KVR Audio

rbet · Post by **rbet** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:16 am

I am using FL Studio v5.0.2.

The crackling is not continuous - one crackle appears every 3-30 seconds. I am using ASIO4ALL v2.5 (Soundmax Digital Audio) on a Dell Dimension 8400 w/512MB DDR2 RAM and an 80GB HDD). I tried increasing the latency (currently at 20ms) to 46ms, it didn't help.

Any advice? Does stuff like the McAfee Suite, Daemon Tools, etc. take up lots of resources? Can they be causing the problem?

Left Headphone · Post by **Left Headphone** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:24 am

rbet wrote: Any advice? Does stuff like the McAfee Suite, Daemon Tools, etc. take up lots of resources? Can they be causing the problem?

Try lowering the sample rate to 44.1. Yes. Yes.

rbet · Post by **rbet** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 12:26 am

sample rate already at 44100Hz. I tried using ASIO4ALL v1.8. Same problem exists. I am going to reupgrade to v2.5.

Edit: How do people manage to get latencies of 1ms?

JaeOne3345 · Post by **JaeOne3345** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 2:06 am

they do so with a good soundcard/interface.

Spyro · Post by **Spyro** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 3:16 am

rbet wrote: Edit: How do people manage to get latencies of 1ms?

1ms is really pushing your system too far. 5ms is fair enough for a strong PC.

few tips:

-Use 24bits if you can.

-Use 44.1 unless you're recording something like a classic guitar or a solo vocal.

-set clock source to "internal" on audio options.

-Lower the PPQ on the FL studio project settings this can help avoiding underruns.

-Use at least 5ms latency
or more

-Disable Hyperthreading if you have a newer intel CPU

-Disable stuff you dont need from the BIOS and device manager (such as Firewire ports, unuser USB ports, unused SATA ports etc...

-Disable "Enable MIDI out" from FL studio options if you don't plan to send MIDI data.

The rest are the common tricks such as disabling unused services, system restore, using fixed swap file, enabling DMA on HDs if not enabled (very important) etc....etc...etc...

Jaeson Merrill · Post by **Jaeson Merrill** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:42 am

the best you will probably do like as mentioned is 5 ms with stuff running, 1 ms for say, ONE instance of guitar rig or kantos or amplitube on live input.

VitaminD · Post by **VitaminD** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:49 am

5 ms is overkill imo (unless of course you are a world class professional piano player).. but for starters.. try increasing the latency to 1024 or 2048 etc... and see if the crackle is still there...

if it is.. then its probably not a latency issue... and of course if it isnt then you are just pushing your pc too hard.

rbet · Post by **rbet** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:54 am

Thanks for the detailed reply, spyro. I have some more questions.

Use 24bits if you can.

How do I do that?

Use 44.1 unless you're recording something like a classic guitar or a solo vocal.

Where can I learn about what stuff like 44100Hz and 48000Hz actually means? I mean, if the human ear can't hear frequencies beyone 22KHz, what is the point in having 44.1, 48, 96 KHz etc. Or do they relate to completely different things?

set clock source to "internal" on audio options.

I am using ASIO4ALL v2.5. I have only one clock option in FL, 'Big Ben'. I hope I am not missing anything.

Lower the PPQ on the FL studio project settings this can help avoiding underruns.

I am using the default value of 96.

Use at least 5ms latency or more

I wish I could go that low!

Disable Hyperthreading if you have a newer intel CPU

Yeah my Dell is supposed to have one of those newer Prescotts. How does disabling HT help? Doesn't HT give a small performance boost?

Disable stuff you dont need from the BIOS and device manager (such as Firewire ports, unuser USB ports, unused SATA ports etc...

Regarding disabling unused ports, how would that help? Unused ports don't consume resources, do they?

Disable "Enable MIDI out" from FL studio options if you don't plan to send MIDI data.

Yup, done that.

The rest are the common tricks such as disabling unused services, system restore, using fixed swap file, enabling DMA on HDs if not enabled (very important) etc....etc...etc...

I used the tips on www.musicxp.com. Although I don't see any improvement after following those tips.

Thanks again for your reply!

EDIT: Thanks everyone else for replying.

To come to think of it, how low should it be able to go? Say if I buy a soundcard, will it get better?

Sicklecell666 · Post by **Sicklecell666** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:57 am

Do you have a 3rd party video card? It could be graphics related if not..

ew · Post by ew » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:00 am

Sicklecell666 wrote:Do you have a 3rd party video card? It could be graphics related if not..

My first thought as well, Don...

ew

rbet · Post by **rbet** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:01 am

I have the ATi X300SE with 64MB of RAM. I am running it on Catalyst 5.3 drivers.

TVD · Post by **TVD** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:07 am

rbet wrote:sample rate already at 44100Hz. I tried using ASIO4ALL v1.8. Same problem exists. I am going to reupgrade to v2.5.

Edit: How do people manage to get latencies of 1ms?

I guess I'm THE only one at 1ms.

ew · Post by ew » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:08 am

Next question- do you have indexing shut off on your hard drive? Look in your drive's properties. If not, try shutting it off.
ew

rbet · Post by **rbet** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:08 am

if it is true, can you post your PC specs, TVD?

TVD · Post by **TVD** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 5:09 am

rbet wrote:I am using FL Studio v5.0.2.

The crackling is not continuous - one crackle appears every 3-30 seconds. I am using ASIO4ALL v2.5 (Soundmax Digital Audio) on a Dell Dimension 8400 w/512MB DDR2 RAM and an 80GB HDD). I tried increasing the latency (currently at 20ms) to 46ms, it didn't help.

Any advice? Does stuff like the McAfee Suite, Daemon Tools, etc. take up lots of resources? Can they be causing the problem?

Do this:

Latency Comp. I/O = 0 samples

ASIO Buffer Size = 64 sample

yes, Use Hardware Buffer
Buffer Offset: 20ms

yes, Always Resample
yes, Force WDM Driver to 16 Bit

crackling in FL Studio