Windows 11 Spatial sound of Windows Sonic appears broken in games

Question

Hello,

On W10 - there are no issues with my soundcard+headphones and spatial sounds. All perfect.

I've upgraded to W11 and using realtek soundcard.

After upgrading, all spatial sounds behind my character whilst gaming became much (could not be heard basically) too soft. Also gained a tinny quality.

1. Adjusting settings of enhance audio Off-On had - No effect.
2. Reinstalling realtek drivers - No effect
3. Enabled Windows Sonic for headphones Spatial sounds - No effect. Because this appears to be what is causing the issue. Native W11 spatial does not work (perhaps in conjunction with realtek).
4. Adjusted channels ingame from 5.1 to 7.1 and back - No effect

5. Then I tried the trial version of Dolby Atmos for Headphones for spatial sounds - Fixed the whole issue.

W10 - All works fine, spatial sounds fine.

W11 - Spatial does not work regardless of settings, unless I purchase Dolby Atmos for Headphones set.

This cannot be the solution :)

Does someone have some troubleshooting ideas we could try? I'd rather not give Dolby my money for a windows bug.

Found a few reddit posts with the same issue.

Thank you kindly

Answer 1

Hi Wafflebane,

Welcome to Microsoft Forum and many thanks for your testing and perfect feedback!

Does your Sony headset experience this type of problem in all games or just one game? Have you tried to replace the headset of a different brand? This may be caused by the incompatibility of a certain game with Windows 11.

At present, we have not heard more people's feedback on such issues, but we will continue to pay attention. So, we must figure out whether it is about the compatibility of the headset or the compatibility of a certain game with Windows 11. Thanks again for your feedback!

Happy holidays. Have a good day!

Best Regards,

Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you for your response.

I've installed a few games overnight based on your compatibility comment and the results are pretty clear.

Vermintide 2 seems to be having the specific issue when using Windows Sonic for Headphones.

Valheim - Spatial works

Fallout 4 - Spatial works

Headphones are - Sennheiser HD 599

https://www.reddit.com/r/Windows11/comments/qjoj8d/why_is_windows_11_forcing_71_surround_sound_on/ Here are a few folks experiencing the same issue with several games.

Apex legends

AC valhalla

Vermintide 2 in my case

Unfortunately I only have the one headset to try it with.

Performing a spatial audio test with youtube shows little to no difference between Windows Sonic for Headphones and Dolby Atmos.

I imagine it is exactly as you say, compatibility issue with a game and W11 itself.

I will engage with game devs. Thank you for your assistance and time.

Answer 3

You're an idiot thanks for nothing.