E-MU 0404 USB Pops and crackles - help
Feb 15, 2009 at 5:46 AM Post #18 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by jsedgwick /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have no background programs running.

What buffer sizes can I change besides the ASIO and FB2k ones? For both of those I've tried either extreme setting as well as several in between.


I just thought of something. Make sure "Dither" is turned off, as that can slow things down considerably. DSPs can cause problems also.

Running through ASIO4All you can have an extra buffer to mess around with, but it can add its own problems sometimes.

Are you running Windows XP SP3? From what I recall, SP3 introduced some USB fixes, which could help.
 
Feb 15, 2009 at 6:18 AM Post #19 of 35
If you're adventurous you could give Linux (Live CD) a try and see if anything odd happens there. It may require some setup.

As to your graphics card, I had a Nvidia based laptop that would pop/skip every time it changed clock speeds due to Powermizer (power saving software). ATI cards constantly changes the core clocks dynamically, much like Intel CPUs, while Nvidia's usually stay at a certain clock speed for a period of time until it decides to step down. Have you tried something like a flash game or something that uses Direct3D?

At this point I don't know what could be wrong, and I always thought ATI cards were free of problems with audio I had with Nvidia.

You mentioned wireless, so could you see if you have an option of disabling the "a" band? Disable that (leaving b, g and n on) and see if anything improves.
 
Feb 15, 2009 at 6:42 AM Post #20 of 35
On this Dell WinXP desktop which is much older/crappier than my laptop, I'm having no issues with pops. It would seem that a reformat *might* fix whatever problem I'm having. Besides, I've been meaning to reformat for a couple months. Perhaps this is a good excuse to do so now.

falkon, I had the issue in both.

Taikero, dither has always been off. No DSPs. Also, ASIO4ALL has only made things worse. I'm running Vista x32.

ShinyFalcon, I could grab a LiveCD (I had a linux partition until I started the Win7 beta) but from what I've read there's no stable linux driver for the 0404.
 
Feb 15, 2009 at 6:47 AM Post #21 of 35
Hmm, so XP has no problems, but Vista/Windows 7 has the problem. I can't help but wonder if it's some kind of built-in UI acceleration/effect causing the problem.
 
Feb 15, 2009 at 9:55 AM Post #23 of 35
It sounds like something hardware related. Possibly video card related. Perhaps your power sources are being heavily taxed and having trouble sending a steady signal through your usb. It could also be crosstalk. If you have a USB PCI card on another computer, you might want to steal it and try it out.
 
Feb 15, 2009 at 8:02 PM Post #24 of 35
Since the only discernible difference between having the 0404 working at school and now popping is using the laptop dock's USB ports versus the laptop's USB ports, I think I'm just gonna resign to an unresolvable port issue. Of course, that judgment can be made for sure tomorrow when I go back to school. I might pick up a PCMCIA USB card (under $20) for kicks and see if that works. Or maybe a reformat will fix whatever the problem is... I'm gonna do that next week. For now I'll just use this desktop at home. In related news, Bust a Move by Infected Mushroom sounds fantastic on HD650s.
 
Feb 18, 2009 at 12:55 AM Post #25 of 35
Well, I'm both back at school plugged into the dock AND freshly reformatted. There's no huge problem with clicks and pops, but I still get them from time to time. Still from things like closing/opening a tab in firefox. It's funny, just the occasional click is pretty bad but what ruins my listening experience is the FEAR of a click. Needless to say I plan on ditching the 0404 for another dedicated USB DAC when I get my Caliente. Valab mayhaps... hopefully I'll have better luck.
 
Feb 18, 2009 at 2:12 AM Post #26 of 35
I still think if you tinker around a bit more (probably with buffers) you can clear up the majority or all of the remaining clicks/pops. I had problems for the first couple weeks, to be sure, but perseverance paid off and now I have no problems.
 
Feb 18, 2009 at 2:21 AM Post #27 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by Taikero /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I still think if you tinker around a bit more (probably with buffers) you can clear up the majority or all of the remaining clicks/pops. I had problems for the first couple weeks, to be sure, but perseverance paid off and now I have no problems.


What is there to tinker? AFAIK there is only one buffer. What values do you suggest? Would there really be one value within 50ms or so that would work?
 
Feb 18, 2009 at 2:35 AM Post #28 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by jsedgwick /img/forum/go_quote.gif
What is there to tinker? AFAIK there is only one buffer. What values do you suggest? Would there really be one value within 50ms or so that would work?


The foobar output buffer also matters. If it's not high enough, you'll get pops occasionally.

Some have reported that turning that buffer *down* from over 1000 ms to around 250 ms has helped their problems. I find I have better results on my laptop at or over 2000 ms personally.


Also, I keep my ASIO buffer at 16 ms, but 20-30 ms is probably better for stability. I've found 16 ms works for me though.
 
Feb 18, 2009 at 2:44 AM Post #29 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by Taikero /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The foobar output buffer also matters. If it's not high enough, you'll get pops occasionally.

Some have reported that turning that buffer *down* from over 1000 ms to around 250 ms has helped their problems. I find I have better results on my laptop at or over 2000 ms personally.


Also, I keep my ASIO buffer at 16 ms, but 20-30 ms is probably better for stability. I've found 16 ms works for me though.


I'm not using ASIO as I'm on Windows 7 Beta (was on vista before format). I can either use WASAPI or DS. Both have the popping issue, as did ASIO on vista. Anyways, the only buffer I'm aware of is the foobar buffer.
 
Feb 18, 2009 at 2:46 AM Post #30 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by jsedgwick /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm not using ASIO as I'm on Windows 7 Beta (was on vista before format). I can either use WASAPI or DS. Both have the popping issue, as did ASIO on vista. Anyways, the only buffer I'm aware of is the foobar buffer.


If you're under 50 ms on the foobar buffer, turn that up to 500 ms or 1000 ms. See if that helps.
smily_headphones1.gif


I'll see if I can't get my VMWare machine with Windows 7 set up with foobar.
 
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