Other solutions for Realtek HD audio problem?  

I've tried Googling this and posting in a Realtek-specific forum. This computer at work has begun to distort all the audio I hear via ear buds. Crackling, snapping, buzzing; I've never heard this type of distortion anywhere else. Since it developed over time, I thought it might have been the last one or two driver updates. The Realtek forum replies had the same idea. They agreed I needed to roll back to at least 2.22. I did, and it worked for while. But then it started distorting again. I didn't think that was possible, unless the driver somehow updated itself. (I do all driver changes myself.) I've checked, and it's still the 2.22 driver.

So now I'm looking for an alternate solution? Audio and system specs follow ...

Sound control panel: Any and all "enhancement" features disabled, audio output volume set at 20%, format 16-bit 44100 Hz (CD quality). Physical connections to ear buds etc check out fine.

System: Dell A11 computer w/0N826N moboard, 6GB RAM, Windows 7 64-bit.

Thank you Fireberd for the Dell driver tip. I'll try that ASAP.

Sorry about "A11" problem. The utility I used to identify my system coughed that up, which in fact turns out to be the BIOS. The tower itself just says Dell. None of the labels or stickers applied by our IT staff provide a model name.

Searched the web and found a way to identify it with a special URL.

Inspiron 545
Service Tag: D197PL1

Much, much better with the Dell/Realtek driver! There are still oddities I've noticed. Occasionally, during a song I'll hear a brief BZZZT sound. Not loud but definitely not in the original songs. Also, even with this new driver, I can no longer use non-standard settings in WinAmp like mono or the equalizer without most of the distortion coming back. I'm very surprised that Vista, Win7 and Win8 have all had audio problems. I would think simply handling an audio signal would not be the most complex task the OS handles. Thanks for your help.

I had no idea that companies like Dell have influence that goes that deep into how "their" computers behave. I had always assumed they were simply assembling PCs likely to appeal to various business and consumer markets.