Just installed the 25th Anniversary version of Half-Life on a new 1TB OLED Steam Deck. Thankfully no dead/stuck pixels to be found, but I do hear a faint ticking/popping noise coming from the left speaker during gameplay, and when the game is paused. It’s a constant ticking, like the second hand on a clock. Goes away when I exit the game.

Just wondering if this has happening to anyone else?

No, I don’t wear a wrist watch and there are no clocks nearby. Yes, I know about the OTHER crackling/popping audio issue. This isn’t that. The more common issue is associated directly with sounds playing (particularly at higher volumes). This one is a constant ticking until I exit the game.

I’m just trying to figure out if my particular OLED model has a faulty left speaker or if the game itself is just currently bugged. Still waiting on other games to download, so can’t test speakers out on anything else at the moment. UI noises and any sounds coming out of the built-in browser are completely fine.