Volume controls on K800 Keyboard do not work with Headphones


  1. Posts : 97
    Windows 7 Professional SP1
       #1

    Volume controls on K800 Keyboard do not work with Headphones


    Morning,

    Bit of a weird one here...within the last week - I installed a fresh copy of Win 7 x64 SP1 on a new office workstation. I am using the Logitech K800 keyboard and J.River Media Center for media playback.

    NOTE: I am using the Gigabyte EP45-UD3R motherboard and it's onboard Realtek Azalia HD audio chip. I am NOT using the Realtek drivers (more on that in a moment) - I am using the built in Windows 7 HD Audio drivers.

    Long story short - I discovered some conflicts with the internals of the motherboard where the front panel headphone jack of my case (Antec P182) would exhibit static in the phones if moving the mouse on screen. Traced that to some weird issue with the USB ports so I had to install a separate front panel insert into the case and attached JUST the audio cable so I could get static free headphone listening.

    Now the issue. When using J.River Media Center (and WASAPI Event Style from within Media Center) and I select "speakers" under it's Device Output area - I am able to use the Mute, Volume Up and Volume Down hot keys on the K800 to control the audio level that comes from the speakers.

    But - if I change the Device Output to Headphones - using the exact same audio device - suddenly the three audio buttons (upper right of the keyboard by the Calculator button) suddenly do not work.

    Couple things - I cannot recall in any previous build whether or not these button were working or not OR if I just decided to try them for the first time with headphones. I don't use headphones often with this machine but when I did in the past...volume seemed fine...just can't remember if I ever attempted to control it via keyboard :)

    Also - when wrangling with that static issue in the headphone jack...I did install the actual Realtek drivers for 10 minutes to see if it would make a difference. It did not. Knowing the history of the Realtek crap and how one can never uninstall it correctly - I am wondering if I now have a conflict with old drivers, old registry entries or something else that might be contributing to this issue.

    Would love to hear if anyone has seen anything like this - especially involving a Logitech keyboard.

    Cheers,

    VP
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #2

    In most cases the vendor's (Gigabyte ) sound driver should be used. The Windows installed HD Audio Codec are a "basic function" sound driver.

    I would start with the proper sound driver and work from that. If the Antec front panel headphone/mic connection has an HD Audio connector use that, otherwise use the AC97 however that may be some auto detect functions that won't work.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 97
    Windows 7 Professional SP1
    Thread Starter
       #3

    fireberd said:
    In most cases the vendor's (Gigabyte ) sound driver should be used. The Windows installed HD Audio Codec are a "basic function" sound driver.

    I would start with the proper sound driver and work from that. If the Antec front panel headphone/mic connection has an HD Audio connector use that, otherwise use the AC97 however that may be some auto detect functions that won't work.
    Thanks for the update. But in my experience - staying as far away from any Realtek software has been my general rule. The stock Windows 7 drivers work straight away with this board and without filling my registry full of crap.

    The Antec does has a front panel headphone jack but as mentioned - with this specific motherboard - if the HD audio cable is connected along with the front panel USB cables - static is the result in your headphones whenever the mouse is moved on screen. So I had to resort to installing a separate panel just for the headphones.

    Still cannot figure out if there is any Realtek junk leftover or why Windows does not auto-detect my headphones being pulled in. I coulda swore the 7 did this in the past and would change the Default device to "Headphones" instead of "Speakers"

    VP
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #4

    I have RealTek in both of my new Z77 chipset motherboards (one a Gigabyte and the other an ASRock). I don't have any problems with RealTek in either one. The Gigabyte system (listed in My System Specs) is primarily used for my recording studio and the RealTek is not used, but does not cause any problems. I used to do a lot of support on the Dell users forum (I had over 37,000 posts in 10 years) and we never saw a RealTek problem as you describe. Many of the people that have posted here use RealTek and no one that I know of is having a problem.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 97
    Windows 7 Professional SP1
    Thread Starter
       #5

    fireberd said:
    I have RealTek in both of my new Z77 chipset motherboards (one a Gigabyte and the other an ASRock). I don't have any problems with RealTek in either one. The Gigabyte system (listed in My System Specs) is primarily used for my recording studio and the RealTek is not used, but does not cause any problems. I used to do a lot of support on the Dell users forum (I had over 37,000 posts in 10 years) and we never saw a RealTek problem as you describe. Many of the people that have posted here use RealTek and no one that I know of is having a problem.
    I guess I am just a bit gun shy on using these drivers after reading about all the disasters people have been describing trying to uninstall them.

    Q1: If I were to go for these - is it smarter to use the latest available via the Realtek site or attempt to deal with the "vendor" download from Gigabyte?

    The Gigabyte one was the one I tried and it seemed to install a boatload of crap that I did not need. Just wondering what the general consensus is.

    For comparison sake - even tho I have an eVGA branded video card - I have never ever used an eVGA "branded" driver installation package - I always grab the latest from direct from nVidia and it has been fine for years.

    Q2: Best practice for installing them? Is there any value to "remove" the Microsoft drivers from Device Manager first - or just install the latest Realtek right over top of the existing ones?

    Cheers,

    VP
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #6

    Generally the sound drivers from the PC or motherboard vendor, as applicable is the preferred. Motherboard vendors can do different implementations of the sound chip (whether RealTek, IDT or whoever). Generic RealTek drivers may or may not work correctly. I've updated my Gigabyte RealTek drivers and only got RealTek drivers and the RealTek HD Audio Manager. When I first installed the Drivers, from the Gigabyte disc that came with the motherboard, it also installed Creative SoundBlaster Xfi MB software enhancement (which gave me, among other things EQ (tone) controls and a couple of the standard SoundBlaster applications that come with a SoundBlaster Sound Card).

    The RealTek should replace the Microsoft drivers. If not, after the RealTek is installed you can uninstall the Microsoft. I reconfigured a PC for a client (basically reinstalled everything) and initially I couldn't find a SigmaTel driver so I installed the generic Microsft HD Audio Codec sound drivers. Later I came across a compatible SigmaTel driver and installed it and it replaced the Microsoft driver.

    I've always used the NVIDIA or AMD (ATI) video drivers and have not had any problems. We didn't see any problems on the Dell forum with users using NVIDIA or AMD drivers.
      My Computer


 

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