Random, Audible Pops/Cracks in Monitor Path

[Torchlight]

Hello. Not sure if anyone else has observed this issue. I am hearing random, audible pops/clicks in the monitor path of of my PT10.3.5 system. I am using a Digi 002R (drivers are up to date) interface and running through a 2.66 GHz iMac with 8 GB RAM. I never heard this before a couple weeks ago. I know that this is not occurring in the channel path of my system because this noise is not repeatable on playback. It occurs randomly. My monitor path consists of a PreSonus Central Station and two sets of monitors. The noise occurs in both sets speakers and in both Central Station input paths, and I have also tried using different 002R outputs instead of always using the 1-2 Monitor Outs. Nothing so far eliminates the noise. Even though this is not affecting my tracking, hearing the pops and clicks in the monitor path is still very distracting. Please let me know if anyone is using a similar configuration and having the same issue.

Thanks,

Torchlight

[albee1952]

I suspect it may be the computer trying to do a little too much. Maybe try disabling some/all plugins and/or changing the playback buffer to a higher setting(at least to see if that helps) Also, uncheck the box for Ignore Errors(if its checked).

[Torchlight]

Thanks Albee! The "Ignore Errors" fix took care of the problem! Somehow that box must have defaulted to "on" and I did not notice. Pretty short-sighted of me not to recognize that. Thank you so much for that solution!

Torchlight

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Torchlight

Thanks Albee! The "Ignore Errors" fix took care of the problem! Somehow that box must have defaulted to "on" and I did not notice. Pretty short-sighted of me not to recognize that. Thank you so much for that solution!

Torchlight

But just unchecking "ignore errors" should not just fixed any pops/clicks, when disabling ignore errors you would normally expect Pro Tools to start crashing with DAE errors instead of getting the pops and clicks. Did you change any other things as well? Are you seeing any DAE errors? What exact ones?

[Torchlight]

No crashing yet with DAE errors. I did not change any other things. If I do start to see DAE errors what would you suggest? Before a few weeks ago I never had this issue. Not sure what else would have changed.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Torchlight

No crashing yet with DAE errors. I did not change any other things. If I do start to see DAE errors what would you suggest? Before a few weeks ago I never had this issue. Not sure what else would have changed.

An exact DAE error will help, but in general addressing likely problems would look like...

Is your system fully optimized. Done every last thing? Automatic updates disabled, Bluetooth disabled, WiFi disabled, Spotlight disabled, on the audio/session drive? (try disabling on all drives if you have more problems), Time machine backup disabled/not active during session, no antovirus crapware installed, etc. etc.

What are all the disk drives on your Mac (make/model/rpm) and what is on what one (e.g. which one is the boot/system dive, where are VI sampels stored and which drive is the dedicated audio/session drive?).

What exact CPU model do you have in the Mac (and important how many physical and virtual cores).

What are all the settings in the Pro Tools playback engine dialog?

Are all the plugins absolutely up to date/compatible with the OS and Pro Tools versions?

[Torchlight]

Until I see a DAE error pop up I can't tell if I will have further issues. In light of what you stated in your very thorough response (thank you Darryl), why would Avid design the Playback Engine so that you could either engage or disengage the "Ignore Errors During Playback" feature if one should always run with it engaged? I'm not sure I ever recall it being engaged for my sessions until now.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Torchlight

Until I see a DAE error pop up I can't tell if I will have further issues. In light of what you stated in your very thorough response (thank you Darryl), why would Avid design the Playback Engine so that you could either engage or disengage the "Ignore Errors During Playback" feature if one should always run with it engaged? I'm not sure I ever recall it being engaged for my sessions until now.

I am not sure what you are asking, I would normally have ignore errors unchecked, checking it is a hack to maybe help get you out of problems.... Mostly caused by user mistakes with under configured or miss-configured systems.

[Torchlight]

Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying originally. So I would normally run a session with the "ignore errors" unchecked? That is what I am doing now because when it was checked I heard pops and clicks. Now that it is unchecked I hear no pops and clicks, and so far no error messages. And when I look at the CPU usage indicator (system usage window) it appears to be running normally for a recording session at a H/W buffer of 128 samples and with no plugins inserted/activated. But I think that you are also saying that I should make sure that my system is fully optimized anyway. However, much of what you discussed in your earlier detailed message is somewhat over my head (ex. physical vs virtual cores).

[Darryl Ramm]

Yes that is what I am saying--make sure your system is properly set up. Answer all those questions I asked earlier. Looking at CPU meters is usually a pointless exercise.