Windows 10: audio stuttering, suspected cpu frequency/power issue

Hi all,


I recently purchased a UAD Apollo Twin X. It's an external soundcard/preamp that has been causing considerable audio stuttering during playback in Windows 10 applications. It requires a Thunderbolt 3 connection, so I have installed an ASUS ThunderboltEx 3, accordingly. I can use the device for recording and playback just fine when running audio editing software e.g. Ableton Live, but everything else stutters e.g. Windows Media Player, Spotify, video games, etc. This is a well-known issue within the UAD community, actually. Apparently, Windows' WMD driver framework is highly incompatible with the preamp when running any Windows software other than audio editing software.


There is a work around, and I've had some success with it but am a bit stuck: installing ASIO4All, and forcing Windows to use that via a virtual mixer, which is Voicemeeter Banana in my case clears up 90% of the issue. However, every once in a while, the audio just ducks and cuts out. It's intermittent and unpredictable. There are some mitigating factors. In order to get ASIO4All to work properly, I had to make some power/cpu management-related adjustments in my BIOS: disable TurboBoost, disable Intel SpeedStep, disable C-State. When these are disabled, I am able to achieve that 90% consistency during audio playback. With them enabled, even the ASIO drivers stutter.


All drivers are up to date, for all components of my hardware.


Thanks so much for your help - tremendously appreciated.



_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.

LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:00:28 h:mm:ss on all processors.





_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SYSTEM INFORMATION

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Computer name: DESKTOP-2NKSAL8

OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, version 1809, build: 17763 x64

Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., PRIME Z370-A

CPU: GenuineIntel IntelR CoreTM i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz

Logical processors: 12

Processor groups: 1

RAM: 16314 MB total





_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU SPEED

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reported CPU speed: 3696 MHz



Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.



WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.







_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.



Highest measured interrupt to process latency µs: 190.70

Average measured interrupt to process latency µs: 4.382456



Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency µs: 187.60

Average measured interrupt to DPC latency µs: 1.522271





_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REPORTED ISRs

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.



Highest ISR routine execution time µs: 217.200216

Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation



Highest reported total ISR routine time %: 0.135092

Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation



Total time spent in ISRs % 0.231354



ISR count execution time <250 µs: 54030

ISR count execution time 250-500 µs: 0

ISR count execution time 500-999 µs: 0

ISR count execution time 1000-1999 µs: 0

ISR count execution time 2000-3999 µs: 0

ISR count execution time >=4000 µs: 0





_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REPORTED DPCs

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.



Highest DPC routine execution time µs: 210.458874

Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation



Highest reported total DPC routine time %: 0.202213

Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation



Total time spent in DPCs % 0.359621



DPC count execution time <250 µs: 104585

DPC count execution time 250-500 µs: 0

DPC count execution time 500-999 µs: 0

DPC count execution time 1000-1999 µs: 0

DPC count execution time 2000-3999 µs: 0

DPC count execution time >=4000 µs: 0





_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.



NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.



Process with highest pagefault count: software_reporter_tool.exe



Total number of hard pagefaults 18

Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 13

Number of processes hit: 4





_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PER CPU DATA

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time s: 2.276747

CPU 0 ISR highest execution time µs: 157.153139

CPU 0 ISR total execution time s: 0.276707

CPU 0 ISR count: 25955

CPU 0 DPC highest execution time µs: 170.400974

CPU 0 DPC total execution time s: 0.833251

CPU 0 DPC count: 86417

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time s: 1.537906

CPU 1 ISR highest execution time µs: 217.200216

CPU 1 ISR total execution time s: 0.483774

CPU 1 ISR count: 15885

CPU 1 DPC highest execution time µs: 210.458874

CPU 1 DPC total execution time s: 0.357489

CPU 1 DPC count: 15566

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.164289

CPU 2 ISR highest execution time µs: 4.209957

CPU 2 ISR total execution time s: 0.000167

CPU 2 ISR count: 76

CPU 2 DPC highest execution time µs: 81.398268

CPU 2 DPC total execution time s: 0.003763

CPU 2 DPC count: 113

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.162246

CPU 3 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 3 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 3 ISR count: 0

CPU 3 DPC highest execution time µs: 63.924784

CPU 3 DPC total execution time s: 0.002043

CPU 3 DPC count: 408

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.148743

CPU 4 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 4 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 4 ISR count: 0

CPU 4 DPC highest execution time µs: 25.587121

CPU 4 DPC total execution time s: 0.000066

CPU 4 DPC count: 12

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.151976

CPU 5 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 5 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 5 ISR count: 0

CPU 5 DPC highest execution time µs: 67.951299

CPU 5 DPC total execution time s: 0.002668

CPU 5 DPC count: 472

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.145108

CPU 6 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 6 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 6 ISR count: 0

CPU 6 DPC highest execution time µs: 18.747294

CPU 6 DPC total execution time s: 0.000020

CPU 6 DPC count: 2

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.158364

CPU 7 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 7 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 7 ISR count: 0

CPU 7 DPC highest execution time µs: 61.313853

CPU 7 DPC total execution time s: 0.002906

CPU 7 DPC count: 521

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.160191

CPU 8 ISR highest execution time µs: 3.913420

CPU 8 ISR total execution time s: 0.000719

CPU 8 ISR count: 446

CPU 8 DPC highest execution time µs: 28.200758

CPU 8 DPC total execution time s: 0.000299

CPU 8 DPC count: 69

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.214758

CPU 9 ISR highest execution time µs: 6.825216

CPU 9 ISR total execution time s: 0.016428

CPU 9 ISR count: 11668

CPU 9 DPC highest execution time µs: 74.481061

CPU 9 DPC total execution time s: 0.002634

CPU 9 DPC count: 502

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.145144

CPU 10 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 10 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 10 ISR count: 0

CPU 10 DPC highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 10 DPC total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 10 DPC count: 0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time s: 0.169203

CPU 11 ISR highest execution time µs: 0.0

CPU 11 ISR total execution time s: 0.0

CPU 11 ISR count: 0

CPU 11 DPC highest execution time µs: 57.165584

CPU 11 DPC total execution time s: 0.003876

CPU 11 DPC count: 503

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

:)

 

audio stuttering, suspected cpu frequency/power issue

Hi all,

I recently purchased a UAD Apollo Twin X. It's an external soundcard/preamp that has been causing considerable audio stuttering during playback in Windows 10 applications. It requires a Thunderbolt 3 connection, so I have installed an ASUS ThunderboltEx
3, accordingly. I can use the device for recording and playback just fine when running audio editing software (e.g. Ableton Live), but everything else stutters (e.g. Windows Media Player, Spotify, video games, etc). This is a well-known issue within the UAD
community, actually. Apparently, Windows' WMD driver framework is highly incompatible with the preamp when running any Windows software other than audio editing software.

There is a work around, and I've had some success with it but am a bit stuck: installing ASIO4All, and forcing Windows to use that (via a virtual mixer, which is Voicemeeter Banana in my case) clears up 90% of the issue. However, every once in a while, the
audio just ducks and cuts out. It's intermittent and unpredictable. There are some mitigating factors. In order to get ASIO4All to work properly, I had to make some power/cpu management-related adjustments in my BIOS: disable TurboBoost, disable Intel SpeedStep,
disable C-State. When these are disabled, I am able to achieve that 90% consistency during audio playback. With them enabled, even the ASIO drivers stutter.

All drivers are up to date, for all components of my hardware.

Thanks so much for your help - tremendously appreciated.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.

LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:00:28 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SYSTEM INFORMATION

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Computer name: DESKTOP-2NKSAL8

OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, version 1809, build: 17763 (x64)

Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., PRIME Z370-A

CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz

Logical processors: 12

Processor groups: 1

RAM: 16314 MB total

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU SPEED

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reported CPU speed: 3696 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine,
the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 190.70

Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 4.382456

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 187.60

Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.522271

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REPORTED ISRs

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 217.200216

Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.135092

Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.231354

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 54030

ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0

ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0

ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0

ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0

ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REPORTED DPCs

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 210.458874

Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.202213

Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.359621

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 104585

DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is
interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: software_reporter_tool.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 18

Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 13

Number of processes hit: 4

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PER CPU DATA

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.276747

CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 157.153139

CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.276707

CPU 0 ISR count: 25955

CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 170.400974

CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.833251

CPU 0 DPC count: 86417

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.537906

CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 217.200216

CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.483774

CPU 1 ISR count: 15885

CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 210.458874

CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.357489

CPU 1 DPC count: 15566

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.164289

CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4.209957

CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000167

CPU 2 ISR count: 76

CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 81.398268

CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003763

CPU 2 DPC count: 113

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.162246

CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 3 ISR count: 0

CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 63.924784

CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002043

CPU 3 DPC count: 408

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.148743

CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 4 ISR count: 0

CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 25.587121

CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000066

CPU 4 DPC count: 12

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.151976

CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 5 ISR count: 0

CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 67.951299

CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002668

CPU 5 DPC count: 472

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.145108

CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 6 ISR count: 0

CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 18.747294

CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000020

CPU 6 DPC count: 2

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.158364

CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 7 ISR count: 0

CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 61.313853

CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002906

CPU 7 DPC count: 521

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.160191

CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3.913420

CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000719

CPU 8 ISR count: 446

CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs): 28.200758

CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000299

CPU 8 DPC count: 69

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.214758

CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs): 6.825216

CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s): 0.016428

CPU 9 ISR count: 11668

CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs): 74.481061

CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002634

CPU 9 DPC count: 502

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.145144

CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 10 ISR count: 0

CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 10 DPC count: 0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.169203

CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0

CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0

CPU 11 ISR count: 0

CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs): 57.165584

CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003876

CPU 11 DPC count: 503

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Realtek Audio Stuttering Issues

Hello,

I have a Dell Inspirion Desktop. Occasionally I will get multiple issues with audio stuttering / glitching on things like mp3 files, youtube videos, mp4 videos, etc. anything to do with multimedia.

The audio stuttering occurs only when connected to RealTek Audio devices (such as headphones / speakers) but when I have my Scarlet 2i2 Focusrite Interface plugged in I have no issues at all.

I've especially noticed a frequency of stuttering issues after the latest Windows 10 update on Realtek.

I have tried updating drivers & uninstalling / reinstalling them to no success.

I also have tried connecting external speakers that only use Realtek Audio and they also stutter and freeze during audio playback.

At first I thought it was my computer itself but looking at various other problems it looks like the finger has to be pointed at Realtek audio.

Trouble shooter only fixes the problem temporarily

I have looked up this problem countless times and haven't found a reasonable solution yet. Everybody just says update drivers but I have already done that over and over again without success.

If anyone can provide any suggestions it would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

Audio driver conflict causing stuttering?

Hi Techhelper89,

Unfortunately, I did the instructions as mentioned in the thread and the stuttering persists. I used the link provided: and the steps requested

http://www.tweaking.com/files/setups/tweaking.com_windows_repair_aio_setup.exe

I also tried reinstalling the Realtek Audio drivers as suggested by the thread to no avail.

I've also added some links of how the stuttering looks and sounds like to the main post of this thread. I hope it helps identify the issue.

One more thing I noticed after the above steps is that I can boot with Nvidia HD Audio drivers disabled but the stuttering persist. Enabling then disabling "cures" the stuttering for a while. Although, when this is happening while the Nvidia Audio drivers are
disabled (as there is an enable option) the icon doesn't look like one that is normally disabled (with a small circular arrow down icon).

Cheers,

Ben