Audio Cracking

Crackling Audio Windows 10
Realtek Audio Crackling Windows 10

The crackling sound persists whether the frame limit is on or off. I'm using the PEOpS soft driver 1.18 as my video plugin, but the crackling happens with any other video plugin too, so I don't think that has anything to do with it. I have a problem with the Realtek HD Audio speakers driver. Everytime a sound is about to be play, the speakers of the laptop make a crackling sound, similar to the sound of static electricity. I am using Windows 10 and have the latest version of the Realtek HD Audio driver. I had the 'audio crackling' issue on my recent roadtrip. It was soon followed by all of my 'idiot lights' flashing on while the autopilot display flashed off for a couple seconds before things came back. Then it did it again. I finally rebooted the car and things were back to normal.

Hello everyone. I have recently upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 (the problem I am about to say never occured on Windows 7). When listening to music or any audio, I now hear popping/crackling sounds. I use my headphones to listen to music but I checked using my speakers and the same problem occurs.

My PC info is:

System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard

Crackling Audio Windows 10

System Model: HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC

System Type: x64-based PC

Realtek Audio Crackling Windows 10

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz, 2200 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)

Installed Physical Memory (RAM): 4.00 GB

I have checked DPC Latency ( http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml ) and there does seem to be a problem. The latency spikes very often. The latency that I always have is between 1000-1500us but it spikes very high. For some reason, right now it says my current latency is 1192us but my maximum is 908,300,885! This does not seem normal! I don't know how to fix it! Has anyone else heard something like this and does anyone know a fix?

On device manager under 'Sound, video and game controllers' there are two drivers. I have used Device manager to try to update the drivers but it is saying that I have the latest version for both.

1. IDT High Defintion Audio CODEC

2. Intel(R) High Defintion Audio HDMI

Thank you.

Crackling, popping, and other sound problems can occur for a variety of reasons. You may be able to fix the problem by adjusting your audio device settings, updating your sound driver, or pinning down another hardware device that’s interfering. Here are some things to try.

Before you start messing with settings, it’s worth checking your hardware itself. If a cable connection is loose, this could cause some sound problems. Ensure all your audio cables are connected securely. If the problem persists, here are a few potential solutions.

Change Your Audio Format

Changing the audio quality on your output device can solve some problems. To check your audio quality, right-click the speaker icon in the notification area next to your clock and select “Playback Devices”.

Double-click the default playback device, which has a green checkmark on its icon.

Click the “Advanced” tab and use the Default Format box to select your sound quality level. Try setting your audio quality to “16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)”. Click “OK” afterwards and see if the crackling or other audio problems continue. This change can fix some audio problems.

If it’s set to CD quality and you experience problems, try changing to another audio format level and see what happens.

Disable Audio Enhancements

Some sound drivers use software “enhancements” in an attempt to improve your sound quality. If these aren’t working properly—or if your CPU is being taxed too heavily—these could result in sound problems.

To disable sound enhancements, use the same Properties window. Click the “Enhancements” tab here—if you see one—and check the “Disable All Enhancements” checkbox. Click “OK” to save your changes and then test to see if the problems continue.

Not all software drivers perform this function, so you won’t always see the “Enhancements” tab on all systems. There may be a similar tab here—like one named “Sound Blaster”—where you’ll find similar effects to disable. There may be no option to disable enhancements at all. It depends on your sound hardware and drivers.

Disable Exclusive Mode

Some sound drivers seem to have issue with the “Exclusive Mode” option that allows applications to take exclusive control of your sound card. This shouldn’t normally be a problem: Blame bad sound drivers if it’s causing issues on your system.

You’ll find this setting on the same window where the “Default Format” option is. Disable the “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device” option under “Exclusive Mode”. Click “OK” and see if this solved your problem.

This option normally isn’t a problem, so you should probably re-enable it if disabling it doesn’t solve the problem.

Update Your Sound Drivers

Some problems may be fixed in newer sound drivers. If you’re using older sound drivers, you may need to update them to fix various bugs. Windows 10 automatically attempts to keep your drivers up to date, but even then it may not always offer the latest sound drivers.

To get newer sound drivers, visit your computer manufacturer’s website, find the driver download page for your model of PC, and download the latest sound drivers available. If you built your own PC, check the driver download page for your motherboard manufacturer—or your sound card manufacturer, if you use a separate sound card instead of your motherboard’s onboard sound.

Check Your DPC Latency

This problem may also be caused by DPC latency. DPC stands for “Deferred Procedure Call”. This is the part of Windows that handles hardware drivers. If a driver takes too long to do something, it can prevent other drivers—like your sound driver—from doing the work they need to do in a timely fashion. This can lead to audio problems like clicks, pops, dropouts, and other issues.

To check your DPC latency, download and run LatencyMon. Click the “Start” button and let it run in the background for a while. It will monitor your system’s hardware drivers and provide recommendations, informing you which hardware driver seems to be the problem. If a particular hardware driver is causing problems, you can try updating the device’s driver, disabling the device, removing it from your system, or replacing it.

Even if you see some latency issues here, they aren’t necessarily a problem on a typical PC where you just need to listen to music, watch videos, and play video games. If the tool warns you about a problem but you can’t hear one, you don’t need to disable any hardware. This is more important for professional use cases where you really do need real-time audio. But, if you do hear a problem, the tool might indicate a hardware driver at fault.