XPS 15 9500 audio signal/control delayed

Question

Hi,

I was wondering if there is a solution for following issue I am experiencing on my XPS 9500 laptop:

- Audio signals from apps are delayed by several seconds. A notification appears in the right bottom corner, but the sound follows only after some time.

- When I want to adjust the volume through the task bar icon, the reaction of the slider is also delayed. Here not only the confirming sound is delayed (with adjusted volume), but also the visual slider doesn't react to the mouse click immediately. Then on the second click it reacts on time, but on the third click it is delayed again.
I measured the delay time, it is always around 7 seconds.

If I open any audio file with the "Groove-Music" app, they also take a while to play, although the "play" button is already pressed. This delay is also 7 seconds after the first time opening the file. When playing them again, the delay is less (around 4-5 sec). Windows Media Player and VLC also show similar delay when opening audio files (visuals are showing "playing", but the audio playback start takes a while).

Thanks for any help.

fireberd · Answer

First thing, reinstall the Dell Realtek sound driver. We find a lot of sound problems are fixed by a reinstall. Also reinstall Waves MaxxAudio Pro. May be something else but give this a shot first.

Dell downloads for the 9500

Support for XPS 15 9500 | Drivers & Downloads | Dell US

bigmac88 · Answer

Hey!I had similar issues, not exactly the same, but audio driver issues causing video delays and volume mixer delays/ freezing. I honestly tried everything and the only fix was doing the free upgrade to windows 11. I know others who had similar problems had their issues fixed that way too. Might be worth a shot!Cheers

LarsMa · Answer

Same Problem here, I tried everything including driver fixes. Only possibility to work right now is via Bluetooth headphones, which are not affected. When using the speakers the delay is really bad and subsequent problems with other programs like Zoom are impacting the workflow. Will try the update to Win 11 if nothing changes in next days, thanks @bigmac88 !

Cheers

himel55 · Answer

Same problem here, reinstalling didn't work for me, neither did installing old versions of the realtek driver. I also have a new issue now, where Waves MaxxAudio Pro GUI just displays a black screen.

Patryksen · Answer

After windows update to W11 audio worked for 2 days then again the same issue. Tried to reinstall drivers it didn't help. DELL WHAT IS GOING ON ? I'm unable to work on that machine. Give me my money back!

Droider · Answer

Audio driver or the audio chip in XPS 9500 is pure trash, unfortunate and it is the reality. Dell does nothing to fix their fault. Shame on you Dell.

mstremmelaar · Answer

I have something like this issue, it started on Windows 11, when I tried it for a while via insiders program. At first it worked fine, after some updates the problem begun. Every application looks like it need some time before getting access to the soundcard/drivers. It's also visible if you start MaxxAudioPro app. It will hang for a while and after about 1 minute it will work. The same problem when I start a call in MS Teams, It will hang in the screen where you can join the meeting and after about 30-60 seconds teams will respond again. It also happens if I start Spotify or any other application that needs access to the sound card. It makes it difficult to do my work, for instance, I miss Teams calls because Windows seems not to get connection with the sound card on time. So any messages will not go through. I tried different things, also reinstallations. Also after a support ticket that I did earlier. It was really annoying, so I did a reinstallation of Windows 10 and the problem was solved. But when I got further in time and some updates the problem returned, but now also on Windows 10. So I suspect that some of the not so good updates from Windows 11 also appeared on Windows 10 now and make the Realtek drivers not working properly

tmzl · Answer

This is the exact same issue I'm having on my 9500. I'll try to update to windows 11; I'll report back with the findings.

Robin D2 · Answer

Hi All

Had this issue starting late November early December. Had my mobo replaced which hasn't fixed the issue. After doing some troubleshooting I have worked out what the issue is and how to resolve - temporarily, however Dell needs to step in and resolve this.

The issue is actually the latest driver causing the issue. If you do the full uninstall and then allow a reinstall it works - briefly. The problem is that windows update then downloads the newer driver which knocks the sound out again - however, it only happens after a reboot . I have tried this using the older Realtek driver and the windows installed driver and it happens with either one. So no matter what driver you install, windows update will download the latest one which will .

I find that the only way to get it working is to switch off windows updates - however this lasts for 7 days and means you don't get updates - you then end up after 7 days installing the updates and then uninstalling the sound drivers again and then installing the older driver and then disabling windows updates again - bit of a performance but at least it gets it working.

Even though I use an external ASIO device for DJing from this laptop, this issue even affects that with jitter/latency lag across the entire system.

TomS · Answer

Hi Fireberd,

Thanks for this. Unfortunately looking at the comments below, this looks not to address the issue as the fault seems to be with the latest version of the drivers.

Is there any way of escalating this to Dell so they fix the issue? As Robin D2 says below, even the workaround of uninstalling the update & rolling back only works for a week because of Windows Update.

Cheers!

TomS · Answer

Suspect it's too late to be helpful, but mine was already running W11 and has the same issue.

Robin D2 · Answer

Hi All

Just did the XPS 9500 bios update to 1.12.0 which seems to have helped the issue but still not resolved it. tried just windows update drivers and the latest Dell drivers . Going back to my previous posted solution

hdbcehs · Answer

I have this exact problem with over 50 Dell Latitude 3520. The problem seems to be related to the Intel SST Audio Controller. If I do a clean install with the previously released audio drivers from Dell everything seems to be fine until it downloads the latest drivers from Windows Update. If I use the latest Realtek Drivers from Dell then it doesn't work. Rolling back drivers doesn't work. You need to completely delete the audio controller and uninstall the drivers and then restart your computer and then reinstall with the correct drivers to fix the problem. However, the delayed audio problem will soon come back as soon as it gets the later drivers from Windows Update.

Update = Dell have released a new audio driver package in the last couple of weeks. After re-building a couple of machines with the new drivers, in Device Manager, the Intel SST Audio Controller is now called a "Intel Smart Sound Technology BUS". There is no audio delay now.

Natte theedoek · Answer

Also recently started to experience this issue coupled with a high RAM usage of Waves service application. I've already battled earlier with the Realtek driver as it was causing super slow boot ups (up to 2 minutes) after restart. This driver has become the bane of my existence with this device.  Realtek has been acting up since day ONE of buying the 2k laptop and has ruined the customer experience of owning it. Not only for me but for countless people on the web.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Hello,

How are you? I'm Priyanka from Dell Social Media Support.
Just wanted to check if you’re available now to continue the conversation.
Please confirm have you tried reinstalling the driver from the device manager and restarting the system. If yes, please share an update.
Awaiting your response.

XPS

XPS 15 9500 audio signal/control delayed

Was this post helpful?