ROG Strix Scar 18 G834JY (2023) crackling audio over USB & USB-C only.

[chirskiiilya]

Please help me. I’ve tried everything. Audio still crackles with Focusrite 2i2 4th Gen (and even UA Volt 2)

I'm at my limit. I’ve tested every possible fix I could find.
Whenever I connect the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen, I get intermittent audio crackling, especially during games — whether using headphones or speakers.

If I plug my headphones directly into the laptop, there’s no crackling.

I even:

• Updated from Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2

• Bought another interface (UA Volt 2)

• Used a USB galvanic isolator with high data throughput

Nothing helps.
Sometimes crackling starts right after booting, sometimes mid-game.
Changing cables, buffer size, sample rate, etc. doesn’t help.
Both interfaces work perfectly fine on my desktop PC.

I no longer believe this is a classic DPC LatencyMon problem — I managed to get excellent latency after removing all ASUS bloat, but the crackling still remains.

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💻 Laptop specs:

• Model: ASUS ROG Strix G834JY (2023)

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13980HX

• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4090 Laptop

• OS: Windows 11 Pro

• Audio interfaces tested:

  • Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen

  • Universal Audio Volt 2

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🧩 What I’ve done:

1. Diagnostics

• Ran LatencyMon:
  Detected issues with:

  • Wdf01000.sys

  • nvlddmkm.sys

  • USBPORT.SYS

• But again — other PC has zero issues.

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2. BIOS Tweaks

• VMD disabled (AHCI driver prepared beforehand)

• iGPU disabled (only dGPU active)

• ERP disabled

• VT-d disabled

• Armoury Crate disabled

• E-cores disabled

• Hyper-Threading enabled

---

3. Drivers and system config

• Used DDU to clean NVIDIA drivers

• Installed clean display driver via NVCleanstall (no telemetry, PhysX, HD Audio, etc.)

• Enabled MSI Mode for GPU, USB, NVMe

  • Set priority to High

• Used Quick CPU:

  • Disabled Core Parking

  • Enabled Turbo Boost

• Removed Acronis drivers: snapman.sys, fltsrv.sys, tib_mounter.sys

• Removed: Voicemeeter, VB Audio, Xbox Game Bar, and all Appx bloat

---

4. Power & services

• Power plan set to Maximum performance

• Disabled:

  • Windows & Realtek audio enhancements

  • SysMain (Superfetch)

  • GameDVR, telemetry, automatic driver updates

---

5. USB & interfaces

• Tested both interfaces on USB 3.2, USB-C

• Used a galvanic USB isolator

• Tried multiple cables (including original)

• Tested with and without external power (where supported)

• Both interfaces work fine on another PC

• Crackles only when used with this laptop

I've run out of ideas.
This is not a Focusrite-specific issue. It even happens with the UA Volt 2.
I

[chirskiiilya]

Most of the issue was resolved by removing the Intel audio USB drivers, Intel SST, Intel Smart Sound, and everything related to them. I also completely uninstalled the Realtek drivers and additionally removed any remaining components via PowerShell (to make sure nothing was left behind).

I then blocked Windows automatic updates and disabled driver updates in Device Manager, so that the drivers couldn’t reinstall themselves after removal.

Conclusion:
You need to very carefully remove all drivers. After doing all of this, everything started working much better for me (even with a buffer size of 8).

[Zalevskiy]

Was your laptop originally No OS version?

I'll give you an example of how it was with me, I have a G814JV (2023) laptop, bios 302-313 perfect audio quality. This is how my laptop turned out to be No OS, I installed Asus.swm factory Windows 11 Home 22H2 G614JI (or JY I don't remember) and could use Cirrus calibration files from a similar model. CAF > CCF

https://gist.github.com/lamperez/862763881c0e1c812392b5574727f6ff

https://asus-linux.org/guides/cirrus-amps/

After 317-330 bios, the manufacturer added a rule to the bios, if the drivers differ from your model, then TPM protection is triggered, and you can hear sound only from 1 speaker, the volume twitches and other surprises. And finally 331 bios which blocks downgrading so that you use only new drivers, which are safer, but much worse aesthetically in quality.

Try checking by installing openSuse Tumbleweed on a formatted disk, it currently has the most correct kernel patches for Strix / Scar devices. But Dolby is missing.

If you install Windows 11 and Linux (the second system) is next to this disk, those problems with audio that are in Win will then be "reflected" on Linux. Yes, this is absurd, but at least I found an alternative method by removing TPM 2.0 from Windows, the sound works correctly without this stupid module. But you can forget about online games.

Another nuance, as soon as I insert 3.5 headphones into the Strix, then insert them into the Arturia MiniFuse 2 sound card, the Dolby license no longer works on Arturia until you do a Hard Reset. And any update has to be blocked via gpedit.msc > drivers block list, simplewall++ old version and Netlimiter 4.

[Zalevskiy]

Another example of poor audio performance in ASUS

install Windows 10 2004 / 21H2 + eSupport drivers 2022 and:

W10 21H2 + Cirrus Logic, Inc. (21H2) Servicing Drivers

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=3fb4c25f-0acd-437b-a5a3-3472f5444b45

sound work, the sound is quieter than it should be

W10 21H2 + ASUSTeK (22H2) Servicing Drivers

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=8f35aa6e-9187-43e8-8fe1-9282901de2db

no sound 😄 that is, the manufacturer directly imposes the latest Windows and the latest drivers on you, while you may get a non-working driver from official MS updates. These are disposable laptops for $ 1700 +

[YeagerFBH]

Hi,

many of us are experiencing the same issue on brand new G835LX.
Crakling sound in USB headset is the first symptom before all USB loss.
We tried many things to solve it, but no luck for now.
You can read the posts here : https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-notebooks/randomly-losing-all-usb-devices/td-p/1091235/page/8

4200 views for now...

[chirskiiilya]

Thank you for your reply. I'm fine with the usb ports. They don't turn off for me. Only noise during the game. I partially solved the problem by deleting all the intel and realtek sound drivers. (it got a lot better). Also, removing all the asus software has reduced overall delays. Most likely, there is a partial problem with the bios version 331. Which cannot be rolled back. The ASUS makes us very happy. I probably won't buy their products anymore!

[Zalevskiy]

another non-obvious reason, if you download .appx dolby from here:

https://dolby-access.en.uptodown.com/windows/download/8613849

and compare it with the platform that is built into the factory firmware 22H2, and you will get different data. Personally, for me, the version from the Internet causes a crackle, but as soon as I replace the .dll, it works correctly. until I update Dolby Access. This is a trap for laptops No OS version. (Ventoy > live iso)

[chirskiiilya]

Thanks for the ovtet. The thing is, I completely deleted Dolby. This did not solve the problem.

[Zalevskiy]

maybe try downgrading intel and nvidia video drivers, they also have audio.

but it's easier to change the brand, the manufacturer will still figure out how to create problems for you even if they never existed before.

https://disk.yandex.ru/d/ji1kHR5dozk0gg

[chirskiiilya]

Thank you. Yes, I've already done that. Clean installation without telemetry. And I tried older versions. In my case, it seems there's no point. I'll just play through wireless headphones.