Audio stutter better after 01/04 patch but not fixed

Audio stutter is better after Jan. 4th patch but is still not completely fixed.

Date & Time: 01/04/2022
Frequency: Often, occurs when game is playing certain sounds from certain directions.
World name: Gilgamesh
Character name: Jennen Cori
Retainer name: N/A
NPC name: N/A
Monster name: N/A
Class/Level: N/A
Party or solo: Both
In-game time: N/A - Occurs from launch of game and doesn't get better or worse the longer I am playing
Area and coordinates: All areas
Housing: All areas
Steps: No steps required to start the audio stutter, it is dependent on camera direction and location of music/audio sources in-game.

Details: The sound issue I am having occurs in all regions which depends on the sound being generated and the direction my camera is facing. I have turned my listening direction up to 100 as suggested which does fix some of the problems but that's only because it adjust where sound is being generated from and does not fix the actual problem. I still have to turn my camera so sounds are generated behind me which doesn't have a stutter. I have also changed my audio default format to 16bit/41000hrz but that did not improve anything.

The stuttering is also occurring in low population areas such as my housing. I have a small house and standing on the top floor near my Orchestrion causes stutter while moving to the basement, away from the side the Orchestrion is on, clears up the stutter.

The stuttering almost seems to be effected more by the type of surface that characters are standing on. For example, in the Normal Asphodelos: The Fourth Circle. The stutter is occurring almost constantly until more than 3/4 of the floor space is covered by boss tile abilities. When the entire floor is covered, the stutter seems to disappear completely, and as soon as the boss attacks are complete and those floor sections return to normal, the stuttering comes back.

Additionally, ever since the previous patch on December 20th, all cutscenes with any NPC movement are now effected by the audio stutter. I didn't see as much in the MSQ cutscenes, but I completed that before the Dec. 20th patch so I can't say much for those. But, I have been completing all of the role quest series and every cutscene with NPCs or enemies making any sorts of movements, emotes or
walking, causes the audio stutter to happen. And as soon as they stop moving, the sound goes back to normal.


■ PC Specs

-=-=-=-=-=-=- System Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

SYSTEM_OS Windows 10 Home 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (19041.vb_release.191206-1406)
SYSTEM_CPU AMD FX(tm)-8320 Eight-Core Processor (8 CPUs), ~3.5GHz
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SYSTEM_LANGUAGE English (Regional Setting: English)
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SYSTEM_STORAGE C:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 118.630GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 29.201GB
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SYSTEM_STORAGE F:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 931.387GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 775.456GB
SYSTEM_DIRECTX_VERSION DirectX 12
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS Radeon RX 570 Series
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SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DAC Internal DAC(400MHz)
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DISPLAY_MODE 2560 x 1440 (32 bit) (59Hz)
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SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_DATE 8/25/2021 19:00:00
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Sound slows down and gets distorted and stutters. There was no issue from Heavensward till just before 6.0. The issue still persists now in 6.0.5. (It has not changed at all for me in 6.0.5, it's exactly the same as the previous patch.)

I've tried many things to get to the root of it, and none of them fixed it, but a handful have some effect. I'll show what has affected it (but did not fix), but I don't remember the long list of things that didn't have any effect. There are no settings that remove the issue entirely that I've found, many trials and 4-8+ player content still cause the issue even with the best settings.

Video, showing how it's affected with different settings and angles:
https://youtu.be/PRMlailxpm4
Summary: Limiting FPS and object quantity has no noticeable effect. Muting and unmuting ambient sounds has a significant effect, but does not fix the issue completely. Same with listening position, but ambient sounds affects it somewhat more. Also, the angle of the camera immediately affects it, but you need a steeper angle with listening position at camera.

With both ambient sounds muted, and listening position at camera, the effect is even worse, even though the visuals are fine.

Note: My FPS are lower than normal because of limiting to 30fps for recording, but the sound issue is the same even with 60fps. I forgot to show it, but disabling visual effects doesn't change anything, the sound lags in the same ways even without seeing the spell effects. Ambient sounds volume at 0 has the same effect as muting.

Although rare, sometimes at a low angle, the issue will happen without spells (audible in the music), but STOP happening when a spell is cast. Weird because usually spells only make it worse. I'm not sure which combination of settings had this, but I could probably find it again if wanted.

Video, showing it happening even with the best settings (ambient unmuted, listening position at character):
https://youtu.be/t0zLfvj9VYE (Spoiler: Last normal raid of Stormblood, as sage.)
Summary: The issue comes and goes at various points. I don't know why.
Note: The sound is the same even at higher FPS when not recording. If ambient is muted, it will stutter the entire time without stopping. (In some empty locations with no actions used, it may stop stuttering so you can hear the music, but stutters again if anyone nearby uses actions.)


Date & Time: 11:36 PM 12/23/2021
Frequency: Always
World name: Ultros
Character name: Aero Renarria
Class: Any, some actions may be worse than others
Area and coordinates: Anywhere, but worse in combat, especially with more players

What are your Character and Object Quantity current set to?
Normally maximum, minimum has no effect.
What other applications do you have running in the background while playing FFXIV?
Issue persists even with nothing else running, does not seem to be affected.
Is your audio device set as the Default Device?
Yes, and all others are disabled and unplugged.
Would the issue persist when playing the game in DirectX 9?
Yes, but less.
If you use a gamepad, does the issue persist when you unplug the gamepad?
Yes, gamepad is unplugged.
Does the issue persist when you have the in-game Equalizer Mode set to Standard?
Yes.
Does the issue persist when the Listening Position is set closer to the Character?
Yes, but it affects the issue.

In summary, the things that affect (but do not fix) the issue that I know of:

1. Unmuting ambient sounds
2. Current camera angle (weird, see first video)
3. Listening position
4. Switching to DX9
5. Turning "Maximum CPU state" down exaggerates the effect much, much more than it affects FPS or anything else. (this: https://i.ibb.co/X5cQJV2/cpu.png)

Things that did not affect it for me, but did for some people:

1. Changing equalizer
2. Limiting FPS in settings


-=-=-=-=-=-=- System Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-

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