M14xR1 Sound issue. clashing??

Hi b3nje909,

Connect external headphones/Speakers and check if the crackling noise could be heard.

 I recommend, disable Audio enhancements. Below steps would help you in disabling Audio enhancements. 

1. Click the Windows icon in the lower-left corner and then click “Control Panel”. The “Control Panel” window will open on the screen.
2. From the “Control Panel” window, click the “Hardware and Sound” link.
3. From the “Hardware and Sound” options, click the “Manage audio devices” link under the “Sound” section. The “Sounds” window will display on the screen.
4. Select the device you want to change the audio enhancements for, and then click the “Properties” button in the lower-right corner. The properties window will display on the screen.
5. Click the “Enhancements” tab at the top, and then disable any audio enhancement you don’t want to enable by unchecking the enhancement and clicking “Apply”. You can disable all audio enhancements by checking the “Disable all enhancements” checkbox and then clicking apply.
6. Click “OK” to close the properties window.
7. If you want to disable enhancements for other audio devices, repeat steps 4-6 for other devices.

Also, update the drivers from the below mentioned link: 

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/alienware-m14x?driverId=16G79&osCode=W764&fileId=2731100115

Let me know if this helped.