iCUE causes audio stuttering

[Tawthorne]

I finally figured out the issue and it didn't have anything at all to do with drivers at all.  Sorry I was down on Corsair for a bit there.  Since I started working remotely a few years back, I got a 4-port USB hub so it would be easier to switch my peripherals from my home PC to my work laptop and back again.  It also addressed the problem of my work laptop not having enough USB ports.  Apparently, the new motherboard doesn't deal with that many device signals going through one port as well as my old motherboard.  When I plugged each device into it's own port instead of going through the USB hub, I didn't have any more issues.  I should be able to re-install ICUE again and be fine since running with or without it made no difference in my earlier issue.

[Chalky1]

On 2/18/2023 at 11:09 PM, Tawthorne said:

I finally figured out the issue and it didn't have anything at all to do with drivers at all.  Sorry I was down on Corsair for a bit there.  Since I started working remotely a few years back, I got a 4-port USB hub so it would be easier to switch my peripherals from my home PC to my work laptop and back again.  It also addressed the problem of my work laptop not having enough USB ports.  Apparently, the new motherboard doesn't deal with that many device signals going through one port as well as my old motherboard.  When I plugged each device into it's own port instead of going through the USB hub, I didn't have any more issues.  I should be able to re-install ICUE again and be fine since running with or without it made no difference in my earlier issue.

It has nothing to do with USB hub i never used a hub just onboard speaker and headphone bluged into pc no hubs once uninstalled iCUE stuttering crackling went away install ICUe back to stuttering and crackling sound this is a software issue with Corsairs  iCUE software stop spreading lies i even sent a laptop back to HP as i thought it was the speakers it was not they changed the speakers anyway got laptop back installed everything same thing reinstalled 1 by 1 untill it came to installing iCUE everything work fine as soon as i installed iCUE sound was back to stuttering and crackling your issue may have been something different 

[Sam_23]

I have fixed my problem by checking various sound formats.

[mwood333]

I updated to the new iCUE 5 yesterday and immediately noticed audio crackling/popping in a game I'm currently playing (Detroit Become Human).

I'm using an HS60 Haptic headset. I uninstalled it and it's drivers from Device Manager, and uninstalled iCUE 5. I rebooted, installed iCUE 4, and the issue was fixed. Nice clean sound. No issues whatsoever.

I repeated the uninstall process to install iCUE 5 again (this time by downloading the installer from the site instead of within iCUE), and the problem came back. I've tried this routine twice, and iCUE 5 always presents audio problems. There is definitely an issue with the new iCUE 5 software/drivers.

Interestingly, when you go to Audio Enhancements within Windows / Sound Settings, "Device Default Effects" is selected, and below it says "Corsair Audio Output Effects". Switching this OFF also gets rid of the problem (assuming because it's now using Windows drivers instead of Corsair), however the EQ in iCUE is now unusable.

This doesn't happen with all games though, but still, it's definitely a problem.

Edited May 30, 2023 by mwood333

[OokamiCreed]

17 hours ago, mwood333 said:

I updated to the new iCUE 5 yesterday and immediately noticed audio crackling/popping in a game I'm currently playing (Detroit Become Human).

I'm using an HS60 Haptic headset. I uninstalled it and it's drivers from Device Manager, and uninstalled iCUE 5. I rebooted, installed iCUE 4, and the issue was fixed. Nice clean sound. No issues whatsoever.

I repeated the uninstall process to install iCUE 5 again (this time by downloading the installer from the site instead of within iCUE), and the problem came back. I've tried this routine twice, and iCUE 5 always presents audio problems. There is definitely an issue with the new iCUE 5 software/drivers.

I have the same headset and the same exact problem after updating to iCUE 5. The post above yours mentioned formats in the sound settings of the device used (in this case, the headset). Format is under "Advanced" tab after double clicking the headset in Playback devices for reference. The format was set to 8 channels instead of 2 channels. Didn't know 8 even existed as it never appeared before iCUE 5 installation. After applying the 2 channels (CD or DVD) format, the 8 channels format no longer was an option. Weird. Only CD and DVD 2 channel options are visible (which is the norm, at least for my hardware).

It fixed my problem. I only got the crackling sound when the hardware was under enough load, so I guess 8 channels is very resource intensive or something.

[OokamiCreed]

6 minutes ago, OokamiCreed said:

It fixed my problem. I only got the crackling sound when the hardware was under enough load, so I guess 8 channels is very resource intensive or something.

Too late to edit this part apparently but... the problem came back. I kept the most up-to-date  iCUE 4 on a drive for these situations. iCUE is unpredictable.

[mwood333]

This is STILL a big issue. Why has this not been fixed?!?

I'm getting popping/cracking in Microsoft Flight Simulator aswell I have just discovered. (Been some time since I've played it). It is really prevalent in it.

The problem IMMEDIATELY goes away when you shut down iCue, and immediately returns when you launch it again.

The aforementioned "Corsair.Service.CpuIdRemote" doesn't fix this issue.

[mwood333]

Hi folks, just throwing another solution to this stuttering/popping audio issue many of us have been having. Copy and pasting my reply from my other thread on the issue...

The audio faults are all caused by the "Corsair Gaming Audio Configuration Service" service. (Service name: "CorsairGamingAudioConfig").

Stopping/Disabling this service fixes the problem. Please note, stopping the service mid-game won't immediately fix the issue. You'll need to restart the game.

I've disabled the service altogether and everything seems to be running perfectly fine, and iCUE appears to be working absolutely fine without the service running.

Which begs the question... what on earth does the service do other than cause issues?!

[Rayormy]

I know this is an old post but this is an issue I've recently found. My audio has been glitching since I started playing ARK Ascended and then it happened a few times when I played in RedM which is an RP mod of RDR2 and it happend all the time during Discord calls while playing ARK Ascended. I couldn't figure out the issue until today when there was an issue with iCue and was checking for an update for my corsair virtuoso rgb wireless se heeaset and it's dongle. I tried to exit it and didn't get a chance to reopen it since I was playing. I didn't turn it back on  yet and since it's been closed, I haven't had one issue with sound studdering or crashes in ARK Ascended. I am going to try to see if there s something that I can do to fix it and continue using iCue but if not, I'm going to leave it off and just use the headset standalone, even if it doesn't sound as good without the mixer.

[Callsign_JoNay]

I created this account just to say that the Corsair Void USB/wired headphones are the most annoying headphones I've ever owned. Without iCue bloatware the microphone is so quiet it's borderline useless, (even with windows boosting it to the slider max). With iCue bloatware running the mic becomes acceptable but you get constant popping and crackling sounds in the speakers. Why are these headphones so cursed? I want to go Office Space on them.

Edited March 25 by Callsign_JoNay

[Callsign_JoNay]

40 minutes ago, Callsign_JoNay said:

I created this account just to say that the Corsair Void USB/wired headphones are the most annoying headphones I've ever owned. Without iCue bloatware the microphone is so quiet it's borderline useless, (even with windows boosting it to the slider max). With iCue bloatware running the mic becomes acceptable but you get constant popping and crackling sounds in the speakers. Why are these headphones so cursed? I want to go Office Space on them.

And now I'm trying to uninstall iCue and having issues. The uninstaller in the folder does nothing. I can't find iCue in my windows control panel > Uninstall list. I just want to burn this all with fire.

[nebulamods]

Corsair, I really hope you fix this soon. I just purchased the HS80 Max and even with ICue uninstalled I am still experiencing stutter, seriously sad considering this headset is $250... My cheap $80 Razer headset works 10x better... At this point I am ready to just return it, and purchase a more expensive Razer headset seeing as this issue has been going on for 3 years now.

Disabling audo drivers, uninstalling ICue, changing audio format, and all audio enhancements off has done nothing to fix the issue, it still occurs from time to time, but it has reduced it a few times every 10 minutes now. Latest Nvidia audio drivers with a clean install is also not helping. Seems like the USB portion of this headset is just coded poorly, as Razer's USB has no such issues and very long range. I can't even travel to my kitchen without loosing connectivity with this headset.