Hello, I've been having this strange problem. Cracks and pops appear when using high buffer sizes and there are none when using lower sizes (it should be the opposite, right?), this doesn't happen when I'm using any DAW, only on desktop audio.

I've tried their recommended tips, but still some crackling and pops appear from time to time and it's quite annoying. The only solution that works for me is to lower the size of the buffer but I need it to be at maximum to avoid tinkering back and forth once I'm in the DAW with large projects.

Any fix that I may have missed? Thank you.

I'm using Windows 10 Pro, v.20H2, OS build -19042.1348

Focusrite Control 3.6.0.1822

 

Can you tell me in numbers which sample rates you use, for example 44.1kHz / 256 samples or 44.1kHz / 512 samples.
With which plugins or samples do the cracks occur? Wich DAW you use?

Latency Moon ? www.resplendence.com/latencymon Please install and post the Pictures here.
You can also call up the Task Manager to see whether the increased values are displayed.

 

Last edited: Nov 26, 2021

I use a 18i20 3rd Gen and experienced the same thing so I looked on support forums and more.

It seems to be different for everyone but it always seems to point to the same thing, the driver. There are several ways around it that I did and it seems to work, though honetly, you should not have to do this as the driiver should have sorted this. It is a workaround. Apparently the MAC version driver does not have this issue. So yeah, again, it points to the current Windows driver.
There are a lot of complaints. Hopefully the next driver update will be better.

OK the following were recommended so tick them off as done if you have done any of these already.
1. Set your power plan to High performance with USB always on (advanced).
2. In the Device manager In all extensible USB host controllers make sure all power management is set to off (i.e. Uncheck it)
Do the same in the Root Hub


3. If problem still exists - Go to System - Advanced Sytem settings click it
Then goto settings in Performance and change to preference given to background services.


4. Then completely uninstall the driver and reboot.

5. Reinstall the driver after reboot and reboot once more.


This seems to work. It's not you it's something strange in the driver.


LAST
In the advanced settings of sound, turn off
"Let applications take exclusive control of this device"

 

As a side note
The lower the buffer the better the realtime MIDI and audio recording latency.
You generally only use large buffers for realtime exporting of large audio files or audio and video together to allow for CPU and disk caching or massive files, huge 4K videos or if you are a gamer which I am not.

However if your setup is 192KHz default the latency should not be too much of problem with recording with larger buffers.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 26, 2021

I have no issues with "44.1kHz / 256", but when I use "44.1kHz / 1024" the problems appear. These problems of cracks and pops appear only outside the DAW, just regular web browsing and media playing.

I ran LatencyMon for half an hour but I'm not sure what values should I take a screenshot of.

@BaSsDuDe, thanks for the reply. I actually had done those steps but still happening. You are right, these Focusrite drivers are bad, if nothing works I may be rolling back the drivers to see if that fixes it.

 

If it looks like that, everything is OK.

Please leave your settings at 44.1kHz / 256.

This is not surprising and completely normal. When you're making music and the DAW is open, everything else should be turned off.

 

Please leave it and always use the latest drivers available for your device.

 

99.9% of the time I would totally agree with you without question. The amount of users who have experienced popping with the latest drivers is quite astounding.
The drivers themselves are very comprehensive. If I was to take a guess, they originally wrote them on a MAC. I say this because this does not appear to happen with the latest drivers for MAC and it looks like when they ported it, they forgot to do some housekeeping.

 

@BEAT16 OK, the LatencyMon test shows as you said it should (that green text) so that's good.

 

Congratulation shake_puig.

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

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/

 

Hey @BEAT16, I ran a new test today just to be sure and I got this.

 

Hello shake_puig, thanks for the Picture.
1.) The WLAN is not important for making music, you should only make music and not surf the Internet at the same time.
2.) Power Management - Disable throttling Settings please follow the instructions:

Deactivate CPU Power Saving Management in the BIOS

In some cases it is recommended to deactivate the power saving settings of the CPU in the BIOS. [1] In this article we will show you where you can find the options and how you can deactivate them so that the power management options CPU P State Control and CPU C State Control are completely deactivated in the BIOS.

Deactivate CPU power management

1. Press the Delete key during the boot process to enter the BIOS
2. Go to -> Advanced CPU Configuration -> Advanced Power Management Configuration
3. Change Power Technology to Custom and Energy Efficient Turbo to Disable
4. Switch to CPU P State Control , deactivate EIST (P-States) and Turbo Mode
5. Then switch to CPU C State Control , change Package C State Limit to C0 / C1 state and deactivate CPU C3 Report , CPU C6 Report and Enhanced Halt State (C1E) .

 

I had this issue before it was a plugin issue, i think it was a IR reverb that did it. does this happen with stock plugins ?

 

Which DAW do you use and which plugin? IR reverbs are sometimes CPU hogs.

 

Last edited: Nov 27, 2021

DWA, you mean DAW? studio one. It wasnt that it was a hog, it was fine but now and again it would spike. Cheak your plugins it could be the case

 

i bought a 1st gen 6i6 on ebay and got owned when it would crackle non stop in any settings in windows 10. you need to install an older version of the driver not an older version of focusrite control. i have the driver version 4.36.5.0 installed and i found it in these reddit threads. take a look: https://www.reddit.com/r/Focusrite/comments/ggps14/fix_how_to_solve_your_crackling_issues_at_least/

 

Please try to end your sentences with a period. Thanks! .
Do you mean this "Open Air"?

Optimizing Your Computer for Audio - Windows 10
https://support.presonus.com/hc/en-...Optimizing-Your-Computer-for-Audio-Windows-10

 

@BEAT16 what you are saying is useful, but just as a reminder, the OP is getting it primarily in desktop audio (see below).
Some plugins can be a pain and have solutions, but I guarantee as an owner of one, the DAW is less troublesome (rarely if at all) than when a DAW is not open. The best fix so far ithat most people on Reddit, Soundgear, Talkbass and too many forums to list...is to ensure there is no audio exclusivity and that's not on the user in most cases, it keeps pointing to the way they have written the driver(s) and the buffer system. Truthfully, there does not seem to be a guaranteed fix for every user as yet. It is simply a little 'buggy'.

 

No not that one, it was a third party plugin

 

I have an 18i20 2nd gen I am not using. I think ~200us would be a fair price. if someone could use it, feel free to pm me. js