Audio output was fine one minute and suddenly became distorted. This is Mairilist 4.1 amd if I use itunes it is all fine, then change to Mairlist playout and it is distorted, then if I go back to itunes that is distorted too! This is not ian nput volume problem as it is distorted at all levels. Has anyone experienced this before, have you been able to overcome it and if so how - any help would be greatly appreciated as I have tried all I know to correct this issue.
Can you please tell us which OS you are using, what audio hardware (if any) and, if you are using an audio card, what version of its drivers you have installed on your computer?
Did you close iTunes before opening mAirList, or were both applications open? What happens if you open, play, then stop and close iTunes completely, THEN start mAirList and play something?
Can the distortion be reduced or eliminated by using the faders in Volume Control (or your audio card’s audio mixer application)?
How long after mAirList start-up did the problem occur? Has this problem happened only once, or more than once? If more than once, is it always roughly the same time between mAirList start-up and the problem happening? Does rebooting your computer fix the problem? If so, does logging off and on Windows (instead of a full reboot) also fix the problem?
Do you have this problem with Windows Media Player, or with any other media players like VLC, Media Player Classic, or Daum? What happens when two or more different media players are open: in other words, two different applications, NOT just two copies for — for example — Windows Media Player?
What have you set Audio Devices to in your mAirList configuration Audio tab? Have you changed it recently? Are you using DirectSound, ASIO, or WASAPI for output, or are you using something else?
Please let us know the answers to the above questions and we’ll try our best to help.
BFN
Cad
Thanks for your reply Cad. I can’t answer all the questions, but this is what I know, in no particular order.
I have been using Mairlist 4.1 for 16-17 months with no problems, then suddenly it became distorted on playout and record. Changing the input volume on makes no difference. Yes I use an audio card, can’t give you any more on that, and the audio hardware is Lexicon Alpha. Nothing has been changed, there have no updates between when it worke ok and when it went distorted.
I tunes plays ok until I play something thru mairlist, then if you go bac to itunes that is distorted too. Close the applications and start them again without closing down the computer and i tunes is fine again. It is never corrected by closing the computer down and the problem is immediate when playing Mairlist. No distirtion when using realtek but it is reduced to one channel ie mono.
Using Direct Sound and devices in Mairlist set as either Realtek or Lexicon depending which one I am trying at the time,
Thanks Cad, that’s as much as I know.
Bobinthebox
Thanks for your reply, Bob.
Short of some kind of hardware glitch or weird audio setting which mAirList is somehow enabling, I think this will be one for Torben to answer.
Sorry I can’t be any more help!
BFN
Cad
I remember having something odd in DirectSound in 4.1 and switched to WASAPI and all was well. Try ASIO and/or WASAPI as well. Just some thoughts?
Thanks Richard and Cad for your input, I have tried the alternatives, but sadly to no avail. Seems like I may have to purchase a new playout software, I don’t think t’s going to be Mairlst though!
Cheers guys,
Bob
If it worked earlier, something must have changed. If you didn’t update mAirList or change its configuration, it is very unlikely that mAirList, now suddenly, produces distorted sound.
Audio quality problems are usually caused by the underlying audio driver, or how mAirList communicates with it. As far as I know, iTunes uses the old-style MME/waveOut API for sound output, while mAirList uses the “modern” DirectSound/WDM (has existed since Win98!) or WASAPI (since Vista) methods.
DirectSound and WASAPI offer various additional options for the way the application interacts with the audio driver. In particular, 32-bit floating point is now the default data format, and while all soundcards should support that, some drivers make really weird things when you try to use it.
So the first thing to try is to disable floating point data (BASS_SAMPLE_FLOAT) in the DirectSound configuration in mAirList.
Which Windows version is this?
Thanks Torben - it’s XP Pro
Bob
Disabling BASS_SAMPLE_SOFTWARE might be worth a try as well then - turns off DirectSound hardware acceleration.
Hey - good news guys, got it back all ok now! 
I went back to the start and re-figured all settings and it appears that it was a conflict (as mentioned in responses) between a Lexicon-Lexicon setting that needed to be Lexicon-Realtek. It really was just a case of trial and error systematically checking and changing. The thing is how did it happen in the first place - I hadn’t changed anything - still all ok now!
Thanks all for your input and support.
Cheers for now,
Bob 