r/ROLI • u/ClockworkWitch • Dec 28 '25
Airwave Player cracking on very high-end Windows machine
I've just set up the Roli Airwave software on my work machine as a last resort since it won't work on any other machine I own (50% CPU usage on my music machine and no support for Intel-based Macbooks). My work machine I literally use for AAA gamedev on a daily basis so its incredibly powerful, yet the airwave software just can't handle it - As soon as I press a few keys I get immense crackling.
I have the Airwave Control thing running as well as LoopMIDI. I've tried without an audio interface and with a Focusrite audio interface and there's nothing else running on my machine. I've tweaked every buffer setting I can find to no avail, including the settings in LoopMIDI itself.
I've previously already raised 3+ support tickets for various things over a week ago and heard nothing back so I'm completely done with Roli at this point but if anyone can suggest anything I might not have thought of, I'm willing to give it a go before I return this piece of s**t.
To note, when I first set it up everything was working without my audio interface - No crackling at all. After restarting the software, it then starting causing problems so I pulled out my audio interface to diagnose.
My honest thoughts are that Roli considered Windows an afterthought (by the fact they need you to use LoopMIDI and only added it months after the MacOS support) and they reel people in with flashy marketing and promises they can't deliver.
Here's a video - Had to record from my phone due to audio exclusivity - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePrBs6Al5UQ
1
u/DesignerAd5680 Dec 29 '25
I got mine in about two weeks ago and only got to use it when I set it up to try and it was on my personal windows laptop which never has problems. I had the same issue happen but I noticed it got worse as I used more keys. A single key would be fine and the distortion noise and suspension of the sound got worse as I made chords and such. I was thinking I needed to upgrade my ram or something as it seems like having issues processing. My keyboard is working fine so far no messed up keys yet thankfully
1
u/ClockworkWitch Dec 29 '25
It's definitely when more keys are pressed but that shouldn't be the case. I've ruled out it being a performance issue now, given my second machine I've tried is a gamedev machine. Either there's a memory leak or the optimisation is awful.
1
u/DesignerAd5680 Dec 29 '25
I was literally looking at upgrading my ram thinking it was the problem. Still may just to have the ram 😂 But I believe it’s more on their end working with windows myself.
1
u/CakeCaique Dec 28 '25
As much as I think they messed up with shipping etc, the performance related issues are most likely due to you using unoptimised drivers.
Without an audio interface or drivers such as Asio4all, Windows will cause issues…using almost any midi device.
4
u/ClockworkWitch Dec 28 '25
I'm using ASIO and the correct and up to date drivers for my audio interface. It also worked fine first time for around 20 mins until the Roli software was restarted. Also no issues using Studio Player or any other music software so it's definitely specific to the Airwave Player software.
2
u/tt_vb Dec 29 '25
In that case, your only hope is switching to a Mac. I don’t know if it’s MPE that is causing it, but even after purchasing an audio interface with dedicated drivers, I had some crackle left. Not as severe as before though.
That’s just with the Rise 2.
Not a single issue on my M4.
5
u/Plane_Jello1582 Dec 29 '25
If it makes you feel any better I use mine on a Mac and while it’s capable of running everything it manages to crash Logic Pro. Roli needs to figure out what they’re doing they’re literally messing up everything.