[Soundbox] Audio Crackling/XRUNs at Low Buffer Sizes with Specific Presets

Help & Support
1

Dear Audiomodern Team,

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for supporting the Linux version of Soundbox. To show my support, I have purchased both the Soundbox Bundle and the newly released Wired.

Having such a high-quality sample library platform on Linux is incredibly valuable to me. Keep up the great work!

I am reaching out to report a specific issue regarding a third-party library, VIOLA-MOTO by Bunker Samples.

When my DAW’s audio buffer size is set to 256 samples or lower (e.g., 128 or 256), I experience consistent audio crackling (XRUNs) with certain presets.

Interestingly, other Soundbox libraries run perfectly fine under the exact same conditions.

Here are my system specifications and test results:

[PC Specifications]

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-12400

  • RAM: 32GB

  • Storage: 2.5TB NVMe SSD

  • Audio Interface: AudioProbe Spartan Cue 110 (USB)

[Tested Environments]

  • Windows 11: Using ASIO drivers. Crackling occurs at 128/256 samples; clean at 512.

  • Linux (Ubuntu Studio 25.10): Using PipeWire. XRUNs occur at 128/256 samples; stable at 512/1024.

[Symptoms & Affected Presets] The issue is specific to the following presets in VIOLA-MOTO:

  1. ARP 8th and 16ths (BPM 120)

  2. ARP Strange Waltz (play from C3)

Observations:

  • When playing a single note, it starts fine but begins crackling after a few seconds.

  • Playing chords (multiple voices) triggers immediate crackling/XRUNs.

  • Crucially, the crackling persists even when all internal effects and the Arpeggiator function are turned OFF (when playing multiple notes at buffer sizes ≤ 256).

  • Other presets within the same library, such as Brushed Shorts (Basic) and Spiccato Shorts (Basic), as well as other Soundbox libraries, run flawlessly under the same conditions.

I have already contacted Bunker Samples, but I wanted to report this to you as well to see if there are any optimization needs or underlying engine-related factors that might be causing this bottleneck with specific sample handling.

Thank you for your time and for your dedication to the Linux audio community.

Best regards,

Jun-gi Min