Maybe kinda related: I keep hearing some occasional crackling/popping during the Super Mario Galaxy 2 title screen. I'm using the Windows 10 generic audio drivers ("High Definition Audio Device").
The audio drivers don't matter. Just confirm whether it also happens on master or not. If it does, it's not my problem

My previous report is invalid. I verified it also occurs with master, just that it's less audible in master than this branch.
I fixed many crackling issues with the latest revision (4.0-7249). Test again.
So are the rogue squadron games the only games with issues with AX hle?
How come audio is now missing during FMV playback in a lot of Wii games including donkey kong returns and last story with HLE?