Third-party audio suppression

[RodricMadmann]

Since installing Windows 10 last month, I've had an issue where when running CoH, all audio coming from any another source is suppressed.  The level of suppression is based on the level of sound effects CoH is creating.

 

This only happens with CoH as I've tested the following games: Path of Exile, Warframe, Secret World Legends, Elder Scrolls Online, Diablo 3.

 

This only happens when using a 3.5mm connection, regardless of which of the two jacks I use, and regardless of which of two sets of physical speakers.  It does not happen with my USB headset.

 

I've already tried the following to no avail:

• Updated drivers to the manufacturer's most recent.
  
• Within CoH, switched between compatibility and performance Sound Playback Modes.
  
• Turned off auto volume adjust when windows detects communications activity in Sound->Communications.
  
• Disabled all sound effects in Speaker Properties->Enhancements.
  
• Tested different default audio formats in Speaker Properties->Advanced.
  
• Disabled exclusive mode in Speaker Properties->Advanced.
  
• Turned off Spatial sound format in Speaker Properties->Spatial Sound.
  
• Disabled the autostarting of Xbox Game Bar.
  

 

All of the various settings are mirrored between the speakers and the headset.

 

Attached is the results of a DxDiag.

DxDiag.txt

[goblinite]

I would start with drivers.  You's are 2 years older than Microsoft's latest Realtek drivers.  I would try running the update through your device manager first.  If that doesn't work they can be found here:

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=Realtek%20Semiconductor%20Corp%20MEDIA%202018

 

Don't guarantee that's the issue but it's where to start.

 

Since it also looks like you are using onboard sound you may not be able to run all those programs playing audio at the same time like you could with a dedicated sound card.  It can also be that running CoH in full screen suppresses other audio sources.  Never tried that.  May be worth seeing if the same behavior occurs when running in windowed mode.

[RodricMadmann]

Thanks for the response. 

 

I updated the drivers to Window's most recent.  Same result.

 

I tried CoH in windowed mode.  Same result.

 

Just for clarity, playing music via youtube or foobar isn't completely suppressed.  It is suppressed in direct correlation to the amount of sound output from CoH.  Normal volume during loading screens, dipping down when combat starts, and scaling back up as combat noises slow down.  And CoH is the only game that this happens in conjunction with. With the suppression being smooth, I'm hesitant to attribute it to hardware limits.

 

[goblinite]

I located an article on Maxedtech regarding a similar issue:

http://maxedtech.com/realtek-audio-best-settings-guide/

 

It talks about some settings tweaks to improve performance and reduce dynamic volume adjustments.

[RodricMadmann]

No go on that front too. 

 

Though it did give me the "duh" workaround of just dropping the crap out of CoH's volume and increasing the speakers to compensate for the dynamic drop.

 

Thanks again for the help :)