before I do that, I have a dim recollection of it adding quite a bit of latency - but I DO have to check it out to make sure, so please do not accept that as a fact yet.
 
Bob Bone
 

Since this is occurring in mixing, then YES, by all means bump up the ASIO Buffer Size - as I indicated, some folks bump it to 1024, to allow the more resource-intensive plugins enough of a buffer to do what they need to do.
 
And YES, while recording, you want to try to keep your latency down to around 11 milliseconds or a little less.  For me, that is achieved at 128, when using a Sample Rate of 48 k.
 
If it works for you to have it set to 512 for mixing, that's fine.  If you run into any more problems, bump it up higher, and it should resolve the issue again.  When I mix, I just go ahead and set ASIO Buffer Size at 1024, and then I don't have to worry about it.
 
VERY happy this seems to be straightened out for you now.
 
As you gain more experience, you will get used to checking the ASIO Buffer Size and setting it appropriately for either recording or mixing, as second nature.  :)
 
By the way, as long as you take a little care, you can certainly add in effects while recording.  I do it all the time, usually some delay and reverb, and the ones I typically record with are ones that have low latency and low CPU consumption, so they don't cause me any latency problems.
 
I add in the 'big gun' effects once I move on to the mixing process, adjusting my ASIO Buffer Size up to 1024 prior to adding any 'mixing effects'.
 
Bob Bone
 

I'm just happy you have it worked out now.  :)
 
Bob Bone