Pops & crackles in Live 6 when using E-Mu 1616m interfac

[Dan N]

Hey guys

I recently bought an E-mu 1616m audio interface and since running Live 6 with it am experiencing clicks and pops when most audio and midi clips are running. I've tried both lowering and raising the audio buffer, but this does not eliminate the problem. I've tried freezing all tracks to reduce the load on the CPU but when, for example, I solo a track I can hear pops and clicks usually when the clip re-loops, sometimes it's halfway through. Also, the 1616m ships with a VST version of all its on board effects, but when I launch this in Live 6 I usually get really bad crackling, bad delay and audio dropout, sometimes I get just an angry buzz!

Before purchasing the 1616m, I used a budget onboard soundcard with asio4all and had no audio or latency problems whatsoever. I have posted the problem on various forums and was told the problem may lie within Live 6. I've tried a clean boot, streamlining XP, changing the PCI slot the card is installed in, and most other recommendations.

My PC specs are:

AMD Athlon XP 3000 2.2Ghz processor
Win XP SP2
1 Gb RAM
140 Gb hard drive with USB 1.0 0.5 Tb external drive
E-Mu 1616m PCI interface

I am currently using the latest version of Live 6 Surely my PC is okay spec-wise for the 1616m?

Is there any issues between the 1616M and Live 6? Does anyone have the same interface and ir runs fine with Live?

I'm at a complete loss as to how to fix this problem. I've tried everything I know and can't figure it out.

Cheers, Dan

[solovox]

Hey Dan...I use the 1616 in my live shows and it's a champ...HOWEVER: I sometimes get pops and clicks when I first open up Live. I go to the PatchMix DSP menu (the EMU soundcard interface) and REOPEN the template I use for Live. In other words, sometimes I just use the card, so I have a template set up just for the card called 'Card Only." I have a full interface version called 'Ableton' that I open for the shows. Every time I just reload the template, the pops and clicks go away. It's worth a try...hope this helps.

[capo-wear-i]

Hey guys

I recently bought an E-mu 1616m audio interface and since running Live 6 with it am experiencing clicks and pops when most audio and midi clips are running. I've tried both lowering and raising the audio buffer, but this does not eliminate the problem. I've tried freezing all tracks to reduce the load on the CPU but when, for example, I solo a track I can hear pops and clicks usually when the clip re-loops, sometimes it's halfway through. Also, the 1616m ships with a VST version of all its on board effects, but when I launch this in Live 6 I usually get really bad crackling, bad delay and audio dropout, sometimes I get just an angry buzz!

Before purchasing the 1616m, I used a budget onboard soundcard with asio4all and had no audio or latency problems whatsoever. I have posted the problem on various forums and was told the problem may lie within Live 6. I've tried a clean boot, streamlining XP, changing the PCI slot the card is installed in, and most other recommendations.

My PC specs are:

AMD Athlon XP 3000 2.2Ghz processor
Win XP SP2
1 Gb RAM
140 Gb hard drive with USB 1.0 0.5 Tb external drive
E-Mu 1616m PCI interface

I am currently using the latest version of Live 6 Surely my PC is okay spec-wise for the 1616m?

Is there any issues between the 1616M and Live 6? Does anyone have the same interface and ir runs fine with Live?

I'm at a complete loss as to how to fix this problem. I've tried everything I know and can't figure it out.

Cheers, Dan

What chipset is your PCMCIA slot ?

A few (not many) seem to have problems with the 1616M

Check this thread out :

http://www.productionforums.com/viewtop ... =36&t=5866

EDIT: I see you've already been there...

[capo-wear-i]

Hmmmm - maybe try the PCI latency tool (google it) it can work in some cases to give the soundcard a higher priority than other devices on the PCI bus. Just make sure that you make a note of your original settings first.

Maybe worth disabling everything that you aren't using (Com ports, networking etc..).

It's not an Ableton issue - my mate has been using a 1616M with Live 6 (all versions) without any significant pops or dropout problems for over a year. His 1616 dock needing to be replaced three times, but that's a different story...

[Dan N]

Thanks for all your help guys.

Solovox, I'll try and create a "card only" template, like you have, and see if that helps with the problem, and I'll try the PCI latency tool you recommended, Capo-wear.

I am looking to buy this DAW within the next week or two.

http://www.inta-audio.com/pp/Music_PC_- ... P_Pro.html

I'm hoping (imagining) there won't be any problems with my 1616m in this mother!

Dan

[snodger12]

Just read this thread and thought I'd add my own experiences...

I was running Ableton 6 on XP with an Asus motherboard with a VIA chipset and Intel Pentium 4 2.0GHz with an Emu 1616m and had exactly the same problems - pops and crackles with no explanation. I did all the audio tweaks in XP with no success.

I did a bit of research and found that quite a few articles recommended a motherboard with an Intel chipset for audio (in fact, Intel everything - processor as well). I splashed out on an Intel BadAxe2 motherboard (with an Intel chipset designed for performance in multimedia apps) with an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz processor (the Q6600) and I am now pop and crackle free. The whole set-up including 2Gb of OCZ PC-6400 RAM and a 320Gb Seagate Barracuda SATA2 HD cost £500. Bargain. So far I've not managed to get it above 10% CPU utilisation no matter what I throw at it.

So for future reference, I would suggest you always try to use Intel chipsets if you can.