Windows 10: Mushy crackling sound on HP Spectre x360 15

I have an HP Spectre x360 15-ch00x laptop. Windows 10 Pro, winver 19041.630.

It has a very annoying sound problem. I get crackling sounds, almost sort of mushy sounding, during louder passages. But it doesn't have to be loud, it can happen during normal speech or even relatively quiet music. It's sometimes accompanied by very short dropouts in the sound. It makes it very unpleasant to listen to music or movies, and even speech is annoying.

It's not consistent. I can replay the same snippet of sound and it will crackle differently, at different times.

It doesn't seem to be associated with any particular piece of hardware. For example it bothers me the most when I'm listening to my external speakers, which are plugged into the headphone jack. But I also hear cutouts/crackling (though the crackle is less noticeable) with a small USB speaker. There is very little common (audio) hardware on those two paths. Does the sound headed for a USB speaker even go through the laptop's soundcard?? Or does it send digital signals over USB and the speaker converts it to analog?

I have tried every driver (Realtek and Microsoft) without improvement. When I installed the recently-released Realtek driver I thought that had fixed it, but within a few days it started up again. Currently running Microsoft driver 10.0.19041.1.

Um. That's odd. I thought I had last installed the Realtek driver 6.0.8940.1 Rev.B released on 5/5/20 ... I just installed the Realtek driver again, and in a quick test, my sound is clean.

Could Windows have reverted to the Microsoft driver without my permission??

:)

 

HP Introduces the Spectre x360 Convertible PC

HP today announced the HP Spectre x360, a 13.3 inch convertible PC that delivers an ultra-thin design, the quality customers expect, and performance to get things done.

"Customers are looking for beautiful devices that deliver quality, versatility and portability," said Mike Nash, vice president, portfolio strategy and customer experience, Personal Systems, HP. "The HP Spectre x360 is transformational as it has the productivity of a high end notebook, tablet mode for on the go, tent mode for play and stand mode for watching entertainment in a stunning ultra-thin device."







x360 Design and Experience for Maximum Versatility
The HP Spectre x360 is designed with an all CNC aluminum chassis and is 15.9 millimeters in height and weighs 3.3 pounds. The device features polished metal on the sides that is achieved using a single machined cut, giving it a jewelry-like finish in a natural silver color.

With the HP Spectre x360, customers get an ultra-thin PC with additional versatility to experience multiple modes in one device. Users can transition seamlessly from notebook mode for work, stand mode for viewing entertainment, tent mode for touchscreen entertainment, or tablet mode for on the go. To ensure the display glides smoothly and stays in place where a user wants it, the HP Spectre x360 has innovative new hinges that contain a set of three spiral gears for synchronized and precise movement. The geared hinge design allows the HP Spectre x360 to maintain the same thin profile in tablet mode that it has when closed.

The HP Spectre x360 includes a full-sized, 1.5 millimeter travel keyboard to offer customers a comfortable and familiar experience. The HP Spectre x360 has an extra-wide glass touchpad for improved day-to-day usability.

Premium Quality, No Compromises
To give customers the battery life they expect, the HP Spectre x360 features a 56-watt hour battery that precisely fits into the CNC aluminum body. Next, HP looked at the biggest driver of battery drain -- the high-resolution touch display. The touch panel on the HP Spectre x360 is optically bonded to the display, increasing brightness and pulling each pixel up to the surface of the display. On models with the Quad HD display, the HP Spectre x360 takes advantage of Panel Self Refresh (PSR) technology which holds images on the screen to allow portions of the PC to power down when nothing on-screen is moving. As a result of these and other focus areas, the HP Spectre x360 delivers up to 12.5 hours of battery life.

HP improved Wi-Fi reliability and performance in the HP Spectre x360 for home, work and on the go. Based on issues identified in real-world testing, the wireless driver is tuned to improve performance on noisy networks and across a wide range of wireless access points. The new antenna slot design featured at the top of the display allows for effective 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz tuning, in every mode -- whether in notebook, stand, tent and tablet. The result is wireless throughput and connect rates that outperform other PCs.

Power and Smart Features for Productivity
The HP Spectre x360 supports Intel Core i5 and i7 processors to tackle the most demanding tasks without lag. With a lightning fast SSD up to 512 GB, customers can expect their PC to turn on instantly and load apps quickly.

The HP Spectre x360 supports both a full-size HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 compatible ports to allow customers to access content across multiple screens. Customers can also take advantage of the built-in Intel Wireless Display technology to stream content on their living room TV. To accommodate multiple devices and accessories, the HP Spectre x360 has three USB 3.0 ports and with HP USB Sleep and Charge, customers can use the HP Spectre x360 to charge their devices on the go even when in sleep mode.

Pricing and Availability
The HP Spectre x360 is expected to be available in the United States on March 1, 2015 at www.hp.com/spectrex360 and Best Buy on March 15, 2015.

The HP Spectre x360 is available in the following configurations:

• HP Spectre x360 with Intel Core i5 Processor, Full HD touchscreen display, 4 GB LPDDR3 system memory and a 128 GB SSD is $899.99.
• HP Spectre x360 with Intel Core i7, Full HD touchscreen, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD is $1149.99.
• HP Spectre x360 with Intel Core i7, Quad HD touchscreen, 8 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD is $1399.99.

The HP Spectre x360 has accessories available today and offered separately, including a HP Premium Leather Sleeve for sophisticated protection and HP Active Pen for writing, drawing, and easy navigation.

 

HP x360 Spectre Windows Hello No Longer Working

Thanks for the suggestion. For reference (for people coming after me trying to find a solution), the steps Lee is suggesting are as follows:

• Device Security > Security Processor Details > Security Processor Troubleshooting > Clear TPM

Appreciate the help, Lee, but resetting the TPM using the process above didn't work. All it did was make me reset my PIN and sign in again via my Microsoft account. As I mentioned in my initial post, I have an HP Spectre
x360 Convertible 13-ae0xx, so I've been using the drivers found here:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-spectre-13-ae000-x360-convertible-pc/16779579

Also as I mentioned, the latest drivers are installed - that's always my first go-to solution (other than turning it off and on again! ).

Any other suggestions?

 

Hp Spectre X360 15 with Toshiba XG5 SSD

I have a HP Spectre x360 15 2018 version which has the Toshiba series XG5 SSD 512gb. I have delayed the installation of the April update due to issues regarding reduced battery life surrounding this update. How will I know when the fix is released, or even
if I will need it? Are all laptops with this SSD going to be affected or is it random?

If I do allow installation, will the fix be picked up automatically and updated or will I need to use the HP Support Assistant? Any information would be helpful, thanks.

Has anyone else had any issues with their 2018 Spectre x360 laptop after installing this update?