Windows 7 and Bose Companion 5 speaker system losing sound intermittently.

I added a single port USB 3.0 PCI-E card  a few months back and had no success with solving this problem. Audio still shut off and crackled intermittently.

I upgraded my computer last month and haven't had issues since. Don't know if it's a "perfect storm" of usb/mobo/OS combo??

Thanks for the much elaborated answer! I will give this a try!

Dedicated USB card with ONLY the BOSE Companion 5 speakers plugged in DOES fix the problem.

For a more in depth answer, I actually discovered why while dealing with an audio recording issue with firewire.  I've found out that in general Win 7 doens't like to play nice with audio.  It assigns it a lower priority.   That is why the less expensive devises work well with win7.  They don't require a lot of bandwidth and resources.   The high end audio requires a lot more bandwidth and resources and win7 chokes on it every time. 

Audio is digital as it goes through the USB cable.  You interrupt this data stream and your data gets corrupted.  that is why our high end Bose speaker systems buzz, crackle, and stop working.  Win7 is choking and screwing up the constant flow of data.  The Bose system can't recover until the data stream is reset through a reboot of the PC, or unplug USB AND Powercycle the Bose system to clear the corrupted datastream. 

By adding the USB card, the BOSE system is getting a different interrupt (IRQ) as well as being on a seperate buss inside the motherboard that isn't saturated with data. 

Mine has been working flawlessly ever since I installed the USB card.

Hope this helps.

Loved my Bose Companion 5 under XP Pro

But, under Win 7 I am having the same issue as others with it stopping and just buzzing with a single constant tone.  I found one work around is to open the properties for the Bose .> Enhancements -> Select Loudness Equalization and then apply it.  You will have sound again, but only for a little while.  It is not a permenant fix. 

 

I have tried all the other things people suggested with USB hubs and power settings.  I've moved between several USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports on the computer.  I have not had the chance to purchase a seperate USB card to test. 

 

I can easily reproduce this issue in a matter of minutes when switching between applications while Eve-Online is running.  I have sound disabled in the game, but I still get the issue, usually when the video is transfering between scenes such as when you undock or go through a jump gate. (you gotta play eve to understand)   This issue does happen at other times when Eve is not running, however it is easy to reproduce with Eve. 

 

Also, I've noticed it usually happens when more than one application is sending audio.  Example, if I'm running a gadget that plays music and another application plays a sound.  It is possible the Bose speakers will then stop playing and a single constant tone.

 

This problem never happens when using my Logitech Mic/Headphones.

This problem never happens when I'm using my Blue Yeti Mic with headphones.

 

I am convinced this is a driver issue with Win 7.

UPDATE:  I read in another post that basically what is happening is an IRQ problem in that higher end audio devices require more CPU and therefore have issues sharing with other devices.  I am having a similar problem with my M-Audio Profire 2626 on a different PC using Win7 and firewire instead of USB.

 

I fixed my BOSE issue by purchasing a dedicated PCI card for USB.  I have only my BOSE speakers connected to that PCI card and it's been working great for over 4 days now.  Can't do that with a laptop.

Hi there,

I also have same issue with Companion 5 speakers losing sound under Window 7 64bit Ultimate environment, Just wondering if you have permanently fixed your problem with the dedicated USB card plugged in to PCI slot. Please let me know, thanks!