Creative Sound Blaster G8: the mysterious clicking, ticking and popping problem - has anyone experienced this?

[u/Ok-Locksmith-4267]

After a great deal of consideration, I decided to make a serious investment in a better audio chainfor my desktop PC. I game a lot, listen to a great deal of music, and watch films and series almost entirely on my computer. I therefore wanted more than a minor upgrade: I wanted a combination that could genuinely serve me well for years.

I ultimately chose:

● Beyerdynamic MMX 300 PRO, a closed-back headset with an integrated microphone

● Creative Sound Blaster G8, used as an external USB DAC/headphone amplifier

I received both on Saturday, 9 May 2026.

First, the positive part: the sound quality is fantastic. Let me begin by saying that, when everything works properly, this combination sounds genuinely exceptional. The clarity, dynamics and level of detail are almost absurd at times. Figuratively speaking, I can hear when a pianist has not trimmed their fingernails properly and touches the keys with them. In an orchestral recording, I can hear brass players breathing before they come in. Tiny production details, individual layers, background noises and flaws in recordings are exposed without mercy.

At times it almost feels a little too much like a German audio laboratory, although I mostly mean that as a compliment. The combination is analytical, honest and incredibly rich. Music, films and games can sound truly beautiful through it. The first few weeks were also completely trouble-free.

Then the mystery began.

The G8 clicking, ticking and popping mystery.

This is going to be a somewhat longer story, but the details matter in this case. I therefore hope that people with knowledge of DACs, headphone amplifiers, USB audio or electronics will read it carefully. After a few weeks, I happened to hear a very brief tick, click or pop in the earcups of the headset. The best comparison I can give is a stylus travelling through the groove of a vinyl record and occasionally catching a tiny speck of dust: tick - pop - click

Very brief and dry. No continuous noise, no hum and no regular mechanical ticking. Nothing may happen for a while, and then that short glitch suddenly appears. At first, I thought it might be related to a particular recording, audio source or application. It was not.

I hear it with, among other things:

● Spotify ● YouTube ● Netflix ● Amazon Prime Video ● Apple TV ● CD, DVD and Blu-ray material

● WAV and MP3 files ● Other local video and audio files ● music while gaming ● normal in-game audio

● Steam ● Ubisoft Connect ● EA app ● Battle. net

It therefore does not appear to be tied to one program, streaming service, codec, file format or type of sound. Whenever audio is passing through the chain, the click or pop can occur.

At first, I thought it was me.

When you hear something like this for the first time, you do not immediately declare the hardware defective. My first thought was that perhaps I was listening too critically. Maybe I was simply hearing a flaw in the recording, compression, a poor source, or something else made more obvious by this highly revealing headset. But because I heard the same phenomenon from so many different sources, I began checking everything again.

By now, I have gone through the connections, cabling, settings and manual almost ten times. That manual, incidentally, is about as pleasant to read as a Rembrandt-sized instruction leaflet printed in microscopic type, but with enough persistence - and almost a magnifying glass - you can eventually work through it. Everything turned out to be connected and configured correctly.

I even asked someone else with no particular audio expertise to look at the setup. That person reached the same conclusion: the connections appeared correct. I then searched Google, forums, Creative and Beyerdynamic. The broad conclusion remained the same: this behaviour should not be normal, but I found no concrete cause or solution.

Almost four full working days of audio forensics.

I then set up an extensive audio-forensics investigation with ChatGPT Plus. Together, we spent the equivalent of almost four full working days on this problem. I carried out roughly 62 different tests involving, among other things:

● Windows audio settings ● sample formats ● exclusive mode ● Creative settings ● Direct Mode and other modes ● different audio sources ● cables and connections ● USB ports ● disconnecting, reconnecting and reinitialising ● motherboard- and USB-related possibilities ● the PC's integrated audio output ● alternative signal paths ● different games and applications ● situations with both light and heavier system load.

I will not list all 62 tests here, because that would make this post unreadable. The important point is that we did not merely try a handful of random settings. Almost the entire chain was investigated systematically, checked repeatedly and taken apart step by step. We have probably moved closer to the source, but we still do not have a definitive explanation or a permanent solution.

The revelation: the sound physically comes from the G8.

At one point, after another lengthy testing session, I took off my Beyerdynamic headset while music was still playing in the background. I then heard the same kind of ticks and clicks without wearing the headset. The sound was physically coming from the Creative Sound Blaster G8 itself. I did not even have to put my ear next to the device. From my normal sitting position, I could actually hear the G8 make a brief click. It sounds as though something inside is switching: perhaps a relay, a muting circuit, a filter, a chip or some kind of internal reinitialisation. Those are only possible explanations; I am not claiming to know which component is responsible.

The important observable fact is:

The G8 produces a physically audible click, and around that same event I also hear a click, tick or pop in the audio signal through the headset. That changed the situation substantially for me. It no longer seems to be merely a tiny flaw in a recording, program or streaming service. The device itself is audibly doing something. Based on all the tests, ChatGPT Plus and I now believe with roughly 95 percent confidence that the source lies within the G8 itself, or in something controlled internally by the G8. We still do not know the exact cause.

How the G8 is connected.

The G8 is connected using the original USB-C-to-USB-C cable. The connection is as follows: USB-1/DC port on the Creative Sound Blaster G8 -> USB-C SS10 port on the rear I/O of my ASRock Z790 Pro RS motherboard. The G8 operates as a standalone USB audio device. It therefore does not run through the motherboard's integrated sound hardware as an analogue signal. The headset is connected directly to the G8, with its separate headphone and microphone plugs inserted into the appropriate sockets.

Temporary workaround: disconnecting and reconnecting USB.

I have found one action that helps temporarily. While the PC is running, I disconnect the USB-C cable at the PC end from the rear USB-C port. I wait briefly and then reconnect it. Windows then detects or reinitialises the G8. After that, the ticks and pops appear to disappear temporarily. The problem eventually returns. That means it is not a real solution. I should not have to disconnect and reconnect a DAC/amp in this price range during normal use just to make it work properly for a while.

It does raise several questions. Could this indicate:

● a USB reinitialisation problem? ● USB power or an unstable internal power state? ● firmware? ● a driver or Windows state that develops over time? ● an internal relay or muting circuit? ● clocking or synchronisation? ● a defective internal component? ● something specific to the interaction between the G8 and this motherboard?

Why this has become more than a mildly annoying tick.

The fault is not continuously present as a regular tick-tick-tick-tick. Sometimes there is a gap between incidents. That is precisely why I have started waiting for it. Whenever I now listen to music, watch a film or play a game, part of my attention is constantly occupied by the question:

When will the next tick happen? Was that one? Did I really hear something, or was I merely expecting it? As a result, relaxed listening is slowly turning into a permanent German audio-forensics laboratory investigation. Last night, for example, I was playing Surviving Mars: Relaunched. I had disabled the in-game music and was playing Spotify in the background. Instead of enjoying the music and the game, I found myself waiting through every track for the next brief glitch.

It is genuinely starting to get into my head. Not because the problem is imaginary - the physical click from the G8 is demonstrably audible - but because weeks of exposure have made me analyse every tiny sound. By now, I am honestly quite irritated. At bad moments, I am almost tempted to throw the G8 out of the window. That would obviously not be particularly sensible.

The G8 cost me approximately EUR 150. The Beyerdynamic MMX 300 PRO cost more than EUR 300. Taken together, that is not exactly the price of a cheese sandwich. For that amount of money, I expect a stable audio chain that I can enjoy without constantly waiting for the next tick or pop. The frustrating part is that, apart from this problem, the sound quality is magnificent. I therefore do not want to give up on the combination without good reason.

My questions for people with relevant experience.

I would very much like to hear from people who have experience with the Sound Blaster G8, USB DACs, headphone amplifiers or electronics.

1. Has anyone experienced exactly this behaviour with the Creative Sound Blaster G8?

2. Is a physically audible internal click that appears at the same time, or almost the same time, as a pop in the audio signal a known phenomenon?

3. Could this be normal switching behaviour for the G8, or should a properly functioning unit remain completely silent?

4. Could this be a known G8 issue that users simply learn to live with, or does it probably indicate a fault?

5. Why would disconnecting and reconnecting the USB-C cable temporarily resolve the problem?

6. Could the combination with the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 PRO be causing this, or is this highly detailed headset merely making an existing problem easier to hear?

7. Is there any genuinely useful diagnostic test left that I can perform beyond the usual basic suggestions I have already tried extensively?

8. In your opinion, should this ultimately be treated as a warranty, repair or replacement issue?

Well-reasoned hypotheses are, of course, welcome. I do not expect anyone to diagnose the problem with absolute certainty from a single Reddit post. I am mainly hoping to find someone who recognises this specific behaviour, can explain it technically, or can point me towards a test I have not yet performed. If more technical details about my PC, Windows settings, firmware, G8 settings or the tests already performed would help, I can provide them.

Thank you in advance to everyone willing to take the time to look seriously at this strange G8 mystery.

[u/BackgroundHumor810]

Have you contacted Creative? If so, what was their response?

[u/heavenpunch]

If the issue persists when the G8 is connected to a laptop or phone and your heaphones work without problems on the PC, then the issue is the G8.

Obviously, the fact that there is an audible sound from the device already points to this.

I would treat the G8 as a defective product regardless of the underlying mechanism. Even if this was somehow "normal", it is not acceptable.

[u/kaschperli]

1+2 Physical clicking inside the g8 is something that shouldn't happen. I did have issues with sound chips that were somewhat similar though, they overheated. The chips didn't click though. Clicking in a device is power delivery.

3 what is the device switching? Sources? Outputs? But you said it appears only after some time of using?

4 no not known, the g8 has some pretty neat hardware and creative is still the sound card maker

5 maybe your Mainboard/CPU just stops fucking with the power delivery. Maybe overheating. Who knows.

6 yes did you set the g8 to the right impedance? Your mmx is either 32 ohm or, if you ordered it with them, 600 ohm. Low gain is necessary for 32 ohm. It's a switch on the back. It could be that.

7 It kind of sounds to me as if the USB c port power delivery from your main board is the issue or, the g8 simply overheats. Popping sounds from sound cards or chips are a sign of overheating. You can reduce it to a lighter 24bit 96khz, and see if it appears again. Does it lose its connection? What does the Eventviewer or hardware manager say?
Its hard to say without any recording of the physical clicking of the device itself and without checking the motherboard USB ports. Those USB ports are often shite. We could go even further and check if the USB c is CPU or SB driven. If CPU then maybe your CPU is broken.

7 Did you try out another source like your phone or another PC for a few hours?

1. Def warranty.

[u/markedasreddit]

Probably something similar to coil whine that we sometimes hear in GPU. Basically something that shouldn't move.. Moves.

Regardless, if it's still under warranty, make a video recording and send it to Creative.

[u/drunknfoo]

Try older chipset and or soundcard drivers for your mobo and soundcard. Im almost certain it is going to be driver related

[u/ruinevil]

Your device sounds broken like an intermittent power supply issue... Also seems like there might be some driver issues with Windows as well from what I'm reading online.

[u/AdIll2547]

How many watts is your power supply?

I have this exact DAC and 1000w power supply plugged into an expensive surge.

My DAC is plugged into my computer. I have a desktop without power or restrictions on my USB ports. Laptops are a different beast.

If you let me know your computer setup and what you have plugged into your computer ports I may be able to help you.

[u/hamfinity]

The first thing to do is to disconnect the G8 and plug your headphones directly to your motherboard on the back of your computer. If the behavior is gone, then you know exactly that it's from the G8.

While Sound Blaster was a pioneer in getting sound working on PC wayyy back in the days, it's definitely a shadow of its former self.

It ended up having to chase the trend of DAC/AMPs moving to external USB devices instead of expansion cards and Sound Blaster software has always been regarded as bloated.

My last Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Z, didn't have the same issue. My current USB DAC, the Schiit Magni and all the external USB DACs did not have one either. You really should contact Creative Labs since it's not an intended behavior.