Sound went flat - Found the odd problem


Sqrly

Well-known member
Member
VIP
Local time
10:00 PM
Posts
223
OS
Windroid 11 Pro / Win 10 Pro
Note: I have a very nice 5.1 surround system for my PC. I use the realtek audio console to set things up.

So, at the pc one day, I hear a pop and suddenly my surround sound is fubar. Everything sounds wrong, flat. Speaker tests in the Realtek console, all fine. Speaker tests in the windows panel, the old one, all fine. I try headphones, it's still flat. I check every setting I can find, all as they they should be. I even tried reinstalling the sound drivers (I did find an updated version on the manufactuers website) no luck.

PS I'm playing the wav file I have selected for "Empty Recycle bin" by hitting the test button right where you set those sounds.

It dawns on me, I plug my headhpones into the control pod for the speaker system. So I turn the speakers off and plug the headphones into the front panel jack. The realtek console confirm the switch. I go through all the setting again while the headphones are plugged in. Note: output in the windows settings > system > sounds is now automatically set to headphones too.

System > Sounds > properties > output settings >format

For some reason, the sound format for the headphones has changed to the lowest setting. (The speakers have this setting too, I checked it, it's maxed at 32 bit 192000 Hz (Studio quality))

I set the format for the headphones properly and bingo, it sounds right again in the headphones while connected to the front panel. I unplug them, the pc automatically switches to speakers and it's all back to normal.

Why the headphone sound format affected the speaker output I can't explain, or why it changed all on it's own for no reason.

But, there it is, in case anyone runs into the same issue.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro / Win 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (145GB Win11/100GB Win10/685GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    Western Digital Blue WD80EAAZ 8TB (Storage)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF, Mullvad, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-906 5.1 THX 500w (Original 8" Sub with Polk Audio satellites)
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
Back
Top Bottom