Crackle under load is the laptop failing to fill the audio buffer in time. You fix it by giving the buffer more slack and the USB chain more headroom — not by reinstalling the software.
In the app's audio settings, raise the buffer/latency one step at a time (128 → 256 → 512 samples). Each step doubles the safety margin. At 256–512 the latency is still far too small to feel on jog wheels.
Controller straight into the laptop, on its own port — not sharing a hub with a hard drive. On desktops prefer rear ports (direct to the board).
Laptops throttle the CPU on battery and the crackle starts mid-set. Plug into the mains, set the power plan to High Performance (Windows) and close Chrome — a heavy browser session is the classic hidden CPU thief.
A dropout every few seconds like clockwork is usually wireless scanning stealing the bus. Airplane mode for the set (your library is local anyway) and pair nothing over Bluetooth while playing.
At that buffer size the laptop isn't the problem — suspect the USB cable, then confirm with a different audio app. Hardware faults survive app changes; software faults don't.
Digital audio is a bucket brigade: the CPU must deliver a full buffer every few milliseconds, forever. Anything that delays it — power saving, bus contention, background load — empties the bucket, and an empty bucket is a crackle.
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