Audio popping issue

[Maeklos]

/snip

I wanted to say that this helped, and it might for those who are having issues with older hardware. But it seems that most of the people having an issue are running AMD FX-series cpu's, which is something interfering with the fancy new sound engine designed for the "Immerse Spatial Audio" doodad that they want you to buy.

[-BlueGreen-]

I've thrown everything I could think of at this, and nothing at all got rid of it. Some things certainly made the problem worse, but the best I managed to do was increase my FPS by around 50% (from ~100 FPS to ~150 FPS at least in the inn room, which is pretty cool, but did nothing for the sound issues).

I'll try to not go into too much detail, but here's the gist of what I tried (not in this order):

• Changing power settings (including the stuff from the Resheph's post)
• Disabling all Realtek hardware at the BIOS level that I could (both sound and ethernet in this case). I used a wifi card already installed to connect to the internet (I normally use the ethernet), and used a usb-based headset that counts as an external sound card for sound.
• Changing task priorities of both FFXIV and sound-related background services to both high and real time.
• Updated GPU driver.
• Updated Windows 10.
• Updated BIOS (I very strongly do not recommend anyone attempting this unless you're comfortable with messing with such settings. This reset some of my settings which made my desktop unbootable for a bit until I could restore the correct settings for my RAM).
• Switching from the Realtek HD Audio driver to the generic Windows one.
• Changing the sampling rate as officially recommended.
• Disabled virtual memory
• Changing vsync settings
• Changing refresh rate settings in game (setting it all the way down to 15 FPS mitigates it the most, but it's still there)
• Changing the listening position (though I recall this certainly making more of a difference before 6.01, it didn't seem to do much tonight)
• Disabled CPU throttling
• Reducing graphics quality (I normally run maximum or something very much like it, but I tested the standard laptop settings and noticed no real change other than the obvious leap in FPS)
• Using the DX9 client
• Disabling unused audio hardware (optical/digital audio ports and the GPU's audio driver that supports audio over the HDMI ports since I normally use analog speakers/headset)

I made some observations during my attempts:

• While stuttering seemed to happen in conjunction with FPS drops, after some of my earliest changes, the FPS drops no longer correlated with sound issues. I'd hear stuttering, but the system window would show FPS of >90 easily.
• For kicks, I re-ran the EW benchmark set to 1920x1080 Maximum and scored 8339 (High), which isn't bad for non-OC'd AMD FX-4100 (3.61Ghz) + GTX 1070ti combo. This certainly isn't a case of not meeting minimum specs for this game even after the update. (also, the benchmark had absolutely no audio issues)
• If the game was horribly stuttering and I logged out to the start screen, the start screen itself would stutter horribly all the way through choosing a character and waiting in queue. It's like it gets bogged down by something in game and likewise something in game will fix it from time to time, but the start/login screen seems incapable of impacting it.
• Even during the worst stuttering, all other applications (if I was running them concurrently during various tests) would sound perfectly normal. For instance, I was frequently carrying on a conversation over Discord with my wife during certain tests. I never heard any stuttering from the voice chat while the game stuttered away. I also tested playing some audio files which sounded perfectly fine, again even with stuttering from the game in the background.
• I even monitored CPU/GPU temperatures during some tests where I really played around with the in-game frame limit to switch between high/low frame rates while angling my camera such that stutter happened constantly and no matter the frame rate. I couldn't find any correlation between temperature and stuttering (just in case there was some hard throttling happening due to potentially exceeding thermal limits). I could get my system fairly hot, but not exceed the maximum operating temperatures, and clock rates remained at their expected values even at the highest temperatures I could manage to reach.

And for those hung up on "it's gotta be outdated/old hardware", here's a head scratcher: My wife runs a system with an AMD Phenom II X4 CPU and an even older GPU (iirc, a GTX 970, but I'd have to check to be sure). She hasn't had any sound issues at all even after 6.0's launch. As the usb-based headset belongs to her, she's even swapped between it and her speakers even with the game running (which, as I recall, used to cause sound to die completely before).

At this point, I've considered getting a discrete sound card to add to my system, but after testing the USB headset, that seems like it'd have no benefit as far as this particular issue goes. It's clear SE has made some change to the client that's causing this, and it's not because older/slower systems are suddenly bottlenecking on the latest graphics updates that came with 6.0, especially since any other audio will continue to play just fine alongside the stuttering game. What makes it illusive is that it seems to only happen to a specific set of hardware, not necessarily "older than X", like a problem with a specific CPU architecture.

For reference, my system:

• Motherboard: Asus M5A97
• CPU: AMD FX-4100 Quad-Core (3.61 Ghz)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti
• RAM: 16.0GB DDR3 (1866 Mhz)

Edit: I just pulled the specs from my wife's system (remember, audio works perfectly for this one):

• Motherboard: msi 970A-G43
• CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (3.40 Ghz)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
• RAM: 8.0GB DDR3 (1333 Mhz)

I also ran the benchmark on her system at 1600x900 Maximum and it scored 6049 (Fairly High).

[Resheph]

I have had my first play session without audio popping and stuttering since installing the game last week and I'm sharing what I did in hopes it helps someone else. What I was experiencing was only present after fully logging in but otherwise CONSTANT popping and stuttering which sounded just like the example in the first post of this thread, (but without end) and it would get worse even if I just targeted the door in my inn room.

The suggestion by SE to reduce sample rates and such on sound devices did NOT work, but it got me into googling for ideas on how to optimize my PC's sound. The below is cobbled from a few different guides on audio optimization. I hope it helps some others out and that the fix wasn't temporary on my end.

1. I'm currently playing in DX9 mode. Not sure if that matters but I wasn't about to log out and wait in the queue to test once I got it working tonight. I will test DX11 mode tomorrow. (It also works in DX9 so this is probably unnecessary)

2. Set processor scheduling to "Background services"

• In Control Panel select "System"
• Go to "Advanced system settings" and then the "Advanced" tab
• Click on "Settings.." under Performance to bring up the "Performance Options" window.
• Go to the "Advanced" tab and set processor scheduling as "Background Services"
• Click "Apply" then "OK"

3. High-Performance CUSTOM Power Plan (I was in Power Save settings prior to this)

• Open Control Panel and search for ‘Power Options'
• In the menu on the left, select ‘Create a power plan’.
• Select ‘High Performance’
• Give your plan a name: For example, ‘Audio Workstation’.
• Select ‘Never’ for both ‘Turn off the display’ and ‘Put the computer to sleep’
• Select ‘Create’
• You will now be on the Power Options page where your NEW custom power plan will be selected.
• Select 'Change Plan Settings' for your NEW custom power plan
• Open ‘Advanced power settings
• Expand ‘USB settings’
• Disable ‘USB Selective suspend’

4. While running FFXIV, change priority to high in Task Manager.

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start Task Manager.
• Go to the Details tab, right-click the desired process, and choose Set priority and select any value that you want.
• When the confirmation dialog appears, select Change priority.

This also came with the added bonus of fixing what my FC homies were referring to as "taco bell drive through mic" on my end. Go figure.

FWIW I am running a nearly 12 year old Gateway FX 6860 with Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU, 8gb RAM, and upgraded to SDD + Refurbished: MSI Radeon RX 570. (So I should be able to run DX11).

Good luck folks. SE needs to put out some better guidance on fixing this issue than what they have provided so far. Reducing sample rates does nothing.

Had a full play session in DX11 without issues last night. I think the most important things here were steps 2 and 3, which prioritize audio processes and allow for more power draw respectively.

I also have Graphics on High Desktop and the Equalizer set to Standard. I don't have the fancy AI sound thing installed and certainly don't intend to even try it after all this.

[Jizu]

Had a full play session in DX11 without issues last night. I think the most important things here were steps 2 and 3, which prioritize audio processes and allow for more power draw respectively.

I also have Graphics on High Desktop and the Equalizer set to Standard. I don't have the fancy AI sound thing installed and certainly don't intend to even try it after all this.

As these steps were new to me I decided to test it.

I was about to respond with it not working, when I realized I forgot to set the priority in the Task manager. Even though I was sure I've tried that before (it might have reset itself somehow), I set it from Normal to Realtime.

I logged back in with my priority set as high as possible, and so far I have yet to have the issue turn up.
So far I've been testing it by doing FATEs in highly populated areas. Since 6.0 it would start up as soon as 1 or 2 players were fighting with me.

I was not going to attend my FCs raidnight, but I might as well use it as an extreme stress test before I get my hopes up, as it was absolutely horrendous last Saturday before the 6.01 patch. Could only play it muted.
I'll report back once it does happen, or if it helped.

Yea, na. Jumped into a un-synched fight with friends and it immediately started again. Was only 4 ppl, 8 ppl is going to suck ass.

[Maeklos]

As these steps were new to me I decided to test it.

I was about to respond with it not working, when I realized I forgot to set the priority in the Task manager. Even though I was sure I've tried that before (it might have reset itself somehow), I set it from Normal to Realtime.

I logged back in with my priority set as high as possible, and so far I have yet to have the issue turn up.
So far I've been testing it by doing FATEs in highly populated areas. Since 6.0 it would start up as soon as 1 or 2 players were fighting with me.

I was not going to attend my FCs raidnight, but I might as well use it as an extreme stress test before I get my hopes up, as it was absolutely horrendous last Saturday before the 6.01 patch. Could only play it muted.
I'll report back once it does happen, or if it helped.

Yea, na. Jumped into a un-synched fight with friends and it immediately started again. Was only 4 ppl, 8 ppl is going to suck ass.

Did all this, went to Rising Stones and cast Dyskrasia. Took 5 casts to break the sound engine instead of 3. Possibly an improvement or just random.

[Lagunow]

Had a full play session in DX11 without issues last night. I think the most important things here were steps 2 and 3, which prioritize audio processes and allow for more power draw respectively.

I also have Graphics on High Desktop and the Equalizer set to Standard. I don't have the fancy AI sound thing installed and certainly don't intend to even try it after all this.

I just tested your solution. It does not completely fix it, as I can still hear some minor chopping, but there is definitely some semblance of normalcy now. At least, I'm currently spamming spells on rising stones and it didn't break the sound engine so far. If it keeps like this it could possibly be a temporary solution to make the game somewhat playable before SE fixes the engine.

I'm going to do some msq now and do some dungeons, then I'm going to update if it keeps working.

[Draconus03]

been happening to me since endwalker dropped every time i go into a dungeon its almost unplayable with the sound on

[ClaraKitty]

I too have been having this issue ever since EW's release and it's rather frustrating to say the least. The game is....playable, but there's only so much of the choppiness I can take in a sitting. It seems to happen only during battle or if I'm interacting with something like my retainers or gathering or crafting.

I set the Listening Position to 100 on the Character and that seems to....help a little. Doesn't solve it, but it seems to do it a little less.

I've fussed with graphics, shut things down, and nothing else has worked. Everything is up to date too.

CPU: AMD FX(tm)-4300 Quad-Core Processor - (4 CPUs), ~3.8GHz

I've found all the new classes with super aoe seem to trigger sound stuttering. You would be hard pressed to find a tank that only does 3 at a time. 100% of the ones I have encountered even with 2 dragoons with limited aoe, run about gathering half the dungeon only to then have the sound cut out horribly. And then have the fight take 4x longer than it should.

Too many WoW refugee's, they are adopting their old methods in a new game; And it is breaking it.

Don't even try to tell them to slow down either, the tank will proclaim he is the only dps needed. And you will forfeit your commendations. Just stay silent, and deal with the fallout.

What even is this logic? How is something on Square's side of things new players faults? This is extremely rude and also wrong. I've had stuttering on new and old classes alike. Been leveling my Dancer and White Mage and it has been just as choppy as Sage. Class makes no difference nor is it the fault of WoW players.

[brothrtychus]

Same issue, extreme sound stuttering during raids. Makes game miserable to play.

[LegolasLover2003]

I didn't notice this issue until I was farming FATES in Il Mheg last weekend. I had to shut off all sound to make it bearable. Got boring without sound...

Now though, I'm working on MSQ and am in the house at The Great Work and the steam machines seem to be causing the popping sound issue for me now. I'm not sure if it's the instance I'm in or what but I've never had sound problems with MSQ before either.

I think the update made it worse... because until that update, I was fine.

Like many others, I have Realtek too.