Crackling Audio

[Hewhoist]

Hi,

Purchased a new laptop a few weeks back, Had purchased some m2 drives for it so asked for it to come without Windows 11 and when it arrived installed the new drives and put on win11 along with all the drivers from the PCSpecialist however I'm still suffering crackling with audio. Not entirely as I can watch Prime/Netflix without issue however YT and VLC both suffering some crackling/popping audio. I've reinstalled the audio drivers to no effect. Any suggestions welcome before I contact PCS for help.

Thanks

 

[Hewhoist]

Could you post the spec from your order page (removing any personal information) please? Just so we know what system and chassis we are dealing with.

Have you tried headphones? Does that stop the crackling or is it regardless of how you listen? Are you watching Amazon and Netflix via the browser or using apps?

there isn't any crackling through my headset. I'm not always wearing one however. I use apps mainly but I do watch downloaded files

 

[Hewhoist]

Could you post the spec from your order page (removing any personal information) please? Just so we know what system and chassis we are dealing with.

Have you tried headphones? Does that stop the crackling or is it regardless of how you listen? Are you watching Amazon and Netflix via the browser or using apps?

Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 16" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 14 Core Processor 13900H (5.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3000 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
1 x Ionico Battery 73WH
Thermal Paste
VAPOR CHAMBER ADVANCED COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX211 + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language
PER-KEY RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 inc. Game Optimizer - Free 90 Day License
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM

 

[SpyderTracks]

Are your headphones USB or mini jack? Have you tried them in the same port the speakers are using?

 

[SpyderTracks]

That's weird. Given it disappears with a headset points to there being an issue with the speakers...but the issue only being present with certain apps makes me not sure.

First thing I'd do, assuming you haven't already done so, is uninstall Norton. It probably won't make a difference but it can cause issues and it's better just to get rid....Windows Defender is better anyway.

Only thing I can think of is apps like Prime and Netflix perhaps have differing audio settings...if there's an issue with one of the speakers, maybe a certain frequency or something sets it off. No clue if you have done this but, if it was me, I'd go into VLC and try playing with the audio settings to see if that does anything. Maybe try downloading a different video player just to test if it's VLC or something else (I have used VLC in the past but I never found it to be a great video player)...something like GOM player:

[공식] No.1 무료 동영상 재생 프로그램 은 곰플레이어 | GOM Player

동영상 재생은 최고의 무료 프로그램인 곰플레이어로 플레이 하세요. AVI, MP4등 100여 가지의 다양한 포맷의 파일 재생을 지원하는 곰플레이어를 지금 다운로드해 보세요.

www.gomlab.com

It's free and is safe to use (I used it myself).

Not heard of that one but does look extremely good by reviews and a very modern interface which VLC is unfortunately lacking still, thanks for sharing

 

[Hewhoist]

Are your headphones USB or mini jack? Have you tried them in the same port the speakers are using?

They are usb-c. I haven't tried through the jack. Good suggestion for troubleshooting it. I'll find a pair and put them through the jack. I'll download the GOM see if it removes the issue. Norton was off from the start I'm not a fan of it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

They are usb-c. I haven't tried through the jack. Good suggestion for troubleshooting it. I'll find a pair and put them through the jack. I'll download the GOM see if it removes the issue. Norton was off from the start I'm not a fan of it.

If they're usb, then they're likely bypassing the on board audio and using their own in built DAC

If you do have a pair of standard jack headphones or another pair of speakers, would be worth trying them in the same port.

Alsotry the headphones in the case port if you have one just to see if the issue is there also