15,6" recoil ii rtx 2060 - soundblaster issue

[Eyek]

No matter what I have tried from reinstalling my realtek drivers dozens of times and also uninstalling my Sound blaster drivers I am not able to get the soundblaster software suite working. (ALL DONE USING DDU)

Resulting in unboosted speaker volume on my laptop making it not the best experience when trying to watch videos or listen to music.

Anyone had this problem before? Any ideas?

SOUND BLASTER SOFTWARE https://pasteboard.co/I620uXF.jpg
DEVICE MANAGER DRIVERS INSTALLED https://pasteboard.co/I621w5J.jpg

↑↑↑↑ ↑↑↑↑
Link is the screenshot showing how the software is acting. Loads up and nothing can be clicked on or changed....

 

[SpyderTracks]

Can you uninstall other drivers with DDU? I wasn’t aware of that, thought it was just for graphics drivers?

It suggests the drivers haven’t been removed properly.

I would suggest uninstalling sound blaster first, then uninstall sound drivers via device manager, select audio device and delete including software.

Be aware all sound blaster is is essentially a nice graphic equaliser. It won’t do much to improve sound levels over the ordinary.

That’s not to say the Realtek drivers perhaps aren’t installed correctly and sound blaster will only work once they’re configured correctly.

 

[Eyek]

I have followed what you suggested and still the same.

Although now I am unable to even install and bring up the Sound blaster software.

Well although it may just appear as a basic piece of software it certainly boosted my speakers to a much higher gain value than standard windows 10 can. So the result being everything sounds dim and muffled. The speakers are actually quieter than my mobile phone. If I load up a youtube video on my mobile phone it gives out a fuller sound....

 

[SpyderTracks]

I have followed what you suggested and still the same.

Although now I am unable to even install and bring up the Sound blaster software.

Well although it may just appear as a basic piece of software it certainly boosted my speakers to a much higher gain value than standard windows 10 can. So the result being everything sounds dim and muffled. The speakers are actually quieter than my mobile phone. If I load up a youtube video on my mobile phone it gives out a fuller sound....

And you’ve definitely got the Realtek settings correct? It’s possible the output isn’t right or something. So for instance if it’s set on 5.1 or anything that’s going to bork the output to a 2.1 speaker setup, or even 2.0?

Soundblaster does nothing but level controls, it’s just a fancy eq that adjusts the Realtek output.

 

[Eyek]

I had a PCS technician remote connect to my PC today and do a number of checks on the volume controls and drivers... He couldn't figure it out sadly.

All I know is that before the RMA to fix my heat issue I watched films on the laptop and after I had to turn the volume down. Now when I do the same I have to put everything on full and still it is only reaching the lower to medium levels of what it could previously.

Looks like this will be yet another RMA - unreal, what a disaster.

Ideas going through my head currently are still pulling me back to the fact that they replaced the motherboard in the laptop and it makes me think did it somehow cause a conflict with the speakers in the chassis. I start thinking this way because my laptop arrived back after the RMA with a light bar LED that was impossible to switch off using control center. After a call to PCS they sent me a small file which interacted with my bios and allowed me to then get functionality of the LED again. Could it be similar with the speakers? I dunno...

 

[SpyderTracks]

I had a PCS technician remote connect to my PC today and do a number of checks on the volume controls and drivers... He couldn't figure it out sadly.

All I know is that before the RMA to fix my heat issue I watched films on the laptop and after I had to turn the volume down. Now when I do the same I have to put everything on full and still it is only reaching the lower to medium levels of what it could previously.

Looks like this will be yet another RMA - unreal, what a disaster.

Ideas going through my head currently are still pulling me back to the fact that they replaced the motherboard in the laptop and it makes me think did it somehow cause a conflict with the speakers in the chassis. I start thinking this way because my laptop arrived back after the RMA with a light bar LED that was impossible to switch off using control center. After a call to PCS they sent me a small file which interacted with my bios and allowed me to then get functionality of the LED again. Could it be similar with the speakers? I dunno...

Are they both working definitely? I guess it's possible that one's unplugged?

It's a sort of on/off situation with speakers, I would have thought if it is outputting lower volumen at full volume, then it would suggest a speaker failure more than something amiss with the internal configuration.

 

[ubuysa]

I have followed what you suggested and still the same.

Although now I am unable to even install and bring up the Sound blaster software.

Well although it may just appear as a basic piece of software it certainly boosted my speakers to a much higher gain value than standard windows 10 can. So the result being everything sounds dim and muffled. The speakers are actually quieter than my mobile phone. If I load up a youtube video on my mobile phone it gives out a fuller sound....

Turning on the Loudness Equalisation on the Playback device Enhancements tab in base Windows 10 does lead to a significant volume gain.

 

[Eyek]

Are they both working definitely? I guess it's possible that one's unplugged?

It's a sort of on/off situation with speakers, I would have thought if it is outputting lower volumen at full volume, then it would suggest a speaker failure more than something amiss with the internal configuration.

Both speakers are outputting sound. Hopefully going to get another call with tech support today and see what the deal is.

 

[Eyek]

Turning on the Loudness Equalisation on the Playback device Enhancements tab in base Windows 10 does lead to a significant volume gain.

That tab is not available when in my speaker properties section. Not all sound cards give support for this option sadly.

I had that option on my old Clevo P150EM from 2011. It outputs 5x the volume my current laptop achieves. My mobile phone the Oneplus 6T is about 2-3x louder than my RECOIL II. Quite frankly it is all just rather frustrating.
Sadly so far I have wasted a vast amount of time with this laptop it has had issues since I got it over a month ago.

 

[ubuysa]

That tab is not available when in my speaker properties section. Not all sound cards give support for this option sadly.

I had that option on my old Clevo P150EM from 2011. It outputs 5x the volume my current laptop achieves. My mobile phone the Oneplus 6T is about 2-3x louder than my RECOIL II. Quite frankly it is all just rather frustrating.
Sadly so far I have wasted a vast amount of time with this laptop it has had issues since I got it over a month ago.

Curious, I've never come across any laptop or desktop that didn't have that option. I don't know whether it's a Windows or a driver option, but I suspect the latter.

You do know that tab is not in the Device Manager options? You need to right-click on the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sounds. In the dialog that opens click on the Playback tab, right-click your speaker device and select Properties, the Enhancements tab is in there.

 

[Tony1044]

Curious, I've never come across any laptop or desktop that didn't have that option. I don't know whether it's a Windows or a driver option, but I suspect the latter.

You do know that tab is not in the Device Manager options? You need to right-click on the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sounds. In the dialog that opens click on the Playback tab, right-click your speaker device and select Properties, the Enhancements tab is in there.

Out of interest, I just did this on the Lenovo I'm sat at.

This is the result:

 

[Eyek]

Curious, I've never come across any laptop or desktop that didn't have that option. I don't know whether it's a Windows or a driver option, but I suspect the latter.

You do know that tab is not in the Device Manager options? You need to right-click on the speaker icon in the taskbar and select Sounds. In the dialog that opens click on the Playback tab, right-click your speaker device and select Properties, the Enhancements tab is in there.

Yes so I have gone ahead and tried this. Please check the image link to give you an idea where I stand.

https://pasteboard.co/I68Qtg9.jpg

Thanks a lot for the input though!

 

[ubuysa]

Out of interest, I just did this on the Lenovo I'm sat at.

This is the result:

View attachment 12811

That's interesting. My guess would be that these enhancements have to be a driver 'feature' then?

 

[ubuysa]

Yes so I have gone ahead and tried this. Please check the image link to give you an idea where I stand.

https://pasteboard.co/I68Qtg9.jpg

Thanks a lot for the input though!

Ok, fair enough. TBH if this were mine I'd be looking at a clean reinstall and letting Windows Update install all drivers and see whether that makes a difference. When you're troubleshooting and uninstalling/installing drivers it's not hard for things to get screwed up internally.

 

[Eyek]

Ok so the story continues....

I have reinstalled windows 10. Done all the updates. Allowed for all the drivers to install automatically by windows 10 itself since every time I try to go against this process it seems to screw things up big time.

So this is where I am now. https://pasteboard.co/I6bxpFO.jpg

Soundblaster automatically installed itself so I have no idea why PCS supply you with a soundblaster driver and software collection on their downloads page. This seems to have been causing the major issues of the program not even starting.

Program now starts but it states it is unable to see my audio device... Well not that strange since I have not installed my realtek audio drivers because that default "High definition sound drivers" actually output more sound than the garbage I am supplied on the downloads section of PCS.

If I do install the Realtek drivers supplied by PCS my sound is quieter and the software is still unable to see my audio device!!!

I can't really put into words how absolutely ridiculous this entire joke of a setup is. I have made like 5 calls to PCS today I was told to install the stuff in certain order.. Then I was told to uninstall it all and reinstall it in another order. Nothing worked and still nothing is correctly working software wise.

Any ideas moving forward folks?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:
Ok so installing the PCS sound drivers has actually worked this time. The only difference is I have not installed the chipset drivers which are also on the PCS drivers page. There may be some sort of conflict here.


UPDATE:

Another key note and important thing to keep in mind if anyone else runs into this issue!! MAKE SURE that you do not untick these check boxes!
"Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" MUST be ticked. If they are not ticked it makes the software unable to load properly.

https://pasteboard.co/I6bLzea.jpg

UPDATE:

Ok so the issue is resolved. All drivers are installed and functional. My sound is now perfect again with a much richer sound from the speakers and when plugged in using headset.
I hope this thread can help others out who struggle with this incredibly sensitive sound suite.

 

[ubuysa]

Ok so the story continues....

I have reinstalled windows 10. Done all the updates. Allowed for all the drivers to install automatically by windows 10 itself since every time I try to go against this process it seems to screw things up big time.

So this is where I am now. https://pasteboard.co/I6bxpFO.jpg

Soundblaster automatically installed itself so I have no idea why PCS supply you with a soundblaster driver and software collection on their downloads page. This seems to have been causing the major issues of the program not even starting.

Program now starts but it states it is unable to see my audio device... Well not that strange since I have not installed my realtek audio drivers because that default "High definition sound drivers" actually output more sound than the garbage I am supplied on the downloads section of PCS.

If I do install the Realtek drivers supplied by PCS my sound is quieter and the software is still unable to see my audio device!!!

I can't really put into words how absolutely ridiculous this entire joke of a setup is. I have made like 5 calls to PCS today I was told to install the stuff in certain order.. Then I was told to uninstall it all and reinstall it in another order. Nothing worked and still nothing is correctly working software wise.

Any ideas moving forward folks?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:
Ok so installing the PCS sound drivers has actually worked this time. The only difference is I have not installed the chipset drivers which are also on the PCS drivers page. There may be some sort of conflict here.


UPDATE:

Another key note and important thing to keep in mind if anyone else runs into this issue!! MAKE SURE that you do not untick these check boxes!
"Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" MUST be ticked. If they are not ticked it makes the software unable to load properly.

https://pasteboard.co/I6bLzea.jpg

UPDATE:

Ok so the issue is resolved. All drivers are installed and functional. My sound is now perfect again with a much richer sound from the speakers and when plugged in using headset.
I hope this thread can help others out who struggle with this incredibly sensitive sound suite.

Many thanks for the detailed update. I'm glad it's working.

I do have a couple of questions though....

1. If you allowed Windows Update to install all drivers (which is the wisest option these days) why were the Realtek audio drivers not present?

2. Why was it necessary to install the chipset drivers manually? They will (should) have been found by Windows Update.

Generally, after a reinstall and after allowing Windows Update to install all drivers, it's only necessary to check Device Manager and ensure that no devices have the yellow triangle and exclamation point icon next to them. If they're all clear you should be good to go.

The tip about the 'Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device' is a very useful one, was the the root cause of all these problems do you think?

 

[Eyek]

Many thanks for the detailed update. I'm glad it's working.

I do have a couple of questions though....

1. If you allowed Windows Update to install all drivers (which is the wisest option these days) why were the Realtek audio drivers not present?

2. Why was it necessary to install the chipset drivers manually? They will (should) have been found by Windows Update.

Generally, after a reinstall and after allowing Windows Update to install all drivers, it's only necessary to check Device Manager and ensure that no devices have the yellow triangle and exclamation point icon next to them. If they're all clear you should be good to go.

The tip about the 'Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device' is a very useful one, was the the root cause of all these problems do you think?

I was installing the drivers manually as this is what had been suggested to me on multiple occasions by PCS over the phone. Sadly though it was incorrect information and only grew to make a bad situation even worse.

The Realtek sound drivers are sadly not picked up by windows update and are not given the correct driver only the generic "High Definition Audio Driver" which results in Sound Blaster Suite not detecting the correct hardware.

Installing the chipset drivers causes the Sound Blaster Suite to have a timeout crash when trying to load it and have replicated this through the many stupid installs of windows 10 I did yesterday.

The truth is, PCS should not be suggesting manual driver installation to any of its customers as this is a root cause for all sorts of conflicts to emerge as most drivers these days are running along the lines of DCH protocol the "New driver" approach.

the major tip here is: ONLY install drivers under windows 10 for your sound card if windows is unable to provide it with the correct driver. If it does not then install one using the setup file provided by PCS on their downloads section. Yes NEVER untick 'Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device' as this will cause a disconnect between the sound driver and the Sound Blaster software.

Hopefully this provides others with some insight and many hours saved.

Thank you all for the input!