Thx, I’ll try this later
Wait a second - exactly when do you hear these crackles? Is it only when using Cantabile, or is it when or soon after using Windows playback, like YouTube videos or other audio? I have an issue that crops up which seems related to a bug in the WASAPI drivers in all Windows boxes when I have the Ultralite or the 828 set up as my default Windows audio device.
What I do to fix it is to enter the Windows audio control panel by right-clicking the speaker icon and going into Playback Devices, then I double-click the default device, change its sample rate to something different from what it had been set for (either 44100 or 4800 are the choices), hit apply, ignore the warning message if something was open using the audio, then set it back again to what it was and hit apply again, again ignoring the warning. After that it works fine without crackling until some program throws a different sample rate at it or the WASAPI timeout kicks in - not always evident which.
I also have taken to going through all the Playback and Recording devices in the Windows audio control panel and making certain they are all set to the same sample rate.
Terry
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Thx Terry, well it’s certainly not the wasapi, it happens suddenly in Asio. Lucky enough very few.
All my audio is on 44Khz. I don’t think you hear the difference on stage.
A USB cable issue, maybe?
Usually crackles are due to the sync being lost between the two devices, so I would definitely suspect the cables. But, lots of things inside the computer can throw that sync off, so it is always a tough thing to diagnose.
Terry
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Propably not, since restarting the engine solves it?
Ok just had it back, switching from Wasapi to Asio Motu, krak krak kra AW AW
Turning the engine on off resolves it luckily.
Hm and again…
So I programmed on load restart engine.
But that crashed the program and had to edit the files.
I lowered my buffer size from 128 to 96, maybe that’s the problem. What is your buffer size? And does it give acceptable playability?
I NEVER go above 128 - 256 is plenty adequate for me, even with pianos.
A too-low buffer will definitely cause crackling. The smaller the buffer, the more critical that the realtime processing needs to be dead accurate (that is one reason low buffers put such a strain on the CPU).
Terry
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above 128 I do feel a lag when playing, Especially live.
@So_Godly Yes, especially when using speakers as monitors I notice the accumulation of lag builds up.
I use in-ear monitors now and it is not as noticeable.
96 works on very few systems, though. 128 really is pushing it on many. But if you can get 128 to work, it really is ideal for the low latency “connection” one feels to their playing! If you have any tough, CPU hungry VSTi’s running, it will be competing for CPU power, though.
Terry
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A colleague just purchased one of these. Astounding results. It’s all in the driver:
http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/rme-babyface
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Yes, those RME interfaces get a lot of love around here and elsewhere. They are rather pricey, but apparently worth it.
They definitely allow lower buffers than the competition from what I have heard.
Terry
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He was running at a buffer of 32 with a reasonable load. You pays yer money …
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I got a new performant laptop and guess what… the bug is there again.
I used some time USB port A and suddenly (probably because of a forced shutdown), that port does not accept the motu anymore. It’s active, but doesn’t transmite signal.
Back to Port C now on the other side…
Strange it happens on a different laptop also, same case…
Wondering if the loud cracks will come back also (not funny on stage)
Since last year when we were discussing this, I have become committed to going into the device manager, right clicking the “MOTU Wave Audio for 64-Bit” device and disabling it. I really have become convinced it is the source of all the instability problems I’ve ever experienced with the Ultralight or 828 mk3 hybrid interfaces. I use Voicemeeter to send Windows audio to the MOTU units now.
Smooth sailing for almost an entire year on both devices/computers since tracking that gremlin down last January or so.
Terry
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Haha Gremlins 
Guess I gotta try Asio4all maybe?
My experience with MOTU is not that good. I used the MicroBook IIc for half a year. It has a lot of functions for less money. Very attractive interface.
But the original MOTU drivers suck. I was never able to use them because of very bad latencies and cracks / pops, etc. I used it with ASIO4All. It seemed to work fine, but I still had some problems with pops und cracks which were not reproducible. Sometimes the computer ran fine for several hours and than suddenly some big crackles occur.
A friend of mine who used the same interface tried out the RME Babyface than… guess what? All problems are gone! Now it’s a super stable system. But yes, the Babyface costs twice as much as the MOTU. In the end it makes no sense to save money on the most important thing in your setup.
I remember when I was working with Mainstage and Mac that the Ultralite was not working really smooth over there too.
So my conclusion: If you do mainly studio-work with a DAW like Logic, Cubase and so on, MOTU is great! But for live performance with changing VSTs, etc. it was not working for me.
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Thx FantomXr, I’ve been looking for better alternatives, but nothing so far.
Roland did have a good alternative with their UA1010 wich has also 8 jack outputs, but I had some troubles installing the drivers at that time (because I limited w10 for the updates, I could not get the drivers installed).
But appart from that no soundcard in that price range levels…
Support at MOTU is very bad also…
I’ve used the Ultralite Mk4 since March. No current issues. Running @128 samples. My main plugins are PianoTeq, Kontakt, Addictive Keys.
The PC is a Gigabyte BrixS with an i5-7200U
I have Windows sounds also going to it, while simultaneously using C3 with no issues.
We also use it as the live main and monitor mixer for the band with a Behringer ADA8200 for 8 more ins and outs. Wireless mixing by tablet during sound check. I also route around 10 channels back into Reaper to record our sessions while also running C3 for my piano sounds. No issues here either. Instant playback from Reaper also works fine. At one point, C3 was also recording those 10 channels at the same time as Reaper. Still no issues.
I dual boot the PC into “Home” and “Live” instances of Windows 10. On my “home” version, I have bluetooth and wifi enabled, with no issues.
At home I have a USB3 to DVI adapter for a 3rd monitor. If there is a lot going on on this monitor I sometimes get crackles, but removing this monitor stops the crackles. I am not surprised by the crackles, as USB to video must be quite intensive.
When live, I quite often use an ASUS usb3 monitor, which displays the reaper recording levels. I don’t get any crackles with this one.
I’ve contacted MOTU a few times, and had instant technical support on more than one occasion by phone (SkypePhone because I’m in the UK). Email support has varied, but sometimes a few days between responses.
Reason for contacting support was trying to get a way of controlling the mixer faders via MIDI or OSC. You can’t, although there is a JSON API, which I use from DOS batch files to reroute inputs and outputs quickly.
I’m happy with it.
Edit:- heavy 32bit apps do cause me crackles if they are using CPU. For example, running Firefox on the same PC with the MOTU mixer or Youtube showing does cause crackles.
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