Resolving Audio Dropouts in Games and During High CPU Load in Linux Distributions Using the PipeWire Audio Processing Engine

This article explains how to resolve audio crackling, distortion, popping, or cutouts during high CPU load in your Linux distribution using the PipeWire audio processing engine. The most common distribution that uses PipeWire is Ubuntu.

Issue

PipeWire users may experience the following symptoms with their audio while the system is under high load. This can often happen during video rendering or recording, gaming, or compiling.

1. Distortion
2. Crackling
3. Popping
4. Dropouts
5. Skipping

Fix

The solution to this issue is fairly simple, you just need to increase the latency value in the following configuration file until the issue goes away. Note that increasing this value introduces a delay into the audio pipeline, so you want to keep this as low as your system can handle.

Open /usr/share/pipewire/pipewire-pulse.conf in your text editor of choice.

Locate the #pulse.min.quantum = 128/48000 # 2.7ms line within the configuration file.
The default latency value of 2.7ms is calculated using 128 / 48000 * 1000 = 2.7ms

Uncomment it by removing the # from the start of the line.

Increase 128 to a higher value in multiples of 128. Use 512 as a starting value.

Your modified line should look like this: pulse.min.quantum = 512/48000
The audio latency with this setting should be 512 / 48000 * 1000 = 10.7ms

Save the file and then restart your computer. Verify the issue has been resolved after restarting your computer. If the issue persists, increase the value again to a higher multiple of 128. Save the file, restart, and test again.

Cause

This issue is caused by the default audio latency being set too low. When the system is under load, the CPU may no longer be able to keep up with the latency requirements and begin skipping.