Buffer size setting

This guide provides information on Buffer size and Safety buffer size features in the SoundID Reference standalone app. If you encounter an issue with sound output, it's worth trying to adjust the Buffer size and additionally the Safety buffer size as described below.

In this article:

• Buffer size adjustment
• Safety buffer size adjustment
• Sample rate

Buffer size adjustment

Buffer size is the amount of time allowed for your computer to process the audio of your audio interface. A higher buffer size may be beneficial to limit distortion and artifacts, but will also introduce latency. This setting in the SoundID Reference Standalone app doesn't have to match the audio interface buffer size setting settings. Here is how to adjust the buffer size: 

1. Click on the "..." (action button) to open the Output device settings
2. Click on the dropdown menu under 'Buffer size, samples'
3. Select a new value 
4. Playback media to see how the audio behaves
5. If an issue persists, select the next (higher) Buffer size value

Safety buffer size adjustment

There might be buffering issues on your device, leading to audio artifacts. A safety buffer can help in these cases. Safety buffer involves pre-buffering additional samples of audio to prevent cases where the system requests more samples from the Standalone app than we have at any given moment.

If you have reached the highest setting on the Buffer size and an issue is ongoing, we recommend starting at the default Buffer size (512) and adding a Safety buffer size value. Increase both if necessary. Here is how to adjust the safety buffer size: 

1. Click on the "..." (action button) to open the Output device settings
2. Click on the dropdown menu under 'Safety buffer size, samples'
3. Select a new value 
4. Playback media to see how the audio behaves
5. If an issue persists, select the next (higher) Buffer size value

Sample rate

When choosing a higher sample rate, like 192kHz, it is suggested to have a maxed-out buffer size. This is to avoid the chance of a sample rate mismatch. In the same Device settings window, you can see which sample rate is set by your interface.