Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

Hey guys,

I've been getting an unwanted sound upon playback through PT 7.4cs3 using a FW1814. It sounds like some type of crackling noise and it appears to happen at the same intervals. However, there is no sign of it on the waveform when I zoom in and analyze the track. Also, I figure it's not my cables or my monitors because prior to recording, the sound does not occur and comes through very clearly. I’m fairly new to PT but I have listed below my setup, which I believe (hope) is correct. Thanks in advance.

Babak

This is my Workspace setup:

Regular drive (C:): R and R
Glyph GT050Q: R and R
*I record to the Glyph drive

This is my Playback Engine setup:
H/w Buffer Size: 256 Samples
RTAS Processors: 2 Processor
CPU Usage Limit: 85%
RTAS Engine: Disabled (box unmarked)
DAE Playback Buffer Size: 3000ms (Level 4)
DAE Playback Cache Size: Large

SiSoftware Sandra

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Speed : 2.99GHz
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache : 2x 8kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 4-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 512kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector

System
System : Dell Computer Corporation Dimension 4600i
Mainboard : Dell Computer Corp. 0F4491
Bus(es) : X-Bus AGP PCI IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : Dell Computer Corporation A09
Total Memory : 2GB DIMM DDR

Chipset
Model : Dell 82865G/PE/P, 82848P DRAM Controller / Host-Hub Interface
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz)
Total Memory : 2GB DIMM DDR
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 167MHz (334MHz)

Video System
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (128MB DDR, 249MHz/2x405MHz, AGP 3.00)

Storage Devices
IC35L090AVV207-0 80GB (ATA100, 3.5", 7200rpm, 2MB Cache) : 75GB (C:)
M-Sys Dell Memory Key 123MB (USB) : 117MB (H:)
ST3250310AS 250GB (FireWire/1394, 3.5", NCQ) : 233GB (G:)
HL-DT-ST CD-ROM GCR-8483B (ATA33, CD-R, 128kB Cache) : N/A (E:)
SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SM-352F (ATA33, DVD+-R, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (F:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 74GB (NTFS) @ IC35L090AVV207-0 80GB (ATA100, 3.5", 7200rpm, 2MB Cache)
CD-ROM/DVD (E:) : N/A @ HL-DT-ST CD-ROM GCR-8483B (ATA33, CD-R, 128kB Cache)
CD-ROM/DVD (F:) : N/A @ SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SM-352F (ATA33, DVD+-R, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Removable Drive (H:) : 117MB (FAT) @ M-Sys Dell Memory Key 123MB (USB)
Volume 1 (G:) : 171GB (NTFS) @ ST3250310AS 250GB (FireWire/1394, 3.5", NCQ)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Intel 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) LPCInterfaceBridge
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : SMSC LPC v1
Audio Device : Dell SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) EIDE Controller
Disk Controller : Dell 82801EB (ICH5) SATA Controller
USB Controller 1 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #1
USB Controller 2 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #2
USB Controller 3 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #3
USB Controller 4 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB UHCI Controller #4
USB Controller 5 : Dell 82801EB/ER (ICH5/ICH5R) USB 2.0 EHCI Controller
System SMBus Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : HP Photosmart C6100 series fax (200x200, Colour)
Printer : HP Photosmart C6100 series (1200x1200, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection - PacketSchedulerMiniport (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86

Performance Tips
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

This is strange i've noticed the same, since installing the last cs update. I get strange crackles or pops, which are completely repeatable (ie in the same place and can be looped) but nothing on the waveform, and also nothing on the wav files recorded in audio files recorder, also I can erase them by cutting and pasting a 'good' bit over the click, so it is not a firewire or performance issue, it's almost like the file is being corrupted slightly when loaded into memory. I have also copied the sessions to my Macbook Pro and it doesn't happen, it's only on my XP system.

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

Yeah, that is strange. I'm hoping someone will know how to fix the bug to begin with, especially since I don't have a Mac to rely on. It's also disappointing to hear that you have this problem with a newer update than mine (I assume you have cs7 or 8?). Maybe it'll be worth it to reinstall a version earlier than cs3 (my version)?

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

I sent an email to Tech Support about this problem two days ago and am awaiting their reply. If it's helpful, I'll post the info I get here.

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

same to me - I use Windows XP and ProTools LE 8 cs2.
The problem with this noise occurs when I create a instrument track (RTAS) and insert some native synthes.

The crackling sound is periodic (one count per second) and fades slowly down in context of the amplitude from the original signal.

can someone help please?

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

All right... The problem was simple:
since the last crash of PT the clocksource switched to "internal" instead "WordClock".

Now it sounds great! :)

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

Everytime I open my PT files that were recorded from my external drive , even when I stop the PT tesk manager window that is searching the missing files (now that they are in my usb external drive) , they still sound scratchy distorted when I open them in my PT 7.4 ??? But when a create a new file no problem , no scratchy or distorted sounds come out!??, but when I tried to open a file that I already worked on a different computer, I keep getting a nasty ditorted scartchy sound from these files ??? I have also copied the sessions to my Macbook Pro and it doesn't happen, it's only on my XP system.

can anybody help me out pls!! am getting frustrated!!

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

where i can find in PT this "clocksource"???

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

any ideas on this:

this noise comes on and off frequently anytime a track is record enabled. Its defo not the mic or lead.

the noise:
www.box.net/shared/z3ddtbj7hs

pro tools configuration:
www.box.net/shared/os456k50kd

My Set up:
Computer: dell studio 1735 laptop (latest laptop they have)
O.S: Vista home premium SP1
Processor: Intel(R)Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.10GHZ 2.10GHZ
Ram: 4.00GB
System Type: 32-Bit O.S
Audio Interface: M-audio fast track pro
Software : M-Powered pro tools 8

i started using a midi keyboard for recording round about the time it started happenin if that could be an issue. Any help would be greatly appresiated, i'm lined up to record for a band this weekend.

Thanks
Shane

Re: Unwanted crackling noise only upon playback
 

I recently recorded a few audio tracks in a project and during during playback initially they sounded fine. However recently I run playback and the cursor seems to be slowly trudging along and then the audio has this incredibly loud crackle over the original recording as if its just being scraped over. I have tried numerous solutions, like playing each track at a time, or removing plug-ins, however its always the same noise. I did notice when i removed a Instrument track that was playing simultaneously the crackles lightened, but i don't believe there are too many tracks playing at a time; only 1 instrument and 4 audio.

I'm running ProTools 8.0 on an HP Pavilion with Windows XP; Audio Interface: Delta 10/10

Any Help would be greatly appreciated.