I use DaVinci Resolve Studio, and I really want it to be my main editing software. But this is a question almost ten years in the making: why do I keep struggling with unreliable audio playback?
Over the years, I’ve repeatedly come back to Resolve. Then the same frustration gradually pushes me back to Final Cut Pro: clicks, stuttering, occasional dropouts, and playback that feels like the software is struggling to process the audio.
In FCPX, I have never, ever had this kind of recurring problem. On the same machine, audio just plays. In Resolve, I find myself troubleshooting instead of editing.
This happens across projects, so it isn’t confined to one damaged timeline. Sometimes Resolve becomes sluggish and the sound starts clicking or stuttering. Recently, part of a clip became inaudible even though its waveform was still visible. Copying the clip, deleting it, and pasting it into exactly the same position restored the sound.
That workaround gets me moving again, but it makes it difficult to trust what I’m hearing.
My current setup is a Mac Studio running DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1, with Studio Display speakers. I’ve also tested the Mac Studio’s own speaker. Some dialogue clips use Voice Isolation and Dialogue Leveler, but this broader frustration predates my current project by years.
Recently, I’ve tried:
I’m open to the possibility that there’s something wrong with my setup or workflow. But I need more than a temporary reset or another on/off trick. I want to understand how to get consistently reliable audio playback during normal editing.
Is there a recommended way to have Resolve pre-render audio—including its processing—so it plays reliably while I continue editing? What does clip caching leave running live, and how can I determine whether the problem is decoding, effects, or the audio engine?
If you’ve experienced this and found a lasting solution, I’d really appreciate hearing exactly what changed.
I keep coming back because I want to work in Resolve. I keep drifting back to FCPX because I can trust the audio. I’d like to break that cycle.
Over the years, I’ve repeatedly come back to Resolve. Then the same frustration gradually pushes me back to Final Cut Pro: clicks, stuttering, occasional dropouts, and playback that feels like the software is struggling to process the audio.
In FCPX, I have never, ever had this kind of recurring problem. On the same machine, audio just plays. In Resolve, I find myself troubleshooting instead of editing.
This happens across projects, so it isn’t confined to one damaged timeline. Sometimes Resolve becomes sluggish and the sound starts clicking or stuttering. Recently, part of a clip became inaudible even though its waveform was still visible. Copying the clip, deleting it, and pasting it into exactly the same position restored the sound.
That workaround gets me moving again, but it makes it difficult to trust what I’m hearing.
My current setup is a Mac Studio running DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1, with Studio Display speakers. I’ve also tested the Mac Studio’s own speaker. Some dialogue clips use Voice Isolation and Dialogue Leveler, but this broader frustration predates my current project by years.
Recently, I’ve tried:
- Increasing the playback processing buffer.
- Selecting the output device explicitly instead of using system settings.
- Switching from Studio Display speakers to the Mac’s own speaker.
- Caching and rendering audio.
- Disabling the video clips to reduce processing load.
- Checking the Studio Display output rate, which is already 48 kHz.
- Confirming Boom audio enhancement isn’t operating.
I’m open to the possibility that there’s something wrong with my setup or workflow. But I need more than a temporary reset or another on/off trick. I want to understand how to get consistently reliable audio playback during normal editing.
Is there a recommended way to have Resolve pre-render audio—including its processing—so it plays reliably while I continue editing? What does clip caching leave running live, and how can I determine whether the problem is decoding, effects, or the audio engine?
If you’ve experienced this and found a lasting solution, I’d really appreciate hearing exactly what changed.
I keep coming back because I want to work in Resolve. I keep drifting back to FCPX because I can trust the audio. I’d like to break that cycle.