How to Fix Audio Stutter & Scratchy Sound in the Citron Emulator on Windows

It’s not one of the issues Yuzu users encounter most often, but if you’re dealing with odd audio behaviour such as stutters, crackling, or distorted sound, this guide will walk you through several methods that can help clear it up. Remember, there are quite a few different factors that can trigger these problems, which is why the list of fixes is fairly long. Take your time and work through each step in order. Skipping around might cause you to overlook the exact solution your system needs.

How to Fix Audio Stutter & Scratchy Sound in the Citron Emulator on Windows

Since emulators are quite complex things to set up and use on some hardware, make sure you check out our full library of Citron guides. These guides cover almost every known issue with the emulator as well as full set-up guides. If you also use Yuzu, you can check out our full Yuzu guide list here.

Make Sure Your GPU Drivers Are Up to Date

• Open the Windows search bar and type Device Manager.
• Expand Display Adapters.
• Right-click your graphics card > Properties > Driver tab.
• Update the driver if a newer version is available.
• Restart your PC after updating.

Clean Installation of Your Graphics Drivers Using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)

If it has been a while since you last clean installed your graphics drivers, this is a really good idea.

• Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from its official site.
• Download the latest stable driver for your GPU from Nvidia or AMD’s official website.
• Disconnect your computer from the internet to prevent automatic driver updates during the process.
• Run DDU and follow its instructions to fully remove your current GPU drivers.
• Restart your system once the removal process completes.
• Install the freshly downloaded GPU driver.
• Restart your system again and reconnect to the internet.
• Launch Battlefield 6 to check if the issue has been fixed.

Update Citron to the Latest Build

• Download the most recent Citron release from the official source.
• Replace (or update) your old installation.
• Launch Citron and verify the version number.

Configure Citron’s Audio Engine

• Open Citron.
• Go to Emulation > Settings > Audio.
• Try switching the Output Engine between Cubeb, SDL, or any other available backend.
• Save and test your game afterwards.

Adjust CPU & Graphics Settings

• Go to Emulation > Settings.
• Under CPU:
• Enable Multicore CPU Emulation.
• Set CPU accuracy or mode to Auto (or the recommended default).
• Open the Graphics section:
• Use Vulkan if available: usually smoother than OpenGL. (Most games)
• Set Resolution Scale to 1x during troubleshooting.
• Pick your dedicated GPU, not the integrated one.
• Disable VSync under Advanced settings.
• Enable the remaining recommended performance options.
• Choose High accuracy for strong GPUs or Normal for weaker ones.

Switch Your Game Files to NSP Format

• Convert or replace XCI game files with NSP versions.
• NSP formats tend to load more reliably and avoid audio hiccups in Citron.

Refresh Your Product Keys After Updating Firmware

• Open Citron > File > Open Citron Directory.
• Go into the keys folder.
• Remove old prod.keys.
• Place the updated key files into the folder.
• Restart Citron.

Adjust Your Windows System Configuration (MSConfig)

• Search for MSConfig in Windows.
• Go to Boot > Advanced Options.
• Make sure EVERYTHING is unchecked.
• Apply changes and reboot.

Tune Your GPU Control Panel for Performance

If you’re using an NVIDIA GPU:

• Right-click your desktop > NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Under Adjust Image Settings, choose Performance.
• Go to Manage 3D Settings:
• Set OpenGL Rendering GPU to your dedicated card.
• Change Power Management Mode to Maximum Performance.
• Set Texture Filtering Quality to High Performance.
• Apply your settings.

Then configure Windows graphics preferences:

• Open Display Settings > Graphics Settings.
• Remove any old Citron entries.
• Add citron.exe manually.
• Set it to High Performance.