Speaker Cutting in and out

[heterophonic]

While I am probably about to describe a newly discovered hardware issue, it started after I installed and used Audacity for the first time.

Compaq Laptop running windows Vista home premium with Conexant Smartaudio 221 speakers, 2gb/3ghz

I use Finale 2009/2010 to do my composing using VST. Up until the day I installed and ran Audacity to do some audio conversions, everything was good. After, however, what would happen is during playback of any audio file it would sound muffled, distorted...and then pop back into correct sound, then pop back into this muffled distorted sound...back and forth, randomly, but always in the same spot on the audio file in question. The very same audio file plays perfectly on any other hardware. Writing new Audio files also is correctly done and plays correctly anywhere else. I read that sometimes speaker resources are being competed for by opposing programs and so I need to flush that out. Sometimes doing that works, sometimes not. I have also found that if I have an mp3 playing (that plays great on any other machine), and it starts with the distortion again, I can open Windows Mixer and click mute (on the application playing) on, mute off a few times and it corrects the distortion for a few seconds...in places where if I did nothing, would continue to be distorted.

Now. Again and again. All of this started after I installed and used Audacity for the first time. It became habit if I used audacity, afterward I would have to go to the sound control panel, and reset the bitrate on the speakers. But eventually that too stopped working as a stop-gap measure.

So? What gives?

One question I have right off: does audacity do anything to modify/adjust existing Vista audio API or points to different set of DLL's or something? I can't explain it otherwise. The drivers on my laptop have not changed since I got it, and they worked up until then. If there IS a change to the default audio files window uses, would they be reverted back on uninstall of Audacity? This is extraordinarily frustrating because I compose and need to hear my music play back as I write and lately it's been just crazy to listen to all this distortion.

Please help!

Thanks

Luis

[kozikowski]

<<<Conexant Smartaudio 221 speakers, 2gb/3ghz>>

The first cloud in the sky was when I looked up that speaker and nobody tried to sell them to me. Pages of help forum entries, discussions, complaints, and software patches, etc. No speakers. So I still don't know if they're USB speakers.

Audacity does not Play Well With Others. Audacity is a really simple software package and likes running on a really simple computer -- pretty much what you don't have. Particularly Audacity 1.2 which was designed in the Eisenhower Administration.

Getting rid of it may prove to be amusing, too, because this is the only current Audacity that keeps Preferences in the Dreaded Windows Registry. This was the last time they made that mistake.

So if you delete Audacity and the problem persists, you may need the more serious removal tools which I've heard about, but mercifully have never had to use. The heavy Windows elves will be along shortly.

Audacity 1.3.x is much better behaved and you can set it to not make system-wide changes. It also keeps preferences in its own audacity.cfg file and not the Registry.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Just because I try and not leave any turn unstoned, you do have a lot of clean, error-free, defragmented hard drive space available, right? Particularly the System Drive c:. You can't just keep piling up hungry production tools one atop the other

Koz

[heterophonic]

To your last question, yes. Definitely. In fact the only production tools I have are Finale, Garritan GPO and Audacity. There is, in fact, lots of space - 139gb, all defragmented and error free. This, being a 3 month old laptop, I'd be loathe to find HD problems at this point. No.

Actually: The speakers are embedded laptop speakers, along with a headphone jack (which is what I use all the time). This is embedded stuff, all part of the laptop audio system. I was considering getting a USB audio card to see if that would in fact demonstrate a similar problem or no problem at all. Either way, it is certainly upsetting that this all started with Audacity install.

So what now? What should I do/attempt? Spare no technical detail. I can take it.

L

[kozikowski]

Do all the problems go away if you remove Audacity, I assume in the Add/Remove Programs panel? You won't lose the purchase license, there isn't one.

Koz

[steve]

I suspect that the problem occuring at the time that you installed Audacity is coincidence (yes they do happen occasionally).

does audacity do anything to modify/adjust existing Vista audio API or points to different set of DLL's or something?

Audacity accesses your audio hardware using the standard Windows drivers. Other audio software may use ASIO drivers (which Audacity does not by default support). Audacity should not effect what drivers are used by other software, and does not install or change any drivers itself. Windows Vista will try and help you by changing your audio settings in response to what software/hardware it detects (per user/ per application settings may be useful to general users, but they can be a pain for recording).

In any case, you can test this out with Koz's suggestion of uninstalling Audacity and thoroughly testing your sound system. To remove Audacity 1.2.x completely from your system you will need to manually remove Audacity from the Windows Registry (do not attempt this unless you are confident about doing this without breaking your system - if in doubt there is a less thorough but safer method that you can use).

If completely removing Audacity does not fix the problem then the problem lies elsewhere (quite possibly in some oddball setting for your sound card - especially if your sound card is a Realtek HD and/or you are using Vista). If removing Audacity does fix the problem, try using Audacity 1.3.7 instead.

I installed and ran Audacity to do some audio conversions

Audacity is probably not the best tool for audio conversions (though it is a great sample editor). What kind of conversions are you doing? We may be able to suggest a better (free) tool for the job.