Specific FLAC Files Output Noise Under Windows 11 [#20574]

[Dryst]

I never faced this issue under Windows 10. Under Windows 11 there are specific FLAC files that now output complete noise instead of music when played through MMW5. Playing the same FLAC files under VLC results in music as expected. I am not sure what is triggering this issue, but I can reproduce it on demand playing specific FLAC files.

I am sending music through USB to a DAC. I can hear noise right now while playing a specific file. The next song that played is playing music as expected. This is a really odd and a breaking issue for me. I have a complete workstation upgrade from a two CPU i7 with 128GB to a single CPU i9 14900K with 192GB. Windows 11 automatically installed drivers for the DAC. I did not manually install drivers.

edited to fix typos

[Dryst]

Okay -- A new song started playing with again noise coming from the output of my DAC. I stopped playback, restarted it to again hear noise. I stopped MMW5 completely followed by restarting it. After doing this then playing the same FLAC again I am able to play output to my DAC with music playing and not noise.

[Dryst]

This is version 5.0.4.2693. The BETA versions all crash, and I am not installing another.

[Peke]

Hi,
I had that issue with Tascam US 2x2 and it was fixed by updating firmware on DAC and also lower/increase sound buffer (sorry I changed Sound card meantime), what DAC is in question.

Re Beta crashes: I know you already wrote about that, but can't find what we found as the reason?

[Dryst]

This is the DAC: http://www.mu-sound.com/DA004-detail.html

There is no firmware update available. Additionally, the issue goes away by simply restarting MMW5. It happened hours ago. Now I simply stop the app, restart it, and music plays back without issue.

As for the crash issues, many were complaining about them for a variety of reasons. I was also seeing runtime errors, so I reverted to the latest release..

[Peke]

Hi,
How do you connect DAC to PC (USB/SPDIF/COAX/???)? It is strange behavior, also what output settings you use eg. Direct sound/WASAPI/WASAPI exclusive/....?

Maybe you should install drivers manually from http://www.mu-sound.com/service.html usually it can help due the Generic drivers (even it can unlock more settings).

[Dryst]

A USB cable from desktop to DAC.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5v0vp6lw ... j1rcl&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/as7yano5 ... 5ae9w&dl=0

[Dryst]

The fact that restarting MMW5 makes the issue 100% go away seems to hint it is a problem with the software.

I will create some scripts that run every hour to force shutdown MMW5 wait five seconds then restart it with a play command line parameter. This will take care of issues I am facing.

[Dryst]

I coded a PowerShell script that forcefully ends MediaMonkey, pauses two seconds, forcefully ends MediaMonkeyEngine instances if found, pasuses five seconds, and finally starts MediaMonkey with the /Play parameter. I scheduled it to run every two hours in Windows 11 Task Scheduler. The script is working as expected.

However, MediaMonkey does not use the audio output device setup under Settings when I use the /Play parameter. It is playing music from my default Windows audio sounds card that is not my DAC. I reproduced this in Windows at the Run prompt. Using /Play makes MMW5 use the default audio device instead of the configured audio output device. This looks like a bug.

[Dryst]

Below is the script if you rely on MMW5 running and playing media around the clock. This will ensure it continues to play due to stability issues. The script works perfectly. However, there is one issue where MMW5 will play using the Windows default audio device instead of what is configured in settings audio output. If you are okay with this, this script will ensure stability. You may schedule it via Windows Task Scheduler:

Code: Select all

$mediaMonkeyProcessId = (Get-Process MediaMonkey).Id

Stop-Process -Id $mediaMonkeyProcessId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Start-Sleep -Seconds 2

# Ending the MediaMonkey process should automatically end all MediaMonkeyEngine processes.
# The code above waits two seconds to make sure they are closed. Any remaining open after
# two seconds must be hung. The code below will catch and force close them.

$mediaMonkeyEngineProcessIds = (Get-Process MediaMonkeyEngine).Id

foreach ($processId in $mediaMonkeyEngineProcessIds) {
	Stop-Process -Id $processId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files (x86)\MediaMonkey 5\MediaMonkey.exe" -ArgumentList "/NoSplash /Play" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Remove-Variable $processId
Remove-Variable $mediaMonkeyProcessId
Remove-Variable $mediaMonkeyEngineProcessIds

[Peke]

Hi,
This really sounds like MM can't play to specified device due the lock and thus goes back to default device. Can you confirm that you do not use WASAPI exclusive and try WASAPI Shared mode?

[Dryst]

It's a confirmed bug that was fixed. Check the bug forums.

This was a missed test scenario.

[Peke]

Ok, You refer to https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewt ... p?t=105669 and bug https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=20574

I use WASAPI SHARED MODE as I have found out years ago (even shared study here in forum) that difference from Exclusive and shared mode is less than 0.001% on high definition files like DSD512 where both PC and DAC support RAW sending so I do not see any point of using Exclusive unless that you want started/active MM process lock Sound card in order to not interupt playback.

[Dryst]

I had another incident where I heard noise coming from my DAC and headphones. I restarted MMW5 to again hear noise coming from my sound card and not my DAC. I changed audio output from WASAPI to Direct Sound with output coming from my sound card and not my DAC. I hear the start of music along with noise.

I play the same FLAC file using VLC, and I hear music with zero noise. I am using my sound card only and not my DAC. I will open a support ticket and include the FLAC file.

I shared my DAC. My sound card is a Sound Blaster AE-9.

I have version 5.1.0.2832 installed now.

Ticket #6788: "Noise Example From v5.1.0.2832" has been successfully submitted

[Dryst]

This issue was a result of incorrect volume leveling stored for these specific FLAC files. The incorrect volume level was visible in the track details, and re-analysis resolved this issue.