Realtek Audio crackling ?

[StereoAudioInMyEars]

Hello, in the past i've had a Realtek ALC1150 sound chip from a MSI Z97 Gaming 5, and now i have a ALC887 inside my Asus PRIME B250-PLUS, and i couldn't help but notice that both has audio crackling issues at the start of some sudden sounds, such as windows 10 notifications or when recording some stuff from a audio input. but the issue is a lot more pronounced on Linux on both chips where anytime the system freezes a little or become sluggish, the sound crackles plenty. what could be the cause of this ? and is there a fix to this ?

[CTR640]

Does the crackling only happens when certain apps is running? Like games or heavy use pn the GPU? I suspect coilwhine and the only solution is getting an external usb sound but I can't be for 100% sure.

[StereoAudioInMyEars]

45 minutes ago, CTR640 said:

Does the crackling only happens when certain apps is running? Like games or heavy use pn the GPU? I suspect coilwhine and the only solution is getting an external usb sound but I can't be for 100% sure.

No, it happens no matter what, and it doesn't sound like coil whine, it sounds like pops when very sudden sounds play, my ALC887 does it a lot less than the 1150, but it's still a little bit present.

[CTR640]

I see. Yeah, the thing is, I haven't used the onboard audio the past two years but the chance is big an external usb sound will solve your issue.

[StereoAudioInMyEars]

45 minutes ago, CTR640 said:

I see. Yeah, the thing is, I haven't used the onboard audio the past two years but the chance is big an external usb sound will solve your issue.

Well, i don't doubt that, i just wanted to know if this was fixable somehow. But if you got one for cheap that has great sound, i'd appreciate it

[CTR640]

What's your budget?

 

And you have tried testing the headphone on other source like phone to rule out the fault on the headphone?

[StereoAudioInMyEars]

6 minutes ago, CTR640 said:

What's your budget?

 

and you have tried testing the headphone on other source like phone to rule out the fault on the headphone?

My budget ? around 100 euros i guess ? as long as it's better than any realtek crap. I'd also need something with a SPDIF/TOSLINK digital input if possible, for recording audio from game consoles.

And my headphones work fine on my phone i think. i didn't do a lot of listening with them outside of this pc but i don't remember hearing them pop on my phone. (they're Audio Technicas ATH-M20X)

[circeseye]

14 hours ago, StereoAudioInMyEars said:

Hello, in the past i've had a Realtek ALC1150 sound chip from a MSI Z97 Gaming 5, and now i have a ALC887 inside my Asus PRIME B250-PLUS, and i couldn't help but notice that both has audio crackling issues at the start of some sudden sounds, such as windows 10 notifications or when recording some stuff from a audio input. but the issue is a lot more pronounced on Linux on both chips where anytime the system freezes a little or become sluggish, the sound crackles plenty. what could be the cause of this ? and is there a fix to this ?

ive noticed this for years. usually if no sound for a bit then at the start of sound it pops. almost like the sound chip went to sleep and pops when woken up

[StereoAudioInMyEars]

1 hour ago, circeseye said:

ive noticed this for years. usually if no sound for a bit then at the start of sound it pops. almost like the sound chip went to sleep and pops when woken up

For me theres a "fade in" effect for when this happens on the ALC887, on the 1150 i had a fade in + distortion (on linux 99% of the time as windows doesn't shut down the sound card), the popping for me happens with "sudden" (instant high volume sounds) no matter the time between them.

[ShearMe]

if it happens on multiple sources, maybe it could be your sink? Are the headphones or speakers the same for both systems?

[StereoAudioInMyEars]

13 hours ago, ShearMe said:

if it happens on multiple sources, maybe it could be your sink? Are the headphones or speakers the same for both systems?

Yes the speakers and headphones are the same, i generally use an old 2.1 system from Creative with a headphones output, which adds some noise but i need the volume control.
But direct from my sound chip to headphones also had these small pops (except on my phone where the audio is pretty clean but not great and too quiet)

[CTR640]

Damn, sometimes onboard audio is good for nothing lol