I'm not sure when the original problem began but I recall having this issue for a while, but I just yesterday really noticed it when I plugged my headphones into the jack on the side to listen to some music.
Previously, the music from my built-in soundbar sounded GREAT. I could keep the volume at about 50% on itunes/spotify and about 50% on Windows and it was loud enough and had a great sound quality.
When I plugged my earbuds in yesterday I noticed that it did not cancel out the speaker sound and essentially sound was coming from BOTH. So I looked at my driver and it said it was outdated so I updated it thinking it would fix my issue. Fast forward 12 hours and umpteen backups and reboots and reinstalls of not only the IDT High Definition Audio CHIPSET but the AMD HDMI Output drivers (and others, such as the BIOS and bluetooth etc) I finally believe I am up to date.... however, my original problem still persists, albeit changed.
Right now, the music and sound quality of everything sounds TERRIBLE. It is very tinny and canny, plus there is popping and cracking even coming from the built-in speakers. Turning BeatsAudio off via [FN]+B does not affecting anything. And as I am currently listening to music in my earbuds, it is VERY evident that the sound is going in and out, as some times the sound quality is decent if not good and then I hear the little clicky crackle sound and it's back to poor quality.
What can I do to fix this?