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[ti_dust]

I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this issue.  Could be just me and my specific hardware and software setup.

I bought MC17 in April and I use a VST EQ (EQuality).  For several months I never had a single problem playing back music on my Schiit Bifrost USB DAC.  The DAC comes with Windows drivers which include ASIO support.  After these several months, I started having an intermittent problem with playback.  Sometimes when I pause and then resume playback, all I get is static; think white noise and white noise only (also very loud!).  It also sometimes happens in the middle of playing a song without me touching anything.  One second a song is playing, and the next my ears are bombarded with white noise.  You get the idea.  Stopping and starting playback results in music like normal - until the next time it happens, which may be today, tomorrow, or next week - I never know.

This doesn't happen frequently - usually only a few times a week.  I'm using MC 17.0.189 with the EQuality VST plugin on Windows 7 x64.  I've tried two completely different drivers for the Bifrost and the same thing happens with both.  The specific drivers I'm talking about came from the Schiit website and are versions v7.12.8.2139 and a newer unified C-Media driver v7.0.11.80.  My windows sounds are all routed to a different device so the Bifrost only deals with MC and nothing else, so there is no conflict.  I've tried a few of the settings in the playback settings for ASIO (large hardware buffers, different sized main buffer) and I've also tried increasing the latency - though I don't wish to increase it much more due to sound quality.  It plays without cracks and pops at pretty low latencies.

I'd really like to get this fixed somehow.  Like I said, for several months I never had a single issue, and I'm wondering if one of the automatic updates caused this.  Let me know what I can do to help and thank you.

[Matt]

USB can be mysterious.

I would try a different USB port, or adding/removing a USB hub.

I don't believe the problem is likely to be playback side, because we haven't heard this from anyone else and lots of users depend on ASIO (myself included).

[ti_dust]

OK, thanks for the input Matt.  I'll start investigating the USB and hardware side of things then.

[hulkss]

Ok, I had to take a look at your DAC online.

Looks like it should work fine although I really don't know Schiit.

[ti_dust]

Yeah, it works fine almost all of the time, and sounds wonderful.  When I think back, I think my problem started occurring about the time I added a second DAC (Audioengine D1) for my Windows sounds.  At that time I was switching around cables and USB ports between the two DACs and I'm sure that confused Windows to no end.  I also had both DACs connected to adjacent USB ports on the mobo, so I'm going to try putting them on different, non-adjacent ports and see how it goes.  If that don't work, I'll try installing a fresh copy of Windows 8 I bought but didn't install yet.  With as many users using MC, I'm sure someone else would've had the same problem by now if it were the software.

[ti_dust]

I just wanted to update the thread with my new findings.  I have confirmed that my problem is either the hardware USB interface on the DAC, or most likely the ASIO driver associated with it.  I have a dedicated USB to S/PDIF converter coming (hopefully) next week.

On another note, I upgraded to MC 18, and good job on that!  The audible difference is very subtle but also very nice.  The sound is a little cleaner, with tighter bass and a more focused overall sound.   

Edit: After much further testing I have discovered the problem and it was not the DAC or the driver.  It turned out to be an unstable driver (provided by Microsoft themselves) for my USB MCE infrared remote receiver.  I didn't realize it was unstable until it finally BSOD'd on me and I could see the cause.