Unstable input sound in Rhythm Reading

[david38]

I've already fixed the delay through the settings but when I tap my reading, sometimes the sound of my tapping cracks or goes away. The metronom sound is still Ok.
Anyone know what can I do?
My desktop is 3.3GHZ and 4GB.

Edit: Maybe there's a way to give my input otherwise than through a keyboard or a mic?

Here's a sample recording:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/2q7o55
(somehow I couldn't attach the file)

[Quentin]

It doesn't sound right at all. Are you experiencing these noises in all workshops or just in particular ones?

[david38]

Actually I train just in Rhythm Reading. And I hear this every day, once in a while.

[Quentin]

Is it an external soundcard or the internal chip of your computer?

[david38]

It's an on board simple card, I saw the name Realtek.
I guess this isn't optimal but can I do something to improve the situation apart from buying an external soundcard?

[Quentin]

A simple on-board chip is more than enough. You don't need to buy an expensive external sound interface. The sounds you hear make me think that something is not configured right in your soundcard.

So please make sure that the newest drivers are installed. Also check the chipset's settings and make sure it's set to either 16 or 24 bit depths, and 44.1khz or 48khz. EarMaster does support other settings, but those are the "safest".

[david38]

Thanks for your answer.
It turns out that my driver is marked as updated and the Realtek HD manager is already set for 16Bit/48kHz.
I also try to train without an opened browser etc. Nothing changed.

[Quentin]

Are you hearing the same sounds when using headphones?

[david38]

Yes. And sometimes the sounds of my tapping and of the metronome disappear for 1-2 seconds.
Actually the recording that I posted was done through audacity so the problem is prior to outputing the sound.

[Quentin]

Are you perhaps using EarMaster 6? IN that case, then I think the problem is due to too small a buffer size.

In EarMaster's preferences, under MIDI Devices, set the latency to 46ms and the buffer size to 256. If the problem is still there, then set the buffer size to 512 and let EarMaster decide what latency setting to use. Is that solving the problem?

[david38]

Indeed I'm using earmaster 5 with a delay of 225ms (so that now there's no awkward dekay in the rhythm exercises). Should I change anything?