Audio popping issue

[GorthRedsteel]

Update on Immerse Gamepack: If you installed ANY version of the Immerse Gamepack by Embody, please install their latest version released today here - I just installed it and seems to be working fine so far. No audio issues or directx 11 crashes with weird sounds. If you still get stuttering/crashes/audio issues and already tried changing the performance settings to "Background Services", please try changing it back to "Programs" and see how it goes with this new release build.

I'll reply again whenever I get another audio issue or directx crash.

If it doesn't work for you, reply to Embody's twitter here - they're not square enix, so they're not actively reading the forums, and I think they were responsible for these issues. Let them know how it goes.

If you never installed any audio pack, and still get audio issues/crashes, try installing the immerse gamepack. There's a free trial going on, and it "might" solve the problem for you.

Also don't forget to lower your sample rate to CD quality just because.

Doesn't work for me. I'm such a retard honestly. I keep failing for these fixes and wasting my time, when I know nothing is gonna change until devs themselves put some work into it.
Don't worry guys! I'm sure they are gonna look into it after asking you to submit information even though there are pages upon pages of that already. 2 more weeks... to get disappointed again lel.

[AluneTempest]

Doesn't work for me. I'm such a retard honestly. I keep failing for these fixes and wasting my time, when I know nothing is gonna change until devs themselves put some work into it.
Don't worry guys! I'm sure they are gonna look into it after asking you to submit information even though there are pages upon pages of that already. 2 more weeks... to get disappointed again lel.

Relax, they will wait for some player to perform a miracle and solve the problem and then apologize and implement in the game, just as they did with the error 2002 in which they insisted at all costs that the problem was in our connection until someone proves otherwise

[Fyxation]

I finally gave in and submitted a bug report. Maybe if more of us do, they'll have to address the issue. It's been 3 weeks, I would like to know if they're at least working on it. I was doing a dungeon on bard earlier and the distortion got so bad that I just had to turn the sound completely off, which meant trying to field mechanics and procs solely by visuals. Lot harder than it sounds when you're used to hearing your little battle chimes and what not.

[Maeklos]

Yeah. I submitted two bug reports during 6.0, when problems first cropped up (for the first report) then how I fixed them (in the second report). Then when 6.01 completely broke sound, I submitted an in-depth bug report in game, along with all my system specs, description of the sound, and the things I had tried previously during 6.0 which had worked then but no longer worked in 6.01.

I think it's just a case of the devs having been completely caught off guard, seeing as how they thought 6.01 would fix the problem and not make it worse.

[shandreax]

Wow how long is SE going to not fix the Actual problem? vs giving us bad instructions on what did NOT fix the issue. Do they even recognize the issue as in KNOW what they BROKE!!

[polyphanes]

Been having audio stuttering issues since 6.0 dropped, only got worse to the point of muting-or-unplayability in 6.01. Since playing in 2014 from patch 2.45 on several Windows machines, I've never had any issues like this until 6.0 dropped. No other audio issues, no graphical issues, everything else is totally fine except the horrible audio stuttering/slowdown.

I've tried making many such changes and quick fixes proposed here and on Reddit, but only after reinstalling several drivers like my graphics card, now I can use the Immerse Gamepack for FFXIV (which I greatly dislike since it sounds...pretty overexaggerated to the point of just being distasteful and headache-inducing) to reduce the audio stuttering/slowdown to barely-tolerable levels (it still happens plenty, but much less and much less severely). Still, I'd rather not use the Immerse Gamepack at all, and yes, I am using the newer version and at the recommended bitrate/Hz.

Computer stats:

• CPU: AMD FX-6300
• RAM: 16 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 722MGz
• Motherboard: ASUSTeK M5A99FX Pro R2.0
• Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (MSI, 4095MB)

I submitted a bug report through FFXIV itself earlier today. I do sincerely hope we get a fix soon; I just want the pre-6.0 stereo audio back, honestly. I can only play with the Immerse Gamepack, which is better than nothing, but it's nothing I'd want to use othewrise.

[Velaethia]

I am having the same issue and my friends kept saying it was my driver but it's updated. It's really annoying cuz it happens during story and interferes with audio comprehension. Combat with all the stuff going on gives a headache.

[Zhexos]

Greetings,

As we continue to investigate the matter, we have confirmed that after the fixes we applied in Patch 6.01 the issue continues to persist for some of our players who may be using CPUs that are older than 10 years. However, due to the fact that there are various types of CPUs available we still have not isolated the cause of the issue.

If you continue to experience in-game audio issues, we ask you to try the following steps below:

1. The system specifications for your PC hardware may be running below the minimum specifications required to play FFXIV. If you have multiple applications running in the background while playing FFXIV or have certain in-game settings to a higher setting, your hardware may be performing below the required minimum specifications. Please try making the following changes to see if the issue resolves:
   • Decrease the number of characters and objects displayed.
     This option is available in the System Configuration > Other Settings > Character and Object Quantity.
   • If you have multiple applications running in the background, try closing those other applications.
   • Make sure your output audio device is set as the Default Device.
     In Windows, open the Control Panel (hit the Windows key and type "Control Panel" and hit the Enter key) > Click on Hardware and Sound > Click on Sound > Under the Playback tab, make sure your audio device is set as the Default Device. If you do not see your audio device as the Default Device, right-click the audio device and select the "Set as Default Device" option.
2. If the above methods do not resolve the issue, we would like for you to submit an in-game bug report with the following information along with your system information.
   • What are your Character and Object Quantity current set to?
   • What other applications do you have running in the background while playing FFXIV?
   • Is your audio device set as the Default Device? (Yes/No)
   • Would the issue persist when playing the game in DirectX 9?
     DirectX 9 option is available when you turn off the DirectX 11 Support option which can be found in your FFXIV Launcher by clicking on the gear icon on the top right (Config).
   • If you use a gamepad, does the issue persist when you unplug the gamepad? (Yes/No)
   • Does the issue persist when you have the in-game Equalizer Mode set to Standard? (Yes/No)
     This setting can be found under the System Configuration > Sound Settings > Equalizer.
   • Does the issue persist when the Listening Position is set closer to the Character? (Yes/No)
     This setting can be found under the System Configuration > Sound Settings > Listening Position.
   • Please copy/paste your system information.
     System information can be found in your FFXIV Launcher by clicking on the gear icon on the top right (Config) and clicking on Display under System Information. Another window with your system information will be displayed so please click on the "Copy to Clipboard" button and past the information with your bug report.

We thank you all for your support as we continue to investigate the matter.

[TojiSuzuhara]

Greetings,

As we continue to investigate the matter, we have confirmed that after the fixes we applied in Patch 6.01 the issue continues to persist for some of our players who may be using CPUs that are older than 10 years. However, due to the fact that there are various types of CPUs available we still have not isolated the cause of the issue.

If you continue to experience in-game audio issues, we ask you to try the following steps below:

1. The system specifications for your PC hardware may be running below the minimum specifications required to play FFXIV. If you have multiple applications running in the background while playing FFXIV or have certain in-game settings to a higher setting, your hardware may be performing below the required minimum specifications. Please try making the following changes to see if the issue resolves:
   • Decrease the number of characters and objects displayed.
     This option is available in the System Configuration > Other Settings > Character and Object Quantity.
   • If you have multiple applications running in the background, try closing those other applications.
   • Make sure your output audio device is set as the Default Device.
     In Windows, open the Control Panel (hit the Windows key and type "Control Panel" and hit the Enter key) > Click on Hardware and Sound > Click on Sound > Under the Playback tab, make sure your audio device is set as the Default Device. If you do not see your audio device as the Default Device, right-click the audio device and select the "Set as Default Device" option.
2. If the above methods do not resolve the issue, we would like for you to submit an in-game bug report with the following information along with your system information.
   • What are your Character and Object Quantity current set to?
   • What other applications do you have running in the background while playing FFXIV?
   • Is your audio device set as the Default Device? (Yes/No)
   • Would the issue persist when playing the game in DirectX 9?
     DirectX 9 option is available when you turn off the DirectX 11 Support option which can be found in your FFXIV Launcher by clicking on the gear icon on the top right (Config).
   • If you use a gamepad, does the issue persist when you unplug the gamepad? (Yes/No)
   • Does the issue persist when you have the in-game Equalizer Mode set to Standard? (Yes/No)
     This setting can be found under the System Configuration > Sound Settings > Equalizer.
   • Does the issue persist when the Listening Position is set closer to the Character? (Yes/No)
     This setting can be found under the System Configuration > Sound Settings > Listening Position.
   • Please copy/paste your system information.
     System information can be found in your FFXIV Launcher by clicking on the gear icon on the top right (Config) and clicking on Display under System Information. Another window with your system information will be displayed so please click on the "Copy to Clipboard" button and past the information with your bug report.

We thank you all for your support as we continue to investigate the matter.

i think we would all be happy to help by formally supplying this information but Zhexos is there ANY way we can get this listed on the lodestone again as an official "list of known issues". i think it would alleviate a lot of players' concerns that a fix is at least being worked on. thank you!

[polyphanes]

Greetings...

I'm going to submit a bug report in FFXIV shortly and make a separate forum post in the link provided, but I'll also provide the same information requested here as well for extra visibility. I find it unusual that it would be highlighted in the mod reply that computer specs or CPU age would have been an issue to single out, given how many people here have commented on how widespread these issues are across many different CPU models and computer builds playing on a variety of settings from minimum to maximum. I'll provide my FFXIV 6.0 benchmark information as well as part of the information to show that FFXIV is quite happy playing on my machine as it is.

0. System specifications and other information
Using the 6.0 benchmark on maximum settings with nothing else running on my computer except mandatory Windows 10 background processes, I get a score of: 8714 with total loading time of 24.203s (rated High)

Using the 6.0 benchmark on maximum settings with my usual applications running in the foreground of FFXIV, I get a score of: 8069 with total loading time of 27.579 (rated High)

CPU model (AMD FX-6300 6core 3.5Ghz) is 9 years old (released Oct 23 2012)
CPU has been in use since Oct 2015

Using the Immerse Gamepack for FFXIV installed, audio stuttering is minimized, but still occurs when transitioning from one zone to another as well as in instanced fights, albeit at a reduced rate from the normal/default setting without the gamepack.
See description in separate forum post here:
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...dback-and-help

1. What are your Character and Object Quantity current set to?
Maximum, but audio stuttering also occurs with the same frequency and severity on minimum

2. What other applications do you have running in the background while playing FFXIV?
Chrome and Discord generally plus usual Windows 10 background processes, but it also runs with only FFXIV and mandatory Windows 10 processes running as well, including with FFXIV given high or realtime priority through Windows Task Manager

3. Is your audio device set as the Default Device?
Yes

4. Would the issue persist when playing the game in DirectX 9?
Significantly minimized, but it does happen, albeit to a level as with DX11 and the Immerse Gamepack for FFXIV installed

5. If you use a gamepad, does the issue persist when you unplug the gamepad?
N/A (I don't use a gamepad)

6. Does the issue persist when you have the in-game Equalizer Mode set to Standard?
Yes (though only somewhat less than with using non-standard equalizer modes)

7. Does the issue persist when the Listening Position is set closer to the Character?
Yes; same issue persists at full-camera position, full-character position, and any point in between, though changing it to anything besides full-camera *and* swinging the camera around briefly seems to "reset" or lightly alleviate the stuttering, but only briefly and only slightly before resuming at full strength, and that only sometimes depending on other actions nearby

8. Please copy/paste your system information.
(cut from forum post, provided in bug report)