OK. I mentioned this before when I had problems with an X 1 project opened up on X 3.
I've just put together a 10 track audio only project in X 3. I am getting occasional audio dropouts which stop the project in its tracks. I can hit the start button and it will resume playing. I don't know what the problem could be I have a fast processor and 16 gigabytes of RAM.
I also get the occasional burst of static maybe a second or two which is audible but does not print. Therefore once I hit stop and replay its not there. Which is good. I'm wondering if these audio dropouts could be caused by using vst 3 as well as vst 2 with Direct X plugs in different tracks?
I am also using the V 700 system.

has anyone else experienced this? Thank you very much fellows.
WSS

Well, there could be some settings causing this, or your system could maybe not have enough horsepower (or have a Wi-Fi adapter), or one or more plugins could be causing latency spikes.
 
It makes it easier for us to help you if you post your system specs in your forum profile's Signature section, as it gives us an instant snapshot of what you are running, which speeds up the debugging process (not always, but many times it does).
 
If you look at the bottom of my post, you will see my specs (as an example) - to post yours in all future posts, go to the top of the forum page and click User Control Panel, then click on Signature and Comment, then add your specs, check the box to 'always attach signature to post', then click Save Profile.
 
In any case, I would like you to post the following information:
 
Audio Interface: Sample Rate, ASIO Buffer Size
 
Sonar: Driver Mode, Sample Rate, Record Bit-Depth, Total Roundtrip Latency (All of the Sonar info is in Preferences)
 
The above will tell me if your settings are out of whack a bit, and if so, they can likely be set to where you don't have these dropouts.
 
It is also possible that one or more plugins are causing the latency.  You can quickly test this by hitting 'E' on your computer keyboard - this will temporarily 'Bypass All Effects'.  If your dropouts go away, then indeed one or more plugins are causing the problems.  (Hit 'E' again to turn effects back on when done).
 
Some plugins are not meant to be used in tracking (recording), but instead are meant for mixing/mastering.  These plugins, by their design, use either look-ahead processing or require high CPU cycles to do what they do.  If these are causing your dropouts, then swap them out for less demanding plugins - just while you are recording your tracks, then when ready for mixing, put those plugins back in and make your ASIO Buffer Size large enough to accommodate the extra demands of these plugins.  This is what most folks do, keep latency low for recording, then raise it and put in the plugins meant for mixing/mastering when you are ready to mix.
 
If you have a Wi-Fi adapter, this often causes big latency spikes, and turning it off or disabling it prior to firing up Sonar will often get rid of dropouts (common issue with laptops running Sonar. but some folks use wireless on desktops).
 
I hope the above helps.
 
Bob Bone
 

Your 16 gigs of ram doesn't make any difference as drop outs are caused by you CPU, not Ram.
If you are wondering if its a VST3, VST2 or Direct X plugin, just disable one at a time to see if it doesn't happen. This is the way to troubleshoot these things.
 
To relieve your CPU, just raise your sound card buffers. Also, try different driver modes as you need to see what driver modes works best for your DAW. Sometimes its WDM and sometimes its ASIO.
After you determine what driver mode works best for you, then start adjusting your buffers so that the project you are working on doesn't drop out. If you only have 10 audio tracks and its dropping out, its gotta be some sort of plugin or you are running some other programs in the background that are hogging up the CPU that Sonar needs.
 
CJ
 
 

HI Westside Steve:
 
If you run the DPC Latency checker (http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml ) and get no spikes, you can narrow down the cause of the issues to something less serious than device drivers. If you are getting spikes when you run the DPC latency checker, you have to find the device/s with the bad driver/s. In that case, see the guide in the link above.
 
If you're not getting any spikes when you run DPC Latency checker, try tweaking the Record and Playback I/O buffer sizes using increments or decrements of 128. That's in Advanced View of the Unified Preferences View under Audio>Sync and Caching under the File System section.
 
I don't see any specific system specs listed from you, but I'll try to post some more helpful info.
 
Wireless network devices are known to be a culprit of dropouts, so it's recommended to disable them.
 
Also firewire adapters that are non-TI chipsets (non Texas Instrument chipset) have been reported, to cause drop outs pops and clicks. If you're using a firewire audio interface, using the legacy driver for IEEE 1394 firewire bus host controller (in Device Manager) has also been known to solve problems with dropouts, pops, and clicks during playback and recording. That's probably not the problem because you would experience dropouts, pops and clicks more often than just occasionally.
 
Lastly, you say you're only running 10 audio tracks, but how many VST/DX FX and VSTI/DXi are you running, could your audio interface's buffer size be too low for running a lot of effects and softsynths? Have you tried increasing the buffer size during playback?
 
Finally, if you're running Windows 7, disabling core-parking has resolved issues of dropouts, pops and clicks. I think this is a tweak everyone running a DAW should make.
 
CJay makes a good point about driver modes.
 
Hope that helps.

ASIO buffer is the #1 cause of  this (but maybe not in this case).  In several previous posts we have discussed tracking (recording) with a low ASIO buffer (like 64) to reduce latency (delay) and then mixing at a higher setting (like 1024) to reduce drop-outs and static.
 
Maybe you already know this, but it is something we always want to make sure new users know.  (To change this, go to Preferences | Drivers | ASIO Panel.)

Nicely stated, Konrad.  :)
 
I agree - I cannot tell you how many times I have posted on this issue, but it is easily the most common issue I respond to.
 
I DO enjoy it when folks get their settings or environment to a good place, where the dropouts vanish, because they get so instantly happy with life.  :)
 
Bob Bone
 

thank you very much gentlemen, I appreciate your help! I will go down and check as many of the specs as possible and list them.

the processor appears to be and Intel i7 4820k running at 3.70 gigahertz.
I will check the buffers. The 2 or 3 second bursts of static are a puzzlement.
WSS

OK processor is an Intel i7 4820 K running at 3.7 gigahertz. In preferences it says mixing latency buffers in playback 2. Buffer size all the way to the left, fast. 5.8 millisecond latency _ 256 samples. ASIO audio buffer size is set on 6.

Thanks
WSS

Hi - thanks.
 
Please go into Sonar: Edit>Preferences>Audio>Driver Settings, and post your Total Roundtrip Latency value, which is posted there as reported by ASIO.
 
We'll get this figured out - please hang in there.
 
I am also wondering if there is some background service that kicks off at some intervals, that jacks up your latency from time to time.
 
There are 2 freeware programs that do a good job at detecting your system's basic ability to handle streaming audio processing, such as what is done in Sonar.  These applications are DPC Latency Checker, and LatencyMon.  Please note that while both programs will run just fine in Windows 7, DPC Latency Checker will report the wrong times if you run it in Windows 8.
 
What you would do is download and run either or both of the programs (one at a time), with Sonar NOT running, and you just let them run for a few minutes, during which they will gather information on latency in your system.
 
DPC Latency Checker can be downloaded from: 
 
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
 
LatencyMon comes from:
 
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
 
In addition to posting your Total Roundtrip Latency, please also consider running one or both of the above programs and posting your results.
 
Bob Bone
 

total round trip is 28.9 milliseconds 1274 samples. I do havea wifi adapter plugged in.
Will do latency mod.
WSS