Scope wave-drivers introduces statics!? Please - Help urgent

petal · Post by **petal** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:55 am

Hi Guys

I have this really strange problem. I have a file that when played back through the Scope wave-driver introduces statics which are not there when I play the same file through the Scope ASIO-drivers. I have also tested the file on my laptop, where it also sounds fine.

The story behind this file is, that it’s been recorded in Cubase on a mac as an aiff-file. Afterwards the file has been copied to dvd and then transferred to my pc-based scope system. When I play it back in Cubase everything sounds fine, but when I play it back from Adope Audition (wave-drivers) or Winamp (also wave-drivers) the static is there.
Even if I export the file from Cubase as a wave file the static remains when played through Scope’s wave drivers.

The file is part of a 6 hours+ voice acting session with two paid actors in a recordingstudio, and the end result is to be used in an upcoming computergame, which is why I have know what is causing this static and if it is going to be a problem on other soundcards as well.

Here’s a link to two recordings of the same file plus the originalpart. One is played back through the wave-drivers the other through the ASIO-driver:

http://www.skydebanen.net/~jeppesen/StrangeStatics.zip (3 MB)

The two recordings has been through my mackie-mixer and recorded on my M-Audio Microtrack which explains the additional white-noise and overall loudness compared to the original file, which is meant for testing on other Scope-systems.

I really hope that some of you guys can shed some light on this problem!

Thanks in advance!
Thomas

Post by **garyb** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:03 am

what app is playing the back via wav drivers? is it the only app open? have you tried changing the priority of the playback app(raise) and/or scope(lower)?

petal · Post by **petal** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:16 am

I'm not sure I understand the question.

I am playing the file in Adope Audition 1.5 and Winamp - these two apps is where I'm experiencing the problem - I havnt tried other apps which is using the wave-device.

When I play bck the same file in cubase using the Scope Asio-device I'm not experiencing any problems.

If I route the sound through the onboard audio-device (realtek '97) and thereby avoiding scope, there's no problems.

One thing I'm not sure of though - that when using the Scope wave-devices, if the app is sending the signal through windows in some "not too fancy manner" - But then again, this is usually no problem at all!?

Could't someone please try and confirm/de-confirm what I'm experiencing with the original file in the link?

dbmac · Post by **dbmac** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:24 am

Have you tried raising your latency (ULLI) settings?

/dave

petal · Post by **petal** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:35 am

Nope - but I have now, but unfortunately it didn't do the trick.

Music Manic · Post by **Music Manic** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:38 am

Why do you need to use those drivers?

petal · Post by **petal** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:48 am

Audition version 1.5 doesn't work with ASIO, only the wave-devices.

Also there's the more important aspect of it. I am supposed to use these files in an upcomming computergame, so I have to know if this is going to be a problem on other computersystems too. If theres a problem with the files, I'll have to do it all over again: 2 days of work + pay for the actors - not counting the time I've allready wasted trying to figure out what the problem is.

So please keep the suggestions comming - the sooner the better!

Cheers!
Thomas

Nestor · Post by **Nestor** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:18 pm

I’m sorry you are having such strange problem, I have been thinking about it much, but it is quite unusual so I don’t remember this problem in the forum, or having experienced it myself.

Now, I don’t think that the files themselves are bad because if you cannot reproduce the problem everywhere, the files are ok. The problem seems to be system related, not the files themselves.

There IS something unusual in what you are doing, and this is the enormous duration of the files, they must also be very heavy, even at 16 bits. Perhaps this is the problem. Now I remember that I had some problems when playing a 71 minutes long 24 bit depth file. My problem was related to little crackles though.

Please, try to cut the files into much smaller pieces and try to reproduce them again, just in case it is that they are too long and you are having a problem similar to the one I had?

Your files:

ASIO: When I play the asio one, I can clearly hear a hiss going on, which is quite stable, I mean, even and uniform. It sounds like when you have an open mike with lots of volume, ready to record.

ORIGINAL: There is absolutely no noise at all; it is like a death file, without a single pick.

WAVE: The Wave one sounds bizarre, the sound cuts itself after a couple of seconds too, the his is mixed with crackle and is like when the system is being recorded, you know, the electronics in the background.

I would also go somewhere else with this files, and try them all in different computers, perhaps a friend or whatever.

What do you have to do finally with those wav or aiff files?

Well, I hope you can save your already made work.

Post by **garyb** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:10 pm

try raising audition's priority to above normal in the task manager.

arela · Post by **arela** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:27 am

Sometimes Adobe Audition acts funny.
I can't explain, but sometimes I have to set Scopes samplerate to 44,1kHz to playback 48 kHz wavefiles.
Audition is great most of the time.

You might find some hints here:
http://www.audiomastersforum.org/amforum/index.php

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:44 am

Hi Petal, I don't have a solution for you, but I've played back the files from various devices. There was one strange result in particular. I'll briefly list the results below.. All monitored loudly on high quality studio phones.

1. M$ Media Pl*yer-- All three files sounded almost *exactly* the same at really high volume levels. (on our net machine without Scope)

2. Cool Ed*t Pro ver.2.00-- All three files instantly sounded different. Original wasn't bad at all. Wave & ASIO versions both had much more noise than the original, but strangely on my first listen I could've sworn that the ASIO one sounded worse. (again on our net machine without Scope & monitored loudly on good headphones.

It was time to get the files over to the Scope box for a better look in SF. So...

3. SoundF**ge 6.0-- The 'static' in the WAV version as you call it, was instantly evident. Audibly, the WAV version now sounded the worst. With vertical zoom at maximum on a full screen view, I started zooming horizontally & before long you can see the nasty unwanted spikes. It looks like some kind of digital interference, but it could have many causes & I'm affraid I'm gonna have to do some detailed tests of noise levels on our own Scope box to have any chance of shining light on the issue.

Sorry I haven't been able to help, but I thought you'd like to see some more results. I'll try to find time to record a Wav & Asio version of your original file on our Scope box today. Can you post a link to the original AIF file?

Music Manic · Post by **Music Manic** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:59 am

Have you tried the lowest ULLI settings plus giving all PCI cards more latency?

Music Manic · Post by **Music Manic** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:01 am

Heard the files and sounds like there's a few bursts in the wav file one.
This is most probably a buffer problem.

petal · Post by **petal** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:31 am

Thanks everybody for all your suggestions and helpful notions.

I'm pretty sure that the problem has something to do with the particular file in combination with the Scope Wave-device, but I'm not sure exactly how. But when ever I play the original file using the Scope Wave-device, it produces the statics that you can hear on the WAVE-file example.

Keep in mind that both the WAVE and the ASIO-file has been boosted compared to the original file.

The original file is a small piece of recording with almost no signal, because it's easier to distinguish the static from the whitenoise when there is no signal. Try to play it using fx Winamp or another player that uses the Scope Wave-device and turn up the volume - and compare the result playing back the file using the ASIO-device. This is how I have tested the file on my system, and keep coming to the same result each time.

I tried writning Creamware support about this problem, but didn't get any answer - as expected.... I really hate to annoy Ralf each time one needs to contact Creamware

djmicron · Post by **djmicron** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 1:43 pm

i've encountered a similar problem using 32 bit files with winamp and the 24 bit wave drivers.

I think it could be related to samplerate conversion or bit depth.

About the files you've posted here, i've played the original file with winamp, without any problems.