I am also getting the corrupted /diststorted sound coming from my Focusrite 4i4. I use the Apple dongle.
iPad Pro M2
iOS 18.3.1
Most recent Cubasis 3
Oh, that’s concerning, since I had my eye on a Focusrite interface to prevent this very issue!
So maybe this is a bug within Cubasis after all (related to switching audio interfaces) since this is apparently now happening with two different brands of interface.
Could you please elaborate when you get that sound? In my case, it’s when I pull up Cubasis with that interface disconnected, and then connect the interface.
If it’s not too much to ask, could you post a short audio clip of what that sounds like in your case to see if it matches what I’m experiencing?
For what it’s worth…
I do hope everyone experiencing audio-related issues has permanently disabled Siri as it has a tendency to mess with CoreAudio causing things mentioned in this thread like corrupted & distorted audio and a bunch of other ‘un-expected’ things…
Oh, I hadn’t head of this, thank you!
Siri is off, so that’s not it in my case.
And unless you absolutely need Bluetooth or a WiFi connection, Yamaha, Moog, and other manufacturers recommend running in Airplane Mode.
Thanks for that tip on Siri, Sam. I had not heard that, either. It makes sense, though.
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One of the reasons Siri can ‘interfere’ with audio apps is that it can in some cases change and lock the audio-buffer size once it has done this a reboot is needed.
Other sources for audio-interferences are smart-covers with magnets.
Personally I’ve used multiple audio-interfaces with my iPads over the years with close to zero issus (Steinberg UR-242, Behringer UCA-202, Line6 MobileIn, Audient EVO4 and ID4Mk2, Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 4th Gen, iRig Mic HD and a bunch of ‘no-name’ class-compliant USB-Audio dongles).
Some of the Audio interfaces/dongles have been quite sensitive to RF interference from mobile-phones and if the iPad has a cellular chip it’s a good idea to turn it off. Wifi or BT have never been an issue for me only cellular…
Switching audio-devices ‘on the fly’ can in some cases confuse the system so I’d suggest closing all apps before connecting an or switching the audio-interface.
Good Luck!
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Alright, so I got that Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 4th gen interface, and Cubasis “sees” it just fine. I can even select the audio outputs I want to route tracks to. So far, so good.
What’s not good are two things:
(1) When I connected that Scarlett, I again got that corrupted audio issue that started this whole thread. The same workaround (force-quitting Cubasis and restarting it) fixed the issue. So, this leads me to believe that this is indeed a Cubasis issue (rather than something specific to an audio interface), since it presents with two different audio interfaces equally (Focusrite and Behringer).
(2) I discovered that the Focusrite Control 2 app on the iPad NEEDS A COMPUTER TO WORK! It basically wants to connect to a computer via WiFi that runs the desktop version of that app, and it wants the Scarlett audio interface to be connected to that computer. Which means I can’t adjust the digital mixer in that interface while connected to Cubasis (and playing back music), which makes it … completely useless for usage with an iPad.
Did I just waste $700, or am I overlooking something?
Hi @Timo00
Thanks for your message.
As mentioned above, we recommend reaching out to our friends at Focusrite to discuss this issue. Since we don’t have the device ourselves, we’re unable to give it a quick test ourselves, nor do we make definitive statements about third-party hardware compatibility in general.
Just a guess, but could the issue be related to incorrect settings, such as buffer size? That might be something worth checking. Again, Focusrite would be the best point of contact for troubleshooting this further.
Additionally, I’ve reached out to our contacts at Focusrite as well to see if I can share the details of this case with them. However, in general, audio device-related issues have to be addressed by the hardware manufacturer.
Warm greetings,
Lars
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Thank you Lars!
Yes, I’ll be digging into the settings to see if something is wrong, and I’ll be reaching out to Focusrite as well.
Totally get that without having access to that hardware, there isn’t much you can do, so I extra appreciate your comments!
Hi @Timo00
Thank you for your message.
Did changing the settings in Cubasis and/or the Focusrite audio device resolved the problem?
Once I have news to share from our friends @ Focusrite I will let you know.
Best,
Lars
I am probably experiencing the same issue with Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 and both Cubasis and Dorico on iPad. It sounds like some kind of sample rate mismatch. Quitting and restarting Cubasis or Dorico resolves the issue.
@LSlowak Both Cubasis and the Focusrite audio device are already set to a 48 kHz sample rate, which is the native sample rate of all of the WAV files I’m playing back within Cubasis. Are there any other settings I should check/change?
@ikos That sounds like exactly the same problem. I guess I’m glad(?) that this problem is larger than just me/my setup/my audio devices. It’s now been reproduced on three separate audio devices (your Scarlett 8i6, my Scarlet 18i20, and my Behringer referenced earlier in this thread), so this might not be specific to an audio device but rather something within Cubasis.
One additional piece of info: This happened during our last show. When I walked on stage and hit play within Cubasis to start our set, it made that horrible noise, and there was an audible gasp from the audience. It sure sounds like something is really wrong when that noise comes out of a gigantic sound system! Luckily, I kept my cool, force-killed Cubasis, restarted it, loaded that track again and it worked fine. Still, not an awesome way to start a show.
I had originally thought that this was only reproducible when connecting an external audio interface (which is a pretty reliable way of reproducing this issue). But I left everything plugged in, connected and ready to go after soundcheck, so the system was untouched between then and when we hit the stage. Our live setup is powered through a Furman power conditioner fed by an uninterruptible power supply, so it couldn’t have been the case that, say, the opening band kicked a power line and knocked out power momentarily and thus everything got power-cycled/rebooted - the UPS would have prevented that.
But probably easier to focus on the case of connecting an external audio interface to get to the bottom of this bug instead of one random occurrence of it in a different way.
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I only have a Belkin 7 in 1 usb-c hub with a headphone socket plugged into my iPad and as soon as I hit play the sound is similar to blown transistors on a amp, closing and restarting Cubasis corrects this issue, this has been happening for some time. I thought it was my hub because the sound is ok when playing through its own speakers, but now I read it’s more than just my hub.
Mike
“Similar to blown transistors on an amp” is a pretty good description of what this sounds like.
Next time it happens for me, I’ll try to get an audio recording and post it here, it might help diagnose and fix this.
Also, when you say “the sound is ok when playing through its own speakers” - are you talking about the case of audio playback over the iPad speakers with no external audio interface connected?
FWIW, that is true in my case also, as the thread title says “corrupted audio playback when switching to external audio interface”
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I will also record my blown transistors sound effect lol
When I unplug the Belkin hub fro my iPad the sound reverts back to normal, when I plug the hub back into the iPad the sound is still corrupted, only by restarting Cubasis will the sound become normal again.
I was referring to the iPad speakers, that’s why I initially thought it was my hub that was at fault, but it only happens randomly, when I am not expecting it to happen, I’m just glad I’m not in a situation like you where I would frighten the audience with the sound of blown transistors.
BTW, I used to repair audio equipment years ago, many transistors guitar amps used 2N3055 power transistors, they would blow quickly after they became very very hot, the transistor driver stage would also go, but the sound is unmistakable……….like Cubasis when the sound breaks up as it has been lol.
OK, so if that hub has a headphone socket, then that means it likely functions as an external audio interface with a DAC for the headphone output. Can you please confirm that? You should be able to see that in the iPad settings (or even the Cubasis output routing in the mixer).
I have just plugged my Belkin 7-in-1 usb-c hub into my iPad Air 6 to work on a track in Cubasis using my headphones and this is a recording of the corrupt audio (blown transistors fx), I stopped Cubasis and opened Apple Music, I selected a track to play, it sounded perfect, I whent back into Cubasis pressed play and the same corrupt sound was still there, closing and relaunching Cubasis fixed the issue.
Corrupt Audio.zip (169.0 KB)
Just uploaded my corrupt audio (blown transistor) recording lol
Mike
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Thank you for doing this!
@LSlowak hopefully this will help the engineering team track down this issue, esp. with the repro steps that @fixitmania53 provided where the issue is specific to Cubasis (audio was fine in Apple Music).
Yeah, this sounds an awful lot like what it sounds like when I encounter the issue, albeit in my case, there’s more bass content. I’m curious - how did you record this?