Hello everyone. I'm having a persistent issue with Omnisphere where everything will seem to be working fine; presets load fine, etc. But when I initialize a patch to create a new sound, within 5 minutes or so, Omnisphere will freeze, whether in standalone or in the DAW.

The sound continues and can be played with a midi controller (not computer keyboard) but the DAW (or stand alone) freezes and has to be killed by task manager.

I've tried updating (2.8.1), reinstalling, deleting User Settings.xml, deleting all registries related to Spectrasonics, updating graphics drivers, and optimizing Omnisphere for cpu resources as suggested by the user manual.

This is really unfortunate considering I've used Omnisphere in countless projects with no trouble. The only difference now is I'm actually creating patches myself (or trying to) instead of going through presets. Even on a single stack instance with minimal effects/mappings this inevitably happens within the first 5 minutes of basic sound design.

Edit: looks like it's also happening with presets now. Minimized Ableton to check something on the browser, tried to return but the entire daw was frozen along with Omnisphere.

I believe my specs are pretty good.

Win 10
i7-9750H CPU @ 2.60GHz
16GB RAM
Nvidia Geforce 1660 Ti

Any help on this would be super appreciated, I've been trying to fix this problem for a whole day now. Thank you.

 

Last edited: Nov 15, 2021

- Can you post a picture from Task Manager, especially CPU / GPU / RAM, if you are using Omnisphere.
- Do you have any programs running on the side?
- Please use Latency Moon and take some screenshots and post them here.
- Optimize your PC with the instructions.
- Have you a SSD ? If not buy a SSD.
- Which DAW do you use?

1.) Latency Moon
www.resplendence.com/latencymon

2.) Don't let audio glitches ruin your performances!
An in-depth guide to tuning Windows for reliable real-time audio performance. A free eBook.
www.cantabilesoftware.com/glitchfree/

3.) System Requirements for all Users
- 2.4 GHz or higher processor
- 8 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB or more recommended
- 64 GB of free hard drive space (128 GB for the download installation process)
- Solid-state (SSD) or USB 3 drives recommended when installing Omnisphere’s Core Library on an external drive

7 Tips on CPU & RAM in Omnisphere (Tutorial)

 

Last edited: Nov 13, 2021

If it doesn't happen with presets then it looks like the issue is related to Omnisphere itself.
Hard to say what could be the cause, I guess I would try to run the standalone as admin to see if it's related to permissions.

 

Native Instruments - Windows Tuning Tips for Audio Processing
https://support.native-instruments....1729-Windows-Tuning-Tips-for-Audio-Processing
PreSonus - Optimizing Your Computer for Audio - Windows 10
https://support.presonus.com/hc/en-...Optimizing-Your-Computer-for-Audio-Windows-10
FL Studio - Optimizing FL Studio performance
www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/app_opt.htm
Ableton - Optimizing Windows for Audio
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071469-Optimizing-Windows-for-Audio

 

Last edited: Nov 13, 2021

hey man while I appreciate your efforts , copying and pasting everything related to the problem on the internet isnt really the most effective way to solve a problem , and it becomes really hard for anyone having the same problem in the future to see the answer here , we can all google if you know the specific fix to the problem please only post it

 

Thank you Plainview for the hint.

 

Haven't gotten the chance to try LatencyMon but I took this last night. Memory peaked at 31% and CPU peaked at 9% at the most. Also, Omnisphere is installed on a relatively new 2TB SSD by Samsung.
Also, as mentioned before, I've optimized Omnisphere by following everything suggested on the official user manual. I don't believe it to be a cpu/ram issue, however I'm experimenting with different installation options as it is a cracked version. I'll update with the results soon.

 

Mostly there are graphics card problems or the CPU is overclocked and the BIOS settings are incorrect.
Don't let audio glitches ruin your performances!
An in-depth guide to tuning Windows for reliable real-time audio performance. A free eBook.
www.cantabilesoftware.com/glitchfree/

 

Last edited: Nov 14, 2021

This is what I told him yesterday. This is something Omnisphere software related, (like a missed check). His hardware did not suddenly, and predictably change because it detected one of his own patches playing.

Most users have some cobbled together version from various installs, and then updates to various version numbers. I would cleanly uninstall it, and then figure out the best installation sequence/update path. Normally some can be skipped, etc. depending on the releases. At least to know what you are dealing with.

 

I've gone and tried many different installation routes that others have recommended (completely removing all instances of Omnisphere), the problem still persists. It also happens when idling for a while no matter the preset - however Omnisphere seems to be running pretty fast before it freezes. I've had no problem in the past using Omnisphere in loaded, cpu intensive projects but now it seems inevitable. And again I believe it's the GUI that freezes causing Ableton to freeze as well - because MIDI can still be played long after it freezes. This battle rages on.

 

Can you try Omnisphere in another DAW, such as PreSonus Studio One?
Last Version is: Omnisphere Software 2.8.1c
Better to use the default settings:

1.) Latency Moon
www.resplendence.com/latencymon

2.) Don't let audio glitches ruin your performances!
An in-depth guide to tuning Windows for reliable real-time audio performance. A free eBook.
www.cantabilesoftware.com/glitchfree/

3.) Ableton - Optimizing Windows for Audio
https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071469-Optimizing-Windows-for-Audio

4.) Windows 10: How to set-up and optimize a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/...-and-optimize-a-Digital-Audio-Workstation-DAW

Graphic card settings
Obviously, driver settings depend on the manufacturer, the graphics card model and the driver version. But as a rule, options that boost graphics/gaming performance can be suspected to interfere with real-time audio processing.
If you have to use the additional software coming with the GPU, try whether switching off high/ultra-performance modes, overclocking, high-resolution textures/polygon/shader options etc. solves the issue. Restarts might be required and probably some trial and error efforts.

Some graphic cards like the NVIDIA Quadro series offers different profiles to work with.
In rare cases, the default profile for the card caused performance issues. NVIDIA suggests trying the ‘Workstation App – dynamic streaming’ instead. The option can be found in the Nvidia 3D configuration options under <3D settings management>
Also, if a ‘multi-threaded rendering’ option is available, turn that off as well! More on this here.

Tweaking the computer
Modern systems with a fully updated Windows should not need any of the default settings to be modified. However, if certain drivers are not fully optimized and you experience audio drop-outs, it is worth having a closer look. Note that the following settings are often not accessible, especially on laptop systems.

• Disable Hyper-Threading (Intel)/Simultaneous Multi-Threading (AMD) in the UEFI BIOS if your CPU supports it and if your BIOS allows you to modify this setting.
• Disable advanced power-saving and dynamic performance options for your CPU if applicable. This usually needs to be done in the UEFI BIOS of your computer and includes ‘Enhanced Intel SpeedStep (EIST)’, ‘AMD Cool 'n' Quiet’, ‘Intel Turbo Boost’, and ‘AMD Turbo CORE’.
• Disable C-States in the UEFI BIOS if this is accessible. C-States allow your CPU to sleep when idle, which may interfere with real-time applications such as audio. This option is often called ‘Disable CPU Idle State for Power Saving’

Tweaking Windows

• Energy saving
  Any energy saving option should be deactivated in favor of continuous operation.
  Open Control Panel ▸ Power Options ▸ Create a power plan ▸ High Performance and set the computer sleep time to ‘Never’.
  Once set-up, go to Change plan settings ▸ Change advanced power settings ▸ USB settings and disable the ‘USB selective suspend settings’.
• Uninstall unused applications and plug-ins.
• Remove or disable unused components (WIFI, webcams, printers etc.).
• Minimize background tasks as much as possible. This also includes online storage solutions as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, etc. They are often not considered, even though constant synchronization can stress the system significantly. Even if you do not experience performance difficulties, it is advisable to pause cloud services at least while recording.
• Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) - long-term audio recording tests have shown audio glitches every few hours on some systems if the 'Link Power Management' option in the RST control panel ▸ Performance is enabled. Disable it if similar issues appear and the software is used.
• Try a ‘clean boot’ without all the additional services and auto-start programs to troubleshoot issues. This is described here.

 

Last edited: Nov 15, 2021

Or, the easiest way, the App thats installed with Omnisphere.
(c:\ProgramData\Spectrasonics\)

 

Last edited: Nov 15, 2021