Audio pops/crackles in games

Repa24

Repa24

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2022
Posts
17
Location
Bavaria, Germany
Hello,
I hope some of you can help me with this problem because it has been chasing me for years (end of 2014 onwards) across different PC-setups and games and, although I'd describe myself as quite tech-savvy, at this point I am just out of ideas. After all this time I am even thinking about giving out some kind of reward for anyone, who can solve this issue.

The problem:
In some games (iRacing, Assetto Corsa (+Competizione)) I get random sound crackles/sound pops. My theory is that it always happens when a sound-file loops or abruptly stops/starts.
It's not the game sound itself (engine-sound or the exhaust-crackles and bangs of cars) but it sounds more like a loose audio-jack or some sort.
Of course it could be a bug in the sound-engines itself, but...

a) ...when I did some research I could only find a handful of people talking about stuff like this (and were able to fix it with simple measures)
b) ...I cannot imagine, that a developer working on sound-engine of a game doesn't notice these things

I created a video which shows the issue:
Every time I hear the audio crackle/pop I added a text, so you can identify what I am talking about. You may need to put the video on highest quality and use proper headphones to be able to hear it. Sometimes the crackle comes form the left side, sometimes from the right, sometimes from the "middle".



Things I've tried (a lot):
- Changed the audio-output to onboard-audio
- Disabled onboard-audio
- Changed the audio-output to my audio-interface
- Disabled LAN-module on mainboard
- tried different USB slots for my audio-interface
- un- and reinstalled different (sound) drivers
- BIOS is up-to-date, Windows is up-to-date (Ver. 19044.1889)
- installed the game(s) on SSD and on HDD
- installed Winodws on SSD and on HDD
- tested another pair of headphones (Senneheiser Momentum)
- disabled all energy-saving options
- disabled audio enhancements in the drivers
- put the windows volume at/under 60% (as recommended by the devs of iRacing)
- tried different audio format options (16/24bit, all Hz values)
- disabled/reenabled exclusive audio-modes
- deleted my iRacing/Assetto Corsa documents folder
- reinstalled iRacing/Assetto Corsa
- freshly installed Windows 10 without installing anything else but iRacing/Assetto Corsa
- temperatures of my CPU / GPU are okay
- Removed the PowerLAN-adapters from my power strip
- Plugged my PC directly into the power-outlet (default is via power strip)
- removed my router from the network
- disabled WiFi of my router
- and becuse my old PC was quite...old (still had an i5 3570k) I even got a new PC at the beginning of this year. The problem existed on my old PC and still persists on my new PC.

Current PC-setup (2022 - ?):
http://speccy.piriform.com/results/3L1UsszZmTlg755TbpVIkbO
  • Windows 10 installed from .iso / 64 bit / fresh build
  • Ryzen 5 5600X
  • Palit GTX 1060 6GB (from old PC)
  • Gigabyte B550M DS3H
  • 16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX LP DDR4
  • Audio setup:
    • Default setup: USB -> Behringer UMC202HD Audio Interface -> 3,5mm -> Sennheiser PC360
    • Alternative setup: 3,5mm -> Senneheiser PC360
  • 1x SSD 870 Evo
  • 1x SSD 840 PRO (current system drive)
  • LAN via PowerLineCommunications

Old PC setup (2013 - 2021):
  • Original was Windows 7 from CD, then upgraded to Windows 10 (had no effect on the problem)
  • i5 3570k
  • Palit GTX 1060 6GB (original GPU was Asus HD7950, replaced by Sapphire HD7950 in 2015, replaced by current GPU in 2016 (GPU change had no effect on the problem)
  • ASRock Z77Pro3
  • 8 GB RAM (old DDR3)
  • Audio setup:
    • Default setup: USB -> Behringer UMC202HD Audio Interface -> 3,5mm -> Sennheiser PC360
    • Alternative setup: 3,5mm -> Senneheiser PC360
  • 1x SSD 840 PRO
  • 1x HDD (was system drive)
  • LAN via PowerLineCommunications
These crackling/audio pops happened on my old PC (from end of 2014 onwards) as well as on my new PC.

Files:
- Trace-file (while iRacing was open and while I experienced the audio-pops): trace_2022-08-13.zip
- BSOD Collection Application keeps hanging at "Waiting for system info" :/
- Speccy: see above or here

I hope someone is able to help me solve this issue. :)
 
Thanks for the suggestion, I added all the folders and processes as exclusions - unfortunately it has not worked. I also completely disabled real-time-protection (just for the sake of trying), but that didn't do anything either.

Updated trace: trace.zip (created while I was ingame and experiencing crackles)

Edit: I found a video from another user driving the same car in the game - no crackling/pop sounds (or at least wayyy less).

 
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I don't know much about the game but it seems that given everything you've tried, the clean install, it points to the game itself or your headset. I say this too since the issue followed you through 2 systems and a clean install.

Have you experienced the issue with both setups of USB and 3,5 mm jack?

Do you have another headset you could try?
 
- The thing is, way back in 2013 I played a lot of Assetto Corsa (the other racing game) and didn't have any issues at all. Then, some time later (maybe mid 2014), the issues suddenly started. I am sure, if these issues were there from the beginning, I would have noticed, because I am sensible/picky to those kind of things. So basically, 2 different games, 2 different sound engines, exactly same issue.
And btw, if you watch the other video I posted, you can hear that the issue doesn't seem to be present usually.

- Yes, the issues comes up with both setups

- I tried it with another pair of headphones, same issue.
 
Repa24 said:
Then, some time later (maybe mid 2014), the issues suddenly started.
Click to expand...
An update to the game? Is anybody else in the game forums logging this issue? If so, are there any suggestions to fix it?

Is this game played in a browser? If so, it could be a browser update.
Repa24 said:
- I tried it with another pair of headphones, same issue.
Click to expand...

Which rules out the headsets and points directly at the game and its updates.
 
xrobwx71 said:
An update to the game? Is anybody else in the game forums logging this issue? If so, are there any suggestions to fix it?
Click to expand...
No, see original post.
"a) ...when I did some research I could only find a handful of people talking about stuff like this (and were able to fix it with simple measures)"

Also, I can not find videos on YT of other people playing the game experiencing those issues, which is even stranger.

xrobwx71 said:
Is this game played in a browser? If so, it could be a browser update.
Click to expand...

No, it is a real application to download and install.

xrobwx71 said:
Which rules out the headsets and points directly at the game and its updates.
Click to expand...
See above.
 
xrobwx71 said:
The only other things I can think of, are your BIOS and maybe chipset drivers. Upgrade those and let us know.
Click to expand...
Already downloaded and installed those, no success.

Out of curiosity, could it have to do with electrical wiring or static in the house/flat I am living in?
A user described the same problem with the same symptoms in the official Microsoft forums and couldn't find any solutions. Another user then replied it may has to do with the A/C power of the building? Is that possible?
Redirecting

I mean, it's very strange that I have these problems while thousands of other gamers, who play these two racing games, do not.
I also found this thread on the sysnative forums and a user named "cwsink" seems to have some knowledge on these kind of problems. Maybe I can contact him and see what he thinks about this issue?

Edit: Yep, downloaded and installed AMD chipset drivers aswell
 
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Yep, but tbh I have no idea what an electrician should look out for then. My PC doesn't crash, BSOD or anything, even with power-demanding games like Flight Simulator 2020 - so it does seem to get enough power in general. I could also try my PC setup at a friends' house first.

Thanks for these other suggestions, but I already came across them. :) And thank you for contacting him, maybe he has an idea.
 
Hi Repa24,

I'm trying to get caught up with the thread. Regarding the videos, I can certainly tell a difference in the number of pops/cracks but am not sure which are supposed to be there as part of the exhaust noises. Mine is just onboard Realtek audio so maybe not high enough fidelity for me to hear something obvious? In the first video, does the text appear right at the time of a pop/crack?

Do you ever get audio glitches while playing videos or music?
 
cwsink said:
Hi Repa24,

I'm trying to get caught up with the thread. Regarding the videos, I can certainly tell a difference in the number of pops/cracks but am not sure which are supposed to be there as part of the exhaust noises. Mine is just onboard Realtek audio so maybe not high enough fidelity for me to hear something obvious? In the first video, does the text appear right at the time of a pop/crack?
Click to expand...

Yes, the text appears right when the the audio pop appears.

0:02 - audio pop on the right side
0:03/0:04 - right side
0:09 - left side
0:14/0:15 - left side
0:16 - mid side
0:17 - right side

Sounds just like a typical sound "pop", like when the audio plug is not inserted correctly into the audio jack.

cwsink said:
Do you ever get audio glitches while playing videos or music?
Click to expand...

Rarely. Maybe somtimes when I'm skipping a YT video I get a "pop" but that doesn't bother me, honestly.
 
I'm not sure this will be able to identify the audio glitches but it's worth a try. Please uninstall Windows Performance Toolkit if you already have a version installed and then run the Windows ADK for Windows version 2004 setup. Only select Windows Performance Toolkit and Media eXperience Analyzer (MXA) to install. After they are installed, you'll need to add a profile to Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) that is in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Media eXperience Analyzer" with the filename multimedia_wprp.wprp. The WPR UI should look like the attached screenshot when the profile is added.

Please make sure WindowsXRay FULL_TH Power Performance is the only profile checked. Then use WPR to capture a trace that includes some of the audio pops/cracks and make it available for download.
 

Attachments

  • 2022-08-15.png
    2022-08-15.png
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Thank you :)

There's a dataset called DX VSync ISR/DPC Cadence in MXA and yours looks rather strange. Are you using two monitors?

Edit: Actually, I see you have an ASUS and an Acer monitor connected. Have you already tried using just one monitor to see if that made a difference?
 
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