Windows 11 with USB audio and garbled system sounds

Does anyone else here use USB audio and have problems with garbled system sounds in Windows 11?

Very strange. Spotify, web, and any other audio apps work fine, but whenever a Windows 11 system sound plays, it stutters and is a bit garbled. Sometimes. Most of the time. On the odd occasion it is OK. It might be related to coming in and out of sleep, but not sure.

The amount of time and money I have wasted recently on basic audio issues in Windows 11 is ridiculous. It seems specifically related to USB audio, because using TOSLINK optical does not have the same issue (although for me that had its own issues, possibly on account of crappy on-motherboard audio implementation, which for whatever reason despite being a high-end motherboard implements onboard audio by connecting it internally to USB).

I’m on 24H2. This isn’t the recent issue with the Jan 2025 update. If I search online for similar issues, I find a lot of them, but all of the solutions seem like random, coincidental solutions that probably just restarted the device behind the scenes.

For the first time in a long time I am buying a Sound Blaster. I have a feeling it will give me issues as well.

Thanks for any feedback 🙂