Crackling and popping

[J34TR]

I am constantly getting crackling and popping noises on my Studio One set up. I've been discussing this with Claude for months now and many of the solutions it came up with worked for a while but then it comes back. Sometimes it's during play, other during recording.

There is never high CPU or memory issues. I've reinstalled the universal controller drivers many time and every time it's ok for a while, but then back again.

Do i really have to reinstall drivers every couple of weeks? Is there a know underlying issues on Windows 11?

Thank you.

 

[SwitchBack]

These may be sync'ing issues. Make sure you use a good quality usb cable, use a usb port&hub on your laptop that isn't shared (internally) with the keyboard/trackpad/camera, and avoid using wdm (so use the proprietary drivers). Also make sure that the AudioBox firmware is up-to-date, a forced reinstall may help.

The next thing is buffer sizes in S1. There is no need to go extreme so err on the safe side, the defaults should be good. You can always use low latency mode (green z) on cue/monitoring outputs during recording.

And lastly there's malware and virus scanners. Obviously your laptop must be clean, and you need a good scanner to make sure. But that scanner may also get in the way of fast audio processing so depending on the one you're using you may want to read up on pausing the scanner or excluding audio files and processing from being scrutinised.

Those are the first things that come to mind. Anything Claude didn't come up with yet?

 

[Luny]

I am constantly getting crackling and popping noises on my Studio One set up. I've been discussing this with Claude for months now and many of the solutions it came up with worked for a while but then it comes back. Sometimes it's during play, other during recording.

There is never high CPU or memory issues. I've reinstalled the universal controller drivers many time and every time it's ok for a while, but then back again.

Do i really have to reinstall drivers every couple of weeks? Is there a know underlying issues on Windows 11?

Thank you.

Check this:
1) Power supply scheme -> High performance
2) Device Buffer Size - 128, 256 samples
3) Disable turbo boost CPU
4) Disabling processor power‑saving modes

 

[Vocalpoint]

Is there a know underlying issues on Windows 11?

First thing I would do is check core parking on Windows 11. If you are unfamilar with the term - look it up on the internet. Then...

1. Download LatencyMon - install it and run it for about 7 minutes (with nothing else running - critical)
2. Stop LatencyMon and observe the graph it displays.
3. If the graph is green - you will see a message saying your audio is good to go
4. If the graph is red - you have issues. Do not be too concerned with the actual files that LatencyMon is targeting
5. If you are in the red - you need to get control of the CPU cores - so grab ParkControl from Bitsum
6. Install that and set the following:

Cracks and pops - should be gone.

VP

 

[FinalGod]

Maybe your audio buffer settings are a bit too aggressive.

I found something in the AudioBox USB 96 manual that describes exactly the symptoms you're experiencing: crackling, clicks and pops.
PreSonus recommends increasing the buffer size when these issues occur.
Have you tried increasing the Block Size to 512 or 1024 samples in Universal Control? It might also be worth checking the Safe Mode setting.
Just a thought before reinstalling the drivers again.

 

[SwitchBack]

So, plenty advice. Problem solved?

 

[J34TR]

Thank you everyone, just trying to work through this and I'll report back. Some of this i've already tried. The problem is that I change something, the problem goes away, then a few weeks later it starts again.

 

[SwitchBack]

Just to make sure, you always use the same port on your laptop? USB ports are not made equal.

 

[J34TR]

Maybe your audio buffer settings are a bit too aggressive.

I found something in the AudioBox USB 96 manual that describes exactly the symptoms you're experiencing: crackling, clicks and pops.
PreSonus recommends increasing the buffer size when these issues occur.
Have you tried increasing the Block Size to 512 or 1024 samples in Universal Control? It might also be worth checking the Safe Mode setting.
Just a thought before reinstalling the drivers again.


View attachment 4187

Interestingly, i don't have Safe Mode option in the Universal Control UI. I have the latest version (5.1.1). Is it hiding somewhere else?

 

[J34TR]

First thing I would do is check core parking on Windows 11. If you are unfamilar with the term - look it up on the internet. Then...

1. Download LatencyMon - install it and run it for about 7 minutes (with nothing else running - critical)
2. Stop LatencyMon and observe the graph it displays.
3. If the graph is green - you will see a message saying your audio is good to go
4. If the graph is red - you have issues. Do not be too concerned with the actual files that LatencyMon is targeting
5. If you are in the red - you need to get control of the CPU cores - so grab ParkControl from Bitsum
6. Install that and set the following:

View attachment 4186

Cracks and pops - should be gone.

VP

I've download Latencymon, you then say to run it for 7 minutes with nothing else running, do you mean just have StudioOne running or literally stop all processes and services as possible on the machine?

 

[Vocalpoint]

I've download Latencymon, you then say to run it for 7 minutes with nothing else running, do you mean just have StudioOne running or literally stop all processes and services as possible on the machine?

Ideally - just reboot - then start LatencyMon.

Definitely do not have any apps running.

VP