Robert - Interesting ...
I would say that the Crack Detect setting is unable to influence sound (quality), but if I read what you just wrote ... :
The Balanced Load at 18 is a "tricked" one. All under 43 is. Maybe you recall that ever back under 43 was not allowed because it did nothing. Until that changed and I recall it was about Windows 10 or some Build of it. It allows the processor to be tuned all the way to about 0Hz frequency BUT one has to check what happens for reality responses, because it can be too slow. For example, 430Hz is still workable, but one step lower (which goes by several steps in the Balanced Load because one step does nothing) that ending up at 300Hz and the PC becomes unresponsive and what I recall ... erroneous.
Point is also that this depends on the processor.
The combination with the Nervous Rate is almost even more interesting (for your description) because it tells how fast the processor adapts to a "more speed" request. Thus, if it runs too slow (notice : while it runs at an about fixed speed anyway), the Nervous Rate tells how often to look to adjust the speed. Think in terms of 1ms vs 1000ms (mentioned figures are not absolute) with the idea that 1000ms is equal to "never" (in the terms of this domain) - and which is not meant to let error the system, but to let it behave in steady fashion instead of being "wild" en nervous.
This gets complex when we see that the numerous other tasks in the system (which can be 1000s) also need their "time slice" and while they are being kept out of the door (because the system does not respons fast enough) in the end the OS itself may fail on accomplishing whatever it is.
Summarized, it looks like you, Robert, are able to let the OS error, possibly up to the sense of not being able to process complete audio words and a few bits are chopped off, *because* an other process on the same thread (so to speak) received priority and it
has to continue. Example of this in general, is the audio not being allowed to speed down. This can be solved by the system to keep track of the speed but chop off complete samples, while more internally and detail, also bits can be shopped off. Both are as illegal, although the skipping of samples would be acceptbale, as long as it isn't about charachters in a Word document.
I must add that shutting off Crack Detect does not help a thing in avoiding the real cracks (because of incomplete audio words or whatever) BUT that the process of checking for Crack Detect is an additional read of the complete stream (though it goes per chunk). Thus one could say that while the processing of the file for that part takes a certain amount of processor cycles, the checking (Crack Detect) for it to be OK takes maybe 10% more. Apart from that possibly influencing SQ to begin with (all processes do) it also requires 10% more of the processor and that
just could underwhelm what's necessary.
So if your processor runs at e.g. 500MHz and just can cope, then this "feature" actually requires 550MHz which isn't available. And together with the Nervous rate at a highest number, also not a little bit and at least too late (the system does not detect that the processor must speed up a little).
This is a lot of hoopla and blahblah, but a means of explaining the situation you ran into.
Regards,
Peter
