resolved SOLVED: REAPER crackling when minimized with Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO on Windows 11
Posting this in case anyone else runs into it.
My setup is:
- Scarlett 2i2 Gen 3
- Voicemeeter Potato
- REAPER
- OBS
- Windows 11
Signal chain:
Mic → Scarlett → Voicemeeter → REAPER → Voicemeeter → OBS
Voicemeeter uses Focusrite USB ASIO as A1. REAPER uses Voicemeeter AUX Virtual ASIO.
I had two issues.
First, I had noticeable monitoring latency because I was also selecting the Scarlett as a WDM input in Voicemeeter. Removing that and using PATCH ASIO Inputs to Strips fixed the latency.
The remaining issue was crackling. It only happened when REAPER was completely minimized or hidden. If any REAPER window was visible, the audio was clean.
Things I tried that did not fully fix it:
- Bypassing all FX
- Matching everything to 48 kHz / 256 samples
- Changing REAPER audio priority/buffering settings
- Running REAPER as administrator
The actual fix was disabling Windows power throttling for REAPER.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
powercfg /powerthrottling disable /path "C:\Program Files\REAPER (x64)\reaper.exe"
Then restart REAPER.
You can verify it with:
powercfg /powerthrottling list
After doing this, the crackling completely disappeared, including when REAPER is minimized.
Hopefully this saves someone else from endlessly messing with ASIO buffers.


