Audio Interface Dilemma - need a solution!

[rod_zero]

THe OP's issue is crappy USB ASIO drivers, apart from a few manufacturers most use the ones made by Thesycon, so the performance is similar and you can see the same complains from windows users: pops and cracks, bad CPU performance and latency...

If you try an RME interface you start to experience the big gap between ASIO drivers quality, Steinberg also makes their own ASIO drivers and while not as good for lo latency as RME I have found they are stable and you don't get much Pops and cracks at an adequate buffer setting.

Focusrite also make their own, but my experience with them hasn't been as good as with Steinberg UR line.

Other options with a desktop is to get a PCie card, those are the best, but require external I/O boxes.

[1DMF]

The OP's issue is DPC Latency.

There are parameters in a motherboard's BIOS that can help mitigate this.
Problem with off-the-shelf motherboards is that often, these parameters are not exposed (for tweaking).
This is done to prevent less tech-savvy users from fouling up their machine.

If the Nvidia driver is listed as the Culprit, you can try both the Studio and Game Ready drivers.
You can also roll forward/backward the driver version (to eliminate the high DPC Latency).
Running a Nvidia video card isn't a problem.
The 13900k based machine sitting next to me has a RTX-3070Ti... and can run audio (clean) with round-trip latency lower than 1ms.

Yeah I updated the driver to latest studio version, which improved the latency a little, was still showing as an issue in Latency Monitor, but not red like it was, only now games such as Red Dead Redemption run worse with poor frame rates, NVidia suck just as much as these damn audio drivers

[1DMF]

THe OP's issue is crappy USB ASIO drivers, apart from a few manufacturers most use the ones made by Thesycon, so the performance is similar and you can see the same complains from windows users: pops and cracks, bad CPU performance and latency...

If you try an RME interface you start to experience the big gap between ASIO drivers quality, Steinberg also makes their own ASIO drivers and while not as good for lo latency as RME I have found they are stable and you don't get much Pops and cracks at an adequate buffer setting.

Focusrite also make their own, but my experience with them hasn't been as good as with Steinberg UR line.

Other options with a desktop is to get a PCie card, those are the best, but require external I/O boxes.

Yeah, it does seem that the SPL Marc One driver is a pile of doggy doo, considering the Crimson 3 is running fine without any pops, crackles or drop-outs and the driver isn't even meant to run on Windows 11 and was last updated in 2016, which kind of says it all with regards to how bad these manufacturers are at updating them and providing a quality experience on all platforms.

The fact the SPL Marc One has some dumb-ass dip switch nonsense to get both Line 1 & Line 2 input into the PC says it all really, and the fact it can't run in duplex while the Crimson 3 can, is just proof to me that it's drivers and not my PC regardless of the NVidia latency issues.

Oh well apart from not having inputs 1-4 (microphones & instuments) exposed natively in windows, the device is working perfectly, and I do like the soundstage SPL gives as well as their phonitor matrix technology, and considering I only paid £175.00 for it, I'm happy and will see how I get on with it for a while.

If I ever find myself wanting to upgrade, I will definately give RME a try, I'm curious as to whether I will like the sound as latency isn't an issue for me (well apart from the pops & crackles) as I'm an electronic 'in-the-daw' type of musician.

I appreciate everyone's input, it has certainly been a hell of a journey but I'm pleased with where I ended up

[Pictus]

Yeah, it does seem that the SPL Marc One driver is a pile of doggy doo, considering the Crimson 3 is running fine without any pops, crackles or drop-outs and the driver isn't even meant to run on Windows 11 and was last updated in 2016,(...)

First Create System Restore Point
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/create-sy ... s-11.3602/

Old/buggy drivers do not like hibernate and Core Isolation/Memory Integrity
Disable Windows Hibernate
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/285 ... -10-a.html
Disable Core Isolation/Memory Integrity. (Use the registry)
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/enable-or ... s-11.4942/

Disable core parking
https://bitsum.com/parkcontrol/

Some more tweaks(also look at the page 2).
https://vi-control.net/community/thread ... st-5336215

Dell is full of bloatware, try to remove.
I do not own a Dell anymore for quite some time, but
https://www.reddit.com/r/Intune/comment ... bloatware/

You have a Thunderbolt port, I would use a Thunderbolt 3 audio interface like
PreSonus Quantum 2626 or a RME USB.

[1DMF]

Hi Pictus, thanks for the reply, this is what my laptop is set to.

1. Hibernate - Disabled.
2. Memory Integrity - Enabled - not sure I want to turn this off if it protects against malware
3. Intalled Paking Control - thank you
4. Dell Bloat - There wasn't much bloat, only Dell recovery and system maintenance, what particular programs arfe you refering to?

[Jim Roseberry]

If the machine suffers from high DPC Latency, that's a separate issue from an audio interface having a crap driver.
High DPC Latency will negatively affect ANY audio interface (including Thunderbolt units).

[Pictus]

Hi Pictus, thanks for the reply, this is what my laptop is set to.

I am glad to help.

1. Hibernate - Disabled.
2. Memory Integrity - Enabled - not sure I want to turn this off if it protects against malware

It is trouble maker for older drivers and a performance killer.

3. Intalled Paking Control - thank you
4. Dell Bloat - There wasn't much bloat, only Dell recovery and system maintenance, what particular programs arfe you refering to?

I don't remember what Dell installs.
But I remember it was rubbish.

[1DMF]

Well disabling Memory Integrity actually caused a major performance drop.

I know the culprit for the DPC latency issue and it is NVidia!

If I disabled the GTX3080Ti in device manager, Latency Monitor shows "Conclusion: Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts. " and everything is green.

Only problem I have is for some reason I cannot get the onboard intel UHD 4K GFX to display on external monitors, it seems to only power the laptop 4K screen and any additional external monitor only works when the NVidia GFX is enabled

As the audio device is running without pops / crackles or drop-outs even when Nvidia GFX is enabled, I guess as the old saying goes "If it aint broke - don't fix it!"

[1DMF]

If the machine suffers from high DPC Latency, that's a separate issue from an audio interface having a crap driver.
High DPC Latency will negatively affect ANY audio interface (including Thunderbolt units).

Very true, which is why I sent the SPL Marc One back, it wasn't the odd pop / crackle caused by Nvidia GFX driver DPC Latency that was the major problem, it was other functionality that didn't work that was the deal breaker

[sempondr]

Where can I read about the problems with MOTU drivers in more detail?
Was planning to buy a MOTU M2 but after reading this thread I'm in doubt.
My PC runs Windows 11.

[TS-12]

The only harsh sounding interfaces I heard are Focusrite Scarlett series. Other than those I can't hear any difference between modern interfaces

[BertKoor]

Where can I read about the problems with MOTU drivers in more detail?

Use your search engine: "MOTU M2 issues windows"

Twenty years ago it used to be that MOTU developed and tested primarily on Mac computers, and Windows drivers were indeed second-grade. I don't know whether things have changed, they better have.

You do need to be aware that some people expect miracles from the driver, while the fault is elsewhere. Some graphics and wifi hardware is notorious for occupying the PCIe bus, and thus don't play nice at all with an audio interface that needs steady bandwidth.