Audio Issue FOCUSRITE VS STEAM

[Neon_Submarine]

For the last few days, I have been having audio issues when I start a game. I will get a buzz from my speakers and crackling. However, If I play audio from any other program (Amazon, YouTube, etc.) I have no issues. To add to this the issue is isolated to just the use of my Audio Interface and its speakers. If I start the game and switch my audio to Bluetooth headphones, I have no issues.

I'm Using....
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2ng Gen
(2) JBL 305P MKII

I have uninstalled and reinstalled all drivers for the hardware. I've also ensured my Windows 11 is fully up to date. I have even switch a games .exe to compatibility mode with no changes :(

I'm out of ideas guys please help. I know the hardware isn't an issues. And playing games with studio equipment is awesome. Don't want to have to switch.

WHAT DO!

[nullable]

What game?

[Peter Brev]

The issue may not be software related, but hardware related. It sounds like you may be having a ground loop issue. Check your buffer length in the Scarlett options, though. It could simply be that your computer cannot handle the buffer length it is set to (default is 256 with me @ 44100 sample rate), so you may need to increase or decrease it. If it does not help, continue reading.

Since you claim that there is no issue outside of playing a game, then the speakers may not be the issue.

I have a Scarlett 2i2 (3rd Gen) here with HS8 speakers. I had the issue of humming/buzzing in one of my speaker in the beginning, but it turns out I had my router causing interference. Make sure you have no unnecessary electronic equipment near your speakers that causes interference. If you have a laptop, move your speakers, audio interface and laptop to another part of the room/place you are to see if it is indeed a piece of equipment causing interference. If that helps, figure out what caused the interference, move it away and you are good to go. If it does not help, keep reading.

Check your cables. XLR to XLR is the best option, followed by TRS cables. Avoid anything else. Try changing power cables and audio cables to see if the issue goes away. If it does not, you could indeed be dealing with a ground loop issue caused by the computer itself, in which case, try another USB port. If everything fails, you will need to purchase this kind of USB stick[geni.us] or this hum eliminator.[geni.us]

[Neon_Submarine]

Its more noticeable when I run Behind the wire. Other games, like BattleTech, its not that bad. But the moment I exit out of the game and blast some synthwave from amazon music or youtube there are no issues. Also its a recent development I've had the PC for a week and this only developed over the last few days. There have been no hardware changes.

[Peter Brev]

Originally posted by Neon_Submarine:

Its more noticeable when I run Behind the wire. Other games, like BattleTech, its not that bad. But the moment I exit out of the game and blast some synthwave from amazon music or youtube there are no issues. Also its a recent development I've had the PC for a week and this only developed over the last few days. There have been no hardware changes.

It is not about changing hardware, it is about what you currently have. By the looks of it, it does sound like a ground loop issue. Booting a game does require more processing power from your computer than listening to music, which is probably why you are not experiencing issues on the latter. Hopefully, purchasing the iDefender+ or similar will eliminate the issue altogether.

[Hitori Bocchi]

Hi, I'm encountering the same issue. Have you found any fix for this?

[vegantears]

Also experiencing this since yesterday. I can't think of anything that I changed except maybe a windows update. The TLDR is that it appears to be linked to power consumption and not the controller alone since if I lower the resolution to the lowest settings in games the crackle goes away. Here is the long explanation of what I'm experiencing (note: I've found no solution so far):

What I'm Experiencing: Crackling while in any game at 1080p - 4K resolution

What Hardware I Have: NVIDIA RTX 3090, Ryzen 7950x, 64.0 GB RAM, X670 Aorus Elite AX, 1050W PSU

Windows Version: 10

What I've Tried:
- Windows Update
- Graphic Driver Update
- Focusrite Reinstall
- Computer Restart
- Changing sample rate and buffer size to max and min (nothing worked)
- Trying all different USB imports
- Unplugging and plugging in Focusrite Controller
- Plugged my headphones directly into my PC (this fixed it which localizes the issue to the controller)
- Disabling/enabling both input and output devices
- Disabling all other input and output devices
- Changing game resolution to the lowest settings (this worked but by no means a satisfactory solution)

Based on this info, it appears the issue is with power, but my PC meets the specs necessary to run games at 4k resolution at full graphics just fine, so I don't see any reason I should experience this issue with at 1080p and the power draw shouldn't be an issue since I have a 1050w PSU.

Please let me know if you find a solution and I will do the same.

[turnip]

Originally posted by vegantears:

Also experiencing this since yesterday. I can't think of anything that I changed except maybe a windows update. The TLDR is that it appears to be linked to power consumption and not the controller alone since if I lower the resolution to the lowest settings in games the crackle goes away. Here is the long explanation of what I'm experiencing (note: I've found no solution so far):

What I'm Experiencing: Crackling while in any game at 1080p - 4K resolution

What Hardware I Have: NVIDIA RTX 3090, Ryzen 7950x, 64.0 GB RAM, X670 Aorus Elite AX, 1050W PSU

Windows Version: 10

What I've Tried:
- Windows Update
- Graphic Driver Update
- Focusrite Reinstall
- Computer Restart
- Changing sample rate and buffer size to max and min (nothing worked)
- Trying all different USB imports
- Unplugging and plugging in Focusrite Controller
- Plugged my headphones directly into my PC (this fixed it which localizes the issue to the controller)
- Disabling/enabling both input and output devices
- Disabling all other input and output devices
- Changing game resolution to the lowest settings (this worked but by no means a satisfactory solution)

Based on this info, it appears the issue is with power, but my PC meets the specs necessary to run games at 4k resolution at full graphics just fine, so I don't see any reason I should experience this issue with at 1080p and the power draw shouldn't be an issue since I have a 1050w PSU.

Please let me know if you find a solution and I will do the same.

any update?

[r1r2]

anyone fix this issue? i got sounds in my game when alt tabbing with youtube on. lol this is so weird. i think its software issue for me when i open the software of my audio interface it is saying "Streaming" then "not streaming" its like blinking i have m-track solo audio interface.

[Mike]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.