[Solved] [Sound] Crackling speakers finally solved

[reformedhatter]

Over the last few weeks, I've noticed a crackling sound from the speakers. It is not continuous and seems to mainly happen when [but not only] I am browsing. It may even occur more when I am on X or WhatsappWeb, or it may just be my imagination. I have googled and youtubed for answers but nothing has fixed it. I have switched to Pop-Os and Ubuntu 24.04LTS and same thing happens. Has anyone else had this issue and been able to fix it?

[ruwolf]

Which attempts exactly have you tried?

[reformedhatter]

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I have tried using different distro, but same thing happens, so I am guessing it could be hardware but it has only just started happening and I haven't added any new hardware. I have tried a different browser [Chromium instead of Firefox] and it seems to have helped but not completely. I haven't tried looking at Pipewire as that seems a bit advanced for me. So really I have only done some basic things.

[ruwolf]

The first possible software cause could be power-saving. (Of course, it could be another reason.)

[reformedhatter]

Thanks for that. I followed the advice for alsamixer but I only have a MASTER and Capture bars. If I'm on the Master bar and click M it mutes so I don't hear the crackling but obviously don't hear any websites.

I should add the noise gets far worse when I use FileZilla to update to the server or open Nextcloud in a browser.

[reformedhatter]

So, I've decided to do a fresh install of Debian 12. I follow my cheat sheet and install that I usually do. If I turn wifi and Bluetooth off there is hardly if any crackling. If I have wifi on to browse the web on Firefox [Bluetooth off] all is quiet until I sign into X and then the crackling starts. I delete the X tab and it stops. Does this make any sense or narrow down what might be the issue?

[reformedhatter]

Definitely turning off Bluetooth has helped. It doesn't solve why it is doing this, but it gives my head some peace lol

[reformedhatter]

So, the crackling speakers issue has been driving me crazy!! I have tried different distros, different browsers and searched high and low for an answer. Still crackled away when watching videos. I think I have found the solution now [famous last words I know lol].

The solution seems to be to turn the speakers down. I had the actual speakers dial turn up to full and controlled the volume from Quick Settings. Turning the volume dial down to half way and increasing the volume in Quick Settings has made the difference. Does that make any sense?

[reformedhatter]

I can confirm after 4 days, there is no issue with crackling speakers. I have no idea why they started playing up. I hadn't played around with them or moved the dial. I hope this might be of help to someone else who has this issue.