Audio cracling after newest patch

Hello Engineer,

We’re currently investigating several reports related to in-game sound behavior and would appreciate your help in gathering more information. To assist us in identifying and resolving the issue, please provide the following details:

• Headset or speaker make and model
• Connection type: USB, 3.5mm Jack, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI, or Optical
• Operating System (e.g., Windows 10 or 11)

Sound Configuration

• Default audio output device selected in Windows (found under Control Panel > Sound > Playback tab)
• Speaker configuration: Stereo, 5.1 Surround, or 7.1 Surround (found in Speaker Setup)

In-Game Context

• What were you doing in-game when the issue occurred? (e.g., inside a ship, flying, listening to the jukebox, etc.)
• Did the issue start after a specific update? If so, which one?

Required

• Log files from the game session where the issue occurred
  To access your log files, type %appdata% into your Windows search bar to open the hidden Roaming folder. Then navigate to:
  \Roaming\SpaceEngineers

Optional (but appreciated)

• A short video with sound enabled demonstrating the issue, if possible

Best Regards

Keen Software House: QA Department

kingston hyperx cloud 2 headset with usb audio dongle

connection is usb

windows 11 Version10.0.26100 Build 26100

i have voicemeter potato to manage audio so its voice meter aux input normal stereo audio

best to hear pop pop sound is when using ship with ion thrusters

problem start after that field work patch

i make my own debug and test change dedicated server setting enable realistic audio which make that crackpop sound.

so dedicated server -> enable realistic audio = crack pop sound when thrusters active.

disable realistic audio = all sounds seems work ok.

kingston hyperx cloud 2 headset with usb audio dongle

connection is usb

windows 11 Version10.0.26100 Build 26100

i have voicemeter potato to manage audio so its voice meter aux input normal stereo audio

best to hear pop pop sound is when using ship with ion thrusters

problem start after that field work patch

i make my own debug and see if dedicated server using enable realistic sounds pop crack sound is present.

if i take checkmark off realistic sound then audio work no more crack pop sound.

so i think problem come after field work patch servers where is realistic sound enabled.

Hello, I listened to the audio provided by the OP and I have exactly the same bug on three different PCs. I would like to participate in the investigation. Should I create a new post or can I continue on this one with my information?

Okay, so I'll leave it here.

I have exactly the same problem as this person (and many others):

"Audio cracling after newest patch

Nasty Mann shared this bug 6 months ago

Investigating

Before patch all work like charm but after patch when activate thrusters i hear noise which sound like your wire is physical damaged and headset get bad contact or something similar its like crack crack crack sound. and after patch i dont hear anymore collector shuup soound when its suck some items in it. computer and headset drivers are same before patch."

Link to OP:

https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers/pc/topic/47787-audio-cracling-after-newest-patch

It's not possible that over 900 people voted for joystick controls without having any sound issues, so there must be configurations that work.

I only really started playing a year ago, so it's hard to say whether it's been around for a long time, but I have a feeling it's always been there, even since the implementation of Xaudio2 replacing XACT.

I don't know if everyone have this problem or if only the most sensitive among us pay attention to it, but for me it ruins the whole immersion.

Test env:

PC1:Intel I13700k/ddr5

Win 11 64b

classic stereo headphones jack 3.5

Realtek High Definition Audio HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&CTLR_VEN_8086&CTLR_DEV_7A50&VEN_10EC&DEV_0897&REV_1005

RTX3060Ti

PC2:AMDFx 8350/ddr3

Win 10 64b

classic stereo headphones jack 3.5

Realtek High Definition Audio PC2/Win 10:

HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&CTLR_VEN_1002&CTLR_DEV_4383&VEN_10EC&DEV_0887&REV_1003

GTX970

PC3:AMDFx 8370/ddr3

Win 10 64b

classic stereo headphones jack 3.5

Realtek High Definition Audio PC3/Win10:

HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&CTLR_VEN_1002&CTLR_DEV_4383&VEN_10EC&DEV_0900&REV_1000

GTX970

For all 3 computers:

2ch 44100hz 16bits, also tested in 2ch 48000hz 24bits

No third-party codecs

Vsync for all (tested without Vsync also)

In game context:

Disabling realistic sound simply minimizes the problem, but it is still present.

Can happen anytime, but loading assets (starting game) or when events occurs or when approaching a grid but it can be anytime when the game is doing something in background. I hear little crackling sounds, crackles. It seems that this happens when the game loads a sound when cpu is working on something else, it could be any sound.

This also happens after a long fall when the player hits the ground and the game has to load the player's pain sound.

But there are no rules for reproducing, just listen carefully.

I tested it on three different PCs and tried all sorts of things (settings, graphics, sound settings, CPU affinity, CPU priority, and lots of other things), and Space Engineers is the only game that has this problem on all three different machines.

I tried the latest Realtek drivers for my different systems, and I also tried removing absolutely everything that could be called Realtek and using Microsoft High Definition Audio drivers, but the result is always the same. The same goes for the front and rear jack connectors.

I tested M-AUDIO and RME USB audio interfaces, but still no luck.

But the only clues I have are the size of the sound buffer or a problem with high DPC (Deferred Procedure Call) latency with Space Engineers.

Removing all Realtek Drivers and software from my Win11 (main) computer seems to improve things, especially during initial loading

Removing all graphics limitations such as vsync and the fps limiter from the NVIDIA control panel does not change anything.

Removing all anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering does not change anything (from game and nvidia CP).

Changing the low latency mode of the Nvidia control panel from off/on/ultra does not change anything.

What I would like to be able to do:

-Choose another driver such as ASIO, for example, or something else.

-Be able to change the size of the sound buffer.