VSG:Audio:Crackles
Crackles, pops, hizzes and other audio anomalies
If you hear some unwanted audio problems you can try another audio output module to see if that solves the issue (Save and restart VLC after changes).
Open Tools → Preferences (set Show Settings to All) and then choose Audio → Output module.
There are multiple output modules you can use for audio. DirectX and Win32 waveOut should work in most cases.
Drivers
Be sure that your audio drivers are up to date and compatible! Out of date and incompatible drivers may cause audio anomalies in VLC.
For example, installing the WDM_A406 driver for a Realtek AC97 chip will cause VLC to clip audio badly. VLC runs perfectly fine when the bad driver is removed and the correct one installed.
ASIO
ASIO support in VLC exists, but you will have to enable it by compiling manually.