I suggest Linux Calculate.  It is a Gentoo based distro that I believe doesn't have pulse audio.
I also suggest Linux MX.  It is Debian based and had system d and pulse audio by passed.  It will also probably be easier to install and maintain.  I find that many audio problems have their roots in System D and pulse audio.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 29, 2019, at 11:13 PM, Victor Odhner <vodhner@cox.net> wrote:
> 
> A computer I built, dedicated to play music in church, is muting pieces of the music. It used to run smoothly.
> 
> Can someone suggest a more stable music-playing distro of Linux, and/or a better play-list manager?
> 
> Requirements;
> Maintain my mp3 library and manage play-lists.
> Build a play-list for an event. Play each song on cue, and stop when done.
> Play a video program to a separate port (video projector), but not simultaneously with playing music.
> 
> I had used Clementine for managing and playing the music.
> Now music is not always played smoothly: some segments are muted, and an occasional “rogue” note is played out of place.
> I have tried different tests, switched some hardware, but I think my problem is software.
> 
> The problem: Clementine has served us well for about a year.
> Now, when I play a song, it mutes the first five seconds of the song!
> 
> A few songs work well, consistently. For a few other songs I get the first beat of the song, then it plays the next five seconds silently, then turns the sound back on. Every now and then, just a beat or two is replaced by a rogue note from the same song; those are not reproducible.
> 
> Clementine has a feature where we can mark the last song in a group, but now that is broken too: it stops at the end of the marked song, but spits out one beat of the next song!
> 
> Status: I am desparate.
> I could try to update from Mint 18 to 19.
> I thought Linux wouldn’t jerk me around like Windows does. Maybe the wrong distro?
> Does PulseAudio have something to do with this? Should I use JACK?
> I could try AV Linux — it’s 32bit not 64, but is supposed to be extremely stable with rich audio repositories.
> I could try KX Studio — supposedly very stable, with frequent tested updates of audio tools.
> 
> I could switch to (gasp!) windows since I’m the only Linux geek in the organization. Help me to be strong!
> 
> The problem is not just with Clementine.
>                         I tested with some other software:
> * Rhythmbox plays well, with the occasional injection of a rogue note.
> * Media Player seems to run well, and SM Player & MPV likewise. But these aren’t good for managing play lists.
> * VLC sputters along continually in a sort of motorboat pattern. You can hear the song faintly, with bits of the song alternating with muted moments several times a second.
> * I tried Audacity for an extra “player” test: I used it as the “open with” choice for a song. As it launched, it made a nasty scratching noise that I have not learned before. But then when I hit the play button it rendered the song nicely, like Media Player etc.
> 
> In my research I’ve found discussions of earlier troubles in Mint, with scratching noises and stuff. Mine seems different.
> 
> Does this sound like 
> 
> Computer Configuration:
> Intel Celeron CPU G3930 800.048 MHZ
> MOBO Gigabyte H110M-M2-CF
> Audio HDA-INTEL PCH, USB Audio CODEC
> CODEC REALTEC ALC887-VD
> HDA Intel PCH Line Out ALSA Driver Ver K4.10.0-38-generic
> (Audio is fed from USB port to a Behringer U-Control adapter, then to the Mackie mixer board.)
> MINT 18.3 (MATE 1.18.2 Metacity Marco)
> x86_64 Linux - OS Release 4.10.0-36 generic
> Memory: 8 GB.
> 
> Thanks for any suggestion you might have for me.
> Victor Odhner
> 
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