Adobe Audition 2020 Randomly stops recording

Report · Mar 09, 2020

Hi guys,

I run a Dell XPS 15 (2018) 1TB SSD 16 GB RAM 64-bit Windows 10 operating system, and I'm having trouble recording my podcast. I usually have my laptop connected to the Dell XPS dock via USB-C and the dock also has a 4K monitor connected to it via HDMI.

In terms of audition, I record in multitrack mode, and I'm usually recording myself and another guest on my Roland Rubix 44. What I usually do is I open the audio hardware, change the drive to ASIO and then find the Roland Rubix for the output and input. Then I arm each track onto a Mono track Line 1 and 2.

I put my computer in airplane mode last time to see if it would make any difference, and it didn't... it still stopped recording a few times during a one hour conversation.

It has been so incredibly frustrating as it really interupts the flow of the conversation and it's embarrassing with my guests. I was wondering if you could recommend some things to try to resolve this issue?

I have a feeling it has to do with Windows Sounds... but I don't know how to fix this issue... I saw a member had said to use an interface with its own driver... and I thought the Rubix had its own driver so I wasn't sure.

In terms of where I'm recording to... I've tried all sorts of methods... I've had the Disk Cache on various external drives and on the local drive while recording to either the local drive or to an external hard drive... I've tried every arrangement and various combinations and it still randomly stops.

Any suggestions would be great as I know my machine and the interface are very capable to do basic multitrack recording... I just need to understand why it keeps stopping!

I really appreciate the help!

Thanks everyone!

Report · Mar 09, 2020

Here's a page of stuff you should do to your machine to optimise it for audio If you do a search using the term 'optimise Windows 10 for recording', you'll find more. Try these suggestions first, and if you still have problems you'll have to do some resource monitoring, which is a little more involved.

Report · Mar 10, 2020

Hey Steve,

I've done this... not the same optimization guide, but I followed one from FocusRite... It looks like the one I haven't tried was to update ALL the system drivers. I've definitely updated a lot of them since purchase in Sept 2018, but I'm sure I haven't done all of them. Will try this when I get home, but besides that, EVERYTHING is optimized and I still almost had worse problems yesterday in my tests.

I opened the Roland Rubix Control Panel and played around with the settings... it's silly because they have them numbered from 1-8, which changes the sample rate and buffer size... but there is no guide or legend to let you know what the numbers mean. At any rate, I pretty much tried them all, even with a buffer size of 2K and awful latency it was still stopping. I didn't even get a single recording longer than 20 minutes yesterday in my tests.

Oooooof, this seems ridiculous considering in 2005, on a packard bell computer I was recording audio a lot easier than I am right now.

Thanks for your help!

Report · Mar 10, 2020

Hey Steve,

Just did EVERYTHING... and I'm only getting between 15 to 30 minutes of recording before it stops. What the heck could I be doing so wrong for such a simple thing like recording two vocal tracks?

Report · Mar 11, 2020

That's the thing; without your computer in front of me, and a load of monitoring, I can't tell either. What I suggest is that you download from Microsoft a copy of Sysinternals' Process Monitor. This has the capability of running much more detailed diagnostics whilst you are trying to do stuff, and ultimately will reveal what's happening. I should warn you that we can't give detailed guidance on how you use it - that's Microsoft's job, but there is some guidance on the download page, I believe.

Process Monitor

Report · Mar 11, 2020

Thanks Steve.

UPDATE*

It's definitely a problem with Adobe Audition. I ran an hour long podcast on Reaper and it works absolutely fine, so I'm not sure what is could possibly be!

Will try that tonight!

Thanks

Report · Mar 11, 2020

If it was a generic problem with Audition, loads of people would experience this, and moan like stink about it. The devs would get to hear about it, and would jump on it pretty quickly. So whilst it may be caused by the relationship between Audition and your computer, it's still not necessarily an Audition problem per se - which is why you need to analyse carefully what's happening.

Report · Mar 13, 2020

Hey Steve!

You're probably right. I just wish I could solve this seemingly easy problem. The only thing I am going to try is turning off the phantom power on my interface and see if it has any affect. Then I will try to analyze what's going on...

Thanks,
Frank

Report · Aug 24, 2020

Hey Frank!

Did you ever figure this out? I'm having the exact same problem.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

Unfortunately not really.

I ended up just purchasing a recorder and avoiding using Adobe Audition for the interface for any of my podcasts or long form recordings. My guess is that the Dell XPS thermals are really bad, as I've noticed the performance failing in a lot of stuff that I do during longer tasks like recording a podcast.

At the end of the day, I've most likely chalked it up to the Dell XPS, and not Adobe Audition.

Sorry, I wish I had more for you!

Report · Aug 25, 2020

I've noticed quite a bit that Audition tends to bug out more than any other program. I've never had this kind of issue with any other CC product and I've spent a tooooon of time on Premiere Pro.

That said, I know my XPS 9570 has had it's fair share of performance issues despite having insane specs so Dell has some work to be done. I'm working on either figuring out a new DAW or getting a recorder.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

Heads up Frank, I noticed that my issues started becoming much more frequent when I attached my Kensington docking station. I don't think the XPS 15 9570 handles the docking stations that well. You can get the same results from the docking station by connecting your 4K monitor through the thunderbolt port and getting a USB 3.0 powered dock as all the USB ports on the computer are 3.0 so there shouldn't be any compatability issues.

I'll jump back on here in a week or so when I have more time to dedicate towards testing. I know it sounds real silly but routing 100% of the computer through the Thunderbolt when this particular laptop already has performance issues seems to possibly be a catalyst to our problem.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

Yeah, I can confirm that my problems tended to be more frequent attached to the dock. But I had already tested that theory and came to the conclusion that... even though the problems were happening less obviously and less frequent... the problem still existed. It was endlessly frustrating to me because recording audio into a computer has been something I was able to do when I was 13 years old in 2003 haha... so the thought of the Dell XPS or Audition not being able to make it extremely easy was bemusing to me.

I opted for the recorder (Rodecaster Pro) because I could afford it, and because the redunancy of being able to have it connected as an interface but also recording separately, was vital to ensuring that I never had to go through the feeling of losing a 2 hour conversation ever again haha.

Let me know if you make any progress!

Report · Aug 25, 2020

That's fair.

Yes definitely to the progress. I removed the docking station, hooked up my 4k monitor to the thunderbolt display via an adapter that came with the docking station. Hooked up my 1080p TV to the HDMI output and ran a USB 3.0 hub to the USB 3.0 port next to the thunderbolt port.

I ran a multi-track test in Audition. 3 tracks maxed out on volume while running 4 tabs in Opera plus a move on Netflix on my 2nd display. Not a single interruption in nearly 70 minutes. Yesterday, I was lucky to get less than 3 interruptions over the course of an hour.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

That said, you are correct in that it's a combination of Audition and the computer. Dell's XPS 15 9570 has a real issue on this computer due to the CPU load. Adobe is and always has been an extremely resource-heavy program. Because the XPS isn't configured to do that kind of data transferring, it basically doesn't allow Adobe to use all of the resources necessary to make it run properly. Feeding the entirey of the processing power through one port and then using that port for 2 HD displays, 5 USB inputs and a gigabit internet connection just isn't feasible. That and Adobe's Audition updates are usually insanely buggy, of which they just put one out last week.

I've only had the issue happen maybe two or three times prior to the docking station in the 2 1/2 years that i've had the machine and it's usually only when I'm recording and streaming something else like OBS in the background. Otherwise, if Audition is running solo and your computing directly on the laptop without the dock, it runs pretty smooth.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

I was having some OBS issues as well with my 9560... I have the WD15 dock -- and I can't plug in a CAM Link and my HDMI port in at the same time because the ports are too close together. I am too weary to invest in more things to try and make the Dell work for me haha -- I'd rather save for a Desktop or something.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

OBS is just like any other Adobe program in that it's extremely resource heavy.

Honestly sir, you can invest in a desktop but getting a powered USB hub would help you a lot as far as right now is concerned. They only cost about $50 for a decent one and that shouldn't prevent you from plugging anything too big into your ports.

Report · Aug 25, 2020

I'm also going to hop on the desktop train in the next year or so and keep the laptop for road stuff.

Report · Aug 27, 2020

So ok let me just get it right...

My XPS 15 (9560) has the following ports:

1 USB 3.1
1 USB 3.0
1 USB-C
1 HDMI

Which USB hub will change my life? I'll be ordering from www.amazon.ca

Report · Sep 19, 2020

Hey Frank,

Turns out my issue was not solved by the hub. It seems to be a cooling issue with the laptop. Because the cooling system is inefficient at best, the CPU is overheating and not processing to it's full capacity. I've been noticing the problem has improved but there's still a significant usage spike every 10-15 minutes during recording that lasts about 10 seconds. It visually makes my entire computer freeze but the recording continues.

Either way, the USB hub that I got and really still enjoy quite a bit is this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NGQWL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1