Al, different programs present different 'loads' to the digital audio system. They give you the ability to adjust buffers not only for the initial setup, but continuing adjustments. Melodyne requires me to change buffers every time, for example, and then I change back.

Something else not yet mentioned is, simply rebooting often clears this up. More subtle, check for other programs running in the background by using the free utility, Latency Monitor. In such cases, a system could work fine but suddenly give audio crackles if the wrong thing is also running. A simple but common occurance is wireless network activity, or auto downloads of software updates. Virus checkers, print monitors - stuff like that. Wireless mouse activity. The list is endless, and programs are cumulative in using resources (hence, reboot frequently).

And, I've done John's great tip of changing and changing back. I attribute that to Windows updates thinking they know my system better than I do, but that's just an arrogant guess.

BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.