Yes i’ve used chat gpt to help me write this cause i’m busy lol It was useless at finding the problem tho. Maybe today you can be better than Chat GPT lol P.S - I'm happy to try out anything again.

Question

Why does Premiere pause ~4 seconds before playback after audio edits, despite:

• fast hardware
• proxies
• GPU acceleration
• no active audio effects
• minimal project size?

System

• Computer: Mac Studio (M4 Max, 36 GB RAM, 2025)
• OS: macOS Tahoe
• NLE: Adobe Premiere Pro 26.02
• GPU Renderer: Mercury Playback Engine – Metal
• Audio Interface: M-Audio AIR 192-4
• Audio buffer: 128 samples
• Sample rate: 48 kHz

Storage Setup

• Project files: Internal boot SSD
  • ~168 GB free space
  • Project size: 1.36 MB
• Media / proxies: External 10 Gbps NVMe drive
• Scratch disks: Internal SSD
• Autosave: External drive

Sequence / Project Setup

• Timeline length: 20 minutes
• Workflow: Premiere Productions
• Media: ProRes proxies (1920×1080)
• Includes:
  • Video clips
  • Audio clips
  • Music
  • JPEG stills (approx 6K resolution)
  • Some audio effects initially
• Sequence preview codec:
  • ProRes 422 LT
• Proxy codec:
  • ProRes 422 Proxy

Problem

After making changes involving audio, pressing Play causes a ~4 second delay before playback begins.

Key characteristics:

• Delay occurs only after audio-related edits
• Delay occurs even when all tracks are muted
• Delay occurs even after removing audio effects
• Delay occurs regardless of JPEG tracks or video tracks
• Delay occurs in separate test projects
• Playback itself is smooth once it starts

Troubleshooting Already Attempted

Timeline / Media

• Disabled video tracks
• Disabled JPEG tracks
• Removed audio effects
• Muted all audio tracks
• Split sequence into smaller test project

Result: Problem persists

Premiere Settings

• Renderer confirmed: Metal GPU
• Transcription disabled
• Audio tags / Essential Sound disabled
• Waveform generation adjustments tested

Result: No change

Audio Hardware

Tested multiple configurations:

• M-Audio AIR 192-4 active
• Mac internal speakers
• Input set to No Input
• Buffer size 128 samples
• Sample rate 48 kHz

Result: Delay persists

Storage / Disk

• Project on internal SSD
• Media on fast NVMe (10 Gbps)
• Scratch disks internal

Result: Disk speed not the issue

Additional Observations

• Delay appears only after edits affecting audio
• Occurs even if tracks are muted
• Occurs even in new test projects
• No “conforming audio” or peak generation messages observed

Thanks!