3

I have an Intel NUC10i7FNH computer, purchased in December 2019 and running Windows 10. Within the last year, it has started to produce audio crackles and pops during many different types of audio playback. There are several posts related to this topic (like this one), and usually they all involve rolling back some driver or running LatencyMon to get more data.

I discovered the following through some experimentation:

  • Issue only occurs on hard-wired connection to the system's 3.5mm jack or through the display via HDMI audio; does not occur over Bluetooth Headphone audio for the same sound sources.
  • Issue appears to be dependent on audio decoding used by software.
    • Playback of a video file using the stock Windows 10 Windows Media Player reproduces issue.
    • Playback of the same video file using Windows 10 Movies & TV app does not produce issue.
    • Identical results between above applications when playing back the same MP3 file.
  • All YouTube videos reproduce the issue.
  • Playing a system sound by adjusting the system (software) volume reproduces the issue (system tray volume adjustment).
  • World of Warships game reproduces the issue.

I don't think this is an audio driver issue given the discrepancy between the Windows media applications, nor do I think the LatencyMon suggestion is applicable as it points to Windows kernel system drivers.

For what its worth, I'm running all of the latest drivers as prescribed by Intel and Microsoft, and Windows 10 is in a stock configuration pertaining to power management. The Intel NUC has a 6-core 4.7Ghz CPU and it is utilized significantly more with Windows Media Player than Movies & TV. However the YouTube CPU utilization is comparable with Movies & TV, so I'm not sure that is applicable either.

Any thoughts on what might be causing this? The data above suggests a software issue, though I'm not sure where to look next.

Steve Guidi
  • 745

1 Answers1

3

After nearly 18 months of accepting persistent audio crackling issues as the norm, I found the culprit earlier this evening.

Corsair's iCue peripheral management software

I committed to a clean install of Windows 11, using the upgrade as an opportunity to track down the source of audio issue once and for all. It was only after I installed this software that the issues start, verified with a revert via a Windows system restore point.

Here is another report of this issue: https://forum.corsair.com/forums/topic/168593-icue-causes-audio-stuttering/

The software has been updated several times in the past 18 months and I therefore have no confidence that the issue will be fixed. Ironically, I was using the software only to turn off the bright DPI-indicating LED on my mouse, a feature I can live with given the alternative.

Steve Guidi
  • 745