After 20 mins recording - sound starts to crackle

[just_rnb]

Hello there,

i got an issue that started to occur a few months ago and i dont know what the cause of it is.

I own a recording studio and i got lots of artists visiting me and recording their songs in my studio. The issue here is - that 6 months ago an issue has started to make itself known - and the issue is that after recording for about 20 to 30 minutes - the whole sound in cubase starts to crackle all the time and then i immediately need to close cubase and start it again to work properly.

And its not a crackling sound that comes in every 2-3 seconds - its a massive crackling sound that appears through the whole time. Whatever vocal, beat i play to listen to - the crackling is permanent and all the way through and i cant seem to find the cause to it.

I have tried uninstalling cubase 13 pro - and also cubase 12 pro. I have uninstalled my audio drivers and installed them back again. I have uninstalled other audio drivers, cause I thought that they might cause interference…

I have updated all drivers that needed to be updated on my pc and i have even taken other sources like my elgato camera or elgato lights off of the power strip - cause i thought maybe more devices in my electricity eco system are causing some kind of electrical overload or malfunction - but the problem remains the same.

Keep in mind that i use my windows pc also for other activities like gaming and recording videos on OBS and that can go on for hours and hours and the crackling never appears there - only in cubase, after a period of time.

Has anyone ever had this kind of issue and can lend me a helping hand?

I really dont want to uninstall my whole pc and that would be the last option for me to choose.

Thanks in advance!

[cubic13]

Welcome here, @just_rnb

Actually, more informations are needed :

• system specs and OS version used, HDD/SDD settings, etc.
• Audio interface used and its connection to your computer
• Cubase version (Element, Artist, Pro…)
• Latency setting (Studio > Studio Setup > Audio System panel)

Beside this, I would try to use this tool to see what could be going on. Keep us informed of the results…

[harrisonguitarz]

I have had this problem before although I am using firewire connection. MIcrosoft updates would switch the driver. I had to uninstall and reinstall the firewire drivers and be sure to use legacy driver. Seems like a similar issue, the crackling was terrible. (and embarrassing) Good luck.

[just_rnb]

Thank you for the reply!

I am using the Motu 828es audio interface

My main DAW is Cubase 13 PRO at the moment

Since i can only post one attachment at the time - ill post the other screenshots of the specs down below - hope that works.

[just_rnb]

Here is the latency info

[just_rnb]

And here the audio interface settings if required:

[cubic13]

OK, everything seems to be set as expected. This said, have you used latencymon on your system, during a duration that exceeds widely 20 minutes, this with the MOTU interface enabled ?

If so, it would help to see a screenshot of the results…