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Snes9x EX+ audio issues

9K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  the_randomizer 
#1 ·
I don't know if there's an official Android section on here or not, so I'll be posting my query here. So as we all know, there's a port of Snes9x 1.53 for Android, it's a very good port, runs very smooth on modern devices. Well, I got myself an nVidia Shield K1 tablet, this thing is a beast when it comes to running emulators, however I can't for the life of me figure out why I constantly get audio crackling issues. I've tried messing with the audio buffer, which is set to 12 by default, I've enabled buffer underrun, forcing the screen to sync at 60 Hz, etc. No matter what I do, I always hear audio crackling and skipping more than I should, and this has a 2.2 GHz CPU, way more than the requirement of 1 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.

What are the recommended settings, should I try to see if I can contact the people who programmed the Android port, despite the fact that Snes9x forums are all but dead nowadays? I really don't know why I've been having this much trouble, my 2012 Nexus 7 doesn't even have these issues, a K1 process should not have this kind of issue, you know? I'm so lost -_-
 
#3 ·
Not even ePSXe does this, it's not just one game, but all games, even ones without enhancement chips, I don't know what could be wrong, and it's really starting to piss me off. RetroArch, I can try but is a royal PITA to set up, I hope it supports my MOGA Pro controller because I refuse to use touch controls. Anyways, no other emulator does this to me, only Snes9x EX+ which is weird, because my weaker Nexus 7 doesn't seem to exhibit this behavior. Could it be an issue with Android 5.1.1? Like, the emulator runs full speed for every game, no hiccups in the framerate, just popping every 20-30 seconds or so, no matter what buffer size I use...*sigh* Sorry for going on a rant, I just don't know what else I can do, I sure as hell can't contact the Snes9x developers or the people that ported it over, so here's really the only place I can try.

What do you suggest I try to configure? Should I change my tablet from "Optimized" to "Maximum Performance"? I would install Android 4.1.2 on there, but there are no custom ROMs for the Shield Tablet that go back that far, maybe Lollipop is screwing something up. IDK.
 
#5 ·
Only thing that worries me is that fact this will kill the battery twice as fast (maybe), but more demanding emulators, like ePSXe run full speed without any audio hiccups and at double the internal resolution, and the requirements are similar to Snes9x EX+, so I really don't know why I'm having so much difficulty. What settings do you use the audio buffering and so on? And thank you, I'll test out max performance and see if it makes any difference, an Snes emulator shouldn't be having this issue on a powerful device.
 
#6 · (Edited)
In difference to ePSXe the use of Power by Snes9xEX is lower and maybe more or less precise at the threshold where the processorcores are switching between lowpower to performance mode. The problem isn't the Game. it's related to the speeds of the processor. ePSXe's consumption is above the threshold and so the cores always at the higher speed.

The same effect, you can watch if PCSX2 running a moderate game on the PC with energy saver at balanced. The Core-Frequencys switching continuous between full and half speed. The Games fps is fluctuating heavy.
A problematic Game like Silmeria will always hold the cores at the high frequency and is running more steady.

In fact your Shield K1 is a little Bit to fast or to slow:rolleyes:
 
#7 ·
If that's the case...then I give up :( I was wrong in wanting to get a new tablet, I don't get how a Nexus 7 2012, which has a 1 GHz slower CPU I remind you, can run Snes9x better than a newer device with twice the RAM and nearly twice the clock speed. I...don't know anymore, it's clear that I'm never gonna be able to get it to run perfectly or better than my Nexus 7, so why should I even bother having hope?

*Hits head on desk, feeling foolish for hoping to accomplish no audio crackle with Snes9x EX*
 
#9 ·
Just that,it seemed like his post made it as though Tablet has so many flaws that there's no hope, no, haven't tried RA yet, it's been a bit crazy. Does the MOGA Pro work with RetroArch at all? And with max performance, wouldn't that cut the battery life in half as I played, how much does the battery life get affected by that mode?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I have a Moga Hero and it works fine with Retroarch. Once you have Retroarch configured how you like, you can save the configuration file to load again the next time so you don't have to go through it again. As for your issue with SNES9x EX+, it's the emulator. I just tried both it and the SNES9x(non next) core in Retroarch and it doesn't have the same issues. I also get strange pauses and cracks with the sound on SNES9x EX+.

**Update: I also got the same strange sound pauses at certain points using SNES9x EX+ on my HTC1 M8. But perfect sound with the SNES9x core in Retroarch.
 
#11 ·
I have a Moga Hero and it works fine with Retroarch. Once you have Retroarch configured how you like, you can save the configuration file to load again the next time so you don't have to go through it again. As for your issue with SNES9x EX+, it's the emulator. I just tried both it and the SNES9x(non next) core in Retroarch and it doesn't have the same issues. I also get strange pauses and cracks with the sound on SNES9x EX+.

**Update: I also got the same strange sound pauses at certain points using SNES9x EX+ on my HTC1 M8. But perfect sound with the SNES9x core in Retroarch.
Baffling, as once again, the Nexus 7 2012 model doesn't exhibit this issue using the same emulator, also odd is the fact it runs perfectly at full speed, no framerate issues or anything. I'll use RetroArch instead, and it's a shame too, I might report this to the author, not sure if he'll reply or deem it worthy to look into, but we have at least us to attest to the odd audio issues it has. Thank you for testing it, man, and again, I find it baffling, hopefully a future update will fix it.
 
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