Audio popping issue

[Grimno]

Posting to bump this thread.
Experiencing audio issues as well, crackling, mainly when entering combat with other players around.

The fact so many seem to be having issues with audio (Not just seen from posts here but tweets and posts on Reddit as well) means this ain't coincidence.

However, I'm curious since it's effecting a lot of people, but not everyone... So what is the difference here...

[StaticMan]

bumping

i am also having the same issue, ever since the beginning of EW, reinstalled everything already, directx9 helps but still doesnt fix, and having the in-game equalizer set to anything other than "normal" makes it 10x worse. happens the most in heavy combat and cutscenes.

[Malinn]

I've tried switching to DX9, Uninstalling virtual audio cable, setting the default device in the app sound setting, and disabling all other audio devices. Trying to change any audio settings on my headphones with XIV open hard crashes the game, so I've been waiting the last 7 hours to get back into the game.

Sometimes combat is fine? Depends on the area and how many people are around i think. Did a trial and nothing went wrong, but it immediately got bad after.

[Mog_Biscuit]

I might have a potential fix for the audio stuttering but I haven't fully tested yet.

Turn Spatial sound off in your PC sound settings. This will require you to restart FF14 but I tried running a dungeon afterwards and encountered no issues. Before the sound was popping every time I went into combat.

[TojiSuzuhara]

bumping this in hope it gets attention. I've troubleshooted what ppl suggested here and some has helped. For me, changing the listening position to 100 has helped the most. I just did a trial, and i noticed when i would be facing/looking at the boss, audio would start to stutter/crackle. When i'd look away, it'd clear up in an instant. Interesting to see if anyone else can try this and see if the same thing happens. To me it sounds like its this spatial audio upgrade stuff they added (i did not buy or am using that new addon) which if this is what's causing this is a shame. Don't think this is something they should have done straight out of the gate at launch

[Drymac]

Same problem here. Music keeps playing but no SFX.

[Elliah-Seraheart]

I, like so many of you have been having this exact same issue ever since Endwalker hit.
Pls make sure to fill in a bug report with as much information about your system as you can.

I have made a new discovery however that leaves me almost certain that Endwalker brought a change in how audio is handled. The Audio issues are ABSOLUTELY, demonstrably related to camera position. Sound is either heard from the position of the character, or the position of the camera. When there's an obstruction of any kind, be it through an object, a wall, an asset or even certain boss's particle effects - you get audio stuttering/clipping/popping. This is why you get less issues in wide, open spaces and more issues in cramped spaces and more audio sources in different places (combat). For the time being - setting listening position all the way to character helps a little.

I've uploaded a video that illustrates the obstruction theory in 4 different instances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQW6ShIkJY

[rody29]

bump, having the same issues, tried all the suggestions and nothing works

[VaireAsani]

Bump, also still having issues. I've tried everything. DX9 seemed to make it worse somehow. Listening position made no difference either.

[Sicycre]

Hello, everyone.

Thank you very much for your feedback concerning audio issues you’ve been experiencing.

We understand that these issues have persisted for players after Patch 6.01. In order for us to get a better understanding of the cases that have yet to be resolved, we’d like to ask for those affected to try the following:

• Because resource requirements and other factors gradually increase with each update, reducing CPU performance load may improve the situation.
  
  • Reduce the number of characters and objects displayed through System Configuration > Other Settings > Character and Object Display, or change the Graphics Settings to Standard.
• Close any applications that are running in the background.
  
• For Windows users, open the Sound Control Panel, right-click your default device in the Playback tab and open Properties, then under the Advanced tab, configure the Default Format to a lower setting.

If the previous steps do not improve the situation, we ask that you confirm the following to help determine the issue and distinguish whether it is system-related.

• Does the problem still occur after disabling the DirectX 11 Support option in the launcher settings?
  
• For gamepad users, does the problem still persist after disconnecting or changing your gamepad device?

If the steps above do not resolve your situation, we ask that you create a post in the Bug Report section using the bug report template, along with your system information and the steps taken to troubleshoot. This will assist our support team when they gather the information to share with the development team for review and investigation.

We sincerely apologize for the frustration this has caused and appreciate your understanding.