Low audio on games but system and media volume are loud and working correctly win11

Question

on most of the games i have installed, the volume is rather low in comparison to the system sounds and media players etc. i've recently installed Red Dead Redemption 2 (via Steam) and the volume is so low, i can barely hear the characters speak, when the game and system sound is at 100%.

when i do the audio test in settings/system sound/headphones and speakers, the test sound is loud and clear. i have checked and upped all the in-game audio settings to 100% and still no better. i have checked the sound mixer and all apps and game levels are at 100%. i have checked all the advanced settings for the headphones and speakers and disabled all the recommended settings (according to various Q&A suggestions, forums and youtube vids etc), with no change. i have disabled each audio device, then enabled one audio device at a time and still the same. i have tried soft start (not sure what its called, but disabled all startup apps, all microsoft services, like safe boot) and still the same. i have checked for driver updates, none. done a system update, still the same. done the audio troubleshooting app several times, and it found no issues, but still the same issue. i normally use a logiteck g535 gaming headset. i have tried a wired set of beats headphones in the audio out port on the front of the pc and in the bose pc speaker headphone out and its still the same.

out of all the games i have installed, only forza horizon 5 has a decent volume. on that game, i have the system (including game) volume to 75% and the media player (winamp) to 75%. on all the other games (far cry 4-6, halo master chief, cyberpunk 2077, assetto corsa, and more), the system volume is set to 100% and media player if on, it is at 30%. but in RDR2 the media volume is down to 10% and i struggle to hear the characters speak. even with the media player off, its still very hard to hear and makes playing the game very difficult, when im trying to learn how to play it, as im new to it.

anyone know how i can fix this issue? as you can see from above, i have tried one or two suggestions/tricks.

thanks

Answer 1

Kindly check these settings:

Right-click RDR2 in Steam > Properties > Audio > Make sure "Use game volume" is enabled.

Right click on Speaker icon > Sound settings > Spatial sound and turn it off.

You may test with a different audio device (speakers, another headset, etc.) to see if it's headset-specific.

In RDR2, go to Settings > Audio > Reset to Default and restart the game

Answer 2

You didn't mention what kind of speaker system you're using. If you're using any sort of "gaming" speaker like Logitech or similar then they almost always have their own custom app for managing sound settings. An easy test for this is to go get a basic headset or desktop speaker and plug it in. Then switch Windows to use it. If it works then the issue is with your hardware. If that still doesn't help then I'd lean towards a Windows issue.

For gaming output hardware run their app and check to see if they have "profiles" for various games. In general this allows them to make custom adjustments to the audio based upon the game involved. For example some games may be unnaturally loud so they may automatically apply a setting to lower the volume a little. This completely depends on the hardware and games of course.

Another area where I've seen problems before is with surround sound (SS). If a game is configured for SS then the volume is dynamic between the various speakers. Check to see if the game is configured for SS and that your hardware supports it and it is enabled.

Related to SS is having the wrong combination set. Many games ask for what type of output you're using (e.g. headset, SS, etc). If you selected SS but the headset/speaker doesn't support it then you get muffled sounds. Ensure any in-game options line up with what your output device is using. Personally I tend to start with mono output and move to 5.1/7.1 layouts until I can identify the issue.

I have found that, on gaming output devices, they tend to provide options for dynamic effects or "real" SS or equivalent. These can get in the way of the regular audio so disable any advanced options provided by the gaming device to see if that is causing a conflict.

Lastly is the microphone. Many good microphones provide noise cancelling and no-talk back. The non-talk back is particularly important because it filters out your microphone from the audio you hear. However if microphone is active and set really sensitive then it is possible the hardware is picking up background noises as input from you and it might dampen the output you're hearing. Ensure you are testing without the microphone enabled for now.

Answer 3

in my case, i have found the answer to my issue.

when i disabled "Device Default Effects in the System/Sounds, Headset Properties, the audio was louder. but as soon as i removed the headset dongle and reinserted it or restarted the pc, the "Device Default Effects" option, automatically re-enabled itself. i couldn't find any guides etc on how to disable this in the regedit of system files. so i done the next best thing.

i simply uninstalled Logitech G Hub (as i only use it for the headset) and the "Audio Enhancements" and therefore the "Device Default Effects" options disappeared from the "Headset Properties" page and the volume is now louder.