Audio input suddenly blocked to only -16 dB

[Quantum88]

Urgent help needed please

Out of a sudden and for no apparent reason, my audio mic input is very low

- it is blocked at -16 dB even when I shout into the mic- it doesn't go any higher into the red. It is also showing me other strange errors like MME error, no option for IN clock etc, which go away during my troubleshooting.  It does record but very faintly , up to -16 dB only.

I have a desktop PC on Windows 10 Pro 64 bits.

I have:

• restarted Audition twice
• restarted my PC
• ran Windows sound troubleshooting - it shows "no jack information available" for my mic (Yeti Blue Pro) which is unable to fix (?) - I've been having similar issues in the past with the same error message - which was always resolved after restarting Audition and reconnecting my mic.  Not this time.
• tried a different mic (also Yeti)
• changed the mic cable

NOTHING helps.

Audion has recently updated itself, and this issue appeared after the update.

1. It's not the hardware issue

2. It's not Windows issue  as it would be fixed after rebooting

so it must be Audition.

Could you some one please help - I can't find any info about this error online, and can;t record  an urgent project which is already overdue.

thanks

[PaulMurphy]

If it's urgent, the first thing I would do is try rolling back your version of Audition and see if that fixes the issue.

For the future, consider turning off auto-updates to maintain control over software changes.

Cheers,
Paul

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

I'm sorry, but the claim that it's not a Windows issue, just because rebooting doesn't clear the fault, really doesn't stack up at all. If you stop your computer with a set of audio conditions that under other circumstances would be legitimate but aren't right for your particular circumstances, and then restart it, you'll end up with exactly the same result. Also, if this was an Audition issue then it would affect everybody - and yours is the only complaint we've heard. And just to make sure, I connected a mic to an external device using MME on a W10 machine, and it records just fine, up to 0dB.

For starters, since it's actually making a low level recording - and assuming that you are using an internal sound device - then the first thing to check is the input level. Right-click on the speaker icon on your toolbar and select Sounds. click on Recording and select your mic input. Now click on the Recording tab, select Properties and then Levels. You should now have a slider which will let you adjust the input sensitivity. If that's at a really low level, then crank it up and try again. No I have no idea why they hide that so well, but it's the first thing to check.

[Quantum88]

@PaulMurphy   @SteveG_AudioMasters_ 

thank you both for your replies. For some reason, I have not received the usual email notifications.

thanks Paul , I will turn off manual updates.

The plot thickens. I have few updates and corrections.

• No, I'm not using an internal sound device - as I said in my first message I use an external USB mic Yeti Blue Pro.  I have tested two of those with different cables.
• I just spent 2 hours on call with Adobe Support. In addition to what I have already done, we have re-installed Audition to the current version.  They haven't had any reports of any issues with the update, so that's a dead end.
• I tried recording in both an audio file and multitrack with the same result. The volume doesn't go above -16 dB even when I shout right into the mic.
• I changed the Device Class in the Settings to ASIO - I couldn't record at all in the audio file (frozen), and  in mutitrack it was recording a flat line.  
• When I changed it back to MME - a bizarre side effect has occurred. I'm now getting an echo with a second or so delay of my own voice from the mic whether I am recording or not.  What is going on??So now it's got even worse. How can I get rid of it?
• As we have run out of options (except for one), Adobe support has booked a callback from Level 2 technician tomorrow to troubleshoot this further.  
• the one remaining option is to reset Audition preferences which I'm VERY reluctant to do, as I will lose all my customisations, which I have many, including many Favourites - de-essers and other preset functions I don't even remember which ones and how many.  It would be a HUGE job for me over many days to re-create all this.
• I have a feeling that this is not required, and the cause is very simple - somewhere.
• I've had this issue in the past, fairly regularly. Each time it went away after I closed and re-open Audition, reconnected the mic, or even by itself without me doing anything - all of which points to a connectivity between Audition and the mic that comes and goes.
• I will install Audacity and test my mic there, but if it is working normally,  then the issue is definitely with Audition.
• I will also run a virus scan, just in case.
• Other than that - I have run out of troubleshooting options.

Any ideas what could possibly be the cause?....

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Well, I have a Blue Yeti Snowball here - same USB and driver - and it works fine. It won't work with ASIO because Blue don't provide an ASIO driver for it, so it's no surprise that that failed. Couple of things you could try: Firstly, the Beta version of Audition and see if the same thing happens. With care (IOW back then up first), you should be able to delete the preferences on the Beta without affecting your current ones, but as I will re-iterate - back up the ones you care about first.

The other thing is to check whether your device drivers are up to date. The interesting thing here is that you are gretting a 'no jack information available' message. That's not caused by a USB connection; that probably relates to the output settings. Can you provide a screen-grab of your Audio Hardware settings page?

The only way I know of to get loop-around feedback is, when recording in Multitrack, to have the input monitoring for the track switched on. This causes digital howl-round, simply because of the latency inevitably involved in processing the A-D conversion, and passing it right through Audition. That should be switched off by default, although on one release they accidentally switched it on, which caused howls of protest from loads of users (pun intended).

And that's the thing - if what you are experiencing was an Audition fault, if wouldn't just affect you. We'd have heard about it well before now if it was.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

And have you checked the input level setting? This still applies to a USB mic...

[Quantum88]

@SteveG_AudioMasters_ 

Steve, you are now officially a GENIUS.

I checked that level setting - it was at 35%.  

I pushed it to 100% - then tested in Audition - and  voilà - it now records to the full capacity!

I have NO idea how and why it has changed by itself down to this level.

I knew instinctively that the solution is very simple - it just needed to be found.

The Windows sound troubleshooting always says - " no jack information" no matter what is wrong. But that's another story.

I can now cancel the callback from Adobe.

THANK YOU!!!