Isn’t it just a beautiful day when you’re all set to blast your favorite playlist, but instead of beats, your speakers just start producing crackling noises? Now, you’re not exactly looking for a free fireworks audio experience, so what’s happening?
1 Faulty Speaker Hardware
Your speakers have seen better days. They’ve belted out your highs and consoled you in your lows. Over time, components like the speaker cone or the diaphragm might suffer from good old wear and tear. When this happens, they struggle to vibrate correctly, and the result is a disruptive static noise.
Just like a door hinge squeaks when it needs lubrication, a volume knob that hasn’t been cleaned for a while can also lead to a crackling sound. The potentiometer (the technical term for the volume knob) can accumulate dirt and grime over time, which interferes with the electrical signal, resulting in an audible crackle as you turn up the jam. If you tap on the dial and it produces a crackle, it’s probably time to look up a YouTube video on how to crack open your particular model and how to clean (electronic) pots.
2 Loose or Bad Wiring
Imagine trying to enjoy a glass of soda, but the straw has holes. It’s either you get nothing, or you get drenched. That’s pretty much how your speakers feel when the wires are loosely connected or frayed. They can’t carry a signal consistently, resulting in a crackling, distorted sound. Like someone activated a Nine Inch Nails filter for ALL your music. Replace or repair is the solution here.
It might be as simple as replacing the fault wires or as complex as opening up your speakers to fix a bad connection inside.
3 Audio Driver Issues
Audio drivers, the software that orchestrates your audio hardware, could be out of sorts too. If they’re outdated, incompatible, or simply having a bad buggy day, your audio can crackle. Keep them happy by updating them regularly with the latest versions from your speaker or sound card manufacturer.
One thing to try is booting into Windows Safe Mode, which only loads the most generic hardware drivers. If your crackling issues go away in Safe Mode, it’s probably a driver or settings problem.
4 Sound Card Problems
The sound card is the heart of a PC’s audio output. If it’s malfunctioning, it could cause an array of audio issues, including crackling sounds. It could be due to a poorly seated sound card, a faulty card itself, or even outdated drivers for the sound card.
If you plug in a USB audio device (such as USB headphones) and the crackling goes away, it might be the sound card or its aforementioned drivers. That’s because USB audio devices bypass your computer’s sound card, giving a clue as to whether the card is at fault. Of course, you should also eliminate the speakers before you blame the sound card, usually by using analog headphones connected to the card instead of your regular speakers, or by using an alternative set of speakers you might have access to.
5 Software Conflicts
Sometimes, the show backstage is the real chaos. If multiple applications are all trying to be the conductor for your audio output, they’re bound to step on each other’s toes. This can cause crackling noise, as can any unnecessary audio enhancements or equalizer apps trying to steal the limelight.
You can try a clean boot to see if third-party software is behind your audio troubles, but you’ll still have to disable the most likely culprits one by one to nail down exactly what’s behind the noise.
6 Electromagnetic Interference
Living in our tech-filled world means there’s a silent cacophony of electromagnetic radiation around all the time, with wireless signals and electrical devices all blaring out into the void. This can mess with your speakers, leading to distortions like crackling sounds. A common culprit is putting your phone too close to speakers that contain an amplifier (usually the one with volume controls), but there are many potential sources.
When evaluating electromagnetic interference as a source of your speaker ghosts, consider nearby devices that use radio waves (such as your phone, wireless transmitters, and other radio-based devices) and devices with large magnets or electro-static discharge. You might be thinking, “well, I don’t exactly keep that kind of stuff lying around,” but many desk toys like magenetic sculptures made from strong neodymium magnets or “plasma” ball type toys can distort speaker output.
7 High CPU and RAM Usage
When your CPU is strutting its stuff on the runway, juggling heavy applications, it might forget about humble audio playback. This could leave audio playback stuttering with audio artifacts introduced.
Likewise, if you’re using more RAM than you physically have, especially if you’re still using a mechanical hard drive, this can create skipping, “crackling” and popping audio artifacts. It’s not that the hard drive directly impacts your audio quality but that the strain on the system, especially if your computer is leaning heavily on mechanical hard drive swap space, tanks system resources and introduces the issue. Either lessen the load or add more hardware resources.
8 Poor Quality Audio Files
Don’t blame the speakers if the music file you downloaded after 17 redirects and 3 pop-up ads is of poor quality. Low-quality files are like fast food, they might fill you up, but they aren’t good for you—or in this case, for your ears, as they often contain distortions that can sound like crackling thanks to bad encoding.
Whenever you’re testing your speakers and trying to isolate a problem with audio playback, try to use the highest quality audio file you have to do so.
9 Inadequate or Failing Power Supply
Speakers need the right environment to perform their best. If the power supply is inconsistent or inadequate, they won’t be able to hit those high notes.
Make sure your speakers are connected to a stable power source and their power adapter isn’t on the fritz. You can test your PSU at home if needed.
10 Incorrect Audio Settings
Some audio settings can cause crackling and popping noises, and you’d probably never figure it out without lots of trail and error. There are two common culprits here – output format and audio enhancements.
If you go to System > Sound and then click on the right-facing arrow next to the relevant audio output (e.g. headphones or speakers) you’ll see a properties page where you can change “format” and also disable “audio enhancements” if they’re enabled.
Try a lower output format setting than the one currently selected, to see if that eliminates your crackling issue. You can also completely reset audio settings on Windows 11.
11 Bonus: You’re Listening to Vinyl Records
We kid, we kid. The hiss and pop of vinyl playback is part of the anachronistic appeal of listening to records. But hey, if you’re looking for a crisper playback without the analog pops, have you considered changing to CDs?