AXE I/O and digital noise. Unable to change buffer settings.

[Geomac]

First post here. I bought an IK Multimedia AXE I\/O just a short time ago, and I like the sound of it, but it has introduced a problem I never experienced even once with my ancient Saffire 6 USB audio interface.

During playback in Reaper, when changing settings in some plugins I'm getting digital noise, tons of it. It coincides with making adjustments in those plug ins. I am using 48kHz sample rate, but I cannot adjust the buffer size, which is set at 64. My guess is that's too low for playback, but I cannot figure out how to raise it. There must be some setting somewhere else that will allow me to adjust it. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Note that the buffer size does change automatically if I select say 96kHz sample rate, and then the buffer size changes to 128, but the digital noise becomes intolerable and audible at all times. How does one adjust the buffer size for any given sample rate? Any other ideas how to get the AXE to not manifest digital noise?

[dlgebert]

Any other ideas how to get the AXE to not manifest digital noise?

When you mention "digital noise", are you talking about snapping, popping and stuttering or a constant noise, like white noise?

Are you on a Mac or a PC? If you're on a Mac, make sure you aren't using any 3rd party audio drivers for the AXE I/O. The AXE I/O is class compliant on a Mac and require no external drivers. For PC, make to use the audio driver that IKM provides. Don't use ASIO4ALL for PC or Mac.

Another thing to mention, in your DAW or Amplitube standalone application, make sure your [Playback Device] and your [Recording Device] are set to [AXE IO]. You shouldn't mix devices, like the AXE I/O is input and your built-in sound on your PC/Mac is your output because it causes hardware timing issues (that generate popping, clicking, etc) and latency.

How does one adjust the buffer size for any given sample rate?

I assume you are talking about adjusting the buffer size in the AXE I/O Control Panel? You are not able to change that in the AXE I/O Control Panel and you'll have to adjust that in your DAW. The user manual mentions that some DAW software will override the sample rate, so what you have in the AXE I/O Control Panel may not match what your DAW is using.

Code: Select all

Sample Rate:

Here you can set the working sample rate for the AXE IO unit, from 44.1 to 192 kHz.

Remember than in most cases, DAWS and host applications will likely control this value by their end, not allowing it to be forced differently. For this reason, you might see this value to go back to its previous state when you attempt changing it.

Here's the link to the IKM AXE I/O FAQ section:

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/faq/index.php?category=13&topic=axe-io

Dave

[Geomac]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, intermittent snapping, popping etc., not constant. I'm on a PC. I'll re-read your post and try the suggestions. The funny thing is I could have sworn I adjusted the buffer size when I first connected my AXE. I seem to recall it being set at 512 as default and that I lowered it.