Hi all - I've got a Ryzen 5  (5500U)HP Pavillion windows 11 which i thought would easily cope with pianoteq 8 standard but am getting crackling through headphones (checked other headphones and no improvement). The Perf window in Pianoteq shows: 69...154 (Warning: large fluctuations)

CPU frequency 1813MHz - 2100MHz

multicore render & CPU overload both ticked
Internal sample rate 44100hz
Host sample rate 44100hz
Buffer size 512 samples
max polyphony 16

Devices screen: Asio4all v2
Sample rate : 512 samples (11.6 ms)
Bit depth: 32.

the sceen Help on the Perf window states try "best performance" but in windows 11 I can only see a balance option. Any help would be very much appreciated..

Thanks
James

Getting a proper audio interface instead of using ASIO4all is strongly recommended.

There are settings to try as well, behold the rabbit hole:

https://gearspace.com/board/showpost.ph...ount=21263

Hi guys. My dad asked me to help him install Windows 11, but he has Windows 7. How can I understand that his PC has all the requirements for Windows 11?

You might try the software called WhyNotWin11 to check win11 compatibility. You can download at https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11
In win7 system, you might need to use /force parameter in command line according to instruction.

I'm new on this forum but I'd like to help. Firstly, have you tried updating your audio drivers? That might help improve the audio quality. Additionally, you could try disabling any unnecessary background processes that might be eating up CPU resources. Regarding the "Best Performance" option, it might be located under Power Options in the Control Panel. You could try selecting it and see if that helps.

In case nothing seems to work, you might want to consider getting a Windows 10 key to downgrade your OS. There are several websites where you can buy a key, such as reddit windows 10 key. However, make sure to purchase it from a reliable source.

Windows 11 has issues with audio due to a very heavy audio driver that's affected by other system software and other programs running at the same time. The problem with systems such as those by HP and Dell, for example, is that they come with extra things to monitor the hardware.

When I replaced my old desktop due to my USB ports failing, I got a high-end Dell 8950 computer. I set up everything and had crackles, zaps, pops, and outright scary buzzing. After replacing cables, and even going for a discrete soundcard, I still had problems and deep down inside I thought something was wrong with my Roland LX-17, perhaps a blown speaker or something even though I never pushed the hardware that loud.

Anyway, before I pushed the panic button completely and brought in a technician to look at the digital piano, I did some online searching and the audio issue was actually mentioned on Microsoft's tech forums! I sighed a breath of relief and then followed the threads others had posted.

Here's my experience with the problem and how I solved it. I also posted this elsewhere for someone else who actually has another issue, although the symptoms are similar.

.... Your computer has other things running in the background that will kick in and interrupt your audio drivers. Windows 11 doesn't help matters much because the audio hardware driver used by Windows 11 is "heavy" and uses a lot of resources. On my system, I found I had some system culprits there along with the crapware that Dell puts on their desktops.

When I first encountered this, I upgraded my audio hardware from the pale and poor example of audio hardware that Dell uses in their desktop computers to a higher end SoundBlaster AE-9 thinking that the built-in hardware couldn't keep up. The AE-9 also has better control over the audio output and I was able to turn off the stupid special effects such as "theater" and "concert hall" that did nothing but make the audio too saturated. But that only helped a tiny bit even after adjusting the buffer settings for AIO, and I felt quite upset I had spent way too much money on the SoundBlaster setup.

Not being one to give up easily, I kept checking around and after researching online, I found Latency Monitor to monitor who was interrupting.

https://www.resplendence.com/main

With Latency Monitor running, I played. Whenever I heard the shocking ZAP sound or buzzing and clicking, I'd stop the monitoring and look at the output log.

I had to do this numerous times and after a rather larger number of iterations, I finally killed a bunch of things that aren't necessary such as the XBOX Game Bar and Dell's Support Assistant software.

Dell's SA was the biggest culprit because when it kicks in, it grabs the system and starts interrupting the hardware as it checks the system. No matter what I did to adjust the schedule for the software worked and I ended up going into Computer Management and then Services and disabled the Dell SA and anything else that said DELL on it. You can also get there by right-clicking on the start menu icon and then choosing Computer Management. It's a lot quicker than digging for it in the Administrative Tools, or from a command prompt.

After going through this great exercise, I was able to run zap and buzz free. Honestly, I thought my speakers were blown on my expensive LX-17 when this first occurred and never thought it was the software being interrupted that caused that awful sound that would actually make me jump.

Suspected headphones (Senheisser HD598) but having plugged them into laptop for spotify/youtube they're fine and listening direct from the Kawai CA67 they're fine also. when connected to laptop through pianoteq there is a marked difference. it seems fine when playing the keyboard at the bottom of the pianoteq screen and when listening to the blues demo also and selecting different instruments. purchased new headphone cable and USB cable. Tried using Fiio k3 amp and this made no difference to the crackle. using asio4all.

Any ideas of what i can try now? I really hope this can be overcome as I love Pianoteq but want it to work properly for me but and so far I'm a way off...