Playback in PPro 2025 is bad

Question

No matter what delicate matrix of drives I tried to assign cache files to etc, I simply could NOT get Premiere Pro 2025 (25.4.1 running on a MBP M1 2020 with OS Sequoia, 16 GB Ram) to playback for more than a fraction of a second without dropping frames.  Didn't matter what type of media, fx or no fx, Full quality pb half or 1/4...  
 
So I tried opening the same media on my old MBP Intel with Mac OS Monterrey and PPro 2024.  Plays TOTALLY FINE with no dropped frames.  (and no special cache settings btw.)   Hm, thought me.  
 
So I downloaded PPro 2024 latest version to the same MBP M1 I was originally getting dropped frames on, dutifully xml'd the sequence over to a new project in 2024..... and it plays back JUST FINE.  Adobe, can you please explain this, and let us know when 2025 will be able to playback at the same quality of 2024?  Or does anyone out there know something I don't about 2025 to magically get it to play back without dropped frames?  Thank you!

PaulMurphy · Answer

Have you tried resetting preferences? This can resolve unexpected playback issues:

👉 How to reset Premiere Pro preferences

Also, double-check these settings in Premiere Pro 2025:

Audio Hardware: Go to Settings > Audio and set Default Input to None. Sometimes incorrect input routing can impact performance.
Playback: Under Settings > Playback, ensure no unexpected devices are enabled under Transmit Device Playback.
Program Monitor: Click the wrench icon in the Program Monitor and make sure High Quality Playback is disabled—this can significantly affect real-time performance.

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