Realtek Audio Balance Problem

Hi all,

I've been having this issue ever since I updated my Realtek drivers from Asus' website. The problem is my audio is now unbalanced, and the left speaker sounds much louder than the right one. It also feels like most of the bass level is coming from the left channel as well. I have the same problem if I use my headphones on the front audio jack.
After many hours trying to resolve this, I've narrowed it down to the audio "Enhancements" function, if I turn that off, the balance goes back to normal but I lose much of the audio quality that I like with the ALC1150. Plus, everything was working normally before, so I see no reason why I'd have to disable anything at all.

Things I've tried so far:
- Reinstalling previous audio drivers, and also clean installing multiple new drivers, I'm currently on version 6.0.1.7968 and still having the same issue.
- Pluggin/unplugging my speakers, check cable connections, tried different audio sources, different jacks.
- Tried changing the "Default Format" to different settings.
- I've also did an in-place upgrade to reinstall Windows 10.

Right now the only workaround I have is to set the balance 3 points towards the right channel, but I'm getting much quieter sound levels and I lose half the bass, so the final audio balance doesn't feel right at all.
I was wondering whether any of you have had such an issue before, or if you have any idea on how to troubleshoot or resolve it.

Thank you.

Hi again,

I'm just bumping this up as I'd really like to get your help with this issue.
I've tried the new drivers (79.82) but the problem got even worse and now I have to adjust the balance all the way to the right channel to get a balanced stereo sound!
Additionally, I've noticed that if I apply any kind of sound effects through the Realtek audio manager (environment effects, or voice cancellation) the effect is applied to both channels equally, but when I switch them off the problem comes back again.

Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated.

Have you tried the drivers on the Realtek site? That's what I'm using and no problems Also do not use any enhancements/effects during testing Get the balance problem corrected first.

Another thought, could the speakers be the problem? The stereo sound from the PC is processed and distributed in the speaker electronics. Have you tried a headset to see if its off there?

Hi firebird,
Thanks for responding! Yes I have tried my headphones in the front and rear jacks and it's the same on both ends. I also tried plugging my speakers to both my laptop and smartphone and there are no balance problems whatsoever. I also tried a different pair of speakers but they had the same issue.
I'm pretty sure my problem is somewhere between the Windows Anniversary Update and the Realtek drivers.

However, I didn't try the drivers on Realtek's website, I will try them out straight away.
I should also mention that the default Windows HD Audio driver solves the balance problem but also produces worse audio quality, so I'm only using those as a temporary workaround until I figure out what's wrong.

I'll try the old Realtek drivers and report back with results.

Okay so now I'm running Realtek drivers version 75.41 from their website, and unfortunately I still have the same problem.
I'm suspecting that something is wrong with the Windows registry, because I've now tried about 7 different drivers from Realtek, Asus, Softpedia, and the Windows Update Catalog, and they all share the same exact problem.
Any idea where to find registry settings for Windows audio mixer?

If the generic, basic function, Windows installed "High Definition Audio" drivers are installed and there is no balance problem, that eliminates the hardware.

If you uninstall Realtek there are still left over items in the Registry. You could manually edit the Registry and search for all Realtek (audio) entries and manually delete them. Then restart Windows and try a new install.

Hi,

I did a quick search in the registry for Realtek remains but they appear to exist all over the registry both in keys and values, and I hesitated to clean those up manually, mainly because it's impossible to know if I should delete a value or the entire key holding that value.

However, I also browsed through the Asus ROG forums, and found a post by someone having the same exact problem but on a different mobo. Although there is a workaround there, it doesn't seem to solve the underlying issue, and it still involves disabling all enhancements. But at least now I know that I'm not the only one with this issue.

Hopefully Realtek will be able to solve this issue in the future, but I'm not holding my breath since that post in ROG's forums was made more that a year ago!

I will not mark this as solved because there is no solution to the root issue AFAIK.
Thanks for the help fireberd. Please tell me if you have any other suggestions.

Nothing off hand. My main Recording Studio desktop is down right now waiting on parts so I can't look at my Realtek to see if there are other options. Parts are not due (ETA) until Tuesday and it will be Wednesday or Thursday before I get it back together. But, I'll check this thread and post after I get the PC put back together (actually rebuilding it with new motherboard/CPU/Power Supply). The Laptop I'm using now does not have Realtek.

gfx said:

hi all,

i've been having this issue ever since i updated my realtek drivers from asus' website. The problem is my audio is now unbalanced, and the left speaker sounds much louder than the right one. It also feels like most of the bass level is coming from the left channel as well. I have the same problem if i use my headphones on the front audio jack.
After many hours trying to resolve this, i've narrowed it down to the audio "enhancements" function, if i turn that off, the balance goes back to normal but i lose much of the audio quality that i like with the alc1150. Plus, everything was working normally before, so i see no reason why i'd have to disable anything at all.

Things i've tried so far:
- reinstalling previous audio drivers, and also clean installing multiple new drivers, i'm currently on version 6.0.1.7968 and still having the same issue.
- pluggin/unplugging my speakers, check cable connections, tried different audio sources, different jacks.
- tried changing the "default format" to different settings.
- i've also did an in-place upgrade to reinstall windows 10.

Right now the only workaround i have is to set the balance 3 points towards the right channel, but i'm getting much quieter sound levels and i lose half the bass, so the final audio balance doesn't feel right at all.
I was wondering whether any of you have had such an issue before, or if you have any idea on how to troubleshoot or resolve it.

Thank you.

when u plug ur headphones in dont push them all the way in just after pushing them all the way in pull it a little tiny bit .....

I dont know why but it worked for me

GFX said:

Hi,

I did a quick search in the registry for Realtek remains but they appear to exist all over the registry both in keys and values, and I hesitated to clean those up manually, mainly because it's impossible to know if I should delete a value or the entire key holding that value.

However, I also browsed through the Asus ROG forums, and found a post by someone having the same exact problem but on a different mobo. Although there is a workaround there, it doesn't seem to solve the underlying issue, and it still involves disabling all enhancements. But at least now I know that I'm not the only one with this issue.

Hopefully Realtek will be able to solve this issue in the future, but I'm not holding my breath since that post in ROG's forums was made more that a year ago!

I will not mark this as solved because there is no solution to the root issue AFAIK.
Thanks for the help fireberd. Please tell me if you have any other suggestions.

If ur still having that Problem
u could just play around a bit with the balance settings