Seemingly random audio crackling/popping

Lately I've been having a problem where my audio snaps and pops. It's not constant but it can get pretty noticeable. Especially on more calm music. It occurs while any audio is playing. Skype calls, Youtube videos, songs, video games. Anything. At first I had thought it was simply because my headphones were getting old worn out, but when I switched to new headphones the crackling and popping still occured.

Looking at some old forum posts here from 2009 I downloaded a tool called DPC Latency Checker. Ran it, and then started disabling and enabling devices one by one in device manager. Running normally there's an alternating pattern Where it will be down towards ~130 then suddenly spike to ~2500 and back down again. Back and forth.

After nothing having any real logical affect on this I noticed something weird when I disabled a program I use called Virtual Audio Cable, for streaming purposes. Suddenly the latency jumped to the high 14,000's and stayed there. Then after re-enabling VAC, the latency continued to stay in the high 14,000's. I can't seem to replicate whatever happened there.

My BIOS is up to date, my sound card drivers are up to date, and really, I hadn't changed anything prior to this problem starting in order to cause it. If anyone has any idea on how to help, please. This is driving me nuts.

Please fill in the My System Specs - we can only guess and talk in generalities without it.

If you look over the many posts on this forum (and other forums) about the popping and crackling you will see its an often reported problem.

There is no "one fix" for this, however there are some things that are known to cause it (and high latency). Wireless controllers (wi-fi) are one known cause. A user on the Sonar (recording software) forum reported getting spikes and high latency as shown with the DPC Latency checker. His problem turned out to the the wireless adapter (controller) and as soon as he disabled it his problem went away.

Video drivers and sound drivers are another issue.

That Virtual Audio Cable sets up virtual audio devices and that can be a prime issue. You should have a "System Mixer" (could also be called Stereo Mix and what SoundBlaster calls "What You Hear") and these functions will allow you to record streaming audio.

I apologize, I thought I had already updated that info. It's all filled out now though.

As you can see I do have a bulldozer processor, which is known to cause issues even with "compatible" motherboards like mine. But this sound issue is new, and persisted even after I've updated my BIOS to the most recent f9.

As far as I can tell I can't really disable my wireless adapter, since then I wouldn't have internet whatsoever. I did, however, disable a "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller" in my device manager, but it offered no change in the latency or audio popping.

I know my setup doesn't really show it, but I'm a bit of an audiophile. Any help you can provide with this new information would be amazing.

Also; I apologize if I'm sounding clueless, but that's mostly because I am. this computer was put together for me. I thought I was taking great care of it and working around all the kinks but I supposed I'm not.

Also, I forgot to add that my Stereo Mix doesn't actually seem to work right... it's enabled but if I set it as the input audio device in FMLE it doesn't actually output anything. That's an issue for another time though.

For now I've uninstalled VAC so it should no longer be a factor.

I'm building a new system for my Recording Studio (I use Sonar X1 and Pro Tools), so I'm into audio too.

For testing, disable the wireless controller and see if it makes a difference. One thing at a time to see if it changes or fixes the problem.

My new recording system is ASRock Z77 Professional motherboard, i7 3770 CPU, OCZ liquid cooler, OXZ Vertex 4 128GB SATA III SSD, 1TB 7200 RPM hard drive, OCZ 750 watt modular power supply and Corsair Carbide 500R case. The ASRock motherboard had a problem and its been RMA'd to newegg for a replacement.

Sonar is a neat piece of software, I got to use it at school once. It seems to have a lot of versatility.

Anyways - I disabled the wireless controller and there was no change in the latency or the audio popping (The "Realtek PCIe Family controller" under "network" is the wireless controller, correct? Cause that's what I disabled. The only other things there is my hamchi network, the tunngle network, and my wireless adapter. All of which I've tried disabling to no avail.)

Would it be helpful to you if I were to post a screencap of my DPC Latency checker?

Smurfferdid said:

Sonar is a neat piece of software, I got to use it at school once. It seems to have a lot of versatility.

Anyways - I disabled the wireless controller and there was no change in the latency or the audio popping (The "Realtek PCIe Family controller" under "network" is the wireless controller, correct? Cause that's what I disabled. The only other things there is my hamchi network, the tunngle network, and my wireless adapter. All of which I've tried disabling to no avail.)

Would it be helpful to you if I were to post a screencap of my DPC Latency checker?

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on board audio is known to have numerous issues with interference. This is most likely the motherboards fault/ onboard audio because of trace design on the PCB. This is a common issue.

Best fix would be to buy a dedicated PCIe sound card.

Is there any sort of hot fix for this problem? And what would a prices estimate be on the sound card? I'm afraid I'm a bit broke at the moment.

Regardless, thank you so much for your help.

Is there any sort of hot fix for this problem? And what would a price estimate be on the sound card? I'm afraid I'm a bit broke at the moment.

Regardless, thank you so much for your help.

Edit: apologies for the double post. I had thought I was editing the s away from prices but I was actually in reply mode.

Smurfferdid said:

Is there any sort of hot fix for this problem? And what would a price estimate be on the sound card? I'm afraid I'm a bit broke at the moment.

Regardless, thank you so much for your help.

Edit: apologies for the double post. I had thought I was editing the s away from prices but I was actually in reply mode.

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That depends on what pcie/pci slots you have available right now. after looking up you motherboard on google it seems thta with a gpu installed you will have access to 2 legacy PCI and 2 PCIE 1x.
If you want the pcie 1x i would recommend :
Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Gaming Audio Card

If you want the PCI I would go for:
Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Audio Card

I hope I didn't just screw myself over, but shortly after your recommendations I asked around and found something a bit cheaper:

Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

I hope this wasn't a poor decision on my part, but it seems to have the same stats as one of the ones you recommended and broad internet searches seem to say it will work, but once again; It's something else that was recommended to me.
I hope it doesn't seem like I'm being rude by not going by what you advised
But you guys are great, I would've been lost. Even though it seems to have been a simple problem. I'll keep this thread set as unresolved until I install the sound card. To see if it works. But if you don't hear from me again know that you helped a very desperate person. You guys should get medals.

Smurfferdid said:

I hope I didn't just screw myself over, but shortly after your recommendations I asked around and found something a bit cheaper:

Newegg.com - Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards

I hope this wasn't a poor decision on my part, but it seems to have the same stats as one of the ones you recommended and broad internet searches seem to say it will work, but once again; It's something else that was recommended to me.
I hope it doesn't seem like I'm being rude by not going by what you advised
But you guys are great, I would've been lost. Even though it seems to have been a simple problem. I'll keep this thread set as unresolved until I install the sound card. To see if it works. But if you don't hear from me again know that you helped a very desperate person. You guys should get medals.

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That will work also, I was just recommending the Asus products from my own personal experience at school. We use the pcie 1x cards in the computers at our multi-media class and they just work without any hassle.

Righto. Well, the soundcard is installed, all of the drivers are up to date. The onboard audio is disabled through the bios setup And I even have new headphones Newegg.com - RAZER Carcharias 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Professional Gaming Headset (an early birthday gift I wasn't aware of.) I disabled the onboard wireless controller. Also disabled the bluetooth functionality on my phone.

And I'm STILL getting these audio cracks and pops. This is insane. What could be wrong?

Smurfferdid said:

Righto. Well, the soundcard is installed, all of the drivers are up to date. The onboard audio is disabled through the bios setup And I even have new headphones Newegg.com - RAZER Carcharias 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Professional Gaming Headset (an early birthday gift I wasn't aware of.) I disabled the onboard wireless controller. Also disabled the bluetooth functionality on my phone.

And I'm STILL getting these audio cracks and pops. This is insane. What could be wrong?

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That is strange. Only other reason would probably an improper grounding of the PSU or static build up somewhere in the case. Your computer power supply has the 3 prong style shown here correct?

Yes it has the three pronged plug.

My friend just told me about how PSU's tend to function better when plugged into a wall outlet or a electrical strip devoted to computers. It's all currently plugged into a relatively old surge protector, it's never given me problems before, but could that be the problem?

Also: I'm probably going to see what I can do about getting a new sound card. I'll just spring for the ASUS PCIe you recommened The one I nabbed and installed has a few issues I'd rather not deal with that didn't show up in a cursory search.

Smurfferdid said:

Yes it has the three pronged plug.

My friend just told me about how PSU's tend to function better when plugged into a wall outlet or a electrical strip devoted to computers. It's all currently plugged into a relatively old surge protector, it's never given me problems before, but could that be the problem?

Also: I'm probably going to see what I can do about getting a new sound card. I'll just spring for the ASUS PCIe you recommened The one I nabbed and installed has a few issues I'd rather not deal with that didn't show up in a cursory search.

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That teds to be true most times, especially when the voltage on the electric lines tend to dip by up to 2-5 %. As for the crackling I wold defiantly make sure that your case and motherboard are properly grounded.

You should have better luck with the Asus sound card hopefully.

As far as I can tell I've done all I can in grounding my computer, aside from getting a new surge protector (is there anything specific I should be looking for in that?) The whole thing is sitting on top of my desk, which is wooden. And the cable for the PSU, along with my monitor cable and the charger for my phone, runs down to a surge protector under the desk, which is sitting on the floor (carpeted) and then that is plugged into the wall.

I'll be seeing if I can get a new surge protector tomorrow, and ordering the sound card (which isn't much more expensive than the one I got, boy was I dumb in going for that.) Thanks for the hopeful wishes.

Smurfferdid said:

As far as I can tell I've done all I can in grounding my computer, aside from getting a new surge protector (is there anything specific I should be looking for in that?) The whole thing is sitting on top of my desk, which is wooden. And the cable for the PSU, along with my monitor cable and the charger for my phone, runs down to a surge protector under the desk, which is sitting on the floor (carpeted) and then that is plugged into the wall.

I'll be seeing if I can get a new surge protector tomorrow, and ordering the sound card (which isn't much more expensive than the one I got, boy was I dumb in going for that.) Thanks for the hopeful wishes.

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There is nothing really that can be done than that.
Hopefully the Asus sound card works out.

Smurfferdid said:

I'll be seeing if I can get a new surge protector tomorrow,

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Where is a spec number for that new surge protector that claims any protection from noise? Good luck. Anything passive designed to stop, absorb, or filter those noise frequencies must be on the order of tens of pounds. No plug-in protector claims to solve noise problems.

The noise problem has been made even more difficult due to the process you are using to solve it. You did not define the reason for noise. You are just shotgunning for solutions without even first learning what the problem is.

Most noise problems are best solved at the source.

Grounding (as you have discussed it) does not solve noise problems.

An example. One type of noise is a ground loop. This is a discussion about electricity. Therefore all noise involved a loop; a circuit. A ground loop is a current that goes through three system components - A, B, & C. C has a defect. So eliminating or changing A causes the noise to diminish. Therefore the naive conclusion is to eliminate or fix A. Wrong. The problem is in C. But the problem is masked when A is removed from that ABCA loop.

Fixing noise involves first finding the defect. You have not done that. You have even worried about a wall receptacle safety ground (that might be the A in that above paragraph).

This much is obvious even from those manufacturer spec sheets. A surge protector for solving noise is only wishful thinking combined with a reduction of net wealth.

westom said:

Smurfferdid said:

I'll be seeing if I can get a new surge protector tomorrow,

Click to expand...

Where is a spec number for that new surge protector that claims any protection from noise? Good luck. Anything passive designed to stop, absorb, or filter those noise frequencies must be on the order of tens of pounds. No plug-in protector claims to solve noise problems.

The noise problem has been made even more difficult due to the process you are using to solve it. You did not define the reason for noise. You are just shotgunning for solutions without even first learning what the problem is.

Most noise problems are best solved at the source.

Grounding (as you have discussed it) does not solve noise problems.

An example. One type of noise is a ground loop. This is a discussion about electricity. Therefore all noise involved a loop; a circuit. A ground loop is a current that goes through three system components - A, B, & C. C has a defect. So eliminating or changing A causes the noise to diminish. Therefore the naive conclusion is to eliminate or fix A. Wrong. The problem is in C. But the problem is masked when A is removed from that ABCA loop.

Fixing noise involves first finding the defect. You have not done that. You have even worried about a wall receptacle safety ground (that might be the A in that above paragraph).

This much is obvious even from those manufacturer spec sheets. A surge protector for solving noise is only wishful thinking combined with a reduction of net wealth.

Click to expand...

That is not entirely true! For example in older homes, which are updated with the 3 prong plug. Older homes may not have the 3 wire configuration of Hot, Neutral, and Ground. At best they may have only Hot, and Neutral. As a result some electricians use the neutral wire as the grounding wire also.

Noise over the electrical lines can ultimately come from any source. A good example of such are: Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Old CRT television screens/ monitors. Many of these appliances have a large amount of current use, but A/Cs and Refrigerators both use compressors which, about 95% of the time means they use capacitors. Capacitors, in general produce a lot of "electrical noise", this is known as Johnson–Nyquist noise.
Johnson

Going back to to 3 prong plug using the ground as neutral, any electrical appliance that isn't properly grounded would output noise on the "fake ground" causing your PC's Power Supply to pick it up. A PSU is basically a AC to DC converter. It will take that noise and also output it to the DC side.

Electrical noise isn't really considered dangerous to electrical equipment, but a surge protector may help reduce the problem. Many have ferrite core chokes and flat ceramic capacitors, when used properly would stop or at least decrease the amount of noise on the line.