Jim Roseberry

Virtually all USB audio interfaces that connect via USB-C port are actually USB-2 devices. There's no performance advantage connecting via USB-C. A USB-C port doesn't mean that a machine has Thunderbolt. If you don't specifically see the lightning-bolt icon next to the port, it's USB-C (USB only). If you see the lightning-bolt icon, the port is Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4.

SSUPD Meshlicious For 12th Gen i9, you can't use anything smaller.

Yes. Closed-loop (no maintenance).

If you're after maximum performance, you can get a mini-ITX case that's ~9.5" x 6.5" x 14" that'll allow cooling for the 12900ks (16 cores, 5.5GHz max turbo). That's the fastest machine you can currently build for running virtual-instruments.

Most newer USB audio/MIDI devices don't have issues with USB3 and USB3.2 (gen2).

Build a Faraday cage? 🤪 I've got a Bogner Helios amp that picks up a small/local radio station. There's a fix, but it affects the tone of the amp.

FWIW, These are the types of noise I've experienced that are directly from a machine. Acoustic "in-the-room" noises - not heard thru speakers: vibration, fan, coil-whine (power-supply) EMI from the machine - picked-up by guitar in close proximity (especially single-coil pickups). Often heard as "digital hash" (noise when moving mouse/etc) In cases of hum, buzz, and other "electrical" type noise heard thru speakers... it's always been a ground issue (or poor-quality/defective cable). In all my years working with DAWs, the machine itself has never been the source of electrical noise. I have seen USB cables cause noises (usually higher-pitch than typical hum/buzz). In these scenarios, swapping out the cable resolves the issue. Ground-loop issues are the single most common source of electrical noise. Powering the entire studio from a single outlet can help... but doesn't always eliminate ground-loops. Using balanced cable throughout certainly helps. If unbalanced cables are used... and there's a ground-loop, you're going to hear it. If the source can be pinned down, sometimes a direct-box (or pair of direct-boxes) can be used to safely lift the ground. Other times, hum-exterminators (Morely, etc) are the only safe solution. Years back, Alesis wall-warts were notorious for inducing hum/buzz into nearby cables. Keeping audio cables routed away from electrical cables and AC adapters helps. This can be difficult (especially with larger setups). Using my office-studio as an example: I've got probably close to 30 electrical items. Everything is powered from a single outlet. I'm using balanced cables for every audio connection. My setup doesn't suffer from any noise/hum/buzz etc. I recently got a Neural DSP Quad Cortex. The Quad Cortex is known to have an ungrounded power-supply. If I connect it to my audio interface with unbalanced cables, I hear an unpleasant buzz/hum. Using balanced cables, the buzz/hum is gone. I've since replaced the original power-supply with a ClOKS DC-7. I know you know all of this, Jack. 😉 If someone is just getting into a more elaborate gear setup, the more gear involved... the greater the odds for electrical noise.

I've had all three variants. Omicron symptoms (for me) were the least severe. Ironically the only one where I was immediately coughing Original Covid-19 was more like a sinus infection (never got down into my lungs). Delta was similar (sinus wise) to the original... but fatigue was off the charts (almost like having Mono or Epstein-Barr). We've had to cancel a couple shows... but most venues understand. Here's to a speedy recovery. Lots of rest... Forgot to mention, when I first start feeling sick... I always take Zicam (nasal spray and zinc-tabs) If you get it early, it can lessen the severity. Thanks to Steve Simmons for that tip!

Often times, USB 3.2 (gen2) ports are via 3rd-party controllers (not Intel). Many older Audio and MIDI devices have problems with 3rd-party controllers. The positive news is that there's no advantage to connecting to USB 3.2 (no performance benefit).

Sometimes devices like the ISP unit are the only safe option to eliminate (or reduce) noise. I do think it's worth a try to find the source... and stop it there (if possible). I'd strip things down to the very basics. Connect just keyboard, mouse, video to the PC. Disconnect everything from the audio interface. Now, connect a pair of headphones to the audio interface. Do you hear any noise thru the headphones? I'm pretty sure the answer will be "no". If no noise is present in the headphones, the issue isn't the PC or audio interface. Connect one device at a time until the culprit is revealed.

This may not resolve the issue, but it's worth a try. Go into Device Manager: Under the View Menu, enable "Show hidden devices" Go to Sound, video and game controllers and uninstall all MIDI ports. Go to the Action Menu and choose "Scan for hardware changes" (this will reload the MIDI drivers for connected devices). It almost sounds like a power-management issue. Do you have all Hybernate/Sleep options disabled?

I'm certainly not an Apple fan... but I have a M1 Pro (to support VE Pro clients). It's nice for what it is... low power consumption and decent performance. When it comes to running audio or video projects, it's nowhere near performance of the i9-12900ks (5.5Ghz) or R9-5950x. Anyone who claims otherwise is blowing smoke. If you want a quick/easy performance comparison, run Cinebench (both single and multi-core).

By "micro", do you mean something like a NUC? If you're trying to get away from the performance limitations of a laptop, don't get a "micro" build that's using a mobile CPU. It's essentially a laptop without the display/keyboard/glide-point You can build a Mini-ITX system that has all the speed of a full-tower. The key is a configuration that allows proper cooling... to enable that i9-12900ks CPU (16 cores, 5.5GHz) to run at full-speed. That's not happening in a NUC sized form-factor. 😉

Most folks are working in untreated spare bedrooms. Cars drive by, neighbors make noise, planes fly over, etc The SM7b is often used because it won't pickup much of the room (meaning unwanted noise/reflections/ambience/etc). It's particularly good for aggressive vocalists. If you're looking to capture minute detail, you want a condenser. I'll second Tom's Neuman TLM 102 suggestion.

With Intel architecture, RAM clock-speed doesn't have a massive effect on performance. With Ryzen's Infinity Fabric architecture, RAM clock-speed has more of an effect on performance. DDR4/3200 works great for DAW purposes. All that said, if you're going to add RAM, you need to add RAM that is 100% identical. Anything else is inviting (begging for) stability issues. 😉 If you can't be sure the new RAM is 100% identical, the safe/sure option is to replace the existing RAM. For DAW purposes, I don't use anything higher than Cas-16. If you're using more RAM than is physically present on the machine, you're hitting the virtual-memory swap-file. That will kill performance of ANY machine. You need enough RAM for your largest projects. Having loads of unused RAM doesn't buy any additional performance.

The noise issue is ground related. The noise isn't "from" the new machine. A ground-loop can cause hum/buzz/whine/etc. A bad USB cable can cause this type of issue. Been thru this type of scenario many times over the past 30 years. It's ALWAYS ground related. Changing Firewire driver to "Legacy" will have no affect on the noise. Start by powering your entire studio from a single outlet Use balanced cables Connect headphones directly to your Firewire audio interface (nothing else connected to the audio interface). I'm 99.9% sure the noise will not be preset. That tells you the noise doesn't originate in the machine or audio interface. Connect one device at a time until you find the culprit. If you're using balanced cables... and otherwise done everything you can to eliminate ground-loops, the solution is something like this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MHumX--morley-hum-exterminator-ground-loop-hum-exterminator?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organicpla If you're connecting a device that doesn't offer balanced cable connections, you can use a DI box (or pair of DI boxes for stereo) to safely lift the ground. The DI box will provide balanced output.

FWIW, You can build a properly working DAW with higher-end Nvidia RTX video cards. I'm typing this message on a machine running a 12900ks with RTX-3070. This machine can run Helix Native at 96k using a 32-sample ASIO buffer size (completely glitch-free). With my Orion Studio Synergy Core (audio interface), that yields 1ms total round-trip latency. DPC Latency comes down to hardware/drivers. It certainly helps if the motherboard provides advanced settings/options (which can affect DPC Latency). Many off-the-shelf machines limit BIOS settings that presented to the end-user (to keep novice users from fouling-up their machine). That's fine for general-purpose use (where ultimate performance isn't necessary), but it's a major disadvantage for a high-performance DAW. If you're building a "12th Gen" machine and you're looking for high-performance, you want to be using a Z-690 chipset. If you can't get DPC Latency "in-check" with Motherboard tweaks and hardware driver changes, it's time for a new motherboard.

Sounds like classic burn-out to me. Take some time to do other things. Get away from music for a while. The record business of the 70s-80s no longer exists. There are no huge signing bonuses. There are no $500k recording budgets. FWIW, There are other avenues for composers/etc. We have clients who score video games. May not seem like a big deal, but some of those games make many millions of dollars (equal to multi-Platinum records). I'm 55, so I can relate to feeling the time ticking. I still manage to play live... and would like to write/record more. I'm so involved in the technical side of music... there's not a lot of time/energy left. I used to talk to the owner of Above Records every week (Rolling Stones, Neville Brothers, etc)... and he'd always ask if I had any music he should hear. Pained me to have to say... no. Thinking out loud, we're all involved in music because we love it. If you love music, I doubt that feeling will permanently go away. I have a friend who toured opening for Tesla (few years back). Got back from the tour... $60k in dept. Sometimes all that glitters isn't gold. That jaded my friends attitude... and he stepped away from music for several years. Now, he's starting to get back out there... If music is what you do... and who you are... that's not going to change. You know... after playing a four hour show, on the way home... the last thing I want to do is listen to music. 🤪 That feeling passes...

My sales-engineer for ~25 years was Stewart Hisey. He recently retired... I feel like an abandoned gear-addict. 😁 Sweetwater is ~6-hours round-trip for me. I've made the trek numerous times the past couple of years. If you're going to make the journey any time soon, check to make sure the desired gear is in-stock.

I've got a pair of them. They're pretty decent (not exactly a LA-2A... but close). Out of the KT clones, I like the KT-76 the best.

If at all possible, you need to play the controller... so you can feel the key-bed. The NI controllers are pretty decent quality... especially when compared to other MIDI controller keyboards. If you compare the S88 to something like a Korg Kronos, to me the Kronos keyboard feels significantly better. Of course, the Korg is far more expensive and heavier. I'd also check out the Arturia KeyLab 88 mkII.

You'll achieve better performance using multiple Samples drives... vs. using a single larger Samples drive. I'd try to us M.2 NVMe drives strategically... for those scenarios where it'll yield the most significant benefit. ie: If you've got a library like the Yamaha C7 Grand from Keyscape (which loads S_L_O_W), putting it on a fast M.2 drive helps mitigate the load time.

That was like saying, "I'll never do xxxxxxxx." I knew when I read that comment... that there was absolutely no way.

Yeah, I'm quaking in my boots (and have been for nearly 30 years). So... you want to add another M.2 SSD for your 3rd Samples drive? PC user: Adds first, second, and 3rd M.2 SSD internally. Mac user: Yeah, I'm gonna need three Thunderbolt enclosures for my M.2 SSDs. 🤣 "Taking The Creative World By Storm... one tether at a time... and with amazing performance... until you compare it to a real workstation."

M1 Ultra... 🤣 Like playing tetherball with dangling peripherals. AMD and Intel are slugging it out for "workstation" superiority.