Soundblaster Z crackling sound

[orionbg]

Then I would suspect the problem is with your hardware or perhaps a software configuration issue. These drivers listed above have been tested. Have you tried a fresh install of Windows on a spare drive with the drivers above to rule out software configuration problems?

Two different computers and several clean Windows 10 installations have proven me right! I even tried only Windows and the drivers... 2 to 3 minutes at most and DDL breaks!

 

[Fr3ak]

I am using an AE-5. After the new Creative software was out, I rarely had any crackling, before then it was a permanent thing, more or less, happened in a matter of minutes of playing anything. Then it was way better and for a few days, I get way more frequent crackling. There are games that have a super high probability for it happening rather sooner than later, alt-tabbing also seems to have some influence on it. The only solution is to reboot and hope for the best. More annoying than the crackling is actually the frozen frame or two along with each crackling sound, which is very subtle, but enough to annoy the F out of me.

Having witnessed the evolution of sound starting with a PC speaker to what we have now, makes me really sad. How hard can it be? :|

 

[eidairaman1]

Two different computers and several clean Windows 10 installations have proven me right! I even tried only Windows and the drivers... 2 to 3 minutes at most and DDL breaks!

What about outside the home? At a shop?

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Two different computers and several clean Windows 10 installations have proven me right! I even tried only Windows and the drivers... 2 to 3 minutes at most and DDL breaks!

when you say it breaks, have you tried ticking 'allow apps to access your microphone' in the microphone settings?? I had the same problem moving to Win10 1903 and that was the way to get around it because Microsoft changed something under the hood and drivers from 2017 werent quite upto date with this change.

There are new drivers out for the SB-Z, Im running with them right now after my small experiment with HDMI audio pass-through and they seem to be OK though some people have reported some bugs when you have a microphone plugged in and stuff.

 

[marz]

So here is a little story with a happy (for now) ending...
An year or so ago I finished my newest PC and the Sound Blaster Z was a part of it. The system in question is a Threadripper 1950x on an ASROCK X399 Taichi, 32GB of DDR4 3200 RAM and a 1080ti.
All of this was put to work by everybody's "favorite" OS Windows 10. Aaaand the issues started...
Brand new platform (back then) there were BIOS issues, Driver issues, compatibility issues and of course the SBZ Dolby Digital Live issue... Somehow back then I was able to fix the issue and I had no issues with is until about 3 weeks ago when I got the 1903 Windows 10 update and also I updated my BIOS to the latest one. I tried everything... Clean reinstall of Windows, going back to the BIOS I had before, tried all available drivers and registry patches, HPET Enable/disable, I even contacted Creative's technical support, but all I was able to get from them for more than 10 days was several different versions of that same registry patch (just different values in the keys). At least they acknowledged that there is such an issue with some specific hardware configurations.
Two days ago while reading other posts and articles for that same issue, I clicked on a link that sent me to Microsoft's web site (Microsoft Update Catalog or something like it) there I saw all the Creative Sound Blaster drivers that were ever released on Windows Update. What caught my eye were the driver versions: for SBZ the ones they have are version 6.0.102.xx and 6.0.103.xx while the a lot newer drivers for the Sound BlasterX AE5 (the fancy one with the RGB) the latest version is 6.0.105.17.... Then a thought pop'd in my head... what if I can use those newer (supposedly made for Windows 10) drivers on the SBZ? It appears that both the SBZ series and the newer SBX AE5 are using the SoundCore3D Audio processing unit (or at least very similar versions of it).
At first I tried directly installing the driver on top of what I already had but Windows stated that there is no compatible driver in the folder and sent be packing...
After mentioning some mothers... I opened the INF from the SBX AE5 driver and the INF from the SBZ driver and oh miracle! Those had almost identical structure sans the hardware IDs and some additional things pertaining to what hardware is supported by the driver. Confidant in my skills (or lack of such) I copied all the relevant lines from the SBZ INF with the hardware IDs describing the Sound Blaster Audio Controller and the Sound Blaster Z Audio Device to the SBX AE5 INF and tried installing it again... That of course didn't work as after modifying the INF file, the Digital Certificate was now broken and Windows sent me packing again but this time I was prepared! I quickly rebooted to Advanced Startup Options and used F7 (or only 7) for Disable Driver Digital Certificate Enforcement (or whatever it was exactly).
This time the driver installed for both devices and asked me to reboot.
After reboot (and no BSOD which I expected to be fair) I still had sound! I went in device manager to check if the "new driver" is really installed and it was. Then I checked Sound Blaster's control panel and all the setting were back to their default ones (just like after you just installed the driver) I enabled DDL (5.1 was already selected by default) and oh sweet music for my ears everything was working!
It has been 3 days since then and I watched a lot of movies, Youtube and what not and there have been ZERO audio issues with DDL (no, distortions, no channel swapping, no audio cutouts).

Now for the part you've all been waiting for... DISCLAIMER
YOU ARE FOLLOWING THE STEPS BELOW AT YOUR OWN RISK!! I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT YOU MAY CAUSE TO YOUR WINDOWS OS BY IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE DRIVER!!!
I HAVE TESTED THIS MOD ONLY ON MY SYSTEM AND IT WORKS FOR ME. THERE IS NO 100% GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL WORK FOR YOU!

The attached driver will only work properly on Windows 10 64bit (I did not bother with the 32bit part of the INF)

1. Download and install the newest available driver for the Sound Blaster Z (this is needed for all the software things like the Sound Blaster Control Panel, DDL, Speaker Setup and so on.) At this point you will have sound and you may even get up to 30 minutes of proper DDL before it begins to act-up... (If you already have the driver installed you can skip this step) Newest driver I have found is this one: LINK
2. Download and unpack the attached archive. Inside is the moded AE5 driver and the last registry patch that I was sent by Creative. Apply the registry patch.(not sure if it is needed but since I have already applied it before doing all this, it may be a part of the solution. Anyway it will not hurt anything to apply it)
3. Go to Settings>Recovery>Advanced Startup and click on "Restart now". Then click Troubleshoot>Advanced options>Startup Settings and click on Restart.
The system will reboot and will present you several options. Press F7 (or just 7) on the keyboard. This will disable the Digital Signature Enforcement and will allow the installation of the modded driver.
4. After the system loads, go to Device Manager and right-click on the "Sound Blaster Audio Controller". Select "Update Driver" then select "Browse my Computer..." On the next screen choose "Let me pick from a list....", then on the next screen click on "Have Disk" and find the folder you extracted the driver in. If you did it right you will be greeted with a single "Sound Blaster Audio Controller" option. Next and so on until the driver is installed. It will ask to reboot but not yet.
5.Still in Device Manager, right-click first on the "Sound Blaster Z" device and repeat the procedure from step 4. Now you can restart.
6. After reboot have completed, go to the Sound Blaster Control Panel (it should be in your taskbar) and check if 5.1 is selected and then enable DDL from the "Cinematic" tab.
7. Enjoy and report back if it worked for you.

Awaiting feedback...

Recently upgraded to a Ryzen which is the issue. SBZ works fine on an Intel board. I tried this fix but it removed the Digital-In option which I need to use. The real issue is the Dolby and DTS encoders. A temp fix is this: Uninstall the Dolby/DTS packages and reinstall the current SBZ driver Run As Administrator. Creative needs to also focus on their older model and drivers. Creative sucks supporting their older products. I will not buy Creative soundcards again; Creative change my mind.

*** UPDATE: If experiencing sounds dropping or switching left/right polarities Go to Sound Control Panel> SBZ default propertie>Advanced Tab> Change Default Format to 24bit, 44100hz (Studio Quality). Also, the latest Malwarebyte software interferes with the installation of the SBZ drivers and other apps.

 

[Mittenz]

I've read this entire thread, I think you guys are mistaking new motherboard deficiency for sound blaster issues, firstly let me explain.

I have installed over 100 of these cards for a music production company and asked them to measure interference and noise on the outputs for me.

I've studied this issue and provided feedback to creative.

The main issue for these card is NOT drivers, it's two things actually, shitty motherboard onboard / usb / PCIe shielding for EMI and power supplies that have EMI leakage via the transformer / rectifier.

I have ran into 15 or so systems and the main cause was an Asus design flaw in their motherboards where MSI fixed this, I've ran into this in my personal computers and with this company as well. MSI actually EMI protects their top pci-e card which helps if you have any remote coil whine or EM leakage from your video card.

Asus does not make very EMI resistant designs including their laptops with TONs of EMI audio issues to support my case. I personally consider Asus to be of low quality and a brand you should avoid due to their neglectful and pathetic engineering.

Again, I've seen this EMO issue with Ryzen motherboards more than Intel, but it isn't a Ryzen issue it's a shitty engineering team issue that made a bad product.

I've done a few things to solve these issues first is I've ran dedicated ground lines to computer cases grounding to common or independent ground.

The Daniel k or pax drivers don't change any of these issues, so my recommendation is the following.

1)
Firstly if you have a different power supply, attach it out of the case to your system, ideally sit it on the case. Even on tin foil with the shiny side facing towards the PSU. Disable all spatial sound and mute your mic (or disable) to factor less EMI pickup on the case.

2) if this has had a positive effect to any degree, then next ground your case with a dedicated ground or common ground etc. This can be done in a number of safe methods and devices, Amazon sells these. Ground your case in 3-4 different areas, IE, near your PSU, near the expansion cards, behind the motherboard.

3) if this has a measureable reduction then we know we can reduce this more, buy using a brass farad cage -- wrap your PSU in this before installing, and wrap your sound card in this as well being careful it will not shift or short any devices out, using a wire frame to zip tie this to helps then tig weld the cage to the PSU / sound card - aluminum welding being difficult if new for you.

Often I replace the power supply with a unit that is of higher quality, I've commonly had to replace many EVGA 750 Gold rated power supplies for better units with EMI resistant designs. I have used brass screens wrapped around power supplies to absorb EMI as this often stops almost alot interferences.

Additionally have done this to soundcards, addition to this I'll have crackle issues if ANY spatial sound is turned on, by design.

These are my findings, so hopefully this can help someone. Obviously do this at your own risk or hire a professional.

 

[marz]

I've read this entire thread, I think you guys are mistaking new motherboard deficiency for sound blaster issues, firstly let me explain.

I have installed over 100 of these cards for a music production company and asked them to measure interference and noise on the outputs for me.

I've studied this issue and provided feedback to creative.

The main issue for these card is NOT drivers, it's two things actually, shitty motherboard onboard / usb / PCIe shielding for EMI and power supplies that have EMI leakage via the transformer / rectifier.

I have ran into 15 or so systems and the main cause was an Asus design flaw in their motherboards where MSI fixed this, I've ran into this in my personal computers and with this company as well. MSI actually EMI protects their top pci-e card which helps if you have any remote coil whine or EM leakage from your video card.

Asus does not make very EMI resistant designs including their laptops with TONs of EMI audio issues to support my case. I personally consider Asus to be of low quality and a brand you should avoid due to their neglectful and pathetic engineering.

Again, I've seen this EMO issue with Ryzen motherboards more than Intel, but it isn't a Ryzen issue it's a shitty engineering team issue that made a bad product.

I've done a few things to solve these issues first is I've ran dedicated ground lines to computer cases grounding to common or independent ground.

The Daniel k or pax drivers don't change any of these issues, so my recommendation is the following.

1)
Firstly if you have a different power supply, attach it out of the case to your system, ideally sit it on the case. Even on tin foil with the shiny side facing towards the PSU. Disable all spatial sound and mute your mic (or disable) to factor less EMI pickup on the case.

2) if this has had a positive effect to any degree, then next ground your case with a dedicated ground or common ground etc. This can be done in a number of safe methods and devices, Amazon sells these. Ground your case in 3-4 different areas, IE, near your PSU, near the expansion cards, behind the motherboard.

3) if this has a measureable reduction then we know we can reduce this more, buy using a brass farad cage -- wrap your PSU in this before installing, and wrap your sound card in this as well being careful it will not shift or short any devices out, using a wire frame to zip tie this to helps then tig weld the cage to the PSU / sound card - aluminum welding being difficult if new for you.

Often I replace the power supply with a unit that is of higher quality, I've commonly had to replace many EVGA 750 Gold rated power supplies for better units with EMI resistant designs. I have used brass screens wrapped around power supplies to absorb EMI as this often stops almost alot interferences.

Additionally have done this to soundcards, addition to this I'll have crackle issues if ANY spatial sound is turned on, by design.

These are my findings, so hopefully this can help someone. Obviously do this at your own risk or hire a professional.

I have a gigabyte x570 and the EMI shields are adequate. The main issue is strictly software drivers with the SBZ and not hardware. There is an EMI shield covering the SBZ card.

 

[Mittenz]

Ryzen -- check your EMI or better yet order a new psi off amazon swamp it and return it if it doesn't solve the issue.
SBZ shield has a reduction of barely 25%, it hardly protects the unit entirely, more so when the EMI is carried from the case into back connections, its not a EMI shield its more like a conductor.

Honestly try what im saying, disable all sound enhancements in SBZ software and windows and give it a shot. Ive dealt with this issue since gen1 Ryzen onward.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Noise comes from the bus also. Even USB devices suffer from it. (Well except isolated, like uber expensive Xmos has). So data lines also carry noise, those are terminated to ground and parasitic RF noise travels.

Often there are grounding issues. In theory ground should have the shortest path to the outlet... on practice it often is not, so the shortest path actually runs through audio cables from device X via device Y and to the outlet(it also applies to HDMI, it means also vice versa, you can have PC monitor noise traveling through your PC and causing havoc too). Using additional screws on the device cases and grouding then with an additional thick wire helps.

I have my sound cards bracket lifted from the case, thus isolating audio ground at that point, no parrasitic loops and have star shielding working better, as ground planes are inneficient at this point as they are based on a more ideal model.

Motherboards are crap. And many of them, so noise is no wonder. But GPU and also PSU makers are making illegal devices that cause wastly higher EMI during loads and nothing can help with that. Fix your damn PC and do not cheap out on core components.

Engineering wise Zx card... is the same sound core device... (Lego) They are same as AE-9 driver stack wise. You can rewrite eeprom and your old card will be recignised as what you wish. The further i2s/DSD?(not sure) device config and operation differs.

 

[hACmAn]

Hello.
I have had the sound start to cracle then totally go silent on DTS and Dolby sens I upgraded to x570 and ryzen 3600x, on ASRock X570 Pro4. (Curently BIOS 2.60)
On Creatives site there is 2 versions of the Z model. (did not find the link right now) I might have the older one.@

@orionbg
On https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/soundblaster-z-crackling-sound.247336/page-6
orionbg have a modded driver that needs digitalsigned drivers to be turn off. The file name is Sound Blaster Z MOD DDL.zip

Using that one i have no crackling sound anymore. However the channels left/right or some times more normally Front Right and back Left switch places.
Wort a try.
Another thin that i have tested sens ASRock X570 Pro4 BIOS v2.60 came out (2020/4/16 Change log says Improve UAD-2 DUO audio card compatibility) was that

On https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=325223.0 a user@xeo links a pice of a redit thread (if any of you know the tread plz inform me)
The Creative response on reddit:
Cut from the text.
"We have found that new BIOS by AMD turned on a 10-bit Tag Field, which is only available on PCI-e Gen4 devices. This resulted in compatibility issues with all our PCI-e sound cards. Users should look for a setting for "PCI-e 10-bit Tag Support" and set it to "Disabled" to allow our sound card to be recognized. We are reaching out to AMD on this issue."
I did disabled it, did see no difference. Still on disable rather that auto. Dont have any pcie gen 4 devices anyway,

To the point:
I am currently using SBZ_CD_L13_1_01_11.exe and Patch_110200xx_H10.reg No crackling sound have not have the time testing the channel switching.
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010
Do seem to work for me on my x570
Patch_110200xx_H10_modified.reg (from Sound Blaster Z MOD DDL.zip)
It uses "HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:000000ff
I get crackling sound using ff not on 10

Uploading the 3 versions of the ini files i have. That @orionbg was involved in Patch_110200xx_H10_modified.reg is for shore.
Patch_110200xx_H10.reg and sbx_fix.reg (same files settings different spacing.) I dont know who made this. Creed to you.

Off/On:
Channel swapping. Some say that if you set 16Bit 44,1Khz it prolongs the time before the channels do switch.
@marz I have not tested 24Bit 44,1Khz. I will try. Dont belive my OLD JVC like anything that's not 48Khz

Sorry for bad Eng.
PS
INFO: if some one is afraid to download the ini files. The they overwrites the settings in the windows register so first using Patch_110200xx_H10.ini and then Patch_110200xx_H10_modified.ini makes the last one just work.

Patch_110200xx_H10.ini should lock like this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\cthda\HDB\11020023]
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\cthda\HDB\11020024]
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\cthda\HDB\11020025]
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\cthda\HDB\11020026]
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\cthda\HDB\11020027]
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\cthda\HDB\11020033]
"HW_CTL_MX_BSIZE"=dword:00000010

DS

 

[marz]

Update: I narrowed my issue with SBZ changing/swapping channels and it was the Dolby/DTS packs. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the packs and still have minimal issues during application or game launching. If it swaps I just throttle between No Encoder to DTS or Dolby in the SB control panel Cinematic tab. Then it would be fine until I switch apps, again. No issues at all when using No Encoder. The crackling in Optical mode has stopped or at least I think it did using the reg fix posted by @hACmAn Patch_110200xx_H10 so thank you for posting.

 

[EnterpriseNL]

I've had this problem too, I thought it was my optical cable, so bought a new one, seemed it was MSI, I have a Gaming edge wifi with an SBZ and had stuttering during music on youtube with DTS enabled, no encoder worked fine tho, So MSI just released new bios for this board(V1.92) and it solved the issue

 

[kenshin1]

And now that i just built a Ryzen 3000 on an X570 Taichi mainboard.. we are right back to this bullshit again, except this time the sounds are bouncing from speaker to speaker like crazy on my Logitech Z5500s, and within 10minutes of startup, the sound completely stops working.. the MOD DLL hasnt fixed this one. And now that Creative has the AE cards out now, Ill bet they abandon all support for Sounblster Z soundcards so they dont have to deal with it. Swapping .inis worked for me for a short time, but the issue has resurfaced. Have also tried lowering the playback rates, no success.. the only thing it has done is reduced teh time the issues occur, but they do stil occur given time.

 

[orionbg]

Hey guys, maybe not a solution for everybody here but what I finally did after everything else failed was to order myself a Creative SB OMNI 5.1. It is a USB external sound card with support for DDL and works perfectly fine! No matter the Windows (or MAC OS for that matter) version. The latest driver for this thing on Creative's web site is from 2015 and it still works perfectly! Some times there is a click that can be heard from the device itself (some relay) but that is very quiet and is not having any effect on the sound quality. Most stores have a return policy so you can always try it. Just remember to remove all the SBZ drivers/software before using the OMNI. BTW the OMNI control panel and capabilities is 99% the same as the one on the SBZ. Also, you can sell the SBZ and recoup some of the money you spent on the OMNI.

 

[CityCultivator]

Hey guys, maybe not a solution for everybody here but what I finally did after everything else failed was to order myself a Creative SB OMNI 5.1. It is a USB external sound card with support for DDL and works perfectly fine! No matter the Windows (or MAC OS for that matter) version. The latest driver for this thing on Creative's web site is from 2015 and it still works perfectly! Some times there is a click that can be heard from the device itself (some relay) but that is very quiet and is not having any effect on the sound quality. Most stores have a return policy so you can always try it. Just remember to remove all the SBZ drivers/software before using the OMNI. BTW the OMNI control panel and capabilities is 99% the same as the one on the SBZ. Also, you can sell the SBZ and recoup some of the money you spent on the OMNI.

Also own an Omni.
The latest driver is from 2018. Creative has not put the driver in Omni installation package, but in X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro installation package. You can extract it and install it, or download this and install.
If you use DDL, you can update the DDL part to the latest available version, released in 2019.
DDL feature is not available on Mac.

 

[erocker]

My Soundblaster Zx was fine until Windows 10. After that, multiple issues with occasional noise and drivers/Windows update issues. I always stayed away from USB sound but switched to a Yamaha USB mixer and I'll never go back to a sound card again.

 

[Regeneration]

Windows 10 build 1803 (and newer) is plagued with latency issues.

Microsoft made a change to the OS timer that drove a lot of drivers mad.

Audio stuttering is one of the symptoms and it is not exclusive to Creative products.

 

[INSTG8R]

Welp I upgraded to X570 and now I’m in the same boat as everyone else...I gave up and I’ve removed it and am now on onboard and can already hear the loss of quality right from the intro/load screen to Forza 4....I’ll mess with the EQ a bit but my 5.1 sounds so flat...

 

[Regeneration]

Please try this driver and let me know if it helps with anything.

 

[INSTG8R]

Please try this driver and let me know if it helps with anything.

I’ll put it aside. I have nuked my OS a few times and finally got my build stable So I decIdea to give it another chance. I haven’t really done any game testing just got a bare bones install but it seems fine now.

Please try this driver and let me know if it helps with anything.

Well I just did a quick Modify install and no change. I will do a clean install later and report back. I switched from the Rig in my wig to a 3700X/Arous X570 Pro and it’s been a less than fun build and it’s hot as balls. my literally bulletproof SB experience has now been shattered and I’m very much about sound as much as visuals
i hope your driver fixes it because Realtek still sucks...

 

[Regeneration]

Well I just did a quick Modify install and no change. I will do a clean install later and report back. I switched from the Rig in my wig to a 3700X/Arous X570 Pro and it’s been a less than fun build and it’s hot as balls. my literally bulletproof SB experience has now been shattered and I’m very much about sound as much as visuals
i hope your driver fixes it because Realtek still sucks...

Try a clean installation of the driver.

 

[INSTG8R]

Try a clean installation of the driver.

Tried that too same result.

 

[alias007]

Hi Everyone,

I owner Ryzen 3900X and ASUS X570 CROSSHAIR VIII (bios ver:2103) and I connected optical cable with Z906. I have same issue (crackling, dropping and swapping).

I tried Sound Blaster Z MOD DDL and other solutions (44100 hz, 10bit tag, PAX driver etc.)
Result : No crackling, no dropping but rarely swapping sound.

Temp solution for swap: I'm selecting headphones and again selecting speakers from SBX Studio Pro. But after a while it swapping again.

I connected with Creative Technical Support.

They want Diagnostic file for issue. I sent file and they sent REG Patch Files for issue.

Result : No crackling, no dropping, no swapping!!



I want to share Creative's suggestions with you:

"1.Update the BIOS / chipset on the motherboard if it is not up to date; You do this at your own risk, please contact the motherboard manufacturer if you are not sure.

2. Deactivate the quick start function, as it cannot correctly perform a required restart for installation / deinstallation processes.

Help Deactivate quick start function:

- Open the Control Panel and click on Power Options
- Click on the option that links the power buttons on the left.
- Click "Change the setting that is currently unavailable".
- If prompted by UAC, click "Yes".
- Under shutdown settings, uncheck the box "Enable quick start (recommended)", click the "Save changes" button

3. Now uninstall the sound card including driver software and all related creative applications from programs and functions in Cleanboot mode

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

Remove all driver residues from the registry with a third-party cleaner (e.g. CC CLeaner).

4. A reboot should be carried out here. Check programs and functions again, registry, whether everything has really been removed, repeat if necessary.

5. Download (don't install yet !!!) the following driver software link:

File name: SBZ_CD_L13_1_01_11.exe

Creative Worldwide Support >

Welcome to Creative Worldwide Support. Get technical help for your Creative products through Knowledgebase Solutions, firmware updates, driver downloads and more.

support.creative.com

6. Now temporarily disconnect the internet connection in order to avoid possible faults e.g. to avoid by auto updates.

7. Install the downloaded software package

8. Reboot the system


7 different patches so that you can install them, please install them one by one, reboot each time and then test your sound card for the problem described.
If there is a patch that fixes the problem, you should not test the other patches any longer and then please let us know which patch has brought about the solution for you, your components.

- Patch_11020033_H10.reg
- Patch_11020033_H0C.reg
- Patch_11020033_H08.reg
- Patch_11020033_H04.reg
- Patch_11020033_H14.reg
- Patch_11020033_H18.reg
- Patch_11020033_H20.reg

Notes: In principle, the user must double-click on one of these registration files so that the settings in the local system registry are available.
Next, restart the computer. (Reboot)
Next, check if there are any improvements.
If the problems are resolved, stick to these settings.
Otherwise, try the next registry file.
For example, let's start with the recommendation from H10.reg. If the symptom worsens, we recommend a lower value, e.g. B. H08.reg. If the symptoms improve, we recommend a lower value, e.g. B. H04.reg. If H04.reg addresses the user problem, we recommend that the user keep the value.
However, if the symptom improves with H10.reg, we continue to recommend H14.reg and so on."

Firstly I tried Patch_11020033_H0C file. This file solved my issue. You can apply the them recommends if you want.

After I enabled quick start. Because Windows late opening.

A suggestion for advanced user:
If you downloaded mod drivers before, delete older files (cthda files) from System 32/drivestore/filerepository.
Maybe old and new drivers conflict.

I hope this patches will be a permanent solution.

 

[mvpalves]

Hi Everyone,

I owner Ryzen 3900X and ASUS X570 CROSSHAIR VIII (bios ver:2103) and I connected optical cable with Z906. I have same issue (crackling, dropping and swapping).

I tried Sound Blaster Z MOD DDL and other solutions (44100 hz, 10bit tag, PAX driver etc.)
Result : No crackling, no dropping but rarely swapping sound.

Temp solution for swap: I'm selecting headphones and again selecting speakers from SBX Studio Pro. But after a while it swapping again.

I connected with Creative Technical Support.

They want Diagnostic file for issue. I sent file and they sent REG Patch Files for issue.

Result : No crackling, no dropping, no swapping!!



I want to share Creative's suggestions with you:

"1.Update the BIOS / chipset on the motherboard if it is not up to date; You do this at your own risk, please contact the motherboard manufacturer if you are not sure.

2. Deactivate the quick start function, as it cannot correctly perform a required restart for installation / deinstallation processes.

Help Deactivate quick start function:

- Open the Control Panel and click on Power Options
- Click on the option that links the power buttons on the left.
- Click "Change the setting that is currently unavailable".
- If prompted by UAC, click "Yes".
- Under shutdown settings, uncheck the box "Enable quick start (recommended)", click the "Save changes" button

3. Now uninstall the sound card including driver software and all related creative applications from programs and functions in Cleanboot mode

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

Remove all driver residues from the registry with a third-party cleaner (e.g. CC CLeaner).

4. A reboot should be carried out here. Check programs and functions again, registry, whether everything has really been removed, repeat if necessary.

5. Download (don't install yet !!!) the following driver software link:

File name: SBZ_CD_L13_1_01_11.exe

Creative Worldwide Support >

Welcome to Creative Worldwide Support. Get technical help for your Creative products through Knowledgebase Solutions, firmware updates, driver downloads and more.

support.creative.com

6. Now temporarily disconnect the internet connection in order to avoid possible faults e.g. to avoid by auto updates.

7. Install the downloaded software package

8. Reboot the system


7 different patches so that you can install them, please install them one by one, reboot each time and then test your sound card for the problem described.
If there is a patch that fixes the problem, you should not test the other patches any longer and then please let us know which patch has brought about the solution for you, your components.

- Patch_11020033_H10.reg
- Patch_11020033_H0C.reg
- Patch_11020033_H08.reg
- Patch_11020033_H04.reg
- Patch_11020033_H14.reg
- Patch_11020033_H18.reg
- Patch_11020033_H20.reg

Notes: In principle, the user must double-click on one of these registration files so that the settings in the local system registry are available.
Next, restart the computer. (Reboot)
Next, check if there are any improvements.
If the problems are resolved, stick to these settings.
Otherwise, try the next registry file.
For example, let's start with the recommendation from H10.reg. If the symptom worsens, we recommend a lower value, e.g. B. H08.reg. If the symptoms improve, we recommend a lower value, e.g. B. H04.reg. If H04.reg addresses the user problem, we recommend that the user keep the value.
However, if the symptom improves with H10.reg, we continue to recommend H14.reg and so on."

Firstly I tried Patch_11020033_H0C file. This file solved my issue. You can apply the them recommends if you want.

After I enabled quick start. Because Windows late opening.

A suggestion for advanced user:
If you downloaded mod drivers before, delete older files (cthda files) from System 32/drivestore/filerepository.
Maybe old and new drivers conflict.

I hope this patches will be a permanent solution.

I just created an account to say THANK YOU!!

It worked for me!! At least I'm hearing music for 4 hours straight without being interrupted by the DDL/DTSC bug.

I'm also using the H0C file

Thank you

 

[alias007]

@mvpalves You are welcome. I glad that your problem is solved.