Front Base audio popping and crackling

[richaxes]

Hey.

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?47709-Sound-issue-(crackling)-with-Maximus-VII-Hero

I had the same popping issue that henyK has, I managed to fix it with changing the input settings from HD to AC97 in the software.
However, I made the mistake of purchasing and installing Front Base.
Now I have the popping and also have a crackling that won't go away and gets worse with scrolling / moving my mouse. The only solution is uninstalling the whole Realtek driver suite and letting Windows install its default HD audio driver.
Now, from what I've read, the Maximus VI series also had this problem...
Are you serious, Asus?
I thought ROG was your premium line of products, you advertise the Maximus VII Hero with the best onboard audio ever, and then we have to suffer these kinds of stupid problems that you couldn't fix even with releasing a new series of motherboards?
I'm extremely disappointed, this is not a cheap standard motherboard and adding the price of the Front Base only makes matters worse...
Shame on you, ASUS! I'm demanding a fix for this problem as soon as possible. Stop releasing newer and newer drivers with the same problem, and fix it, for ****'s sake.

Cheers.

[richaxes]

Dear Asus,

I've managed to isolate the problem for you (no, you don't need to thank me).
The popping issue is driver related because uninstalling the driver solves it. This is still not resolved, however, because using the inferior (but now superior looking) default Windows HD Audio drivers doesn't give me the advertised functionality of the onboard audio.
The crackling only appears on the front audio output of Front Base, and is most likely due to your (advertisedly) super shielded AAFP cable picking up something. The strange thing is that the original front connector of my case (Fractal Design Define R4) and the original cable worked fantastically without any crackling or sound artifacting.
Is ROG Front Base flawed by design maybe?
I'd rather not disassemble my nice cabling again to solve this rather stupid issue of crackling, so I'm just going to settle with using the back audio connector on the motherboard for both headphones and speakers, having to plug them in and out all the time. Thanks, Asus. it seems to me that I'll never buy another Asus product again 😞

[richaxes]

And also, thanks for replying or even trying to help me. This company... I'm beyond words.

[f1schu]

Same issue deffo an issue with the front base. Bet ya its using a shared ground for the usb/Rog ext and audio, a known issue with many front panel connections. Hope this can be resolved or I want my money back. Come on Asus some reply/acknowledgment of this issue and the stupidly short cable please, really like this but its pointless waste of money in its current form.

[sdmf74]

Same Issue here on y M7F & FB and many others are reporting it on other sites. VERY DISAPPOINTING! Almost $500 not well spent. I know for a fact that JJ is aware of the issue & Im sure the rest at Asus are aware as well, its pretty sad you couldnt get some sort of reply. It doesnt look like they care enough to even look into it.