Crackling sound about every second on headphones (Steelseries) when audio starts. Ubuntu 20.04

Question

Summary

Device: Steelseries Arctis 5.
Sound is fine on any other device.
The Steelseries headphones doesn't affected by this issue on Windows 11.
Both Steelseries Game/Chat outputs are affected by this issue.
Doesn't matter if I play the sound is on the browser or download.
When you increase volume, the crackling is also became louder.

What have been done:

Disabled the power saving extension in the pulseaudio config: commented load-module module-suspend-on-idle in this /etc/pulse/default.pa
Turned off sound card power-saving capabilities: /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save and /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save_controller
Updated load-module module-udev-detect to load-module module-udev-detect tsched=0 in /etc/pulse/default.pa
Changed ; default-fragments and ; default-fragment-size-msec in /etc/pulse/daemon.conf to 3 and 5 accordingly (PulseAudio Troobleshooting)
Changed default-sample-rate to 48000 in /etc/pulse/daemon.conf
And some other tweaks that also had no effect

My current settings:

1. pactl list sinks (Sink 1 and Sink 2 affected):

Sink #0
    State: IDLE
    Name: alsa_output.pci-0000_01_00.1.hdmi-stereo
    Description: GM204 High Definition Audio Controller Digital Stereo (HDMI)
    Driver: module-alsa-card.c
    Sample Specification: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
    Channel Map: front-left,front-right
    Owner Module: 6
    Mute: no
    Volume: front-left: 41944 /  64% / -11,63 dB,   front-right: 41944 /  64% / -11,63 dB
            balance 0,00
    Base Volume: 65536 / 100% / 0,00 dB
    Monitor Source: alsa_output.pci-0000_01_00.1.hdmi-stereo.monitor
    Latency: 100134 usec, configured 100136 usec
    Flags: HARDWARE DECIBEL_VOLUME LATENCY SET_FORMATS 
    Properties:
        alsa.resolution_bits = "16"
        device.api = "alsa"
        device.class = "sound"
        alsa.class = "generic"
        alsa.subclass = "generic-mix"
        alsa.name = "HDMI 0"
        alsa.id = "HDMI 0"
        alsa.subdevice = "0"
        alsa.subdevice_name = "subdevice #0"
        alsa.device = "3"
        alsa.card = "2"
        alsa.card_name = "HDA NVidia"
        alsa.long_card_name = "HDA NVidia at 0x91080000 irq 17"
        alsa.driver_name = "snd_hda_intel"
        device.bus_path = "pci-0000:01:00.1"
        sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.1/sound/card2"
        device.bus = "pci"
        device.vendor.id = "10de"
        device.vendor.name = "NVIDIA Corporation"
        device.product.id = "0fbb"
        device.product.name = "GM204 High Definition Audio Controller"
        device.string = "hdmi:2"
        device.buffering.buffer_size = "17664"
        device.buffering.fragment_size = "2944"
        device.access_mode = "mmap"
        device.profile.name = "hdmi-stereo"
        device.profile.description = "Digital Stereo (HDMI)"
        device.description = "GM204 High Definition Audio Controller Digital Stereo (HDMI)"
        module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
        device.icon_name = "audio-card-pci"
    Ports:
        hdmi-output-0: HDMI / DisplayPort (priority: 5900, available)
    Active Port: hdmi-output-0
    Formats:
        pcm
Sink #1
    State: IDLE
    Name: alsa_output.usb-SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000-00.analog-chat
    Description: SteelSeries Arctis 5 Chat
    Driver: module-alsa-card.c
    Sample Specification: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
    Channel Map: front-left,front-right
    Owner Module: 7
    Mute: no
    Volume: front-left: 31609 /  48% / -19,00 dB,   front-right: 31609 /  48% / -19,00 dB
            balance 0,00
    Base Volume: 54094 /  83% / -5,00 dB
    Monitor Source: alsa_output.usb-SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000-00.analog-chat.monitor
    Latency: 105438 usec, configured 99954 usec
    Flags: HARDWARE HW_MUTE_CTRL HW_VOLUME_CTRL DECIBEL_VOLUME LATENCY 
    Properties:
        alsa.resolution_bits = "16"
        device.api = "alsa"
        device.class = "sound"
        alsa.class = "generic"
        alsa.subclass = "generic-mix"
        alsa.name = "USB Audio"
        alsa.id = "USB Audio"
        alsa.subdevice = "0"
        alsa.subdevice_name = "subdevice #0"
        alsa.device = "0"
        alsa.card = "1"
        alsa.card_name = "SteelSeries Arctis 5"
        alsa.long_card_name = "SteelSeries SteelSeries Arctis 5 at usb-0000:00:14.0-10, full speed"
        alsa.driver_name = "snd_usb_audio"
        device.bus_path = "pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:10:1.0"
        sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-10/1-10:1.0/sound/card1"
        udev.id = "usb-SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000-00"
        device.bus = "usb"
        device.vendor.id = "1038"
        device.vendor.name = "SteelSeries ApS"
        device.product.id = "1250"
        device.product.name = "SteelSeries Arctis 5"
        device.serial = "SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000"
        device.string = "hw:1,0,0"
        device.buffering.buffer_size = "17632"
        device.buffering.fragment_size = "4408"
        device.access_mode = "mmap"
        device.profile.name = "analog-chat"
        device.profile.description = "Chat"
        device.intended_roles = "phone"
        device.description = "SteelSeries Arctis 5 Chat"
        module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
        device.icon_name = "audio-card-usb"
    Ports:
        steelseries-arctis-output-chat-common: steelseries-arctis-output-chat-common (priority: 5000)
    Active Port: steelseries-arctis-output-chat-common
    Formats:
        pcm
Sink #2
    State: IDLE
    Name: alsa_output.usb-SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000-00.analog-game
    Description: SteelSeries Arctis 5 Game
    Driver: module-alsa-card.c
    Sample Specification: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
    Channel Map: front-left,front-right
    Owner Module: 7
    Mute: no
    Volume: front-left: 11796 /  18% / -44,68 dB,   front-right: 11796 /  18% / -44,68 dB
            balance 0,00
    Base Volume: 54094 /  83% / -5,00 dB
    Monitor Source: alsa_output.usb-SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000-00.analog-game.monitor
    Latency: 102580 usec, configured 99954 usec
    Flags: HARDWARE HW_MUTE_CTRL HW_VOLUME_CTRL DECIBEL_VOLUME LATENCY 
    Properties:
        alsa.resolution_bits = "16"
        device.api = "alsa"
        device.class = "sound"
        alsa.class = "generic"
        alsa.subclass = "generic-mix"
        alsa.name = "USB Audio #1"
        alsa.id = "USB Audio"
        alsa.subdevice = "0"
        alsa.subdevice_name = "subdevice #0"
        alsa.device = "1"
        alsa.card = "1"
        alsa.card_name = "SteelSeries Arctis 5"
        alsa.long_card_name = "SteelSeries SteelSeries Arctis 5 at usb-0000:00:14.0-10, full speed"
        alsa.driver_name = "snd_usb_audio"
        device.bus_path = "pci-0000:00:14.0-usb-0:10:1.0"
        sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb1/1-10/1-10:1.0/sound/card1"
        udev.id = "usb-SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000-00"
        device.bus = "usb"
        device.vendor.id = "1038"
        device.vendor.name = "SteelSeries ApS"
        device.product.id = "1250"
        device.product.name = "SteelSeries Arctis 5"
        device.serial = "SteelSeries_SteelSeries_Arctis_5_00000000"
        device.string = "hw:1,1,0"
        device.buffering.buffer_size = "17632"
        device.buffering.fragment_size = "4408"
        device.access_mode = "mmap"
        device.profile.name = "analog-game"
        device.profile.description = "Game"
        device.description = "SteelSeries Arctis 5 Game"
        module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
        device.icon_name = "audio-card-usb"
    Ports:
        steelseries-arctis-output-game-common: steelseries-arctis-output-game-common (priority: 9900)
    Active Port: steelseries-arctis-output-game-common
    Formats:
        pcm
Sink #4
    State: IDLE
    Name: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo
    Description: Built-in Audio Analog Stereo
    Driver: module-alsa-card.c
    Sample Specification: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
    Channel Map: front-left,front-right
    Owner Module: 8
    Mute: no
    Volume: front-left: 28914 /  44% / -21,32 dB,   front-right: 28914 /  44% / -21,32 dB
            balance 0,00
    Base Volume: 65536 / 100% / 0,00 dB
    Monitor Source: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo.monitor
    Latency: 100566 usec, configured 99954 usec
    Flags: HARDWARE HW_MUTE_CTRL HW_VOLUME_CTRL DECIBEL_VOLUME LATENCY 
    Properties:
        alsa.resolution_bits = "16"
        device.api = "alsa"
        device.class = "sound"
        alsa.class = "generic"
        alsa.subclass = "generic-mix"
        alsa.name = "ALC1220 Analog"
        alsa.id = "ALC1220 Analog"
        alsa.subdevice = "0"
        alsa.subdevice_name = "subdevice #0"
        alsa.device = "0"
        alsa.card = "0"
        alsa.card_name = "HDA Intel PCH"
        alsa.long_card_name = "HDA Intel PCH at 0x4012110000 irq 162"
        alsa.driver_name = "snd_hda_intel"
        device.bus_path = "pci-0000:00:1f.3"
        sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.3/sound/card0"
        device.bus = "pci"
        device.vendor.id = "8086"
        device.vendor.name = "Intel Corporation"
        device.product.id = "06c8"
        device.form_factor = "internal"
        device.string = "front:0"
        device.buffering.buffer_size = "17632"
        device.buffering.fragment_size = "4408"
        device.access_mode = "mmap"
        device.profile.name = "analog-stereo"
        device.profile.description = "Analog Stereo"
        device.description = "Built-in Audio Analog Stereo"
        module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
        device.icon_name = "audio-card-pci"
    Ports:
        analog-output-lineout: Line Out (priority: 9000, not available)
        analog-output-headphones: Headphones (priority: 9900, not available)
    Active Port: analog-output-headphones
    Formats:
        pcm

2. /etc/pulse/default.pa

#!/usr/bin/pulseaudio -nF
#
# This file is part of PulseAudio.
#
# PulseAudio is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
# under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# PulseAudio is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
# WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
# General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
# along with PulseAudio; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
This startup script is used only if PulseAudio is started per-user
(i.e. not in system mode)
.fail
Automatically restore the volume of streams and devices
load-module module-device-restore
load-module module-stream-restore
load-module module-card-restore
Automatically augment property information from .desktop files
stored in /usr/share/application
load-module module-augment-properties
Should be after module--restore but before module--detect
load-module module-switch-on-port-available
Use hot-plugged devices like Bluetooth or USB automatically (LP: #1702794)
.ifexists module-switch-on-connect.so
load-module module-switch-on-connect
.endif
Load audio drivers statically
(it's probably better to not load these drivers manually, but instead
use module-udev-detect -- see below -- for doing this automatically)
#load-module module-alsa-sink
#load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,0
#load-module module-oss device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input
#load-module module-oss-mmap device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input
#load-module module-null-sink
#load-module module-pipe-sink
Automatically load driver modules depending on the hardware available
.ifexists module-udev-detect.so
load-module module-udev-detect tsched=0
.else
Use the static hardware detection module (for systems that lack udev support)
load-module module-detect tsched=0
.endif
Automatically connect sink and source if JACK server is present
.ifexists module-jackdbus-detect.so
.nofail
load-module module-jackdbus-detect channels=2
.fail
.endif
Automatically load driver modules for Bluetooth hardware
.ifexists module-bluetooth-policy.so
load-module module-bluetooth-policy
.endif
.ifexists module-bluetooth-discover.so
load-module module-bluetooth-discover
.endif
Load several protocols
.ifexists module-esound-protocol-unix.so
load-module module-esound-protocol-unix
.endif
load-module module-native-protocol-unix
Network access (may be configured with paprefs, so leave this commented
here if you plan to use paprefs)
#load-module module-esound-protocol-tcp
#load-module module-native-protocol-tcp
#load-module module-zeroconf-publish
Load the RTP receiver module (also configured via paprefs, see above)
#load-module module-rtp-recv
Load the RTP sender module (also configured via paprefs, see above)
#load-module module-null-sink sink_name=rtp format=s16be channels=2 rate=44100 sink_properties="device.description='RTP Multicast Sink'"
#load-module module-rtp-send source=rtp.monitor
Load additional modules from GSettings. This can be configured with the paprefs tool.
Please keep in mind that the modules configured by paprefs might conflict with manually
loaded modules.
.ifexists module-gsettings.so
.nofail
load-module module-gsettings
.fail
.endif
Automatically restore the default sink/source when changed by the user
during runtime
NOTE: This should be loaded as early as possible so that subsequent modules
that look up the default sink/source get the right value
load-module module-default-device-restore
Make sure we always have a sink around, even if it is a null sink.
load-module module-always-sink
Honour intended role device property
load-module module-intended-roles
Automatically suspend sinks/sources that become idle for too long
load-module module-suspend-on-idle
If autoexit on idle is enabled we want to make sure we only quit
when no local session needs us anymore.
.ifexists module-console-kit.so
load-module module-console-kit
.endif
.ifexists module-systemd-login.so
load-module module-systemd-login
.endif
Enable positioned event sounds
load-module module-position-event-sounds
Cork music/video streams when a phone stream is active
load-module module-role-cork
Block audio recording for snap confined packages unless they have
the "pulseaudio" or "audio-record" interfaces plugged.
.ifexists module-snap-policy.so
load-module module-snap-policy
.endif
Modules to allow autoloading of filters (such as echo cancellation)
on demand. module-filter-heuristics tries to determine what filters
make sense, and module-filter-apply does the heavy-lifting of
loading modules and rerouting streams.
load-module module-filter-heuristics
load-module module-filter-apply
Make some devices default
#set-default-sink output
#set-default-source input

3. /etc/pulse/daemon.conf

# This file is part of PulseAudio.
#
# PulseAudio is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
# (at your option) any later version.
#
# PulseAudio is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
# WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
# General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
# along with PulseAudio; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
Configuration file for the PulseAudio daemon. See pulse-daemon.conf(5) for
more information. Default values are commented out.  Use either ; or # for
commenting.
; daemonize = no
; fail = yes
; allow-module-loading = yes
; allow-exit = yes
; use-pid-file = yes
; system-instance = no
; local-server-type = user
; enable-shm = yes
; enable-memfd = yes
; shm-size-bytes = 0 # setting this 0 will use the system-default, usually 64 MiB
; lock-memory = no
; cpu-limit = no
; high-priority = yes
; nice-level = -11
; realtime-scheduling = yes
; realtime-priority = 5
; exit-idle-time = 20
; scache-idle-time = 20
; dl-search-path = (depends on architecture)
; load-default-script-file = yes
; default-script-file = /etc/pulse/default.pa
; log-target = auto
; log-level = notice
; log-meta = no
; log-time = no
; log-backtrace = 0
; resample-method = speex-float-1
; avoid-resampling = yes
; enable-remixing = yes
; remixing-use-all-sink-channels = yes
; remixing-produce-lfe = no
; remixing-consume-lfe = no
; lfe-crossover-freq = 0
; flat-volumes = no
; rescue-streams = yes
; rlimit-fsize = -1
; rlimit-data = -1
; rlimit-stack = -1
; rlimit-core = -1
; rlimit-as = -1
; rlimit-rss = -1
; rlimit-nproc = -1
; rlimit-nofile = 256
; rlimit-memlock = -1
; rlimit-locks = -1
; rlimit-sigpending = -1
; rlimit-msgqueue = -1
; rlimit-nice = 31
; rlimit-rtprio = 9
; rlimit-rttime = 200000
; default-sample-format = s16le
; default-sample-rate = 44100
; alternate-sample-rate = 48000
; default-sample-channels = 2
; default-channel-map = front-left,front-right
; default-fragments = 4
; default-fragment-size-msec = 25
; enable-deferred-volume = yes
deferred-volume-safety-margin-usec = 1
; deferred-volume-extra-delay-usec = 0

What kernel are you running? I just started noticing this issue with my Steelseries Arctis 5 on Ubuntu 21.10 a few days ago. I just remembered tonight that my system was updated to kernel 5.13.0-37-generic a few days ago, so I rolled back to 5.13.0-35-generic to see if that would fix the problem, and it seems like that fixed it for me. — BenM, Mar 25 '22 at 03:06
Thank you @BenM I had exactly what you described. My kernel was 5.13.0-37-generic and after downgrading to 5.13.0-35-generic looks like the issue is gone. Can you repeat your comment as an answer so I can accept it — Nickfrm, Mar 25 '22 at 06:49

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 25 '22 at 12:20

2

What kernel are you running? I just started noticing this issue with my Steelseries Arctis 5 on Ubuntu 21.10 a few days ago. I just remembered tonight that my system was updated to kernel 5.13.0-37-generic a few days ago, so I rolled back to 5.13.0-35-generic to see if that would fix the problem, and it seems like that fixed it for me.

answered Mar 25 '22 at 12:20

BenM

696

Thank you again for this solution. This really helped. – Nickfrm Mar 25 '22 at 12:56
Happy I could help :) – BenM Mar 25 '22 at 13:11

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 04 '22 at 12:19

2

For me setting the default sample rate of pulse audio to 48000 did the trick, as it is described in this bug report

open /etc/pulse/daemon.conf and change default-sample-rate to 48000. Dont forget to remove the semicolon at the beginning of the line.
Restart pulse with: systemctl --user restart pulseaudio.service

answered Apr 04 '22 at 12:19

bedaka

21
2

Oh, I've tried this solution before asking the question here, but I forgot to remove the semicolons! Tried this workaround on 5.13.0-39-generic and it worked for me. – Nickfrm Apr 05 '22 at 20:31
Amazing, this seems to have worked for me as well. Thanks again. – 6infinity8 Apr 12 '22 at 19:45

Crackling sound about every second on headphones (Steelseries) when audio starts. Ubuntu 20.04

This startup script is used only if PulseAudio is started per-user

(i.e. not in system mode)

Automatically restore the volume of streams and devices

Automatically augment property information from .desktop files

stored in /usr/share/application

Should be after module--restore but before module--detect

load-module module-switch-on-port-available

Use hot-plugged devices like Bluetooth or USB automatically (LP: #1702794)

Load audio drivers statically

(it's probably better to not load these drivers manually, but instead

use module-udev-detect -- see below -- for doing this automatically)

Automatically load driver modules depending on the hardware available

Use the static hardware detection module (for systems that lack udev support)

Automatically connect sink and source if JACK server is present

Automatically load driver modules for Bluetooth hardware

Load several protocols

Network access (may be configured with paprefs, so leave this commented

here if you plan to use paprefs)

Load the RTP receiver module (also configured via paprefs, see above)

Load the RTP sender module (also configured via paprefs, see above)

Load additional modules from GSettings. This can be configured with the paprefs tool.

Please keep in mind that the modules configured by paprefs might conflict with manually

loaded modules.

Automatically restore the default sink/source when changed by the user

during runtime

NOTE: This should be loaded as early as possible so that subsequent modules

that look up the default sink/source get the right value

Make sure we always have a sink around, even if it is a null sink.

Honour intended role device property

Automatically suspend sinks/sources that become idle for too long

load-module module-suspend-on-idle

If autoexit on idle is enabled we want to make sure we only quit

when no local session needs us anymore.

Enable positioned event sounds

Cork music/video streams when a phone stream is active

Block audio recording for snap confined packages unless they have

the "pulseaudio" or "audio-record" interfaces plugged.

Modules to allow autoloading of filters (such as echo cancellation)

on demand. module-filter-heuristics tries to determine what filters

make sense, and module-filter-apply does the heavy-lifting of

loading modules and rerouting streams.

Make some devices default

Configuration file for the PulseAudio daemon. See pulse-daemon.conf(5) for

more information. Default values are commented out. Use either ; or # for

commenting.

2 Answers2

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