I've been posting to the Sonar Producer site, but I was directed here because it was thought that more people might visit here.
I've been noting lately that when I  record a simple passage, I get a popping sound when I play it back. Popping or crackling, or some combo. I was told to increase my buffers, and I did increase from 256 to  512. What I'm talking about is simply recording a previously recorded midi track, by soloing that (MIDI) track while recording to audio.
I am playing thru a Delta 66 sound card, which is at least 10 or 15 years old. I use a Dell deskktop, with an Intel I5 processor. It's just a few years old.
 
I'd hate to buy a new sound card, only to find that I still hear the popping. DOes anyone out there have any thoughts on what my problem could be? Do sound cards go bad? My setup is strictly for a hobby, and I sometimes make CD's of my music, though just to hand out to my friends. I want as clear a sound as possible, but am not looking for high end.
 
I guess I'm  asking 2 things: are there any other problems that could be causing my popping? and 2)if I  need another sound card, what are your suggestions? I am playing  thru a Mackie 14 channel mixer, so don't need a sound card box that has mike inputs or any other fancy features. I am also using a MIDIMAN 4x4 MIDIsport MIDI interface. I do have very good synths, so certainly don't want to compromise their sounds (Korg Triton, Yamaha Motif, Korg Kronos, Roland XP30 and Roland Integra-7).
 
Thanks for your time.
LNovik

I'm getting the same thing since X3E. I've tried every combination of buffers to no avail. I could have a couple of tracks and will get popping sounds. I'm still trying to figure it out. No such issue before X3E. I can't say it X3E for sure but it's the only common denominator.

I get a similar result with importing audio

I get a similar result with importing audio

LNovik . . . I'm also using the Delta 66 audio card with Sonar X3e, and never have the clicking or popping you describe. When tracking, I have my buffers at 128, then for mixing stage I put it up to 1024.
 
I also have midi recordings from hardware synths, where I eventually record the midi tracks to audio, with my sound card routed thru a Tascam mixer. This works well for me, and I get a very clear signal.
 
Check to make sure your MIDIMAN 4x4 and Delta 66 have the very latest drivers.
Have you tried recording the midi tracks to audio with the buffers up around 1024, if so, do the pops go away ?
What sample rate setting do you use on these projects ?
 
Do you have an internet WiFi active on your system ? That, or possibly other background services can interfere with
recording.
 
 

It could be a combination of you using a 15 year old sound card and the type of MOBO you have in your PC. Does your Delta even support your windows architecture?  Is your card supported anymore for your windows architecture?
 
Obvious things to check are IRQ conflicts and clipping. If its not that and you tried every combination of driver settings in sonar, then its because your PC, soundcard, and project size do not act good together. 

and I did increase from 256 to 512

Well that is not trying every driver setting. You need to try WDM and ASIO driver modes with all kinds of settings, not just one driver mode and 2 settings. You need to go back and raise them even more.
 
Cj

I'm not using old hardware and all drivers are up to date including video etc. Last night I inserted a piano softsynth and was just playing the keyboard controller and the pops were popping. Wasn't recording or playing anything back. I hope to figure this out.

Mosvalve you need to start your own thread, it's called hi jacking, it will do no good to be answering 2 people with 2 different systems and whatnot. 
 
Things to do list: 
Download and run the DPCLAT test to make sure your computer can handle real time audio streaming. Background processing can cause problems.  http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
 
Always download the latest drivers that are correct for your OS. If your interface does not have drivers for the OS (and 64 bit) you can expect problems. Time for a new interface. 
 
As said adjust your latency setting until issues go away, every system is different. Most should run smooth in the "normal" setting. 
 
Do not track ( record)  audio or midi with certain plug ins active. Bypass all bins if necessary. 
 

Wasn't intentional. Symptoms seem the same. Sorry OP didn't mean to step on your thread.

I appreciate your input. This is the first time I had seen the suggestion to try WDM drivers. I did try these. Though the popping remained, it did solve one issue. I had said on a previous thread that when I tried to record something, it was hard to get the levels to fill up the meter. This was in spite of turning up the volume of the synth, as well as of the channel on my mixer. When I today tried the WDM driver, as opposed to the ASIO, I was easily able to get a loud enough signal. However, as I've said, the crackling remains.
I did increase both the buffers in playback queue as well as the buffer size. On the buffer size, I went all the way from the left to about 2/3 over, towards the safe side (as opposed to "fast."). I tried several buffers in playback queue, including 5 and 12. I was originally at 2.
I then went to my  M-Audio Delta control panel. I increased the ASIO/WDM buffer size from the 256 that they had, to first 512 and then 1024. Increasing to 1024 made it even worse.
I also disconnected the wireless connection between my Integra-7 synth module and the I-Pad, as rec'ed by someone. That also didn't help.
I must admit that I don't really understand all of this, so that there may be some simple things that I'm not doing or seeing.
Next, I'll try that app you mentioned--though again, my setup used to work fine.
Thanks for the attention you have been giving to this problem.
LNovik