AUDIO PROBLEM Cannot get "line in" to be played back on headphone

Willy Wagtail · 06 Aug 2016

MSI GS72 stealth pro / Notebook
Win10 home
Realtec 6.0.1.7885.
Nvidia 10.18.13.5435 (I heard this is also somehow messing with audio)

I hope I post at the right place, I am a desperate newbie here :/

I use line in for my guitar and want to hear it in a headphone connected to the headphone jack.
When connecting the headphone, a box pops up asking what I connected... I answer HiFi headphone.
I set the headphone as default in Windows.

After that the audio from various programs gets correctly played back through the headphones, but the signal coming from the line in still goes to the on board speakers.
I am used from other notebooks that once you connect a headphone, the onboard speakers are quiet and everything comes on the headphones.

Interestingly when using "guitar rig" (a SW signal processor for guitar), it's output also comes on the onboard speakers but still the direct signal from the line in is also there.
So it somehow appears the line in signal gets routed directly to the onboard speakers, but still somehow parallel gets used as a recording device.

Would appreciate any help on that, since I already wasted quite a few hours tinkering with it without success.

Cheers
Willy

fireberd · 06 Aug 2016

I have a home recording studio, using Sonar.
Do you have the Stereo Mix set as the Default Recording Device? If not, that may be the problem. With Stereo Mix set any input is heard on the speakers (or headphones).

On some PC sound systems, you can direct two different outputs, one for the headset and another for the speakers. Sounds like that may be what is happening on your system. Check the PC sound manager (e.g. Realtek has the HD Audio Manager, others should have something similar).

I'm not familiar with guitar rig. I use a USB connected MOTU 896mk3 Hybrid for any recording input. A PC sound card has terrible latency.

Willy Wagtail · 06 Aug 2016

Hi fireberd,

Thanks for the answer.
I did not have Stereo Mix set as the Default Recording Device, but tried it now. Same result.
Even if I disable the internal speakers (realtec high def audio) and select playback through headphone in the line configuration, it still sounds through the internal speakers. As if it would be hard wired.

And yep,I was also looking for some sort of Realtec app, but there is none. Neither in control panel, nor in Start menu.
I re-installed newest realtec driver, but still... no applet there.
Any idea how to get that Realtec app installed?

Regarding latency... it sounds ok on the on built in speakers.

I just found that by activating "listen to this device" and "playback through headphones" it also goes to the headphones, but with considerable latency... and still keeps coming on the internal speakers, with low latency.

Comparing this Realtek driver to any other laptop I have:
OTHER LAPTOPS:
The "Speaker" playback device has a levels tab. On that one I set Line in level to max.
When I plug in the headphone, no new playback device gets created.
The internal speakers get muted and rerouted to the headphones jack.
Everything fine.

THIS REALTEK STUFF.:
The "Speaker" playback device still has a levels tab. On that one I set Line in level to max.
When I plug in the headphone, a window pops up asking what I connected.
I answer a "HiFi headphone" and new playback device gets created.
Unfortunately this device has only one level slider on the levels tab, and the line in slider doesn't exist.
Therefore the line in keeps sounding through the internal speakers.

I tried various driver versions. Always same.
And I still didn't find a driver who is installing this Control panel applet.

Willy Wagtail · 15 Aug 2016

anybody?