non-AI thing you built recently

[audioforge]

Maybe, but I had the opposite result. The reported numbers can look compelling, but in ordinary usage I didn't see the same benefit. Worth testing the

A couple things I'd check first. On Threadripper box, the easiest win is often to back off the aggressive settings and see whether the problem survives. Once you know the plain path works, then add the faster path back in piece by piece.