MOTU 896mk3 with Vista 64 and Sonar 8.0.2 issues

[mn0001]

Cannot seem to get beyond Sonar's infamous snap-crackle-pop and dropouts. I have a Dell Studio quadcore, 8GB RAM, using 64 bit Vista, latest MOTU 1394 64 bit drivers, Sonar 8.0.2 running in 64 bit mode and multiprocessor engine enabled, and have played with all the usual audio buffer/parameter settings. Nothing works reliably. My latest fix was to try a dedicated firewire card using the TI chipset so I will see how that goes. Also tempted to try upgrading to Windows 7, getting desperate for a stable recording system. My question is are there any known parameters this group feels I should set by default given my MOTU sound card? For example it seems ASIO is the way to go over WDM, so I have that set. Any other slam-dunk settings that work best with a MOTU?? I love Sonar, and look forward to 8.3 next month, hoping that will fix some issues as well. Or am I reaching for a needle in a haystack? There is nothing more embarrasing than having people over to record and hearing snap, crackle and pop. Especially after spending 1200 on a sound card and another 1500 on a computer system. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide me.

[mn0001]

I have upgraded my firewire card to a PCI-based one with a TI chipset, hoping that will do the trick. I am reading that MOTU devices play nicer with TI-chipset firewire cards, not firewire built into the motherboard.

If anyone else has any thoughts or suggestions I would be most appreciative.

Thank you.