Audio began suddenly distorting and crackling?
Audio began suddenly distorting and crackling?
In the end, I think there isn't a straightforward solution for this problem, since it appears to stem from insufficient input levels needing higher device output settings.
A possible compromise would be to purchase a specialized headphone amplifier, which would eliminate the need for elevated source levels.
For standard 6.35mm / 1/4" wired headphones:
Atom+ by JDSLabs
Remark: For optimal performance, pair it with an external USB dongle DAC.
I'll place the order and try it, but I'm not optimistic—I'm hearing the same popping and crackling even with a volume of 25.
I reactivated C-States to check if audio problems persist or worsen, noticing the same issues whether they're active or inactive, despite LatencyMon errors. It seems the latency spikes (about 1300us) aren't as significant as I expected, so keeping C-States enabled might be acceptable. I also tried another mouse to rule out interference from my original device, but it didn't help.
The processing times appear to be quite long. Could you help identify the possible reasons? Core parking is turned off, but c-states remain active.