Levels mysteriously rising and falling with no changes in your setup? In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we go hunting for those dreaded signal-chain gremlins.

From flaky TRS connections that drop a balanced leg and cause sudden 6 dB losses, to patchbay switches that “moved themselves,” to the quirks of send/return jacks on interfaces like the Audient iD series—we unpack the common culprits behind random level swings.

We also share a practical, step-by-step troubleshooting method called binary reduction: change one thing at a time, ideally from the middle of the chain, and halve your suspect list with every move.

What you’ll learn:

• Why XLR usually outperforms TRS for reliable, balanced connections

• How to “exercise” or clean jacks to stop intermittent dropouts

• How the Return jack on the Audient iD bypasses the preamp (and why the Send is half-normalled)

• Why patchbays and inserts can be both lifesavers and headaches

• The simple logic of binary reduction for solving audio mysteries fast

Mentioned: Grace m101, Audient iD22/iD44, Mackie inserts, Apogee Duet, phantom power quirks, Behringer patchbay switches.

Sponsors:

• TriBooth — use code TRIPAP200 for USD $200 off your TriBooth

• Austrian Audio — Making passion heard.

Credits: Recorded via Source-Connect. Edited by Andrew Peters. Mixed by Robbo. Tech support by George “The Tech” Whittam. theproaudiosuite.com