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So you could do with wiring up a plug that just has an earth wire running from it that you can attach to the metalwork or a ground connection on your interface or laptop. Or finding a suitable non-double insulated power supply for the laptop that has ground continuity.
Wiring-up a 240V AC plug that has just the earth-wire running from it is easy enough for me to do, I've just tried a few other usb leads in different usb ports, both usb 2.0 and usb 3.0, got the same audio distortion issue in each case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Geez, if this usb audio sound issue isn't the most frustrating thing to fix, I don't know what is, I'm going to try doing a complete clean install of Windows 10 on my laptop in the hope that it fixes the problem.
USB 3 can cause some really random issues caused by proximity to other devices.
I had to physically move my USB 3 connected external drive away from the USB receiver for my rodent because it froze in awe of later technology.
Given that your kit works fine on the desktop ( did the red Focusrite USB cable work properly there ? ) don't go throwing good money after bad until you locate the issue.
May well be a grounding issue but the increased read/write speed could be causing buffer issues so it could be as simple as a parameter change in the DAW or the ASIO settings.
Should add that the most common exercise some get is jumping to conclusions and flying off the handle.
Take a deep breath have a cup of tea/coffee/Beer/wacky baccy or whatever and think about what you have changed because what was working properly before those changes is unlikely to have suddenly developed a hardware or driver fault.
FWIW I am running Focusrite Solo into PC with Win10 2004 and Lenovo laptop on the previous Win10 revision using various USB 2 cables with absolutely no issues, recorded yesterday and did some rough mixes today in prep for more recording next week.
If it goes tits up next week I am toast because the guy I am recording has recorded in the major Oz and Nashville studios over the last 50 years and he won't be amused because he's laying his stuff down free as a favour to a very ill friend
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
I've tried every combination of sample-rate and buffer setting I could in my Daw software (FL Studio) and none fixed the issue, tried every usb lead in every available usb port (I used my Energizer usb 3.1 hub to be able to plug into the usb 3.1 port) on my laptop, none made any difference either, tried installing the very latest Scarlett 2i2 driver that was available for download on Focusrite's website, still didn't fix the problem, tried going into Device Manager and setting the power management for all the usb controllers to always-on, still didn't fix the problem, I've tried running a little app called DPC (Deferred Procedure Call) Latency Checker on my laptop, it reported that my laptop should be able to stream audio without any dropouts.
I'm really stumped by this one.....hmmmmm....
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
I've been trying extremely hard to keep my cool while trying to fix the audio sound issue with my Scarlett 2i2, had a cup of coffee too...
I do remember that it was working fine for a while earlier this year with the laptop's original 256Gb M.2 SSD drive, but then it started playing-up prior to the installation of the new 1Tb M.2 SSD drive, so I think it's highly unlikely that the new 1Tb M.2 SSD drive is the culprit.
I don't really want to try contacting Focusrite tech support again since the fix that they suggested trying didn't really fix the issue.
G'day Doc, open the lappy up and make sure all of the internal connectors are seated properly.
Remember, it worked and you have made internal changes.
Start there and work outwards before blaming stuff that works properly on the other machine.
Could well be a compatibility issue but given it has had surgery that must be the first place to look.
Remember despite keeping strict item counts surgeons still leave bits of kit and swabs inside patients occasionally.
It is human to err
I don't think it's a case of an internal connector not being seated properly, since the laptop wouldn't boot or function correctly if that was so, my Acer laptop does indeed boot-up and function correctly like it's supposed to, and I made triply-sure that the new 1Tb M.2 SSD drive was properly seated in it's socket before I put the back of the laptop back on it, I'm 100% sure of it, I was actually very slow and deliberate while doing the actual installation, all I did was unplug the stock 256Gb M.2 SSD drive from the socket and plugged-in the new one, I did not have to un-plug any of the other internal connectors, I did temporarily remove the 8Gb DDR4 ram stick so I could take a pic of the label on it, cause I'm going to be buying a second 8Gb DDR4 ram stick soon, and I needed the existing one's specs.Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
I did make sure I plugged the 8Gb DDR4 ram stick back in it's socket though.
Update:
Going to try doing a complete clean-install of Windows 10 64 Bit Build 2004 on my laptop, and see how I go with that.
That's a trust I don't have in myself, I trace back over all my steps before blaming something else.
Not disconnecting is not the same as not disturbing.
You may well be right but it's not the may my mind works.
Good luck with the hunt it's time for this old bloke to hit the sack
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
Thanks for your help anyway mate, much appreciated.....cheers.
Well, I think I have been as thorough as I possibly could while troubleshooting the crackly distortion issue I'm experiencing with my Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen usb audio interface, I think I've exhausted all the possible solutions and fixes, so, I think I should seriously look at buying a brand new usb audio interface from a different manufacturer, hopefully one that just works as it is supposed to.
Seriously Doc, try the ground connection plug first. Or at least confirm you have some form of solid ground in the system. Are you using monitors or headphones? If the former, what's the power arrangement?
What Drew said. If you can run it off the laptop battery with no issues and the problem only occurs when it's on PSU power, then it's the lack of any system ground when running on the PSU that's the issue. Which a simple ground wire will fix. This is a known problem with laptop systems and the solution works (just read countless posts on the SOS forum). And all it takes is a bit of wire to test, not hours messing about with different cables and drivers and software configurations.
If it doesn't work, then look elsewhere, but try this first.
I had the same issue other week.
Crackling static hissing.
Often with pc's simply repeating the same process and expecting a different outcome works.
This counter-intuitive approach paid dividends for me.
Downloaded the latest driver (yet again) and bingo...problem solved.
cheers, Mark.
No worries, I'll give that a go today, I'll try running my laptop off it's battery and see if that stops the crackly distortion.
@ blinddrew I mainly use my pair of Audio Technica headphones with my 2i2, although I do have a pair of 15W Audioline powered studio monitors.
Update: As per Simon Barden's suggestion, I just tried playing back one of the demo songs in FL Studio, the same one I've been using for testing purposes, while I had the laptop running on it's internal battery power (i.e. completely disconnected from it's 240V AC plugpack adaptor), I was still getting the crackly distortion, so that seems to suggest that it's not a grounding-issue.
Well, that's disappointing, but worth doing the check.
You'd probably still benefit from using it, but obviously not the major issue here.
I'd really suggest that you try and borrow another interface to test before buying another one. You may get exactly the same results, in which case you know it's almost certainly not the interface or its drivers. But if it does work faultlessly, then obviously there's a problem with what you have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
I actually did that the last time the crackly distortion issue manifested itself, a mate of mine had an older Scarlett 2i2 1st gen usb audio interface, which he brought round to my place so I could try it with my laptop to see if doing that would fix the issue, we found that it didn't, I got the same crackly distortion with his 2i2, the driver I was using at the time supported his 2i2.
So maybe it could be something to do with my Acer laptop then?, possibly either a software or a hardware issue involving my Acer laptop's usb ports, I'm now thinking that it's most likely a hardware issue with my laptop's usb ports, since if it was a software issue, doing a complete clean-install of Windows 10 and all my laptop's drivers and etc should have fixed it, I've tried a few different usb cables both short and long, with and without ferrite beads, interestingly, some of the usb leads I tried show a good connection between the metal ground-contacts of the usb plugs, at least one of them (the short red one) showed from about 10 Ohms to about 80 Ohms resistance between the two metal ground contacts, when I tested them using the continuity test function of my multimeter, all the usb leads I tried gave the same result, I wonder if the distorted-sound issue could be caused simply by a bad contact in the usb ports?, probably not cause then my laptop would have trouble reading the contents of usb thumb drives plugged into the ports....hmmmmm....
One thing I could try is seeing if I get the same crackly distortion issue with my Korg PX5D Pandora, it can be used as a usb audio interface, but the trouble is, Korg don't offer drivers for the PX5D that are compatible with Windows 10, the only available drivers are only compatible with Windows XP, and they are only 32 Bit, so I have to scratch the whole idea of trying my Korg PX5D Pandora.
Wouldn't it be so much nicer if we didn't have to keep installing driver software for all usb devices?, in theory usb should have been simply a plug-and-play affair, you plug the device into a usb port and the thing would just work full-stop.
Furthermore, wouldn't it be so much nicer if usb audio devices that supported the ASIO (Audio Streaming Input Output) protocol, didn't need software drivers to function properly?, Apple basically do something like that with their Core Audio system, there's no way I'd be able to fork-out the $8000.00 needed to buy a new Macbook Pro, besides if I was able to, then I'd have to fork-out more money for Mac OS versions of all the Windows Daw software I've already bought, that's an un-economical solution to the distortion issue I'm experiencing with my 2i2.
Just so you know, I updated my Acer laptop's Bios to the very latest version that Acer.com.au were offering on their website, the Bios update went without any hitches whatsoever, I did the update after the crackly distortion issue first manifested itself back in January this year, in the hope that it would fix the issue, the laptop boots-up properly, actually, it boots-up pretty fast with the new 1Tb M.2 SSD drive installed in it, about the same as for the original stock 256Gb M.2 SSD drive.
Yeah that's true, well at least we eliminated one possible cause of the crackly distortion issue, so it's not necessarily a bad thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by blinddrew
Wouldn't it be great if the real cause of the issue glowed a bright neon-yellow colour so it was easy to locate?
While trying to get my Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 to work optimally with my studio desktop pc, I've read online that the best Firewire 400 ports to use with the Pro 40 are those that use Texas Instruments chipsets, that's something I just remembered, which got me thinking, I'm wondering if the chipsets that my Acer Laptop uses for it's usb ports are fine for data transference between a usb thumb drive and the laptop, but aren't quite up to the task of streaming audio?, I know that sounds a bit far-fetched.
Here's an interesting webpage article I just found, it explains what the different Windows audio APIs are:
https://appuals.com/how-to-fix-commo...in-windows-10/
Update:
Ok, just for fun I thought that I would try a few more things to try and troubleshoot the crackly distortion issue I'm experiencing with my Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen usb audio interface, here's what I tried:
* Using my Focusrite Scarlett headphones instead of my Audio Technicas.
* Switching to the FL Studio ASIO driver that comes with FL Studio.
* Switching between Speakers (Focusrite Usb Audio), and Speakers ( Realtek(R) Audio) as the default Windows playback device, while comparing the results I get with either the 2i2's ASIO driver and the FL Studio ASIO driver.
In each case the result was the same, I still got the crackly distortion coming through the headphones, I have previously tried seeing if the crackly distortion comes through the line-outs of my 2i2 if I plug them into my two 15W Audioline powered studio monitors, and yes it does, I know it's not the monitors cause they sound crystal clear with my Saffire Pro 40, so, as far as I'm able to, I've managed to narrow down the cause of the crackly distortion being caused by three things:
* Something inside my Scarlet 2i2 2nd gen usb audio interface.
* Something inside my Acer laptop.
* Something to do with the driver software for the 2i2.
Interestingly enough, if I select the FL Studio ASIO driver in FL Studio's audio settings, and plug my headphones directly into my laptop, and have Realtek(R) Audio selected as the Windows default audio device, audio playback is crystal clear with no crackly distortion.
So, seeing as my 2i2 works perfectly well with my studio desktop pc, the cause of the crackly distortion has to be something to do with my Acer laptop, since I seem to be only experiencing the crackly distortion issue when the 2i2 is plugged into any of the available usb ports on the laptop.
Or, it has to be something to do with the 2i2 and it's driver software, or something about either of them, which is not working like it's supposed to only when plugged into the laptop.
So, is it a hardware issue or a software issue?, what makes it more frustrating is that computer hardware issues can manifest themselves as software issues, and vice-versa.....
I don't think it's some weird grounding-issue since running my laptop off it's built-in rechargeable battery has ruled that out.
It appears that the crackly distortion seems to be occuring because of some issue with streaming audio using the ASIO (Audio Streaming Input Output) protocol, I don't think it's a buffer-setting problem since it makes no difference whichever buffer-setting I set it to, nor does it make any difference what sample-rate I set it to, or whichever combination of sample-rate and buffer setting I set it to.
Is it because my Acer laptop's usb ports have problems supplying enough power to my 2i2?, that would explain why the 2i2 works perfectly well with my studio desktop pc, which is powered from an 850 Watt power supply unit which is powered from a 240V AC wall socket, and not very well with my laptop which is usually powered from a 19V DC/3.42A 240V AC plugpack adaptor when I'm doing any music production on my laptop.
Here's two more things I just thought of trying:
* Do a complete clean-install of Windows 7 64 Bit Home Premium on my laptop to see if the crackly distortion issue is caused by a software/hardware incompatibility with the latest build version of Windows 10, I still have both my 32 Bit and 64 Bit Windows 7 Home Premium DVDs.....hmmmmm...I think it's worth a try, even though Microsoft are going to force me to upgrade to Windows 10.
* Try buying an externally powered usb hub and use it to connect the 2i2 to my laptop, just to see if the crackly distortion is caused by the laptop's usb ports not being able to supply enough power to the 2i2 when it is plugged-in directly.
What happens when you play a CD/DVD or stream Youtube through the Scarlett.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrNomis_44
I doubt it's a low power issue as I can run my Scarlett Solo off my Lenovo lappy USB with a line fed LDC mic running off it with no issues, my Behringer mixer will run off the laptop but won't drive the LDC due to power issues whether using the internal battery or mains power. It simply pulls it's skirt over it's head and does nothing, no distortion just the sound of silence.
Given that the 2i2 runs fine off the desktop and was running off the laptop prior to the drive change I keep going back to something in the laptop signal path as being the issue.
I'm guessing your head of hair must be starting to look like that of your avatar ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
Hahahaha....yep, all the frustration I've been experiencing with trying to sort-out the sound issue with my 2i2 has seriously sorely tested my patience and made me feel like tearing-out every single hair on my head, for sure....lol.
I must have the patience of a saint.
When I try streaming audio from youtube while listening to it via the 2i2 on my Acer laptop, I do get the crackly distortion, but as soon as I switch to the laptop's Realtek(R) Audio, and plug the headphones directly into the laptop's headphone socket, the audio is crystal clear with no crackly distortion, I just tried it again just to confirm it, yep, crackly distortion only when using the 2i2 when streaming audio from youtube, crystal clear when using the laptop's Realtek audio when streaming audio from youtube.
I did notice that before the crackly distortion issue manifested itself, my 2i2 would randomly power itself down for no apparent reason when connected to my laptop, and I had to unplug, then plug it back in to get it working again.
Just out of curiosity, and cause I can't think of anything else, I'm going to set things up so that I can have a look at the output signal coming out of the stereo line-outs of my 2i2 on my DSE Q-1804 20Mhz Dual-Trace Oscilloscope, while simultaneously listening to audio playback from one of FL Studio's demo projects on a pair of headphones, I'm curious to see what the crackly distortion actually looks like.
It was hard to see, but I did notice that every time I heard crackly distortion in the headphones, a small part of the signal waveform was missing, and interestingly enough, the crackly distortion seemed to occur on signal-peaks, or when things got loud.....hmmmmm....
Does the 2i2 have a fault leading to weird signal clipping? Also, at risk of repeating things from earlier in the thread, have you been able to test the 2i2 with a different computer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jugglindan
Yep, I tried my 2i2 with my studio desktop pc, which is running the exact same version of Windows that my laptop is running, also same Daw software too, I get crystal clear audio from the 2i2 when using it with my studio desktop pc, but crackly distorted audio when using it with my laptop.
It's hard to determine if the 2i2 does have a fault that leads to weird signal clipping, it was very hard to see on the Oscilloscope, but occasionally when I heard the crackly distortion in my headphones, I saw a very brief drop-out of the audio which momentarily looked like a straight line, I don't know how significant that is.
I might try looking at the headphone-out signals with the scope later-on.
Be nice to be able to monitor the USB traffic and see if you get the same gaps there although I suspect it's a digital spike causing the 2i2 to clip giving the signal drops.
I have a Hammond B3 VSTi that spikes horribly at random intervals so a limiter set at -12 sits in the effect chain immediately after the VSTi, sounds absolutely brilliant and was free so I live with it
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
Yeah, if that Hammond B3 vst is the same one I'm thinking of, it tends to be a bit of a cpu hog, and you get spikes in the cpu usage.
I'd probably need a bit more sophisticated piece of test equipment, like a multi-channel logic-analyzer to look at the digital data on the data transmission lines of the usb ports to see what's going on.
It sounds to me like either a physical issue with the USB ports, cabling, or motherboard in the laptop, or a driver issue. In either case, examining the data stream over USB won't get you any closer to a fix. Maybe it could help identify whether it's a USB power issue or not.
Is the 2i2 powered from the USB cable, or separately? If powered by a separate supply you could try running a data-only USB cable to rule out noisy power from the USB port. Another thing to try is putting a powered USB hub in between the laptop and 2i2. That might help isolate noisy power from the laptop USB port. It might also make no difference :(
Good point, my 2i2 is powered directly off of the usb lead, and not from an external plugpack adaptor, I'll see if I can buy a powered usb hub when I get back from spending time with my mum in Perth.Quote:
Originally Posted by jugglindan
Does the 2i2 come with Focusrite MixControl software? Or any other way of checking the clocking? My 8i6 gave me some funny rhythmic clicks and pops when I'd inadvertently got it set to the wrong clock input.
Yeah it does, but it only shows the sample-rate and buffer settings, which are adjustable, there's a window marked "Sync" which is greyed-out, and it also says that it is locked when the 2i2 is powered-up, I'll post a pic so you can see what it says.Quote:
Originally Posted by blinddrew
Clocking typically will cause clicks rather than distortion, at least that's what occurs in digital telephony and we're still only dealing with a stream of zeros and ones here
Exactly, inside the 2i2 are a pair of circuits that do all the AD/DA conversion, I still think that there's a power supply issue that's causing the crackly distortion.Quote:
Originally Posted by dave.king1
Update:
Still having audio playback problems with my Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen usb audio interface.