Sound crackling on laptop (through external sources, multiple USB slots)

Hello TSTDavey!

Thank you so much for your quick and kind reply! I'm happy to answer any questions that I can. The Behringer interface is on the same cabinet as my computer when in use, so maybe 18" away, and there are no other computers in that area. There is a printer and some other audio gear (wired speakers and mixer), but no other computers. This has been my setup since I bought the computer last year, and is only now presenting a problem (or I guess for the last few weeks as I tried to troubleshoot it on my own). I honestly don't use the Vivobook speakers on their own very much as the sound quality is really bad, I'll try to use that more throughout the day and see if I am getting the same issues. And I have checked for updates on all of my audio drivers, which is what eventually led me to install Voicemeeter, and I have seen no change. Admittedly, I am computer literate but no expert, so there is a chance that I wasn't looking in the right place for this (searched on the computer "update drivers" and everything said it was the newest and best version). I thought that it might be the USB hub that I was plugging into, but I have tried all 3 ports and still have the same problems. Any direction would be very much appreciated!

@LandShark thank you very much! I'll give this a shot, but when you say "the device" are you talking about the ASUS Vivobook, the speakers or something else? If it's the computer, would it make sense to try this without the laptop plugged into power? That way there should be no ground interference, I would think, and can determine if that might be the cause. I do have several other items plugged into my computer (2 webcams and a printer), as well as a larger...but cheap... surge protector that every powered item is running through.

I am hopeful that you're correct on this! That sounds like such an easy fix, just want to make that I understand the right method to test it out as my warranty is going to expire soon.

This is great! I've just done a small test with the computer unplugged, only about 20 minutes, and it's going good so far! I can't say for certain just yet as the problems are never consistent, so it may sneak back in, but so far so good! Thank you so much for helping me to troubleshoot this! If the only problem is the power then I can adjust to that very easily. You guys have been great so far! I'll keep you updated if the problem returns, but this is really promising so far.

Hey everyone!

I wanted to update and ask a quick question about this issue. I do believe that (at least most of) the problem is due to the laptop being plugged in while playing. My follow up question is... is there a way to get around this and still have my computer plugged in without the interference; possibly an upgraded power cable or anything like that? I only have one outlet in my studio, so I can't really keep it on it's own breaker, but it's also not ideal to have to unplug my computer every time I want to listen or play along with music. If there's no way around it then it's not a huge problem, but a minor nuisance that I wanted to get some input on.

This solution, and community, helped so much though! Thank you all for you input up to this point. It's great having a group that really knows the situation and can explain it to me in laymen's terms. :)

The laptop is near other cables, but I've done my best to mitigate how much they are together. My set up doesn't really offer too much flexibility with the power, so even though I've tried to separate things, there's not really a way to avoid some overlap.

As far as the sound, yes I am still having trouble with it (when plugged in). It's not necessarily making a lot of noise, but it's cutting out the sound from my system while it's playing music. This is definitely annoying while trying to play along with. So I can unplug it, but I was hoping to find a better solution. :-/

Hey there,

I wanted to follow up to see if there is a fix that can help me out. I've tested this with the power plugged in, and not, and the problem is definitely a lot worse when the computer is plugged in, as well as when the computer is on "Best Performance", but not as much when it's on "Better Performance" battery settings. Which makes me think that it is the power settings like you mentioned, but I have no idea where or what to look for to resolve that. I believe there may also be grounding issues, which would explain why this problem has been so impossible for me to pinpoint. Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated! I feel like I'm so close to having a great setup, but this one issue has been plaguing me for months! :(