Lucie / minuteoverly in-depth (i love it) explanation of why usb-c audio dongles/headsets hit USB-FS bandwidth limits https://epenguin.imalone.co.uk/2025/06/audio-dongles-and-ghost-of-usb-1.html
ok the kind of sad lesson here seems to be (as i don't know how to force the usb/audio device in there to use less bandwidth/resolution/channels) to look for a usb-c dongle/headset with at least USB-HS (480mbit/s), not FS (12mbit/s)
Make "Kersplat" 🧑🎤🍁Author did mention an app called Wireplumber for configuring Pipewire, but you're advice still stands. The big question is what cheap devices actually support HS, as I'm betting most of mine don't. 🤔