Having a similar issue on my ASUS Zenbook UX434, also using the ALC294 as above, Kernel: 5.13.0-28-generic.
In my case after a reboot from my Windows 10 dual boot the audio out is fine, but the microphone has very loud crackling which makes it unusable. The problem isn't fixed by a reboot but after a full shutdown and restart the problem seems to go away. Thanks to Hilikus for the workaround!
Had an identical problem on Kubuntu 20.04 and now ZorinOS 16 - clearly this issue isn't entirely fixed even with more recent kernel patches.
Having a similar issue on my ASUS Zenbook UX434, also using the ALC294 as above, Kernel: 5.13.0-28-generic.
In my case after a reboot from my Windows 10 dual boot the audio out is fine, but the microphone has very loud crackling which makes it unusable. The problem isn't fixed by a reboot but after a full shutdown and restart the problem seems to go away. Thanks to Hilikus for the workaround!
Had an identical problem on Kubuntu 20.04 and now ZorinOS 16 - clearly this issue isn't entirely fixed even with more recent kernel patches.