All I know is RS2014 really likes your input/output devices to be set to Exclusive. Make sure you don't have a microphone on, wireless or otherwise which could cause feedback. Check your sample/bit rate as well. If you ever find RS2014 bugging you about how your volume is low, open up Recording Devices (by right clicking the speaker icon in your system tray) and make sure your "Level" for your tone cable is turned up. I find the volume level resets everytime I plug the tone cable into a different USB port, and I need to manually raise it again. Not sure this info will help anyone at all, but I've gone through my own troubleshooting steps to resolve my issues with RS. I've had issues trying to use a USB mixer on my end (Rane TTM57SL), and eventually ran a cable from my onboard sound output to a channel on the mixer. Also, I've noticed sound issues at a friend's house which must be related to something else on his circuit or whatever power bar we were using. As soon as I get home, no more issues with my RS2014 audio quality. Let me know if the problem comes back!