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More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 22 for Windows => Topic started by: jphilpit on April 02, 2017, 01:49:00 pm

Title: Playing music over USB often pauses sound output
Post by: jphilpit on April 02, 2017, 01:49:00 pm
I'm using MC version 21.0.90 on a Windows 10 laptop. The FLAC files are on an external hard drive (D:). The MC library database is on the C: drive, an SSD.

I have a problem:

About 4 months ago I stopped using DLNA over Ethernet to an external renderer. Now I push the FLAC files over a 15-foot USB cable using the McIntosh ASIO driver that is designed for the McIntosh D100 preamp that I'm using. Most of the time, it all works beautifully. My problem is that the sound now and then pauses for a second or so, and it seems to happen when the PC is being asked to do something new, such as change focus to a new program or to reveal a minimized window. This might happen as much as 10-15 times an hour if 'm working on the computer while listening to music.

In the settings for the ASIO driver, I have tried increasing the buffering, currently at 250 milliseconds. And I have checked the box for "Use large hardware buffers." Neither change makes any difference that I notice.

Rather than just blindly try settings, I'd love to get a recommendation about what to change that has a chance to fix this problem.

Any ideas?

Title: Same problem here
Post by: MBlue72 on April 02, 2017, 02:24:41 pm
I thought I would chime in ... I don’t have a solution but have the same problem.

I am also using MC version 21.0.90, sending FLAC files over 30 feet of USB (I know this is longer than the recommended length) to a McIntosh C52 preamp via the McIntosh ASIO driver. In my case the dropouts are pretty rare (less than once per hour) and usually last only about one second. I am on a HP desktop and usually am working on my computer in some fashion while playing music – I have not noticed any correlation between the dropouts and anything else I am doing.

With the same computer, I also sometimes listen via my Sennheiser headphones and have never had a dropout. In that case, I am sending the same FLAC files over 15 feet of USB to my Sennheiser HDVD 800 Headphone amplifier (then to my Sennheiser headphones).

I’ll be interested in any suggestions.

Thanks