ToucanTom

Using Pop!_OS on my current custom-built PC, will probably try Arch, Fedora or Gentoo once I get used to things but that will be months - if not years - down the line. This is my second attempt at going Linux-only and I have to say, I don't see any reason why I should go back to Windows. I haven't needed to figure out how to use WINE or anything like that yet and I'm glad because it kind of scares me (I'll get around to it eventually, I just get overwhelmed easily). It would be nice if I didn't have to connect my Corsair K70 TKL keyboard or my Virtuoso SE headphones to my work laptop so I can use iCUE to change settings, though. I'm personally not too bothered about RGB but I am quite bothered about trying to figure out how to get surround sound to work on my Virtuosos with Pop!_OS. I've been getting back into first-person shooters lately and that's half the reason I originally bought these headphones to begin with. I've spent a few free evenings over the last few weeks searching the web trying to figure out how to get surround sound working but I don't have the prerequisite knowledge to understand what on Earth I'm reading! Until there's official Linux support from Corsair, I'd greatly appreciate any advice on the matter. At this point I have no problems swapping to a different distro if it happens to be easier than on Pop!_OS. I specifically bought an AMD GPU so I wouldn't have to worry about Nvidia drivers (my major pain point during my first linux-only attempt).

Bought Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless SE from Amazon UK and they arrived almost two weeks ago. Before I plugged anything into my laptop, I installed iCUE from the installer ("iCUESetup_3.28.70_release.msi") found under the Downloads tab on the product page. Then connected the headset to the laptop via the included USB-C cable and let it install a driver. Updated the iCUE software and the headset and USB dongle firmware versions to latest. Mostly been using the headset with Microsoft Teams, Discord, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Often two at the same time. My biggest problem is the audio crackling/clipping, which wasn't often last week but feels more so the last few days. Once it starts it does not go away until I swap between wired and wireless connection or vice versa - from the initial connection method to the other. Sometimes the crackling does not stop and instead only lessens in severity. In this case I must close one of the previously mentioned applications (reopening is fine). If that doesn't work, I just unplug the headset or the dongle and restart my laptop. Fixes the issue. I think it might have something to do with what already running app takes the headset when I connect it before opening one of the other two, and/or When I leave the room and the headset goes to sleep while I'm away. For me, the crackling tends to start after either of those scenarios. When I leave and come back again after the headset goes to sleep, it also happens to me that the dongle continues flashing red despite the headset already playing and recording audio. More likely to start crackling when wired. From what I can tell, the USB connections are default. As for Discord; in Voice & Video, I have both the input and output devices set to Default. Input Mode is set to Voice Activity and Input Sensitivity is set to automatic. No delays between me or the rest of the voice channel but the enter and exit tones play after someone (including myself) joins or leaves the voice channel with a delay of roughly ten seconds.