Huge Speaker Distortion in Spectre x360 15 (2020)

[suvamm]

I recently purchased the x360 15 inch (2020). I'm having a lot of issues with the speakers: most music plays fine. However, during any call (on any app such as Microsoft Teams/Google Meet/Skype/Zoom) the speakers crackle and the audio is pretty distorted. This is also happening for specific songs. I tried reinstalling the driver, tried to remove static charge using Power Button + F6, played around with the equalizer settings in Bang and Olufsen, tweaked the audio properties: nothing worked. The only way to remove distortion is to reduce the volume right down to around 30%. Is this usual for other x360 customers? Is this a hardware issue? 

[banhien]

@suvamm 

Please do a clean install Audio software/driver, this should help.

   (a) Download the following driver and save on your computer,
              https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp104001-104500/sp104007.exe

   (b) Go to Device Manager, Sound to uninstall sound driver (Realtek) and reboot,
   (c) Right click downloaded file and select Run as administrator,
   (d) Reboot again.

Regards.

[suvamm]

Hi @banhein,

Thanks a lot for the reply. I tried what you suggested, and decided to see for a few days what the situation is. Unfortunately, the speakers continue to crack, specially during calls. 

[The_Fossette]

@suvamm 

I recommend you run the HP audio diagnostic from the HP support assistant if you have that installed.

Or else, follow the steps in the below link.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/topic/diagnostics?category=computing&issue=sound-issues

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

P.S: Welcome to the HP Support Community 😊

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

Stay Home – Stay Safe

[suvamm]

@The_Fossette

I tried the audio diagnosis and everything is reported to be fine. I did some additional investigation, and the distortion definitely seems to be happening during voice playback: YouTube videos crackle when there is someone speaking, there is crackling during audio calls, etc. 

At this point, I am inclined towards this being a hardware issue. I have tried every setting available, reinstalled drivers, etc. Look forward to your thoughts on this.

[AEM_Retired]

I have realitivly the same issue with ALL video calls. Speratic audio distortion. I have been through every adjustment I could find and reinstalled drivers and ran all the diagnostic test. No dice.

I did find that if I unplug the AC adapter and just use battery power the problem goes away. The sound is crystal clear. I have tried 3 AC adapters and all produce the same results.

I have read similar posts about the AC adapters  causing the problem on other forums. Sounds like a problem in the charging circuit.

BTW this is my second HP laptop in two months doing the same thing. 

[suvamm]

@AEM_Retired

Ah, that's interesting. Come to think of it, I was always plugged in while trying things out with the speaker. Let me try it out on battery and report back. Thanks for the suggestion. 

[The_Fossette]

@suvamm 

Also, I recommend you update the BIOS from the below link and test.

https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

Stay Home – Stay Safe

[AEM_Retired]

Did you attempt to conduct a video call with the AC adapter unplugged vs plugged in to see if the distortion goes away???

I've been reading in a section of Envy laptop owners that they are tracking down the audio problems being caused by a graphics driver problem. 

HP PLEASE HELP US. PLEASE ESCULATE OUR AUDIO ISSUES TO THE PEOPLE THAT PROGRAM THE DRIVERS...PLEASE  

We haven't seen one audio problem solved yet

[suvamm]

@aem_retired @the_fossette

I did extensive testing for the past few days. Unplugging the computer does NOT help. The audio distortion remains. I have done all possible updates (including BIOS and audio drivers). 

At this point of time, I am pretty sure that the issue is either related to bad drivers (and the newest updates don't fix the issue), or a hardware issue.

I am all for escalating this issue further. How can I contribute to it?