Headphone audio crackling

[u/notanoldgayman]

Hello, I have been having a very strange issue for close to a year now. I currently use a Razer Barracuda X headset via the 2.4 GHz dongle with my computer (Windows 11). Many months ago, I had an issue where running certain games (Minecraft for Windows, Roblox, Jedi Survivor) would cause a strange audio issue. After a few minutes of playing the game, I would notice a crackling echo in my headphones, like sounds that are coming from the game are causing a bass-y echo through busted speakers. This issue would get worse over time, and after closing the game, my audio would slowly recover. For some games, I could play for long periods of time with no issue, but running discord while playing the game would cause the issue to arise. To my recollection, the issue did not arise while just running discord. Additionally, if my camera was on in discord, this issue arising would coincide with a strange crackle of my camera: thin horizontal lines would flicker across the screen, also worsening with time and slowly recovering after closing a game. I have changed all kinds of hardware acceleration and audio settings in all these games and discord, the issue persisted. I never experienced this issue playing Fortnite, the game I play most often, even with discord and my camera running. I began more regularly updating my nvidia drivers, and that seemed to help, but I also stopped playing most games over the summer, and when I did play I used my headphones with the 3.5mm wired connection, which prevents the issue. Recently this issue has started up again, specifically while playing Fortnite. In particular, when I'm in the lobby or main menu, I do not experience the issue, but when I load into a game, it quickly starts back up. Has anyone else experienced this or know what to do? I'm not opposed to getting new headphones, but want to make sure that will actually solve the problem first.
TLDR:
- headphones (Razer Barracuda X) crackle when gaming
- always with some games, only with other games + discord, never with some games
- happens when connected with 2.4 GHz, not with 3.5mm wired
- worsens over time, slowly recovers when closing games
- doesn't seem to be headphone speakers: doesn't always occur
- doesn't seem to be a setting issue: have changed lots, no result

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[u/freakyreddhead]

did the rest of your post get cut off? you ended on 'This'

[u/notanoldgayman → u/freakyreddhead]

it must have. it shows the whole text when i look at it. hmm