USB-Audio Driver (w. BOSE Companion 5)

[Sneaker]

Hi all

With the current Standard Microsoft Driver for USB-Audio Devices I'm getting
distortions. I've already tried SP1 (Eval). No improvement.

I'm using a BOSE Companion 5 sound system, but several users complain the
same problem with other brands of sound devices, as you may read in popular
Vista-Boards.

When listening to sound of all kinds, such as music from Windows Media
Player, Audio-Streams, Digital-TV, etc., the sound gets distorted after some
playing time (after a few minutes, sometimes after more than an hour) and it
will not stop until the sound device is detached and reconnected again. And
then, the same game starts again....

There is no direct reference to the sound source at all: the same mp3-song
may be played and replayed times and again in perfect quality, with no
distortions at all, when suddenly distortions begin.

I read that BOSE are denying any problems with the hardware. Sound systems
shipped to them for repair were all returned with "no errors found". They
say, it's caused by an "improper sound signal".

With Windows XP distortions are virtually unknown, it seems that only Vista
is affected (DRM???).

Has anybody the same problems? What can be done?

[Chantix]

Hi. First the good news. I am running exactly the same speakers as you are
and experiencing exactly the same problems. It's driving me insane. The
other good news is that it may not be trouble with BOSE as I've used the
speakers on my Apple and they sound fine. You are NOT alone!

Bad news is that I've been looking for an answer to this problem myself with
no luck yet. Seems outrageous that Microsoft would allow such a massive
problem to slip by....but then again, it's Microsoft. Their catchphrase
should be - "Lower your expectations."

[rhgrant]

I notice the previous posts were made in March. Its July.

I too have the Companion 5 series andthe problem I have is not only
cracklin gBUT after a time NO SOUND at all!!! I have to
reboot.:confused:

Come on Microsoft get off your backsides and fix this problem. Not one
response from M$ to this problem.:zip:

[zachd [MSFT]]

You snipped out the context and deja.com doesn't archive this group, so I
don't understand what you are specifically referring to nor what problem you
are experiencing.

It sounds like your audio card is dying over time... ? What specific driver
version do you have? Does the audio card vendor have a newer version
available?

[Paulo]

I got same issue on Windows Vista X64 , in fact the Bose Companion is not
using sound card , he has it's own sound system and linked with the PC by Usb
..
The main issue is that the Bose some time is not see by the system , unplug
then plug usb cable doesn't solve the issue ...

[zachd [MSFT]]

Are you using Vista Service Pack 1 on this machine? What is the file
version of usbhub.sys?

I'm curious if your issue was addressed by:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943599
, which is part of Service Pack 1.

Currently I am using VISTA SP 1 on my PC , the file version is
600.6001.18000 ..
Anyway I'll do some extra test on my laptop this Saturday in order to check
if the hardware from the bose system is ok ..

I have SP1 for Vista Ultimate 64bit and the problem is still persisting.
Rahoul did you get a result??

[snowcrash]

Hi, reviving this as it seems to be the best forum for my query. I'm
planning on getting a Bose Companion 5 but have some MAJOR reservations
given the problems listed above.

The only reason I've NOT completely dropped the idea is because the USB
problem above seems to be on PCs running Vista 64bit. As I'm running
Vista Home Premium 32bit, does that mean this should not be an issue, ie
is it fully compatible under Vista 32bit?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. I'm very impressed with the
speakers, but don't want to get them if they're gonna be so incompatible
with Vista....

[Paulo]

I have done some 'in deep' test , and .... the bose hardware system was
faulty , so I had to return them to manufacturer .... they just work for a
couple of hours ..even for Windows XP ( I have done some test on mu
professional laptop ...) ..

So this this is It for me ... Will come back when they will come back ...

[Oti]

I have an HP Blackbird with a Bose Companion 5 USB sound system, and although
the speakers work well, the microphone does not work when plugged in through
the Bose system. In fact, the Bose audio input device does not show up under
"Recording" when I go to the "Manage Audio Devices" window, although the
speakers do show up under "Playback".

My drivers for Bose are up to date, and all my Windows updates are
installed. Any ideas?

[tido1322]

I confirm the same or similar problem happening using Bose Companion 5 USB
speakers on Vista-SP1 x86 32bit edition.

The problem is best described as intermittent stuttering, from mostly minor
but always present, to sometimes strong 'dropouts', a few times loosing the
USB connection alltogether. Sounds a bit like my tapedeck sounded many years
ago with a dirty tape.

I tried to find any offending driver or anything that could interfere with
the audio driver to no avail. The Vista installation is clean and up-to-date
w. regard Microsoft updates. Disabled the built-in AC97 soundchip in the
Bios, removed all sound related drivers. Removed all special codecs. The
speakers are connected directly to a USB 2.0 port without a hub.

I then tried the Companion 5 speakers under Windows-XP SP2 and Ubuntu Linux
on the same PC hardware (multiboot). Under both these Operating Systems the
Companion 5 speakers perform flawless USB audio, no installation problems of
any kind, no stuttering of any kind, just very perfect sound.

Next I tried an external Soundblaster Audigy 2 NX USB card on Vista,
connecting it with stereo cable to the line input on the Bose speakers. No
stuttering whatsoever occured. Only this way you loose the 5.1 audio, and it
is not so nice looking, since the line input is on the desktop volume control
hockey puck. So the Audigy USB card was able to do good non stuttering USB
audio on Vista!

As far as I can tell the stuttering really is a Vista / Bose specific USB
Audio driver problem.

It seems that the API for the USB audio driver has changed slightly under
Vista as compared to XP, and the driver must actively request / configure
realtime performance from the MSWMM subsystem.

Hoping Bose or Microsoft will release a USB audio driver fix very soon now.

[denvermorgan2000]

Hi guys i might have a solution for the problem you are having with usb sound
i have a roland edirol external sound card and nobody could
help me get to work acer or roland it would pop and crackle all the time
so i got desperate i plugged in a self powered usb hub just the cheap kind
and my problem went away i think you should try it i think it worked
by forcing the computor to communicate with the device in a different way
i hope this helps but only thing dont plug anything else in with the hub at the same time could cause latency

[rdpzjr]

I have the same trouble with Bose Companion 5's and Vista 64bit. At
random, Vista just drops my speakers and doesn't recognize them as a
viable hardware. I have to reboot as restarting doesn't seem to work.
Neither does unplugging and replugging the speakers. I happen to have a
cheap USB hub, so I plugged them in there as Denvermorgan suggested.
I'll see how long it takes before Vista drops them again. Thanks for the
suggestion.

Try to set the performance on the system to either "performance" or
"powersave", using the default automatic setup may cause the problem !

[magnitrauz]

With Vista I have been getting stuttering as well, it would be very annoying but now with Windows 7 I get no sound.. no driver found code 43. Has anyone got an update on a driver?

[Elix]

Registered here to post the solution! If you get code 43 try updating drivers manually. You may use this if you're on Win7 x64 (put the contents of the folder Bose USB Audio to Windows/system32 folder): http://narod.ru/disk/15399231000/Bos...ivers.rar.html

If these files doesn't help (in case you're on a different OS), try plugging your Companion 5 to another computer which runs on the same OS, then go to Devices & Printers -> Bose USB Audio -> open properties. In the second tab check files for drivers for each device. Basically, you need to copy them to your computer.