Cracking USB Microphones while Playing Games

[adn_rpg]

Hi PC Specialist folks!

I've been having an issue with my Recoil laptop, and is that audio that comes from an USB microphone sounds distorted/cracked when I'm doing something with the laptop, even if it's just launching Steam without playing a game.

Here is an Audio test file that I've recorded locally that showcases the issue:

- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z_QmTU6sxK8j4MZ_bX1o9l2DixDiTT0J/view?usp=sharing

I first had a Razer Seiren X when the cracking happened, I thought that it was perhaps faulty since I had it for 2-3 years. So I bought a Focusrite Vocaster One Studio (XLR microphone and USB Audio Interface) and it does the same.

Interestingly enough, I have a Razer Kiyo Pro webcam that has a built-in microphone, and this one (even connected through a USB-C hub) works perfectly fine under any circumstance that I test it on.

Also to mention that this is not related to network issues, since I can hear this cracking sound while listening to the microphone myself (via Microphone properties, enabling "Listen to this device").

I've tried a myriad of things, such as:

- Uninstall and reinstall audio drivers (from the downloads page of PC Specialist).
- Trying all buffer sizes of the XLR Microphone, as well as the Hz of the quality 48k, 2 channels, 24 bits (any other configs as well).
- I've heard that NVIDIA Broadcast could make issues, so I've uninstalled it.
- Changed the devices like "Generic USB Hub" Power Management to disable "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
- I don't have any antivirus software installed that could be hogging resources.
- The Vocaster One comes with this audio interface that I connect via USB and the XLR microphone to it, it has a built-in Audio port to connect Studio Headphones, and I've tested that the mic works perfectly fine by itself.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated, many thanks.

This are my specs:

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi PC Specialist folks!

I've been having an issue with my Recoil laptop, and is that audio that comes from an USB microphone sounds distorted/cracked when I'm doing something with the laptop, even if it's just launching Steam without playing a game.

Here is an Audio test file that I've recorded locally that showcases the issue:

- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z_QmTU6sxK8j4MZ_bX1o9l2DixDiTT0J/view?usp=sharing

I first had a Razer Seiren X when the cracking happened, I thought that it was perhaps faulty since I had it for 2-3 years. So I bought a Focusrite Vocaster One Studio (XLR microphone and USB Audio Interface) and it does the same.

Interestingly enough, I have a Razer Kiyo Pro webcam that has a built-in microphone, and this one (even connected through a USB-C hub) works perfectly fine under any circumstance that I test it on.

Also to mention that this is not related to network issues, since I can hear this cracking sound while listening to the microphone myself (via Microphone properties, enabling "Listen to this device").

I've tried a myriad of things, such as:

- Uninstall and reinstall audio drivers (from the downloads page of PC Specialist).
- Trying all buffer sizes of the XLR Microphone, as well as the Hz of the quality 48k, 2 channels, 24 bits (any other configs as well).
- I've heard that NVIDIA Broadcast could make issues, so I've uninstalled it.
- Changed the devices like "Generic USB Hub" Power Management to disable "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".
- I don't have any antivirus software installed that could be hogging resources.
- The Vocaster One comes with this audio interface that I connect via USB and the XLR microphone to it, it has a built-in Audio port to connect Studio Headphones, and I've tested that the mic works perfectly fine by itself.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated, many thanks.

This are my specs:

View attachment 43179

Can you copy and paste the full specs? We can't see if you ordered it with windows or not?

Which port have you got the Focusrite in? Is it a USB A port? It would need to be connected directly into the laptop, not via a dock.

Are you using the external water cooler system?

Can you do a quick scan with LatencyMon and post the output? https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

 

[adn_rpg]

Can you copy and paste the full specs? We can't see if you ordered it with windows or not?

Which port have you got the Focusrite in? Is it a USB A port? It would need to be connected directly into the laptop, not via a dock.

Are you using the external water cooler system?

Can you do a quick scan with LatencyMon and post the output? https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

Hi SpyderTracks!

Thank you for your quick reply, here are the full specs of the laptop:

Which port have you got the Focusrite in? Is it a USB A port? It would need to be connected directly into the laptop, not via a dock.

Yes, that's correct, it's connected directly to the laptop, not via any USB Hubs, just mentioned that the webcam that I have with the built-in mic is connected to a USB-C Hub and still works fine (in case it helps!).

The Focusrite is also connected with the cable that it came in the box, so I'm not using any third-party cables or anything. It's a USB-C to USB-A small cable.

Are you using the external water cooler system?

No.

Can you do a quick scan with LatencyMon and post the output?

Yes! Here are the stats, I've had to trim the log to remove some of the CPU cores that had very similar data to avoid the character limit. (Cores 8 to 31) but let me know if it would be helpful for me to include them.

CONCLUSION Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts. LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:00:30 (h:mm:ss) on all processors. SYSTEM INFORMATION Computer name: ADN-RPGLAPTOP OS version: Windows 11, 10.0, version 2009, build: 22631 (x64) Hardware: GM6PX9X, PCSpecialist BIOS: N.1.22A06 CPU: GenuineIntel 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900HX Logical processors: 32 Processor groups: 1 Processor group size: 32 RAM: 65270 MB total CPU SPEED Reported CPU speed (WMI): 220 MHz Reported CPU speed (registry): 2419 MHz Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results. MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event. Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 445,20 Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 27,577560 Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 345,60 Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 5,704731 REPORTED ISRs Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal. Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 19,935511 Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0,000167 Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0,000167 ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 421 ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0 REPORTED DPCs DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution. Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 422,964448 Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0,005478 Driver with highest DPC total execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 566.36 , NVIDIA Corporation Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0,019799 DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 6411 DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 54 DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0 REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution. NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit. Process with highest pagefault count: msmpeng.exe Total number of hard pagefaults 27 Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 19 Number of processes hit: 3 PER CPU DATA CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,115740 CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 6,866474 CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000035 CPU 0 ISR count: 7 CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 274,703597 CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0,023897 CPU 0 DPC count: 1890 CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0,828260 CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 1 ISR count: 0 CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 1 DPC count: 0 CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,922002 CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 19,935511 CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0,001403 CPU 2 ISR count: 401 CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 384,880943 CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0,083807 CPU 2 DPC count: 2116 CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0,928565 CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 3 ISR count: 0 CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 3 DPC count: 0 CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,106394 CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 4 ISR count: 0 CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 374,167425 CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0,024274 CPU 4 DPC count: 764 CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2,082136 CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 5 ISR count: 0 CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 5 DPC count: 0 CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,622011 CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 18,383630 CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000022 CPU 6 ISR count: 2 CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 318,874742 CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0,005146 CPU 6 DPC count: 207 CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,647228 CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 7 ISR count: 0 CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 422,964448 CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0,010486 CPU 7 DPC count: 374

If I can give anything else please let me know.

Many thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

So there are combined issues here

1/. The system will be thermal throttling without the watercooler, that system, especially with that GPU has to be run with the watercooler or will thermal throttle. As soon as it hits throttling limits, your DPC latency will go sky high.

2/. You're getting hard page faults also which compounds the issue.

Very first thing you need to do is get a watercooler, it's never going to work sufficiently without it.

Can you post a screenshot of your optional updates page from windows update? Have you reinstalled or reset windows at any stage?

- Uninstall and reinstall audio drivers (from the downloads page of PC Specialist).

This will cause an issue as those drivers will be far out of date now

I would start with a clean install, the windows config doesn't look terribly healthy, and relaying outdated drivers will have further compromised it.

But the watercooler is the first thing.

 

[adn_rpg]

Hmmm, I see!

I'll get a watercooler for the thermal throttle. Although this issue happens as soon as the system is booted up from cold state where the system didn't had a chance to get hot. But now that you've mentioned it I'll test it again and will keep in check the temps until the watercooler arrives, and will also try to put the laptop in Office Mode rather than Performance to see if it changes things!

2/. You're getting hard page faults also which compounds the issue.

I've checked one of the biggest contenders and it's msmpeng.exe, I've looked online and that seems to be related to Windows Defender, it's a good shout so I'll also try disabling it on its entirety to see if it helps, and will try to see which other processes are causing pagefaults.

Can you post a screenshot of your optional updates page from windows update? Have you reinstalled or reset windows at any stage?

I've found 3 optional updates to install, related to Realtek which I'm just installing now:

The last one remaining in Optional Updates would be Windows 11, version 24H2:

I've been postponing it since I've read that it causes issues with some games, but if you think it's worth a shot I can download and install it.

Have you reinstalled or reset windows at any stage?

I haven't, it's still running the same installation as it came with the laptop.

I would start with a clean install, the windows config doesn't look terribly healthy, and relaying outdated drivers will have further compromised it.

By clean install you mean a clean Windows 11 install?

Many thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Although this issue happens as soon as the system is booted up from cold state where the system didn't had a chance to get hot.

Silicon can go from cold state to thermal throttling within a matter of nano-seconds, doesn't need time to warm up

I've checked one of the biggest contenders and it's msmpeng.exe, I've looked online and that seems to be related to Windows Defender, it's a good shout so I'll also try disabling it on its entirety to see if it helps, and will try to see which other processes are causing pagefaults.

No, that's not a solution, the issue is the OS, not MSMPeng.exe

I've been postponing it since I've read that it causes issues with some games, but if you think it's worth a shot I can download and install it.

This was an issue when it was released but was quickly fixed. There is now significant gains in 24/H2

By clean install you mean a clean Windows 11 install?

Yes, windows clean install

 

[adn_rpg]

Thank you for your reply, and your great support SpyderTracks!

I'm going to put to use your suggestions, and additionally I'll clean up the fan and put new thermal paste in the CPU (has been almost 2 years since I got the laptop and it's put to heavy use every day). I'll order the Watercooling module as well, and will perform a clean install of Windows 11 that comes with 24/H2.

I'll report back! The watercooling will probably take a while to arrive after I order it etc, but with everything else it should be a significant improvement.

Many thanks.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'm going to put to use your suggestions, and additionally I'll clean up the fan and put new thermal paste in the CPU (has been almost 2 years since I got the laptop and it's put to heavy use every day).

The Recoil is different to most chassis in that it uses liquid metal rather than thermal paste. Liquid metal is a whole different thing, it's conductive, so if you use to much or get any anywhere on the board, it's likely something will short out, it's also corrosive, so like an acid will eat way at parts that aren't of supported metals

But it also lasts longer than thermal paste, so doesn't need changing as often, although I have no idea what the timeframe of degredation is on that chassis, I myself have no experience with liquid metal.

Don't change it yourself, if you find that the thermals aren't ok after a reinstall and full configuration of drivers and implementation of the watercooler, then raise it with PCS as they'd need to replace the liquid metal, or at least let them know of your intentions before you do anything just in case it affects warranty.