Audio Stuttering, Looping, Distortion, Popping Since 6.01 Only

[DrGirlfriend]

When submitting a bug report, please use the below template and thoroughly fill out the necessary information.

Frequency: In specific areas and encounters.
World name: Ultros
Character name: Tarnished Knight

Steps:
Sound is fine in Radz-At-Han, Old Sharlayan, Lavender Beds, my FC estate. Various other Endwalker zones have become unplayable with sound since the release of 6.01, audio bug also unbearable in my apartment, interestingly, since it has less than 20 items and significantly less clutter/activity than FC Estate Mansion where sound is perfect. First and Second Asphodelos raids were fine with sound. Third started to get issues, and Fourth, unplayable with sound (edit: restarted computer and did them in reverse order, i.e., 4-3-2-1, same pattern as before, 4th raid unplayable w/ sound). My sound was perfect during all of 6.00, in all zones for MSQ, all areas, and dungeons, and sound broke in most areas and instances with 6.01.

Connection Specs
- Type of internet connection/provider: 1 Gigabit Fibre Internet, reaching 800 Mbps per speedtest, hard-lined into router/modem.
- Modem maker/model number: Telus Wi-Fi Modem T-3200M

■ PC Specs

-=-=-=-=- System Information -=-=-=-=-
SYSTEM_OS Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (19041.vb_release.191206-1406)
SYSTEM_CPU AMD FX(tm)-8350 Eight-Core Processor (8 CPUs), ~4.0GHz
SYSTEM_CORE_NUM SYSTEM_CORE_LOGIC 8 SYSTEM_CORE_PHYSICS 4
SYSTEM_BIOS BIOS Date: 01/06/14 11:17:53 Ver: 04.06.05
SYSTEM_LANGUAGE English (Regional Setting: English)
SYSTEM_MEMORY 8091.492MB
SYSTEM_VIRTUAL_MEMORY 134217727.875MB
SYSTEM_PAGE_FILE 15515.492MB
SYSTEM_STORAGE C:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 232.254GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 32.964GB
SYSTEM_STORAGE E:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 298.089GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 297.581GB
SYSTEM_STORAGE F:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 58.158GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 57.858GB
SYSTEM_STORAGE G:\ SYSTEM_HARDDISK_DRIVE SYSTEM_TOTALDISC_SPACE 465.760GB SYSTEM_FREEDISC_SPACE 157.512GB
SYSTEM_DIRECTX_VERSION DirectX 12
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DEVICE \\.\DISPLAY1
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_CHIP NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_MAKER NVIDIA
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_VRAM 4053.375 MB
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_SHARED_VRAM 4045.746 MB
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DAC Integrated RAMDAC
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DISPLAY_MODE 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DRIVER C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_0bc9105c62ca22fb\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_0bc9105c62ca22fb\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_0bc9105c62ca22fb\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_0bc9105c62ca22fb\nvldumdx.dll
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DRIVER_VERSION 30.00.0014.9729
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DRIVER_DATE 12/14/2021 16:00:00
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_DRIVER_LANGUAGE English
3.0
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_PIXEL_SHADER 3.0
SYSTEM_GRAPHICS_VERTEX_TEXTURE SYSTEM_SUPPORT
SYSTEM_SOUND Realtek Digital Output (Realtek High Definition Audio)
SYSTEM_SOUND_DEVICE_ID {40C424B2-8B39-436F-8E35-EA7429F40517}
SYSTEM_SOUND_DEVICE_NAME RTKVHD64.sys
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_VERSION 6.0.1.7023
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_LANGUAGE English
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_DATE 8/20/2013 16:00:00
SYSTEM_SOUND Realtek Digital Output(Optical) (Realtek High Definition Audio)
SYSTEM_SOUND_DEVICE_ID {4EC661AE-B608-43B6-B033-EB26BB4654B1}
SYSTEM_SOUND_DEVICE_NAME RTKVHD64.sys
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_VERSION 6.0.1.7023
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_LANGUAGE English
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_DATE 8/20/2013 16:00:00
SYSTEM_SOUND Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
SYSTEM_SOUND_DEVICE_ID {B66E09D1-5EE7-4953-9F89-EB0101F1AA81}
SYSTEM_SOUND_DEVICE_NAME RTKVHD64.sys
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_VERSION 6.0.1.7023
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_LANGUAGE English
SYSTEM_SOUND_DRIVER_DATE 8/20/2013 16:00:00
SYSTEM_INPUT {6F1D2B60-D5A0-11CF-BFC7444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME Mouse
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 3 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 5 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {6F1D2B61-D5A0-11CF-BFC7444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME Keyboard
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 128 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B50D4B0-131F-11EB-8001444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB Gaming Mouse
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 3 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B5170F0-131F-11EB-8002444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB Gaming Mouse
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 768 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {F87963D0-42DE-11EB-8001444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME Lighting Node PRO
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B51BF10-131F-11EB-8004444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB Gaming Mouse
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B5170F0-131F-11EB-8003444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB-HID Keyboard
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {57880960-42E1-11EB-8003444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME Corsair composite virtual input device
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 1024 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B528260-131F-11EB-8006444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB-HID Keyboard
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B52F790-131F-11EB-8007444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB-HID Keyboard
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 3 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B520D30-131F-11EB-8005444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB Gaming Mouse
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B5345B0-131F-11EB-8008444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB-HID Keyboard
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 2048 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
SYSTEM_INPUT {5B536CC0-131F-11EB-8009444553540000}
SYSTEM_INPUT_NAME USB-HID Keyboard
SYSTEM_INPUT_REMARKS SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_AXIS 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_BUTTON 0 SYSTEM_GAMEPAD_FOV 0
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Per mod instructions:

"What are your Character and Object Quantity current set to?" Minimum (was maximum before and at 60 FPS, but have tried minimum settings for all after encountering 6.01 audio bug).

"What other applications do you have running in the background while playing FFXIV?" My anti-virus, Bitdefender. Notepad for bug report. Tried playing with Anti-virus off, no improvement. Tried playing in safe mode with networking, no improvement.

"Is your audio device set as the Default Device?" Yes as confirmed thru control panel. Drivers up to date.

"Would the issue persist when playing the game in DirectX 9?" Yes.

"If you use a gamepad, does the issue persist when you unplug the gamepad?" N/A

"Does the issue persist when you have the in-game Equalizer Mode set to Standard?" Yes. Have tried all Equalizer settings, no improvement.

"Does the issue persist when the Listening Position is set closer to the Character?" Yes, this does not improve when tested in my apartment room with very few items (where sound is the worst). However, moving the camera angle does improve the sound sometimes, especially when facing the front of my character (in my apartment room, in raid fights).

Note: Ttried lowering sound settings on computer to every Hz option available - no improvement. Changed speakers and headsets, no improvement.
Tried installing Spatial Audio Free Trial, no improvement (currently waiting for them to delete the photo of my ear/face they required!)

NOTE: When turning on ACCESSIBILITY VISUAL CUES for audio cues, these lag and stutter as well just as if they were audio! These accessibility visual cues improve when turning camera to face my character just like with audio, which makes me feel that this bug is on FF14's end and not simply because my CPU was intitially released 9 years ago (and is still sold in PCs today). Indeed, my CPU is listed as above the recommended settings for FF14 currently and I scored "High" on the Endwalker Benchmark. Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best of luck in fixing this issue.