I've had this issue since I started with the rF2 beta. I get crackling sounds here and there and then every minute or so the sound will cut off completely for about 30 seconds to a minute or more before coming back. I just changed out the sound card tonight and it is still happening. Was using a Soundblaster X-FI Xtremegamer and just installed a X-FI Pro and it didn't help the problem. Thanks for any help to resolve this..
I assume you have the latest drivers installed? Open your PLR file and change Buffer Latency under [Sound Options] to a higher value (5 for example). I have an X-Fi myself (don't know which variety) and I can almost get away with a latency of 1*8ms, but I do hear some crackling every now and then with it. Setting it to 2 is perfect for me. As a temporary check to make sure the culprit is not something else in your OS, try playing with the latency and see if it goes away, and please report back . In the X-Fi control panel, you could also change the quality to Performance and see if that has an effect.
Just finished running some laps. I am still getting lots of crackling and popping, and it did cut out again - but only once for like 3 seconds this time. I have the latest drivers (according to Creative auto update) and everything is default in the creative audio control panel. If I lose sound, sometimes I have to switch between game and entertainment mode and then it will come back.
As a last resort, try Buffer Latency=8 in your PLR. If you still get crackling and cutting out, try ensure ALL your system drivers, including chipset drivers, etc, are fully up to date. I assume for other titles, you have no such issues? The thing about Buffer Latency, you really want to run as low as possible before you get sound issues, so if it helps, try 7, if that works, try 6, if that crackles again, go back to 7. Edit: 1 more thing, can you provide your system information?