Oh, trust me, I'm not diminishing your feedback, but I know the limits of the console, which this stays within, but it clips, causing the sound space issues. I actually use the DAC channel for samples, keeping my PSG channels available instead. I chose Crystal Clear mode for this (as I do for most mixes), as the hardware emulations released in recent years (I forget what they're called) allow this option. I know that in a real game, there will likely be more compression. I just like it to sound good for my younger audience.
And yeah, that crackling is annoying as hell, but it might just be a phase click, could be something else. Definitely investigating that when I return to this.