2013/08/30 14:45:36
jude77
Hello Guys:
 
I'm running X2a Producer on a Dell 8700, I7, 16 gigs Ram, 1T hard drive, and lately I've been getting audio drop outs without even putting the project in play or record.  It happens if I even have just one audio file and nothing else in the project.  Am I doing something wrong?
2013/08/30 15:23:58
robert_e_bone
Welcome to the forum.
 
Please respond:
 
1.  What audio interface are you using?
2.  What audio interface settings do you use for Sample Rate and ASIO Buffer Size?
3.  What Driver Mode are you using in Sonar?
4.  What record bit-depth in Sonar do you use?
5.  What effects do you loaded when this happens?
 
Also, a lot of folks in the forum post their system specs in the forum profile's signature.  You can look at mine or some others to get the idea.  That helps us to help you.
 
Bob Bone
 
 
 
2013/08/30 16:37:31
jude77
Hi Bob:
Thanks for your reply.
 
I'm using a Line 6 UX1 interface, I have my buffer set at 349ms (with "buffers in the playback queue" at 2), ASIO drivers, 16 bit audio at 44.1hz, no effects at all.  I can load an empty audio file, let it sit idle, and within a few minutes I'll get the drop outs. 
 
Any thoughts you can offer would be deeply appreciated.
2013/08/30 17:13:02
riojazz
Is this a new problem, or is this a new PC?
 
Have you downloaded and run the free utility, DPC Latency Checker? 
 
2013/08/30 17:21:28
jude77
Hi Riojazz:
 
Brand new PC.  I'm headed to straight to get latency checker. 
 
Thanks for your reply.
2013/08/30 18:57:09
robert_e_bone
Please list all of the reported latency values in Preferences>Driver Settings
 
Bob Bone
 
2013/08/30 18:59:17
robert_e_bone
There may well be a TON of extra software running, if you bought a pre-loaded PC.  These come with all sorts of bloatware, which can do horrendous things to your performance.
 
Look at what applications are running in your system tray, as well as what all of the background services are running that are NOT Windows-based.
 
You may also have antivirus software running that could interfere with your performance.
 
Bob Bone
 
 
2013/08/30 19:55:14
bitflipper
This is actually a fairly common scenario: somebody writes that they've got a top-spec machine with gobs of RAM and yet they can't play even a one-track project without dropouts.
 
It's frustrating because no one can tell you with certainty what your exact problem is. However, when it happens it's always for the same general reason:  one or more of your computer's resources (CPU, RAM, I/O bus or disk bandwidth) is overburdened. The computer doesn't have enough time to process the audio data and fill the output buffer before it needs to be dumped to the interface.
 
Remember, audio data needs to go out at a specific consistent rate, e.g. 44,100 samples per second, not whenever the computer can get around to it (like with other types of I/O such as copying a file). If it can't fill that buffer in time, the resulting data underrun causes an interruption in the data stream and you hear it as a click or a pop.
 
One thing you can do is give the CPU more time to fill a buffer by making the buffer bigger. That may or may not always be practical, though, because it also increases latency. But when latency is not an issue, such as during a mixing session (versus a tracking session), then increasing the buffer size is the easiest way to deal with dropouts. If you're using ASIO, open the ASIO driver's control panel and adjust the buffer size in bytes. I usually run mine at 2048 for mixing and almost never have dropouts, and my machine's not nearly as powerful as yours.
 
In severe cases you may not be able to increase the buffer size enough to eliminate the dropouts. When that happens, you have to become a sleuth and ferret out the underlying reason why the system can't keep up. More often than not, it's a software problem - something is monopolizing the CPU or the I/O bus to prevent it from paying enough attention to audio.
 
The first place to look is the Windows Task Manager. Look for processes that are eating large amounts of RAM or CPU cycles. Sometimes it'll be a Windows service (e.g. svchost.dll) that's gobbling all your memory. That indicates a service that probably shouldn't be running while you're recording. Public Enemy #1 in that camp is the Windows Automatic Update service. Shut that bad boy off. Another common culprit is realtime antivirus protection. Disconnect the network if it makes you feel safer, but shut down any anti-malware software for audio sessions. 
 
If you don't see any obvious villains on the task list, it's possible that the resource hog is just not showing itself. Lots of things are going on in the computer that don't have the decency to report themselves to the task list. One of the most common are Interrupt Service Routines, and their hitman partners in crime, Deferred Procedure Calls.
 
ISRs are little programs that respond to hardware interrupts. They run at a priority that's so high it's not even part of the prioritization scheme. Everything stops for an ISR. They're supposed to be short and fast, to get in and out quickly. But some devices can't resist the allure of being king for a millisecond and employ ISRs that take too long. Or, they're just very badly written; that happens, too.
 
In order for an ISR to not totally screw everything up by abusing its elevated status, it usually hands the heavy interrupt-handling duties off to a cohort called a DPC. This is like a low-level henchman who, unlike the ISR, has to wait in line like any other process. But even though the DPC may be better-constrained, it still runs at an elevated priority and if it's not well-behaved can wreak havoc. The salient point here is that when an ISR or DPC is running, audio is not being fed to the output buffers. 
 
The #1 suspect for excessive DPCs: wireless network adapters. Always disable them for DAW sessions. Second in line: network adapters in general. If there is no need to have an active network, kill it. Third suspect: fancy video adapters made for gaming. They assume that nothing is more important to you than screen refreshes and frame rates. If you bought a $400 video card because Half-Life will play with cinematic smoothness, ditch it for a $60 generic card that won't dominate your DAW. Or turn off every advanced feature and acceleration option.
 
I'll have to leave it there for now, as I've got to get back to work. Hopefully this'll at least give you something to mull over.
 
2013/08/30 20:37:15
robert_e_bone
Excellent post, bitflipper!
 
Bob Bone
 
2013/08/30 21:56:52
jude77
Hi Guys:
 
I went back and checked everything very closely, and I had my drivers set to WDM not ASIO like I thought.  I changed it and things seem fine now.  Bitflipper and Bob, I cannot thank you enough for your help, and Bitflipper, I'mstill going to implement all the suggestions you offered.  You two guys are great!!
 
I think we can chalk this one up to idiot error. 
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