i am not 100% sure how to turn on audio session. i know my way around a computer and windows quite well. ive been computing for 20 years now =) but im not quite sure that i did it correctly and it seemed like i couldnt find a solid answer when i googled how to do it.
i did the services / logon tab and it turned off my sound completely so i undid it
EDIT: i dont know windows 10 as well as i had known previous operating systems but i know how to do alot if someone guides me in the right direction if you know what i mean =) i used to be an overclocker in the mid 2000s
I turn on Windows Audio Session via iTunes app, and as long as iTunes is running, Windows Audio Session gives iTunes priority over all other programs running in background. My thinking is what's happening with your system is the audio app you are running may be disconnecting due to another program needing ram or something, and this shut down is in an order which prompts the popping, just like turning on a phono preamp lastly rather than firstly will cause a pop, or turning off the phono preamp before turning off line stage amplification will cause a pop. Both of these can damage electronics. Now, if you use a usb connection between computer and AVR instead of analog, I think the popping will stop whether or not Windows Audio Session is running although dropouts may be noticed. One more thing, since your receiver does not have a usb B port, unless your computer outputs optical S/PDIF you will need to buy a Creative Sound Blaster X-FI HD external sound card and connect the optical out to the optical input on the back of receiver and connect the usb out from the X-FI HD to the computer's usb port. Also, set the driver that comes with the X-FI HD to output a bit and bite rate which your receiver can handle, I.e. 16/44, 16/48, or 24/96. This connection will send digital to the receiver whereby the receiver's DAC will do the decoding rather than the computer's inferior DAC. This arrangement will eliminate the popping I think.