New HyperX Cloud 2 popping/crackling sounds

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jdk4sabres

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Feb 11, 2015
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I just received my Cloud 2's in the mail and upon plugging them in(They are wired and USB only) I've noticed that when I'm in a game or watching a video there is a frequent popping or crackling noise. It's not too loud but it doesn't happen with my PX22 Turtle Beach headset or my actual Speakers. It also does not occur when sitting idle, or with mouse movement or anything like that.

I tried updating my Realtek Drivers, tried changing the audio quality in properties, disabling Razer Surround Pro software in case it was conflicting somehow. I'm not sure what else to do.

Update:

If I disconnect the headset from the on board driver and use them as headphones for my phone and play music or watch a youtube video then there are no popping sounds. So it's either the on board driver or my computer.

Update 2:

Hooked them up to my Brother in law's pc and they still pop, so it's not specifically my PC causing some sort of interference or software conflict. Maybe I should return them? Seems like there's an issue with the on board driver. I don't know...

Update 3:

Since the popping doesnt happen with my Turtle Beach's or my speaker system, I'm assuming it's a driver issue and while I did update my Asus realtek audio driver yesterday, that driver was from the 5th. Today I see a new one(11th) so hopefully that driver will fix it.

Update 4:
The driver didn't change anything.

Update 5:

I tried the DPC latency program and I do get one red bar indicating one of my drivers is causing the crackling issue. I hope I'm on the right track now.

Update 6:

I tried disabling drivers one at a time like the DPC latency program says to do and nothing seemed to stop it. Not sure which driver it is.

If it matter my specs are:

Asus M5a97 R2.0 motherboard(brand new)
Sapphire R9 270 Dual X OC edition(few months old)
AMD fx 6300(brand new)
8gb ram
Corsair CX600 psu
NZXT Guardian Case(brand new)
and a CM Hyper 212 evo cooler soon
 
Solution
B
They have finally fixed it. I wrote to them through technical support about the popping/crackling in my headset like the others in this thread have done and they have finally fixed it with a firmware update, the update was provided to me through a link to their website that they sent me through email.

To check the popping problem I used audiocheck's Sine Sweep - Full Spectrum sound files which very easily reveal the popping problem.

The new firmware updates from version 0003 to version 0005 and it finally solves the issues that persisted in previous versions, to get the update, just ask them through the technical support. I could also post the link they provided if anyone asks for it, but I don't know if I'm supposed to share it.
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I had a similar issue with mine. What seems to have resolved mine is I plugged my usb back in. I went to the device manager uninstalled the drivers and then used an adapter I already had to plug into my gaming keyboard. So far no pops. But I'll give it a few days and see how it goes. Then contact support again to get a new usb. Thing is it could probably be fixed with a driver update.
 
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Hello, first time poster.

I didn't meant to necro this thread. This is one of the few threads that appeared on google when I was looking for a solution to the hissing sound.

I bought the hyper x cloud 2 headset from Alternate here in belgium. I can hear a constant hissing sound from the headphone with the usb. I connecting it to different usb ports, hissing sound still remains. The headset is installed correctly according to the manual. I got in touch with one of the technical assistant at Kingston Technology UK. He mentioned that it was indeed a known issue. He proposed me a hyper x cloud 1 and an 32gb usb drive in exchange for the hyper x cloud 2 (very kind) or I could wait for a fix for the soundcard to come out. I do not know what to do at this point. I bought 2 different headset. I returned one cause it was uncomfortable (g430). Right now im tempting to return this one exchange for hyper x cloud 1 and usb storage drive. I've contacted them again and ask them about the fix that's coming out. I'm not really in a hurry right now, but the earpads on my current headset (creative sigma 3d) are wearing off bit by bit. They've become really uncomfy for prelonged gaming sessions.

Returning the headset to the vendor was not an option, cause according to them the headset seemed to be working fine, they did not hear the hissing noise.

So my question to you (community) is: Have u seen any solution to this issue? What do you guys think of the offer from Kingston?

I hope you understand my frustration and I'm sorry for writing this wall of text.



I've contacted the technical support in the UK, they seem to know about the issue.
They told me they're working on the issue with the soundcard. I'd like to confirm with you if that is indeed true. Is there really a fix on its way ?
 
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Can you give us an update on your situation? Is it working fine now? What kind of adapter are you using ?
 
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When I called about two weeks ago they said they were working on a fix but didn't have anything to put out to customers yet. They sent me a free mousepad and splitter cable so I can use it with on-board audio until a fix is released. I'm happy for now, hopefully they find a fix in the next couple of weeks.
 
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I decided to keep my Hyper X Cloud 2 headset and I've got the usb drive on my way as a compensation for the issue.
They also told me they're working on an issue. I guess it's just a matter of time now.
However the techincal assistant didn't mention anything about the splitter cable.
Can you show me what kind of a splitter it is?
 
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From what I understand from the replies above me, the issue is caused by the USB soundcard. If you want to get rid of that you can use the audio splitter instead of the USB soundcard. The downside is that you're not benefiting from the technology provided by the USB soundcard. There's no guarantee that this will fix the static noise, unless one of us can confirm it.

I personally am waiting for the usb soundcard fix. I won't be investing in anything now.
 
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yeah. i connected it to the audio jack and everything was fine. is there a way to get 7.1 surround sound just from plugging it in to the audio jack? also, is there a place to buy a new usb soundcard?
 
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This is the type of adaptor I received along with an extension cable since the one coming off the headset is so short.
 
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Hi,

I am also affected by the crackling/popping noises using Linux as my operating system.

Moreover, there are various error messages in the system log. Even thought, this messages are related to alsa (snd-usb-audio) I want to contribute them to this thread. Maybe it helps to find/fix the crackling/popping noises problem.

kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot set freq 44100 to ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot set freq 44100 to ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot set freq 44100 to ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot set freq 44100 to ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 2:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x1
kernel: usb 3-2: 2:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x1
kernel: usb 3-2: 1:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x81
kernel: usb 3-2: 2:1: cannot get freq at ep 0x1
kernel: usb 3-2: 2:1: cannot set freq 44100 to ep 0x1
....
pulseaudio[698]: E: [alsa-sink-USB Audio] alsa-sink.c: ALSA woke us up to write new data to the device, but there was actually nothing to write!
pulseaudio[698]: E: [alsa-sink-USB Audio] alsa-sink.c: Most likely this is a bug in the ALSA driver 'snd_usb_audio'. Please report this issue to the ALSA developers.
pulseaudio[698]: E: [alsa-sink-USB Audio] alsa-sink.c: We were woken up with POLLOUT set -- however a subsequent snd_pcm_avail() returned 0 or another value < min_avail.


PS:
- I've already reported this to the alsa project. There was no response, so far. Therefore, I don't know if there will be a fix.
- Directly after booting up, there is a delay of about 5 to 10 sec before I get sound. Apart from this, the headset works like intended.
 
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Yeah, I'm not impressed. I bought the HyperX Cloud 2 today, already not impressed. With the USB dongle there is a lot of cracking popping and even static on Skype (even when typing not other people's microphones there is fucking static). I would just not use it but unfortunately the microphone doesn't work then. I looked at Amazon and they want me to send them the headset for a replacement model. Crap no, I'm not going to go another 4-8 days without a headset (and I have an ear condition). If this crap isn't fixed I'm never buying a HyperX product again. I can't care how crisp the sound is if there is fucking cracks every five seconds. You know what, this is really sad. I was so excited after watching 12 reviews that were all positive. Yeah I expected the microphone to suck, but I didn't expect the actual headphones to have serious problems. I'm not going to buy a new dongle either on principle, they should quadruple check all of their products to ensure every single component is working perfectly and there is never any bad eggs since they are selling a premium product. So I guess for now I'll just keep switching between buggy dongle mode and non-dongle mode depending if I'm talking to a friend at that time (oh yeah, forget about playing games with friends WHILE listening to great audio. Skype will fuck it all up).
 
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I had this same problem when I plugged into my usb 3.0 slot i switched it to 2.0 and it seems to be working now i'm not sure why, but i have had problems with this before. I know some mobo's only have 3.0 so im not sure if yours does or does not. Hopefully this helped
 
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where you plugin the headset to the thing, i don't know what it's called because im norwegian but it says 7.1 in the middle, press it and the static goes away hope it fixes it.

it might not be as good but no static
 
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UPDATE: I have been notified by Hyperx that they have sent out my replacement USB dongle. They also emailed me a shipping label to return the original one. They claim to have fixed the issue, hopefully its true!
 
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I've been also having constant static sound and a bit of crackling too with my new HyperX Cloud 2.

I also noticed today that if i set my volume to 73 or higher the static sound increases drastically, wondering if anyone else has that specific problem too. I feel like I've tried everything to fix the problem but nothing seems to work.

And just to be clear, this issue isn't hardware related but software, right?

 
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At this point, I guess that it would be helpful if every user experiencing this issue would post the motherboard, power supply model and if using USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 port (or both). Maybe there's a pattern.

And a moderator should "unsolve" it, as... it has not been solved...yet.
 
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Motherboard: Acer Predator G3-605
Power supply: 500W (model unknown)
USB: Both 3.0 and 2.0

 
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I got the new usb dongle via Royal Mail, nothing fixed. I can still hear the static noise when playing quiet ambient songs or playing songs on low volume. Even when there's no media playing in the background, I still hear static noise. If I turn the volume higher the static noise is masked by the louder music. I doubt it's any different when gaming with these headsets.


I really wonder how this got through the Q&A.

Pic:
http://i.imgur.com/ZDyMnef.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2PorB72.jpg (manual)


Motherboard : MSI P67A-C43
USB: Both 3.0 and 2.0
PSU: MS-Tech 750 W
 
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Also suffering from popping every now and then, especially noticeable when reproducing certain frequencies as well. There are certain times in Elite dangerous f.ex. where due to the high dynamic range, there's quite a number of low and high freq samples playing concurrently and the crackling/popping somewhat intensifies. Among switching USB ports and the like, I was also driven to think that maybe sample rate had something to do with it as well, but upon turning down the sample rate via the audio options, the popping was still there.

I will say, it is not loud, but it is there, and since I'm very sensitive to those sort of quirks, it is now really apparent to me. It is a shame because I too went by all the rave reviews, even by pages I trust quite a bit, and it was exactly in my budget range. Also sad is the fact that it is by far and away the most comfortable headset I have ever owned, and the audio quality barring the popping is rather sublime. I have contacted support as well, awaiting response. I really hope there is a fix for this rather than a curse on the entire line of products, because if it wasn't for this quirk, it's my favorite headset.
 
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Got a headset from Taiwan yesterday, still have crackling, though weak, but constant, which is very depressing for me.

I'm from Russia and bought through Ebay, apparently I did not get my money back? Hope for a miracle after two months is not enough ...

 
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I got my headphones to day and cant even get sound with the usb soundcard. worked fine in stereo with my phone. I also hear crackling noises but nothing more.

Nvm updated my motherboards usb 3 drivers and used a usb 3 slot for my headphones in that slot. works fine now it seems thanks any way!

One more thing i needed to go in to sound devices settings and pick cloud 2 as default


Swedish
 
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Got my Cloud 2 today and noticed the constant static sound immediately tried to connect it to both USB 2.0 and 3.0 didn't fix anything I hope we can get a fix for this problem soon.

Also if you keep the Headset earphone volume below 73 in sound > Playback > properties > levels, it should be fine but you can still hear a little bit of static.

Hope there will be a software fix for this problem soon.
 
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