# Audio Crackling driving me insane!



## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 28, 2017)

System specs are to the left. It's happened ever since I got a pair of wireless headphones. The crackling gets really bad sometimes for a few seconds and sounds like interference but then it will go away and back to just normal audio crackling. I dont think I have anything interfering with the headset because it persists even through the sound in wired headphones as well as the audio in my monitor. The only thing I can think of is something with the onboard audio screwing with the sound, but the sound from the Corsair Void headphones should be on it's own audio source? I have even sent them back to amazon to get another pair and same thing. 

This persists through a reformat even. I dont have onboard audio drivers installed either. The only thing listed in sound are the Corsair RGB Void headphones and nvidia's high definition audio (with xsplit audio recorder)

Anyone have any ideas what is going on? It's driving me nuts and I cant take it anymore.


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## Divide Overflow (Oct 28, 2017)

Radio interference on the wireless band the headphones use.
Identifying the source is the hard part.


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## natr0n (Oct 28, 2017)

Try enabling spread spectrum in bios.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 28, 2017)

Vrm spread or bclk spread spectrum? They are both on auto. The only option seem to be auto disable or plus with different numbers to choose from


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## micropage7 (Oct 28, 2017)

like electrical noise or something?


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

micropage7 said:


> like electrical noise or something?


Quite possibly. I've never heard electrical noise before and new fire sure that's what it is to compare it to what I'm getting currently


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## AsRock (Oct 29, 2017)

Thread made me think of when mobiles used to drive shit crazy, although that was more of a bleeping sound.

Maybe try the headphones on another computer to see if you can  see if it's the PC or headphones.

Maybe try re pairing the headphones ?.


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## ArdWar (Oct 29, 2017)

If it also present on other audio channel (wired and HDMI) even when the wireless one is disabled then I guess it's some driver problem.

Does it happens on all or only specific games/programs?
Does it happens on all or only specific volume setting?
Do you enable any sound enhancement (headset's software or windows built-in)?


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

AsRock said:


> Thread made me think of when mobiles used to drive shit crazy, although that was more of a bleeping sound.
> 
> Maybe try the headphones on another computer to see if you can  see if it's the PC or headphones.
> 
> Maybe try re pairing the headphones ?.



Ill try another pc and see if it does the same thing. Here's to not hoping i guess? 

The headphones communicate with a USB dongle provided by corsair so there is nothing to repair unfortunately.



ArdWar said:


> If it also present on other audio channel (wired and HDMI) even when the wireless one is disabled then I guess it's some driver problem.
> 
> Does it happens on all or only specific games/programs?
> Does it happens on all or only specific volume setting?
> Do you enable any sound enhancement (headset's software or windows built-in)?



Happens on all games/programs.
Happens on all volume settings.
No.


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## Toothless (Oct 29, 2017)

Whenever my phone went off next to my rig it would cause interference. Like a text or call or notification that my baby dragon hatched would cause my old headphones to go PSSSSSHHHHHSHSHH


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## micropage7 (Oct 29, 2017)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> Quite possibly. I've never heard electrical noise before and new fire sure that's what it is to compare it to what I'm getting currently


or interfere from any wireless stuff, have you tried to move any router, wifi away from your pc. if constant noise i guess its from electric.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

micropage7 said:


> or interfere from any wireless stuff, have you tried to move any router, wifi away from your pc. if constant noise i guess its from electric.


I have tried moving entire rooms actually. 

My setup used to be in my bedroom but since I got new furniture, it wouldnt fit in there so I put it in the basement. Away from anything electrical. Modem is upstairs still in my room because that seems to be the only place it can currently go. The only thing I have on my desk is my monitor, computer, NAS, wired keyboard and my wireless G602 logitech mouse. But I dont think that could be causing the issue if I am also getting the crackling sound over my Acer x34.


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## Aquinus (Oct 29, 2017)

Wireless headphones are going to have the DAC built into the headphones themselves which almost eliminates the possibility of it being interference from the computer because the data being sent wirelessly is going to be digital, not analog. If you're hearing crackling or clipping, it's possible that the audio stream is getting resampled and that the device isn't handling it well. I would try 44.8Khz/16-bit, 44.8/24, 48/16, and 48/24 if they're available to see if it makes a difference. I've encountered plenty of quality issues when it comes to resampling so, that could be it.

It's also entirely possible that it's a defect with the headphones themselves.


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## Jetster (Oct 29, 2017)

First plug them into something else to see if it the headphones then

Get a  Xonar DGX or DG sound card  There cheap and sound amazing


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## natr0n (Oct 29, 2017)

From asus forums
"For all we have audio problems (click a pops) when CPU load is high, try this:
go to BIOS / AI Tweaker / AI Overclock, change XMP to Auto and all options under this to Auto also.

This fix all audio problems for me when high CPU or GPU loads."


Also try a new realtek driver or use the default windows drivers.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

natr0n said:


> From asus forums
> "For all we have audio problems (click a pops) when CPU load is high, try this:
> go to BIOS / AI Tweaker / AI Overclock, change XMP to Auto and all options under this to Auto also.
> 
> ...


But that wont matter since the Corsair Void RGB headphones have the dac built into them completely bypassing the onboard sound. (which I have disabled in the BIOS)


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## micropage7 (Oct 29, 2017)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> But that wont matter since the Corsair Void RGB headphones have the dac built into them completely bypassing the onboard sound. (which I have disabled in the BIOS)


wait, i just missed something. 
so basically its wired or wireless you got the same symptoms?


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## natr0n (Oct 29, 2017)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> But that wont matter since the Corsair Void RGB headphones have the dac built into them completely bypassing the onboard sound. (which I have disabled in the BIOS)




Perhaps the usb 3 drivers need updating causing latency perhaps.

Try the 2.0 ports.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

micropage7 said:


> wait, i just missed something.
> so basically its wired or wireless you got the same symptoms?


Yes


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## ArdWar (Oct 29, 2017)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> Yes


Hmm, let us confirm, so both?

Check if any particular thread on your CPU are at a very high utilization when the problem happens.
Check if your CPU are throttled down when the problem happens.
Check if "System Interrupt" is having a particularly high CPU utilization when the problem happens (happened to me a few times).

The XMP stuff above may be related to this if it happens across all output


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## Aquinus (Oct 29, 2017)

natr0n said:


> Perhaps the usb 3 drivers need updating causing latency perhaps.
> 
> Try the 2.0 ports.


Good advice. My Fiio E17K Alpen 2 works on USB 3.0 ports on my Mac laptop but, USB 3.0 does some weird things with it in Linux even though the device doesn't run at 3.0 speeds. I definitely suggest trying to use a USB 2.0 port.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

natr0n said:


> From asus forums
> "For all we have audio problems (click a pops) when CPU load is high, try this:
> go to BIOS / AI Tweaker / AI Overclock, change XMP to Auto and all options under this to Auto also.
> 
> ...


This may have worked. I will report back a little bit later tonight hopefully after being on my computer for a bit to test it out. 

If I were to replace the motherboard with another Asus board, would I still have to worry about the same issue you think?


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## natr0n (Oct 29, 2017)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> This may have worked. I will report back a little bit later tonight hopefully after being on my computer for a bit to test it out.
> 
> If I were to replace the motherboard with another Asus board, would I still have to worry about the same issue you think?



You possibly could still have issues with another asus board. There no guarantee it will or wont have issues.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 29, 2017)

natr0n said:


> You possibly could still have issues with another asus board. There no guarantee it will or wont have issues.


Does any other brand of motherboard have this issue too or is it just Asus?


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## natr0n (Oct 29, 2017)

I dont know honestly. I did find this though searching for z170 sound cracking.
https://www.reddit.com/r/technology...suffer_from_a_design/?st=j9d8wmlh&sh=89c8a30b

Are you using the latest bios ?


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 30, 2017)

natr0n said:


> Are you using the latest bios ?


Im 2 versions behind. It's persisted through BIOS updates so far. 

Maybe this gives me an excuse to go z370 with dual m.2 slots.


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## RejZoR (Oct 30, 2017)

Considering you're saying it's happening ever since you bought them and it persists through wired connection as well, it's possible the headphones are just bad... If you can, go to a store and ask them if they can test other ones as well as yours. If they all do this or just yours, you'll know if they are bad...


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## R00kie (Oct 30, 2017)

Corsair Voids do not have a wired mode, the usb cable is just for charging, so you wont see a difference.


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## mad1394 (Oct 30, 2017)

gdallsk said:


> Corsair Voids do not have a wired mode, the usb cable is just for charging, so you wont see a difference.



Actually...plugging in wireless headphones to charge while in use can cause electrical noise. Especially if they are cheaper I've noticed 
Confirmed on my old wireless corsair. (H2100)


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## R00kie (Oct 30, 2017)

mad1394 said:


> Actually...plugging in wireless headphones to charge while in use can cause electrical noise. Especially if they are cheaper I've noticed
> Confirmed on my old wireless corsair. (H2100)


It was electrical buzzing from the power source, had the same on my H2100. Its not really a sound issue.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Oct 30, 2017)

RejZoR said:


> Considering you're saying it's happening ever since you bought them and it persists through wired connection as well, it's possible the headphones are just bad... If you can, go to a store and ask them if they can test other ones as well as yours. If they all do this or just yours, you'll know if they are bad...


It did it with my old wired razer headset too. Ive plugged it in and tried it. 



gdallsk said:


> Corsair Voids do not have a wired mode, the usb cable is just for charging, so you wont see a difference.


There is a wired version (that I do not have)



mad1394 said:


> Actually...plugging in wireless headphones to charge while in use can cause electrical noise. Especially if they are cheaper I've noticed
> Confirmed on my old wireless corsair. (H2100)


That isnt what is going on here. I dont charge them while I use them.



gdallsk said:


> It was electrical buzzing from the power source, had the same on my H2100. Its not really a sound issue.


Again, not what is going on here.

The issue seems to have been what @natr0n suggested. 

For now, I will consider this case closed unless it starts to happen again at which point I will post back.

Thank you to everyone who offered suggestions and guidance!


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## R00kie (Oct 30, 2017)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> There is a wired version (that I do not have)


Which is a different version of these headphones, the wireless ones dont carry data over usb, it is only used for charging. 


CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> Again, not what is going on here.
> 
> The issue seems to have been what @natr0n suggested.


Again, was not related to the issue you were having.


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## MrMilli (Mar 14, 2019)

Old thread but the solution is to lower VCCIO and VCCSA voltages. The XMP profile sets these too high.
I set both to 1.1v and it fixed the problem while maintaining stability.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Mar 14, 2019)

CrAsHnBuRnXp said:


> Maybe this gives me an excuse to go z370 with dual m.2 slots.



Thats what i am using. Sound is awesome.


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## CrAsHnBuRnXp (Mar 15, 2019)

MrMilli said:


> Old thread but the solution is to lower VCCIO and VCCSA voltages. The XMP profile sets these too high.
> I set both to 1.1v and it fixed the problem while maintaining stability.



I can't quite remember what I did to resolve the issue but it did get resolved.


tigger said:


> Thats what i am using. Sound is awesome.


I'm on z390 now


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## SpOngetox (Apr 22, 2019)

MrMilli said:


> Old thread but the solution is to lower VCCIO and VCCSA voltages. The XMP profile sets these too high.
> I set both to 1.1v and it fixed the problem while maintaining stability.



THANK YOU MrMilli !
That trick did it for me.
To another extent, simply disabling XMP profile and going on AUTO instead.
Spent days of looking for a solution to huge audio stutters after updating BIOS.


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## MrMilli (Apr 27, 2019)

SpOngetox said:


> THANK YOU MrMilli !
> That trick did it for me.
> To another extent, simply disabling XMP profile and going on AUTO instead.
> Spent days of looking for a solution to huge audio stutters after updating BIOS.



You're welcome


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