Use Elgato Wavelink? Having odd audio crackling issues? Maybe this can fix it.

Troubleshooting Audio Crackling in Elgato WaveLink with NVIDIA Noise Removal VST

Recently, I encountered an annoying issue with my computer that caused audio crackling whenever I moved windows, opened new tabs in browsers like Firefox or Chrome, or closed windows. If you’re someone who relies on clean audio—whether for gaming, streaming, or creating content—you know how frustrating this can be.

The Culprit? Elgato WaveLink and NVIDIA Noise Removal

After a bit of investigation, I realized that the issue might be tied to the Elgato WaveLink software, specifically when using the NVIDIA Noise Removal VST plugin. If you’ve got this plugin enabled within WaveLink, this may very well be the root cause of the audio crackling you’re experiencing.

The Quick Fix: Disable NVIDIA Noise Removal

For me, the solution was straightforward: I disabled the NVIDIA Noise Removal VST plugin in WaveLink, and the crackling disappeared. If you’re experiencing the same issue, give this a try. Here’s how to disable it:

1. Open Elgato WaveLink.
2. Find the channel using the NVIDIA Noise Removal plugin.
3. Turn off or remove the VST effect from the channel.

After doing this, my system no longer produced any crackling audio when opening or moving windows or tabs.

Another Workaround from the Community

A member of the YouTube community, HunterAP, suggested an alternative workaround that may help if disabling the plugin doesn’t work for you. This method has worked for some, though not for everyone:

Step-by-Step: Adjusting Process Priorities

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
2. Find the following processes:
   • WaveLink
   • AudioRoutingHelper
   • audiodg (the Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation process)
3. Set the priority for each of these processes to “High”:
   • Right-click on the process > Go to “Set Priority” > Choose “High.”
   Note: You’ll need to do this every time you close and reopen WaveLink, or every time your PC restarts. This is because process priorities reset when a program is closed fully (not just minimized).

Using Process Lasso for Automation

If manually setting these priorities each time is too much of a hassle, you can use a program like Process Lasso to automate it. With Process Lasso, you can set up priority rules for specific programs, so you won’t have to worry about it again.

Conclusion

Audio crackling issues are incredibly frustrating, especially when you rely on high-quality audio for your work or hobbies. If you’re using Elgato WaveLink with the NVIDIA Noise Removal VST plugin and experiencing this problem, disabling the plugin might just be the solution you need.

If that doesn’t work, try adjusting the process priorities for WaveLink and AudioRoutingHelper as described by HunterAP, or use Process Lasso to automate the process.

Hopefully, one of these fixes will resolve your audio crackling issues, allowing you to get back to streaming, content creation, or simply enjoying uninterrupted audio!

If you’ve found any other solutions or workarounds, feel free to share them in the comments below.