Tascam US-1800 latency/popping, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP

  • Thread starter Thread starter willfenix
  • Start date Start date
W

willfenix

New member
This is my 3rd time posting this problem on these forums, I did first in Newbies then in the Digital Recording/Computers forum, but haven't been able to get a response.

I have a Tascam US-1800 installed correctly and detected on a Windows Vista 32-bit PC with Service Pack 2 installed and 1024mb RAM. First, when I would have the interface hooked up and the volume up on my monitors or headphones, there is just a consistent, rhythmic popping sound. If I try to play music the popping sound just gets louder and occasionally you'll hear a little blast of music for a half second. It does this if I try to play music in Windows Media Player, iTunes, anything involving sound. I have updated the Tascam drivers, disabled Windows Aero and put it on Classic Mode, enabled selective startup to disable all unnecessary background programs, I've uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers, clicked every possible audio option I can think of, and it still does it.

I gave up and went to sleep last night, and when I woke up I turned on the computer and somehow the popping stopped, and the audio was playing and working perfectly. I go into Cubase and it recorded 2 tracks perfectly. I put Waves SSLchannel and a couple other plugins on the tracks and it still played perfectly - it seemed like it was magically fixed. But later on I restarted the computer and what do you know, the popping sound returns. There has to be something I'm missing - I'm reasonable experienced with interfaces and have troubleshooted by process of elimination everything I can think of to fix it. I'd think the RAM might be an issue but when it suddenly starts working, it handles multi-track recording/playback perfectly. PLEASE HELP. Thank you for listening, sorry for posting this so much but I've had good help/advice from this forum before and am hoping I can get some answers.
 
Do you have it directly connected to the computer, or to a USB hub? A USB hub can wreak havoc on interfaces. I'd definitely say to get more memory. Check the latency setting in the Tascam ASIO software. Adjust it up and down, keeping in mind what the original was in case you need to put it back. If it works better with less/more latency, run with it. It couldn't hurt, but maybe try a different USB cable...
 
@jjones1700 - Thanks for the response, it is greatly appreciated. The interface is going directly into the computer - I've tried all the different ports, everything seems compatible. The weirdest part is that when it has randomly started working, it works absolutely perfectly - it's not a thing where when I get a few tracks going at the same time in Cubase and THEN there's latency. I plan on getting more RAM, but it's getting to the point where I'm worried that the US-1800 is the problem. I've changed around the settings in the US-1800 control panel, but maybe I'll try to change one thing at a time then restart, etc etc.

Also the noise it makes is specifically a popping sound every second or so, and if I tried to play a song it will get louder but stay at the same rhythm if that makes any sense. I also called Tascam for customer support and they were "out to lunch." Thanks again, I'll post if I get it figured out.
 
Tried a new USB cable, but it didn't work. Have tried to adjust pretty much every combination of settings in the Tascam Control Panel to no avail. Whenever the computer is on and the US-1800 is plugged in, the popping is there. I have disabled every background task I can safely disable. Looking in Cubase, it says the latency is around 36 ms. So obviously that is the problem, but why is it doing it?

Could the unit be defective? It hasn't worked on 2 computers, but each had only 1024mb of memory. But if RAM is the issue, then why when it randomly works does it record and function perfectly? Both computers were Vista 32bit. Any ideas? I called Tascam today but the person who answered said that the customer service people were "out to lunch." :confused::confused::confused:
 
willfenix said:
Tried a new USB cable, but it didn't work. Have tried to adjust pretty much every combination of settings in the Tascam Control Panel to no avail. Whenever the computer is on and the US-1800 is plugged in, the popping is there. I have disabled every background task I can safely disable. Looking in Cubase, it says the latency is around 36 ms. So obviously that is the problem, but why is it doing it?

Could the unit be defective? It hasn't worked on 2 computers, but each had only 1024mb of memory. But if RAM is the issue, then why when it randomly works does it record and function perfectly? Both computers were Vista 32bit. Any ideas? I called Tascam today but the person who answered said that the customer service people were "out to lunch." :confused::confused::confused:
Click to expand...

Is the 1800 the only thing plugged into your computer? It sounds like a bad connection. I had a similar problem when I tried to extend the USB cable. I have heard that it can be necessary to have an independent PCIe card to run USB2.0 interfaces efficiently.
 
Just a thought,
Could be a power problem. Do you have everything plugged into the same outlet or powerbar. Any chance you can try power from a different outlet? Especially plugging the computer and Tascam into totally seperate outlets that are on different breakers. Also, cables in and around the interface and computer may be picking up interference. Try moving things and see if it makes a difference.
 
this may sound silly but i have the us 1641 and when i first got it i had very similar problems. have you tried the 2.02 driver update on there website? if that doesnt work download the asio driver as the us 1800 will work under that driver.
 
Upgrade your RAM. I get this same issue when working with certain mixes and there is too much information being thrown about the computer. Change your latency settings to highest when not recording, or better still, use your US-1800 only when creating music and not when just listening to regular stuff. Update your drivers, if you haven't already. Stop using Vista as well.

Hope this helps.
 
@willfenix I am stuck with the exact same issue!! It has plagued me for 4 months. I too tried to contact Tascam and the told me to call them. I have not done so yet. I hope it is not an issue with the 1800 overall but with the driver. My feeling is this is the problem. I was so happy to get the thing with all its inputs and stuff and am VERY frustrated. It also works for me periodically and then suddenly that damn popping. I usually have to turn of the 1800 and then back on which is an obvious pain in the ass. For everybody that thinks it's a RAM problem, that just makes no sense. It can start doing it when I have nothing running on the computer except maybe one song in Itunes. and then can work fine when I have recorded and played back 10 tracks on cubase. Then can work with multiple refills running on Reason while rewired to Cubase. Believe me, if this was a RAM problem that stuff would be problematic all the time. The one suggestion of electrical power is interesting. I am using the same outlets and definitely have some elec. problems overall in my studio room. I'll try running on different outlets...my gut's telling me that it won't change too much but ya never know. Please if anybody has any help...please, please help us. I almost shelled out another $400 on a completely different unit today from pure frustration.
 
I would definitely call Tascam. Maybe PM willfenix and see if he figured out his problem. Just curious, are you using Vista too?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top