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Weird cracking sounds while playing

MickyD

After latest update Weird sounds while playing.
Been trying to fix this for the past 2 weeks to no avail. These sounds sound like those cracking sounds when you are playing an old vinyl record or as if you have a broken audio cable, you know when you have to fiddle with it because you have no replacement? And the sounds get worse if I am processing a stem on a song.

They come out in the speaker, are even recorded and come out thru the headphone jack off the controller too.

However, if I connect the same headphones directly to my Mac while playing Traktor, the sounds are gone. If I use BT headphones, the sounds are gone.

I’v restarted Traktor various times, restarted my Mac, connected/disconnected the controller, fiddled with the sound settings from the Mac, fiddled with anything that has to do with sound in Traktor settings and nothing will get rid of this sound.

I have also tried a different USB C Hub adapter and I have tried multiple different audio cables. The only test missing would be the controller to mac cable which is Usb-B to Usb-A and my mac is only Usb-C

Because of the worsening of the sound while processing a stem, I’ve also terminated all Mac processes that I can terminate without rendering my Mac useless as well as quitting all running apps, thinking maybe it could be a memory issue. But no fix.

Any other ideas?

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Traktor Pro 4

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MickyD

An update. Decided to play a set I've been practicing for a while to record it albeit the weird sound. It definitely has to do with processing. I learned it has nothing to do with battery vs connected power. If a track is playing when I load a track to another deck and hit play, the sound worsens, if I stop it, it doesn't go away but it gets better. If I open an app, for instance in this case I opened Safari and Firefox (not together as for some reason I was unable to log in) as I was trying to log into NI to write this, the sound worsened. The weird thing I never had this issue before, and I am certain I have had no new apps installed that could have caused this.

maniacintosh81

Latest update to what? Traktor or macOS? Which exact Mac are you using?

If Traktor: Go back to the previous version. Should still be there in your Applications → Native Instruments → Traktor Pro 4 → Backup folder.

Get an USB-C to USB-B cable just to try if the USB hub causes any problems.

MickyD

@maniacintosh81 I meant latest update to Traktor. Using a MacBook Pro M2, with 8gb ram.

Unfortunately, can't go back to a previous version, as I had been having other issues before, and decided to erase anything Traktor related to try and solve them. I know it's not the USB Hub as I have tried 3 different ones. I will get a new cable, but I doubt that is the issue because when I play the same music on the Mac's Music App, using the Sound output through the controller, it will not replicate the weird noises.

PoorFellow

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/264988#Comment_264988

Unfortunately, can't go back to a previous version

Check out the Account downloads. (You need to be logged in for the link to work)

maniacintosh81

Avoiding hubs and use a direct cable are the usual hints if there are problems with the sound. But if it works fine with Apple Music app I agree it is unlikely that a new direct cable will fix the issue. What happens if you use Apple Music and play a second audio file with QuickTime Player or VLC (or even YouTube in Safari)? Same issues as if you play two tracks in Traktor?

Another cross check you can try: What happens if you select your internal speakers in Traktor as output? Do you have the same issues?

What are your settings for sample rate and buffer size? Tried an increased buffer size yet?

A Mac with M2 should have more than enough performance for Traktor Pro.

olafmol

can you check your CPU usage? Sounds like a buffer-underrun which happens when you have your latency set too low…

MickyD

maniacintosh81, olafmol sorry guys for taking so long to reply to your suggestions, it's been a heck of a few days at work, finally was able to sit down today and test your suggestions. To answer your questions first maniacintosh81, yes, I tried the internal speakers, sounds would not reproduce, only thru the controller, they were heard also through the headphones on the controller but not if I connected them to the laptop.

So, prior to connecting the controller, I increased the buffer size, problem seems to be gone. However, I decreased the buffer size again, restarted Traktor, to double check with the controller connected and the problem is gone too. Just as it appeared all of s sudden few weeks back, it is now gone. I even produced a few stem files which before it would make the issue worse, and yes, noises are gone. Now the question would be, if in fact it is a buffer issue, why would Traktor change my settings from one update to the next? I did a 10 minute test run for your suggestions since I am unable to play for a few hours today. Will give it a full test run next weekend and keep you posted. Thanks.

Picture 1 is running 2 tracks at the same time. Picture 2 is running both tracks and producing a stem file.

MickyD

maniacintosh81, olafmol issue resolved, was able to do a complete set without the issue, thanks guys.

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