USB reconnection issue (Audio loss) when cycling power on Mackie DLZ Creator in a 24/7 RadioBOSS environment

[originalprod]

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. I am reaching out to get some technical advice regarding an audio driver issue we are experiencing while integrating a Mackie DLZ Creator mixer into a 24/7 online radio station setup.

The station runs 24/7 on a dedicated Windows 10 PC running RadioBOSS (active license). Since live hosts are only on the air during specific time slots, the studio requires the Mackie DLZ Creator to be turned on only during live shows and powered off afterward to prevent unnecessary wear and energy consumption.

Whenever the mixer is powered off and turned back on, RadioBOSS (and Windows itself) completely loses the audio endpoint from the console's USB interface. The sound does not return under any circumstances.

• Closing and reopening RadioBOSS during a brief pause does not restore the audio.
• Restarting the computer fixes the issue and restores the sound, but rebooting the entire system is not a viable option for a continuous 24/7 broadcast operation.

Troubleshooting Steps Already Taken:

1. Windows USB Power Settings: We have already disabled USB selective suspend in the Windows advanced power options to ensure the OS isn't putting the USB ports into an unrecoverable low-power state.
2. Audio Driver Modes: We suspect this is related to how WASAPI handles endpoint persistence. We tried switching to ASIO, but it did not prevent the disconnection issue. Furthermore, using ASIO prevents us from utilizing the RadioBOSS PFL (Pre-fader listening / CUE) output, which is an essential feature for our workflow.
3. System Audio Behavior: We noticed that when the mixer is power-cycled, Windows 10 system audio itself fails to recover on that device. This suggests that the Mackie DLZ Creator driver does not reinitialize properly within the OS after a physical/electrical disconnection.
4. Virtual Audio Cables: We attempted to route the audio using VoiceMeeter and Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) as a bridge so RadioBOSS would never "see" the hardware disconnect. However, the issue persists at the physical endpoint level.
5. Windows 11 Behavior: Interestingly, we tested this setup on a Windows 11 machine. On Win11, if we power-cycle the mixer and then restart RadioBOSS, the sound does come back. However, restarting the automation software at every shift change is still not an ideal solution for a seamless broadcast.

Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

 

[djsoft]

The optimal solution seems to be not disconnecting the mixer, this will prevent any problems cause by the disconnects.

Another possible option would be to open Settings in RadioBOSS and select this device again, it should re-appear in the devices list once it's turned on (if it's not, there's nothing RadioBOSS can do about it).

 

[originalprod]

Thank you for your response.

To clarify, we are not physically unplugging the USB cable; we are turning the mixer off and on using its power button. However, as you mentioned, Windows treats this power cycle as a disconnection. Keeping the Mackie DLZ Creator powered on 24/7 is unfortunately not a viable option for us, as it leads to unnecessary power consumption and premature wear on the hardware components.

Regarding your second suggestion about going into RadioBOSS Settings to re-select the device: we actually tried this. On Windows 10, the mixer does appear in the devices list again after turning it back on. However, even if we select it, it does not restore the audio—it remains completely silent. The only way to actually get the sound working again on Windows 10 is by rebooting the entire computer (unlike Windows 11, where restarting the software and re-selecting it does work).

Since the station’s dedicated PC must run on Windows 10, we are stuck in this loop. Is there any way to force RadioBOSS or Windows 10 to properly reinitialize the audio stream for that device without a full system restart?

Thanks again for your help!