Stereo Playback, Left and Right Stagger

[DPelletier]

When I attempt to playback a stereo audio file, the left and right channels stagger; the left channel will play then the right channel will play and they are completely out of sync. I've tried changing buffer sizes, tried going from v. 1.2.6 to v. 1.3.3, going into the task manager and changing the Audacity process to "real time", and so far nothing has helped. Cakewalk Audio Creator records just fine, but I am attempting to troubleshoot customer issues with Audacity. This is my current problem and this issue has turned up here and there with my customers. Please help! Thanks!!


Dan Pelletier

[kozikowski]

<<<Cakewalk Audio Creator records just fine>>>

We're missing some important steps in the middle. You have a playback complaint, but you never said where the recording comes from. Can we assume you're making a live recording? Can we also assume that the bouncing lights red record sound meters do not switch on and off at random?

Are you trying to use 24-bit sound?

Are you trying to listen live at the same time you're making the recording?

Download either or both of those sound clips and see if they play OK in your Audacity.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/soundtests.html

Koz

[DPelletier]

The file is located in "My Music" under "My Documents." Everything records well. I've tried different sample rates and bit depths and have had no success. Whether I record or not yeilds the same results. I've tried moving the files in case there is a networking or communication problem, but there shouldn't be considering that these symptoms are nonexistant when accessing the same files with Cakewalk Audio Creator. I've tried adjusting all the settings I know how to.

I'm not an audio dummy... I'm Pro-Tools certified, but somehow I can't figure this out. Thanks for your help with this.


Dan

[jan.kolar]

Your description is too much confussing.
Recording means: start with audio signal (from a mic, say), create a binary datay.
play(back) means the opposite.
What are you doing with what program?
If you are doing both, in what maner?
(Even if both at one time, there are still at least two basic possibilites:
1. Playing some file in your My music and re-recording it again (that is surprisingly popular)
2. plying some (with background music, say) and recording something else (your signing, say)
)

[DPelletier]

Ok... Let me try again...

During playback, the audio in the left and right channels do not play in sync with each other. While this is happening, the left and right channels stagger in their playback. The stereo track plays in a series of alternating and overlapping intervals while playing out of sync. I wanted to make sure my audio file (.WAV or .MP3) was not corrupt, so I tried playing the same file on another audio program (Cakewalk Audio Creator). The files play normally with all other programs.

In order to get these files to play normally in Audacity, I've tried a multitude of things. I have tried different sample rates (44.1k, 48k, etc.) and different bit depths (or "Sample Format" as Audacity calls it). I've also tried adjusting the time my computer takes to read and communicate with Audacity, and the time Audacity takes to read an audio file (latency). I've also tried uninstalling Audacity 1.2.6, and tried installing Audacity 1.3.3 and so far nothing has helped.

Does this make sense? Any suggestions?

[jan.kolar]

Good, now it makes sense, no recording under consideration, only playback makes problem.

I have a guess, let us see.
Choose "make a copy of file before editation (safer)" (or how's that in English)
in Edit>Preferences>FileFormats
(hmm, for example decoding MP3 on-fly, if it happens (I dont know that much), could do the problem)

If this does not help, there are more questions.

Does this happen for single/particular/all files? With the same files: Always/sometimes?
For single/all computers you have around?

You can zoom out to see the sin-waves - are they OK?
(Alternatively: export from Audacity. Play the exported files OK in whatever software? In Audacity again?)


How long are the intervals of continuous playback (for the tracks separately).

Try also low sample rate like 11.500.

(Another tests: Pan the track 100% to Left (or Right). What happens? Split the sterere to two tracks.
Can you play one of the tracks? If it is 50% Left-Right Panned, does the single mono tracks
play at least correctly "doubled mono" or get the two channels (with same content) out of sync anyway?
)

You can give some details about Hardware (computer/souncard/OS).

[jan.kolar]

You did not have tu unistal 1.2.6, You can have bouth 1.2.6 and 1.3.5
(only run at most one of them at the same moment)

[steve]

Hi Dan,
You know how ProTools can be a bit "picky" about the set-up, well with Audacity things are usually quite a bit more tolerant, but sometimes there will be a set-up that drops the audio performance to an unacceptable level and everything goes out of synch.

There are the usual suspects of background processes hogging resources, anti-virus checkers scanning every ".au" file as it is created, excessive fragmentation, and so on. Can you be more specific about the set-up that getting the problem?