Livewire Custom Audio
I was asked to start a new thread on this issue.
I can boot Rane and PC might play 20 songs before it happens might play 2. Audio quality goes bad and the only way to resolve is reboot PC. Seems like I go through this twice early then it is fine the rest of the night. Bear in mind I've only played about 4 shows with the Rane because I don't trust it. Rane seems to think it is a PC problem. I have used this PC with other USB sound cards, Sound Blaster, Peavey and ESI Maya 44 to be specific. Used to do this to run each deck on it's own channel on a Numark M6 USB mixer. (old school) I have two identical Dell PCs, i7, Windows 11, 32G RAM they both have the same issue. I love the Rane 4, I only wish I could trust it. I have the unit setup in my office plugged into powered studio monitors and I am willing to follow educated advice on the PC settings if there is an expert out there. I don't feel this is a Virtual DJ issue but rather a USB issue and I have adjusted my settings to Rane's recommendations with no avail.
I can boot Rane and PC might play 20 songs before it happens might play 2. Audio quality goes bad and the only way to resolve is reboot PC. Seems like I go through this twice early then it is fine the rest of the night. Bear in mind I've only played about 4 shows with the Rane because I don't trust it. Rane seems to think it is a PC problem. I have used this PC with other USB sound cards, Sound Blaster, Peavey and ESI Maya 44 to be specific. Used to do this to run each deck on it's own channel on a Numark M6 USB mixer. (old school) I have two identical Dell PCs, i7, Windows 11, 32G RAM they both have the same issue. I love the Rane 4, I only wish I could trust it. I have the unit setup in my office plugged into powered studio monitors and I am willing to follow educated advice on the PC settings if there is an expert out there. I don't feel this is a Virtual DJ issue but rather a USB issue and I have adjusted my settings to Rane's recommendations with no avail.
Inviato Mon 02 Sep 24 @ 7:58 pm
PhantomDeejay
1) REMOVE "Dell Support Assist" application from your laptops
2) Check your laptops for high DPC latency spikes
3) Try again (especillally after removing "Dell Support Assist")
2) Check your laptops for high DPC latency spikes
3) Try again (especillally after removing "Dell Support Assist")
Inviato Tue 03 Sep 24 @ 5:59 am
Livewire Custom Audio
How do I check for the DPC Latency spikes?
Inviato Tue 03 Sep 24 @ 1:25 pm
locoDog
with latencymon
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon
Inviato Tue 03 Sep 24 @ 1:39 pm
klausmogensen
So: Not a RANE 4 or Virtual DJ problem
Instead: Dell and possible Win11 problem
Instead: Dell and possible Win11 problem
Inviato Tue 03 Sep 24 @ 5:34 pm
Livewire Custom Audio
Can you elaborate on the Possible Dell / Windows problem?
Inviato Fri 06 Sep 24 @ 5:55 pm
Livewire Custom Audio
I have removed the Support Assistant and loaded the Latency monitor. Was still periodically experiencing the issue prior. Will run this for awhile and see if the monitor can capture the next event.
Inviato Fri 06 Sep 24 @ 6:23 pm
Livewire Custom Audio
Ok, things are getting better but not there yet. Problem will surface after Rane Four and VDJ are idle for sometime (overnight) and this has been repeatable. Now to get back to normal play I shut down VDJ and restart the software no longer needing to reboot PC to get good sound back.
Inviato Sun 08 Sep 24 @ 3:17 pm
Mr DJ Mel
What you are describing is the classic audio buffer issues.
My last 2 laptops have been Dell and although once "configured" correctly they work great but out of the box they can be a bit of a headache with the amount of bloatware installed out of the box. Removing all of the Dell bloatware and even changing the audio drivers the vendor version (e.g. Intel etc) rather than the Dell version can make a big difference.
So when i see posts like yours i can prob say 90% of the time its not a controller or VDJ issue but just bad configuration of the windows machine. Unfortunately nowadays the OS's, drivers and Laptop designs are not really designed to take into account realtime music use.
Also the biggest thing i find is that nowadays most windows laptops (especially w11) will be win11 home, which means you cannot get or set up a good powerplan to stop drivers and devices going to sleep.
So 1st step i always take it to purchase a win11 pro license and install that. With that i can set up an ultimate power plan option, set a custom group policy so that the laptop only does updates in certain hours etc and create a local account, instead of the forced microsoft account that home edition has.
My last 2 laptops have been Dell and although once "configured" correctly they work great but out of the box they can be a bit of a headache with the amount of bloatware installed out of the box. Removing all of the Dell bloatware and even changing the audio drivers the vendor version (e.g. Intel etc) rather than the Dell version can make a big difference.
So when i see posts like yours i can prob say 90% of the time its not a controller or VDJ issue but just bad configuration of the windows machine. Unfortunately nowadays the OS's, drivers and Laptop designs are not really designed to take into account realtime music use.
Also the biggest thing i find is that nowadays most windows laptops (especially w11) will be win11 home, which means you cannot get or set up a good powerplan to stop drivers and devices going to sleep.
So 1st step i always take it to purchase a win11 pro license and install that. With that i can set up an ultimate power plan option, set a custom group policy so that the laptop only does updates in certain hours etc and create a local account, instead of the forced microsoft account that home edition has.
Inviato Mon 09 Sep 24 @ 8:37 am
kradcliffe
You can install ultimate poweer plan with a simple script and also install an app to stop core parking. these two things can make a big difference on some machines.
Problem is that manufacturers do all this "optimizing" in the background to improve battery life to get Intel Evo status and it just throttles performance.
Problem is that manufacturers do all this "optimizing" in the background to improve battery life to get Intel Evo status and it just throttles performance.
Inviato Mon 09 Sep 24 @ 8:43 am
Mr DJ Mel
kradcliffe wrote :
You can install ultimate poweer plan with a simple script and also install an app to stop core parking. these two things can make a big difference on some machines.
Problem is that manufacturers do all this "optimizing" in the background to improve battery life to get Intel Evo status and it just throttles performance.
Problem is that manufacturers do all this "optimizing" in the background to improve battery life to get Intel Evo status and it just throttles performance.
100% agree with you there - I work in the IT engineering dept for major banking corps and we have the same battles but for realtime pricing.
Inviato Mon 09 Sep 24 @ 9:14 am
Livewire Custom Audio
First, thanks for the insight! Second, I do have Windows 11 Pro on both of these machines. Third, I'm an Electrician/DJ not an IT guy so step by step instructions of what I need to do would be appreciated or if I need to give you access to my PCs we can figure that out. I really like the Rane Four and just want to be able to use it with confidence. Also, should I uninstall the Dell Command update app?
Inviato Mon 09 Sep 24 @ 3:38 pm
kradcliffe
All the information you need can be easily found on Google.
Unfortunately when you are dealing with complex electronics there is a learning curve you have to go through to get the best out of them.
Unfortunately when you are dealing with complex electronics there is a learning curve you have to go through to get the best out of them.
Inviato Mon 09 Sep 24 @ 4:20 pm
Mr DJ Mel
Livewire Custom Audio wrote :
First, thanks for the insight! Second, I do have Windows 11 Pro on both of these machines. Third, I'm an Electrician/DJ not an IT guy so step by step instructions of what I need to do would be appreciated or if I need to give you access to my PCs we can figure that out. I really like the Rane Four and just want to be able to use it with confidence. Also, should I uninstall the Dell Command update app?
If your laptop has all the updates then yes I uninstalled everything Dell “utility and app” wise from it. There a few tweaks you can make in the bios as well. So best to google them as Kradcliffe suggested
Inviato Mon 09 Sep 24 @ 8:49 pm
Livewire Custom Audio
UPDATE:
I have found a setting in the BIOS that reflects "Ultimate Performance" and have enabled. Ran the scripts to load the Ultimate Power Plan. Been running an automix list for about 4 hours to this point all while running the Latency monitor. So far the Latency monitor is showing no problems and I have not experienced the issue with the audio quality going to crap. This is the first time the Latency monitor has not indicated an issue to this point. Fingers crossed it is fixed! I really appreciate you guys weighing in and helping me out with this it has been driving me mad!
I have found a setting in the BIOS that reflects "Ultimate Performance" and have enabled. Ran the scripts to load the Ultimate Power Plan. Been running an automix list for about 4 hours to this point all while running the Latency monitor. So far the Latency monitor is showing no problems and I have not experienced the issue with the audio quality going to crap. This is the first time the Latency monitor has not indicated an issue to this point. Fingers crossed it is fixed! I really appreciate you guys weighing in and helping me out with this it has been driving me mad!
Inviato Tue 10 Sep 24 @ 3:54 pm
Mr DJ Mel
Glad you got there in the end!
Inviato Tue 10 Sep 24 @ 6:09 pm
Riverwind
Thank you so much for this post, i was going mad trying to sort this
Inviato Tue 08 Oct 24 @ 2:34 pm
Livewire Custom Audio
Yeah, still having problems. The combination has proved unreliable and to the point I won't use if for any shows. Faced with a decision, get rid of the Dell laptop or get rid of the Rane Four. The problem is in the short time I did use the Rane, I like it. Anybody else out there using Rane Four and if so what laptop are you running? Dual soundcards to my Numark M6 is reliable as all get out but a little boring.........
Inviato Tue 12 Nov 24 @ 10:48 pm
PhantomDeejay
I have used Rane Four on some gigs without any issues.
I play with an Asus ROG laptop (13n gen Intel processor)
I would advise you (if possible) to visit a store that has laptops being displayed, and try to run Latmon on them. All of them will most likely report issues out of the box.
HOWEVER, the less severe issues they report, the more likely it will be to be able to eliminate any DPC latency problems afterwards.
I play with an Asus ROG laptop (13n gen Intel processor)
I would advise you (if possible) to visit a store that has laptops being displayed, and try to run Latmon on them. All of them will most likely report issues out of the box.
HOWEVER, the less severe issues they report, the more likely it will be to be able to eliminate any DPC latency problems afterwards.
Inviato Wed 13 Nov 24 @ 2:15 pm
kradcliffe
I've has issues with Denon drivers where latencymon shows nothing unusual but the sound will stop suddenly out of nowhere and hitting apply in the sound config will bring it back again.
I've troubleshooted this to death and never got anywhere. Some laptops just work fine and others don't.
I've troubleshooted this to death and never got anywhere. Some laptops just work fine and others don't.
Inviato Wed 13 Nov 24 @ 4:36 pm
