Sims 4 Audio stuttering/repeating

@HoneyBee154  Does this happen with any sound output device you use?  Please test if you haven't already, specifically trying a device with a different type of connection, e.g. built-in speakers vs. headphones connected via jack.

If you hear the same issue on any device you try, please run a dxdiag and attach it to a post.

https://help.ea.com/en/help/pc/how-to-gather-dxdiag-information/

@puzzlezaddict Unfortunately, that did not help the issue. :/
Here's the dxdiag:

@HoneyBee154  Please try playing in a clean boot:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-boot-windows-10

When you reboot, don't open anything except for Origin, and put it in offline mode before playing.

If that doesn't help, try shutting down Waves MaxxAudio in the Task Manager's background tasks list.  If you lose sound entirely, which shouldn't happen but is always possible, another restart will fix it.

@puzzlezaddict I did the clean boot thing without disabling the Waves MaxxAudio Service, and it sort of worked?

The clicks and voices don't repeat anymore, but the music will still do so occasionally. 

@HoneyBee154  It's possible that the issue, or part of the issue, is the load on your processor, which is weak enough to be below the minimum requirement for Sims 4.  That doesn't mean you can't play, as you've seen, just that you may see performance issues.  When you clean boot a PC, you're disabling all nonessential tasks, meaning (among other things) the CPU has less to do, so it has more processing power left over for the game.

I'd still try disabling Waves MaxxAudio, just to see whether it helps.  I've read reports of it using too much CPU, and even if that's not strictly the case for your computer, it's possible the extra workload is a problem.  I've also read some reports that suggest something about the game's audio processing changed with the latest patch, and if it's at least partly not working as intended, another patch may fix it.  But I wouldn't count on that.

@puzzlezaddict So disabling Waves MaxxAudio actually did help a lot!

There's still a few stutters sometimes, but that's only when it has a tough time loading. So most likely my processing power like you said.

Since I can still mostly enjoy the music and gameplay, I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with the solution.

Quick question though: if I switch back to normal mode and not the clean boot mode, will it still work, or will it be glitchy? I'm worried I'll have to play in this mode every time I play..

@HoneyBee154  I think that disabling Waves MaxxAudio should help on its own, and perhaps enough that you're satisfied with the results.  It will also help to not run any other apps aside from Origin, and to put Origin in offline mode while you play, at least when you don't need to use the Gallery.  So no, I don't think you need to play in a clean boot; it's more of a diagnostic tool than a fix or workaround anyway.

If you do still have sound issues even when disabling the audio software and running Origin in offline mode, go back to the clean boot, except this time, you can use the 50/50 method to selectively reenable services until you find out which one is the problem.  It might be something you wouldn't even miss, and it's easy to leave that disabled while everything else runs normally.

@puzzlezaddict When I exited cleanboot and tried to run the game as usual, without Waves MaxxAudio and in offline mode, the repeating went back to having my sims' voices repeating.

I tried the 50/50 method, but now I can't hear any audio through my headphones at all, no matter what is enabled or disabled. I'm very confused and don't know what to do now.

@puzzlezaddict It works! And this might be kind of obvious but I found that the sound glitches less when I keep my computer cool and don't let it overheat. Thank you so much for your help!