Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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Simple07
Posts: 133
Joined: 5. Nov 2014, 16:05

Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by Simple07 »

Somehow the last few releases of Windows 10 have very bad sound quality on the latest few releases of VirtualBox. I now have VirtualBox 5.2.16 with associated ExtensionPack and GuestAdditions installed, the sound quality is rubbish on Windows 10 Build 17134.xxx and above, but I don't have the sound problem with Windows 7 or XP.

Last night I installed Windows 10 Build 18204.1001 where the sound quality is still very bad. Ignoring that the problem may be with VirtualBox drivers, the following change fixed it for me:

- Open Control Panel --> Hardware and Sound --> Sound

- Under the Playback tab ensure "Speakers" is chosen and click on the Configure button

- In the Speakers Setup dialog box change the Audio Channel from 5.1 Surround to whichever one that works best for you. (Stereo, Quadraphonic and Surround options work for me but none of the 5.1 Surround)

- Next --> Next --> Finish --> OK

I hope it will also work for those having the same problem.
Last edited by Simple07 on 28. Jul 2018, 10:34, edited 1 time in total.
mpack
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by mpack »

Makes sense. 5.1 would have the highest bandwidth requirement and therefore be most prone to buffering/performance glitches. Basic stereo should be easiest, bitrate matched to whatever the host is using, and the host should be using a basic bitrate.
pentagonik
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by pentagonik »

@Simple07 Did you configure the guest as doing 5.1 output, or did Windows do that (magically)? What is your physical speaker setup, do you have 5.1 boxes?
Simple07
Posts: 133
Joined: 5. Nov 2014, 16:05

Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by Simple07 »

The Windows Virtual Machine was created from scratch using VirtualBox 5.2.16. I also have VMware Workstation with Windows 10 Buils 17723.1000 image, but this installation has one more extra option; 7.1 Surround!!! VMware Workstation was also set on 5.1 Surround (by Windows setup magically), but does not suffer (badly) from the sound distortion.

Basically, Windows setup seems to choose this configuration itself, probably based on the VM configuration created by VBox or VMware. Because at the final stages of the installation, one cannot understand what Cortana is saying. Incidentally, I tried both ICH9 and PIIX3 chipset emulations with similar results.

On the the Dell 5570 laptop (I7 8550u with 2 tiny speakers, no 5.1) host Windows 10 Build 17134.191, only the Stereo option is available and none of the others.
socratis
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by socratis »

Simple07, are you talking about your Host or your Guest? I can't make which of the two you're referring. You posted on the "Windows Hosts" and in the first post it sounds (pun intended) like your host, but then you talk about VMs.
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Simple07
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by Simple07 »

I consider the initial stage of creating the folder that has the *.VBOX and *.VDI before installing the Operating System is the stage of creating the Virtual Machine upon which one installs the Guest Operating System.

This analogy comes into my mind from the action of building the hardware to become a (Physical Machine) then installing an operating system of choice. It is further enhanced (in my mind) by the fact that Windows 10 digital licence is tide to the particular VM itself, where one can install any Windows 10 version (but the same Pro, Home, etc..) and still have the licence.
Cain57
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Joined: 24. Jan 2016, 11:49

Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by Cain57 »

Thank you for posting this, I've been stumped by how horrible the audio was in my latest Win10 VMs.

To be clear, the steps you posted are conducted in the VM itself, not on the Host, and it works perfectly.

-----------------

- Open Control Panel --> Hardware and Sound --> Sound

- Under the Playback tab ensure "Speakers" is chosen and click on the Configure button

- In the Speakers Setup dialog box change the Audio Channel from 5.1 Surround to whichever one that works best for you. (Stereo, Quadraphonic and Surround options work for me but none of the 5.1 Surround)

- Next --> Next --> Finish --> OK
pentagonik
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by pentagonik »

Please note that 5.1 surround support is not supported yet -- so you need to set your guest's speaker setup to stereo channels.
Simple07
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Joined: 5. Nov 2014, 16:05

Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by Simple07 »

Please note that in the latest Windows 10 releases (since April 2018) including the very latest Windows 10 insider 18290 (released yesterday), The sound is very broken during and after the installation process. VirtualBox seems to default to 5.1, it does not do that with Windows 10 1804 or earlier.

You can try installing Windows 10 1809 (it is GA by now) or any insider release after April 2018 and notice the sound quality of the installation instructions (during the Windows installation process). You can only change the Audio Channels after the installation is concluded and Windows is operational.

So, we, users, do not choose 5.1, it is VirtualBox which is defaulting to 5.1, in spite of the laptop not having this configuration.

P.S. VMware workstation defaults to the correct hardware setup in all Windows releases.
Last edited by Simple07 on 1. Dec 2018, 04:13, edited 1 time in total.
socratis
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by socratis »

Simple07 wrote:VirtualBox seems to default to 5.1, it does not do that with Windows 10 1804 or earlier.
VirtualBox doesn't have a clue what version of Windows you're installing. Maybe you have that backwards, in that it's Win10 1809 that started defaulting to 5.1?
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
tonyo
Posts: 1
Joined: 10. Apr 2019, 07:19

Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by tonyo »

fixed this problem by selecting
alsa
intel hd audio
enable audio input and output
increasing the #of core processors from 1 to 2

host = linux mint
guest = win 10 pro build 1809
vbox= 6.0

hope this works on ur system too
Ian P
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Joined: 10. Sep 2021, 19:31

Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by Ian P »

I was having this same issue with really bad crackly/choppy sound in a Windows-10 VM under a Windows-10 host, with the speakers in the guest set to stereo. After some trial and error what fixed it was to change the sound format in the host (Sounds control panel, Speakers Properties, Advanced tab, Default Format). There I had it set to 32-bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality) while in the guest the best available (of the only 3 choices there) is 16-bit, 44100 kHz (CD Quality). I reduced the setting in the host to 16-bit, 192000 Hz (Studio Quality), and then the sound quality in the guest was great.

But strangely, I then tried changing the host setting to 24-bit/192000 Hz, 32-bit/192000 Hz, and finally back to 32-bit/48000 Hz where it had started, and sound in the guest was fine with all of them. So changing this in the host made the problem go away, but it does not seem to have been an incompatibility between the guest/host settings as it first appeared. Go figure... :?
mpack
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Re: Fix Bad Choppy and Crackling sound in Windows 10

Post by mpack »

Or, you could simply update to VirtualBox 6.1.22 or later, which no longer has the problem.

Locking this old topic.
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