Popping sounds on PCM5102 DAC

[tobipreiss20-byte]

Description of the problem:

When audio playback is very quiet or contains pauses (for example between spoken words on radio or during soft vocal passages in music), the I2S stream continues to provide LRCK and BCK but the data line goes briefly to zero, which i think is normal. This happens repeatedly even during normal playback at low volume, not only when playback is stopped or the buffer runs empty.

As a result, the data line becomes briefly flat at 0V, which i guess causes the PCM5201A DAC to interpret this as silence and activate its internal intelligent mute or power-save behavior. This produces audible clicking or popping noises between words or during quiet sections.

Has anybody had this issue or does know how to fix it? Any software or hardware solutions are welcome.
For me its especially important to maintain good sound quality at low gain while still having enough headroom.