Issues with playback (cracking/lag)

[abbrenner]

Hi, I'm using pro tools 11 with a tascam us-1800.

On occasion, I have 2 playback issues.
1) Everything is crackly, it almost sounds like I'm pushing the speakers too hard or something, regardless of volume. I have my file bussed to an aux out that's at ~-7 db and my interface is pretty low as well. I can have the volume turned down stupid low, and the cracking will be louder than the music.
2) I will hit play, and the cursor will start scrolling immediately. The sound, however, will be delayed by about a second or two.

Restarting pro tools several times will normally fix this issue, but it's REALLY annoying.

My driver settings are as follows
Driver Version 2.05
Device US-1800
Connection type USB2.0
Firmware Version 1.00
sample Width 24 bits
Sample rate 44.1k
sample clock source internal
(adjustables):
Audio performance Highest latency
Digital output channels
line out 1&2
sample clock source automatic
digital output format S/PDIF

I believe all the adjustable settings are what was recommended online (I had problems with pro tools recognizing it at first) and these settings fixed that.

Is there anything I can do about it? Last I knew, my software and firmware were all up to date.

[albee1952]

More details are needed. If this is a windows computer, set Windows sound Properties to NOT use the Tascam as the default playback device(set that to the onboard sound card). What drive are you recording to? If its drive C: and drive C: is NOT an SSD, that might be the problem as PT works best when sessions are on a physically separate hard drive from the system drive.

[abbrenner]

It's windows, and my computer speakers are still the main audio out, even when the tascam is on. The only thing that gets played through the tascam is PT. I am using C:/, but I have no other partitions. Should I be using my external hard drive instead? Or should I just make a partition exclusively for PT?

[abbrenner]

**Bump**
Should I partition my hard drive or should I run via my external or is there something else that I should do?

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by abbrenner

**Bump**
Should I partition my hard drive or should I run via my external or is there something else that I should do?

Ah no do not partition anything.

Are you recording a digital source like via S/PDIF or ADAT? If so crackling may be a digital clocking issue (although it's more typical to sound like a clicking noise). Describe exactly what you are doing and how any digital sources are connected.

what are all the playback engine settings?
make sure "ignore errors" is *not* checked -- and report any error messages.

Follow the instructions under the "help us help you" link up top of this page and post a Sisoft Sandra report for your PC. Look at other Sandra reports on DUC to make sure you are posting the correct stuff. Make sure you run that report with all your drives attached (even if you are not using them today).

[abbrenner]

Literally all I'm doing is editing prerecorded tracks. I'll start it up, hit play, and it will almost sound like I'm peaking the speakers. About 50% of the time it is accompanied with latency (I hit play, the cursor scrolls, then a second or two later I hear audio). Sometimes I just have latency, without the cracking. It's really random. Sometimes I'll open up PT, and it will work perfect. Other times I'll open it and have one of the playback issues, immediately close it and reopen it and it works fine. Sometimes I'll close and reopen upwards of 10 times before it works. I'll see what I can do about the report real quick.

[abbrenner]

Do I have to purchase this? If that's the case, I can't afford almost $2200 for this.
http://jaggedonline.com/enterprise.php?a=SPRIN

EDIT
Nevermind, I found the free version.

[albee1952]

Okay, some general stuff:
#1-if playback is coming out your computer speakers, then the Tascam is NOT the selected "audio engine"(unless your computer speakers are connected to the Tascam). With Windows systems, best performance usually requires that your interface(the Tascam box) is NOT the default playback device for Windows. And, you need to select the Tascam to be the "audio engine" for Pro Tools, so open Pro Tools, select the Setup Menu>Hardware and select the Tascam as your "audio engine"
#2-for decent performance, your sessions NEED to be on a separate(approved) hard drive. Using a partition of your system drive is A-not a separate drive. And B-going to hurt performance, not help it.
#3-since you are not recording audio, you can go into Pro Tools and set the playback buffer to 1024. This gives the computer more time to process audio, which makes it easier for the computer. If this still gives you crackles, either you need a different interface(maybe the Tascam is bad, or maybe Tascam has poor Windows drivers) or(and this is more likely) your computer is simply not up to the task. It could be a slow cpu, low RAM, and incompatible chipset, etc. To zero in on this possibility, find the link near the top of the page called Help Us Help You. Have a read and then post a Sandra report so the experts here can get a clear picture of your computer specs.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by abbrenner

Do I have to purchase this? If that's the case, I can't afford almost $2200 for this.
http://jaggedonline.com/enterprise.php?a=SPRIN

EDIT
Nevermind, I found the free version.

You know how I can tell you are not reading the instructions carefully?

Take your time, do it properly, Sandra reports often help.

Don't worry about moving stuff around until we see in the Sandra report exactly what drives you have available.

[abbrenner]

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : Hørsker
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : Dell Inspiron 580
Serial Number : HKR****
Chassis : Dell Desktop
Mainboard : Dell 033FF6
Serial Number : ..CN7360*********
BIOS : Dell A03 02/01/2010
Intel vPro : 6.00.02.1194
Total Memory : 3.81GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 530 @ 2.93GHz (2C 4T 2.93GHz, 2.13GHz IMC, 2x 256kB L2, 4MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA1156

Chipset
Memory Controller : Dell Core (Arrandale) DRAM Controller 133MHz, 2x 2GB DIMM DDR3 1GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Kingston KF680F-ELD 1GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-8500U DDR3-1066 (7-7-7-20 4-27-8-4)
Memory Module : Kingston KF680F-ELD 1GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-8500U DDR3-1066 (7-7-7-20 4-27-8-4)
Memory Module : Kingston KF680F-ELD 1GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-8500U DDR3-1066 (7-7-7-20 4-27-8-4)
Memory Module : Kingston KF680F-ELD 1GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-8500U DDR3-1066 (7-7-7-20 4-27-8-4)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Dell Computer DELL ST2010
(1600x900, 19.9")
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics (12SP SM4.0 733MHz, 66MB DDR3 1GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor

Storage Devices
WDC WD1001FALS-75J7B0 (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache) : 932GB (C:)
Generic- SD/MMC (USB2) : N/A (F:)
Generic- Compact Flash (USB2) : N/A (G:)
Generic- SM/xD Picture (USB2) : N/A (H:)
Generic- MS/MS-Pro (USB2) : N/A (I:)
Seagate ST1000LM035-1RK172 (1TB, USB2/SATA300/600, 2.5", 5400rpm) : 932GB (D:)
HL-DT-ST DVD+/-RW GH50N (518.4MB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 494MB (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD1001FALS-75J7B0 (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)
SEAGATE BAC (D:) : 931GB (FAT32, 32kB) @ Seagate ST1000LM035-1RK172 (1TB, USB2/SATA300/600, 2.5", 5400rpm)
Hard Disk (C:) : 931GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD1001FALS-75J7B0 (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)
Removable Drive (F:) : N/A @ Generic- SD/MMC (USB2)
Removable Drive (G:) : N/A @ Generic- Compact Flash (USB2)
Removable Drive (H:) : N/A @ Generic- SM/xD Picture (USB2)
Removable Drive (I:) : N/A @ Generic- MS/MS-Pro (USB2)
Diablo II Disc 1 (E:) : 494MB (CDFS, 2kB, Read-Only) @ HL-DT-ST DVD+/-RW GH50N (518.4MB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell H57 LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T2 87-21
Audio Device : Dell P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Disk Controller : Dell P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : Dell P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Dell P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Send to Microsoft OneNote 15 Driver (1200x1200, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : HP Deskjet D2600 series (1200x1200, USB, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Peripherals

Network Services
Network Adapter : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet (Ethernet, 1Gbps)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64