PCIe with 24io glitches

[ShardsLV]

Hey all! I recently upgraded my computer to an Intel Core I5 with more than enough goods for audio and I thought it was running great until I decided to test running more outputs than just headphones (3-4) and studio monitors (1-2).

As soon as I get past 8 total stereo outputs, the audio immediately begins popping and crackling, any more than 10, and it sounds like a bit crusher / ring modulator.

When just running 4 outs total, it's very stable and I can run an incredible amount of plugins and mixing down is quick. All my buffer settings are reasonable and I've tested extremes in either direction and I've also tried reinstalling drivers, different PCIe slots on my mb, different firewire cables, and alternating firewire slots on the motu PCIe card.

Another odd quirk that might be a clue is that cuemix makes audible ticking sounds when solo'ing or muting tracks that if done while recording, will actually make its way into the audio being tracked. At one point, on a hunch, I ticked mute on and off rapidly and my entire PC froze.

I have a modest home setup (and mirror of my in-studio computer) and the pc from 2005 and the echo gina 24/96 from 2001 have no problem playing the same projects on all 8 of its outputs simultaneously so it's definitely not corrupt plugins, track count, my daw version, or my mobile data drive.

Really hoping I'm missing something silly. Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[mikehalloran]

Increase your buffer.

[ShardsLV]

Hi Mikel!

Yeah I've tried increasing the buffer on the PCI console and software - I've had it as low as 64 and as high as 2048 and exactly the same problem happens at exactly the same time. As soon as it's 8+ outputs enabled, it starts crackling.