Solved I've looked and looked

[xGamrgeekx]

...and seems like I have quite a unique problem as far as descriptions go. I built my PC last weekend using a Gigabyte 770T-USB3 motherboard, EVGA GeForce video card, 500gig hard drive (can't think of the brand right now and not at home with it), AMD Athlon II quad-core processor, and Windows 7 premium for system builders. I used all the driver installation CDs that came with the components then started installing my games (WoW and SC2). When I started playing SC2 I noticed I couldn't hear any of the sounds. I minimized the game, went to the control panel and got the sounds turned on. Popped the game back up and there was sound, but now any characters on screen can hardly be heard at all and characters that are off screen can be heard clearly.
I played a song through iTunes this morning for my roommate who is a DJ, he said it sounds as though the band was set up backwards (vocalist in the back and the drummer up front if that makes sense). Again, can barely hear the vocals and the music is way distorted, kind of a warbling sound among the tune of the song. I've checked to make sure all the drivers are installed correctly (Realtek HD audio) and it says they are all up to date.
Like I said above, I've looked and looked everywhere, but this seems kind of unique as I haven't found anyone else with this issue. I know its not the speakers I'm using (they are old and worn) because I also have a pair of Skullcandy-style headphones and it sounds the same on those.

 

[mickey megabyte]

hi xGamrgeekx, and welcome to sevenforums,

it sounds (hoho) as if you've set up a surround sound system, but your front speakers are playing the rear output.

what onboard soundcard/chip have you got? i'm guessing realtek?

i haven't got a realtek system here, but do you have a control panel applet for it? is it set up for 5.1 surround or something like that? but you only have stereo speakers?

 

[xGamrgeekx]

yeah, it's realtek and there is a control applet for it. I set up the applet for stereo speakers, not the surround sound. I tried the surround sound out of curiosity and it sounds exactly the same, if not worse.

 

[mickey megabyte]

have you got any effects enabled such as reverb or similar?

and how are the windows speaker settings? they're stereo too?

 

[xGamrgeekx]

in the games, yes. on the system, i don't know. if that's something that can cause this issue, I'll happily find it and turn it off. i've played with that control panel app for realtek quite a bit and comparing changes made, none of it made much difference except for when I'd turn on studio quality sounds, that's when I lose audio all together. I did think it a little strange that its reading 4 Realtek and 1 Nvidia in the audio device file in the system control panel. I didn't get a dedicated sound card, it should all be running through the motherboard alone (from my limited understanding of computers).

 

[mickey megabyte]

to check windows sound settings:

click start orb >> type sound into search-box >> click 'sound' in the control panel result >> click on 'speaker' >> hit 'configure' button >> should be set to stereo.

now, are your speakers connected to the correct outputs at back of pc? they should be colour-coded for easy recognition.

 

[xGamrgeekx]

Yeah, that's the very first thing I did was to make sure the speakers were plugged into the correct port on the front and back panels (tried both through this whole process) and since I had to connect the front audio out port to the motherboard, I made sure it was the right connection there 3 times. But I understand you have to ask

I won't be able to get home to try those steps you posted above for a little over 5 hours (my workday is just getting started).

 

[mickey megabyte]

ok - but i'll be in bedfordshire in five hours time, so probably won't be able to respond until (my) tomorrow.

but there are lots more knowledgable people on this forum, some of which may have a realtek chip and know exactly what the solution is - i'm just fishing, to be honest

good luck!

 

[xGamrgeekx]

That's more help than I've been able to fish up anywhere else, thanks a ton. I didn't expect to see her, but our facility tech lady came in and I asked her about it. She suggested I uninstall and re-install the drivers and see if that has any effect. I'll try both later and post back what does work for anyone else who might come across this problem.

 

[stormy13]

I used all the driver installation CDs that came with the components

I a lot of cases the disks that come with components shouldn't be used for much more than coasters as the drivers on them can and usually are quite a bit older than what is available from the manufacturer's website in most cases. In the case of your onboard audio I would start with installing the latest Realtek driver for it,

http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/3756-latest-realtek-hd-audio-driver-version.html

Would also help to know which EVGA card you have. Depending on which card it is and whether it has built in audio (for audio over HDMI if desired/connected), it is also possible that it is causing the problems (seen quite a few reports of flaky things happening with Nvidia cards with built in audio and their drivers).

 

[xGamrgeekx]

In the case of your onboard audio I would start with installing the latest Realtek driver for it

I checked that too, came back with up to date for all of them (why there are 4 Realtek drivers is beyond me, plus 1 Nvidia for my audio).

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[Sardonicus]

Using the Windows Volume Mixer,
click on Playback devices, Speakers, Properties, Enhancements.
Place a check in the Disable all sound effects box and OK, OK.

If any effects were causing the problem, the above solution should eliminate it.

 

[xGamrgeekx]

Using the Windows Volume Mixer,
click on Playback devices, Speakers, Properties, Enhancements.
Place a check in the Disable all sound effects box and OK, OK.

If any effects were causing the problem, the above solution should eliminate it.

Tried this first and it fixed it. Thanks a lot!