Can ASUS Support Fix Realtek Audio Drivers with Bongiovi Support?

[achugh]

Dear Support,

CURRENT STATUS WITH ALL ISSUES IS IN

https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-motherboards/can-asus-support-fix-realtek-audio-drivers-with-bo...

I am owner of ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO motherboard. I have the latest v6.3.9600.2368 drivers installed. I have been having the following issues with this driver:

1. If I do not install Armoury Crate or if I uninstall Bongiovi Drivers after installing Armoury Crate due to issue (see below about the Bongiovi issues) then I am left with a broken driver. This is because "ExtRtXUsb_Asus_BJ_RTK.inf" driver file included in this version of the package has the RENDER APO FX for %PKEY_CompositeFX_StreamEffectClsid% set to Bongiovi APO ONLY.
   1. I am referring to line no. 63 in this file. It should have both the Realtek and Bongiovi SFX. Currently it only has Bongiovi SFX.
   2. Basically we need to change "HKR,InterfaceSetting\SysCustomizedFx\FX\0,%PKEY_CompositeFX_StreamEffectClsid%,%REG_MULTI_SZ%,%MB_RENDER_SFX_APO%" TO "HKR,InterfaceSetting\SysCustomizedFx\FX\0,%PKEY_CompositeFX_StreamEffectClsid%,%REG_MULTI_SZ%,%MB_RENDER_SFX_APO%,REALTEK_SFX_CLSID"
   3. This is because this is a composite key and can hold multiple value so making it similar to line no. 65 gives us the customers the option to use the installed APOs in the order listed on line no. 63
      
      
2. Does the Realtek Drivers do not support other Windows Modes like MEDIA, MOVIE, COMMUNICATION, SPEECH and NOTIFICATION?
   1. If they do support them, why are they not mentioned in the RENDER configuration for %PKEY_SFX_ProcessingModes_Supported_For_Streaming% or line no. 66 so that Windows can apply different EQ settings for each of the audio modes.
      
      
   2. I noticed that even Bongiovi drivers are not adding this support but some of your older motherboards with DTS APOs supported these modes properly and I would like to see them on my premium motherboard. Before buying the board I did not realize these audio limitations.
      
      
3. The driver is not specifying the configuration for OFFLOAD Mode Support as well. Can the following lines get added to the RENDER configuration? With high quality ES9218 and ALC4082 I am hoping the processing can be offloaded to hardware for better results.
   1. "HKR,InterfaceSetting\SysCustomizedFx\FX\0,%PKEY_CompositeFX_Offload_StreamEffectClsid%,%REG_MULTI_SZ%,%REALTEK_OSFX_CLSID%" where REALTEK_OSFX_CLSID needs to be defined and supported.
   2. "HKR,InterfaceSetting\SysCustomizedFx\FX\0,%PKEY_CompositeFX_Offload_ModeEffectClsid%,%REG_MULTI_SZ%,%REALTEK_OMFX_CLSID%" where REALTEK_OMFX_CLSID needs to be defined and supported.
   3. "HKR,InterfaceSetting\SysCustomizedFx\FX\0,%PKEY_SFX_Offload_ProcessingModes_Supported_For_Streaming%,%REG_MULTI_SZ%,%AUDIO_SIGNALPROCESSINGMODE_DEFAULT%"
   4. "HKR,InterfaceSetting\SysCustomizedFx\FX\0,%PKEY_MFX_Offload_ProcessingModes_Supported_For_Streaming%,%REG_MULTI_SZ%,%AUDIO_SIGNALPROCESSINGMODE_DEFAULT%,%AUDIO_SIGNALPROCESSINGMODE_MEDIA%,%AUDIO_SIGNALPROCESSINGMODE_MOVIE%,%AUDIO_SIGNALPROCESSINGMODE_NOTIFICATION%"
      
      
4. I am using Front Panel connector to connect my Headset (SONY MDR-XB950), it is not the one in DTS Sound Unbound app as the ones in it are MDR-XB950N1 or MDR-XB950B1 and I don't have those variant versions, but it is close enough.
   1. The microphone volume from the HD Audio Combo Front Panel (My case is ASUS ProArt PA602) is extremely low.
   2. I also get loud pops whenever the microphone is enabled. See https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-motherboards/re-rog-maximus-z790-dark-hero-low-microphone-volum... with pictures of these loud pops in the capture.
   3. I have even enabled the max 30db Mic Boost and even that is not helping.
   4. I had installed the Two-Way Noise Cancelling but has uninstalled it as can be seen in this thread and I am still not able to figure out where the volume of my microphone is getting lost.
   5. This headset is reported with low impedance. The value is shown between 22 and 60 Ohms and the headset is rated at 32 Ohms; from my recollection. This means that it is an efficient headset which requires less current to work at its peak and optimum quality and I am having worst issues with it.
   6. Can someone on your team look into what is causing the volume to be dropped? Gaming is not possible as no one can hear me and that is a big disappointment with this premium gaming board.
      
      
5. I am also noticing that if I change my headphone output format from 48Khz 24Bits to anything else, I lose about 50% of the volume.
   1. I believe the Volume Curves for other formats are not defined and Windows defaults to some volume curve that does not match the hardware which then affects the perceived volume loss of 50% or more.
   2. I believe these volume curves are defined in RtDUsbAD_asus.inf file.
   3. Maybe things are not working because in this version the "Realtek Universal Audio Service" even though is set to Start Automatically does not start upon reboot due to service defining having quotes. See RealtekService.inf file at line no 61. This issue I see is fixed in the v6.3.9600.2379 that is release for some other motherboard but not yet for my motherboard.
   4. Maybe, having this service running will fix my issue with volume drop if any other format is selected.
      
      
6. Similarly, for Microphone Format, if I chose anything other than 48KHz 24 Bits all I get is either static noise or no sound from the microphone.
   1. I see values up to 192KHz at 24 Bits but I cannot use any of the higher quality values.
   2. Can this issue be fixed? Maybe it is also related to the previous issue of service not running and will get fixed when you release updated versions for my motherboard as well.
      
      
7. The officially published driver on the ASUS Support downloads has couple of mistakes or issues.
   1. In the UWP folder, the INSTALL.BAT file has a mistake where it installs the DTS app and the immediately tries to uninstall it.
   2. Basically line no. 8 needs to be moved to line no. 18 and the another line to wait for 12 seconds need to be added so the installation of the DTS app completes in the background and the process is not killed. After this fix, the file looks like below
      
      

      @Echo Install Realtek Audio Driver Please Wait ...
      @Echo on
      @Echo dism online install DTS Sound Unbound appx files

      %~d0
      cd %~dp0

      REG ADD "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.PowerShell" /f /v "ExecutionPolicy" /d "RemoteSigned" /t REG_SZ

      powershell -executionpolicy bypass -File .\remove_and_install_DTSSUWP.ps1

      REG DELETE "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.PowerShell" /v "ExecutionPolicy" /f

      
      @Ping 127.0.0.1 -n 12 -w 1000 > nul

      dism.exe /online /Add-ProvisionedAppxPackage /PackagePath:"77ebcb3cc75d4261bade64b63bb84bf9.appxbundle" /LicensePath:"77ebcb3cc75d4261bade64b63bb84bf9_License1.xml" /DependencyPackagePath:"Microsoft.NET.Native.Framework.2.2_2.2.29512.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.appx" /DependencyPackagePath:"Microsoft.NET.Native.Runtime.2.2_2.2.28604.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.appx" /DependencyPackagePath:"Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00_14.0.30704.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.appx"

      @Ping 127.0.0.1 -n 12 -w 1000 > nul

      cd ..
      @Echo Done

      exit /b
      
      

   3. Next under UWP\CONFIG\PIN\run folder the AsusSetup.exe file is missing. This file can be copied from any folder as there are multiple copies of this file.
      1. Because of this missing file "Realtek Audio Console" is not getting pinned to the START menu.
      2. This missing file is needed because the INSTALL.BAT file in UWP\CONFIG\PIN folder is trying call AsusSetup.exe in Silent mode and that file is missing from the RUN folder.
      3. Hopefully, this easy fix can be included when you release the v6.3.9600.2379 for my motherboard.

BONGIOVI DRIVER ISSUES

I am sure by now you would have seen numerous people complaining about loud pops with these APOs which is why I have tried to uninstall them. They are not easy to uninstall also.

1. Can the installation and uninstallation of them be supported with a windows installer or something in Armoury Crate to make this task easier as a short-term workaround?
2. Also, can the Motherboard SDK be split so that it does not install this driver automatically and you make it a customer choice?
3. With my limited knowledge, I believe all APOs work on the concept of buffering the audio data and I don't think Bongiovi Drivers are any different. I suspect these loud pops for BOTH Rendering and Capture are happening because these drivers DO NOT clear or ZERO out the buffer and there is a buffer overflow or dirty buffer that gets flushed when the audio starts and these APOs get triggered by Windows Audio Chain. Since these buffers have junk data that gets flushed, that's what comes across as this pop when either the speaker or the microphone is turned on for audio streaming or capture via the software. I believe create a buffer with 0x00 (ZEROS) at the beginning of the stream (Render or Capture) should solve the pop issues. This way the buffer does not have any junk or dirty data when it gets flushed.

-Amit

Tagging #ROG, #Motherboard, #Z790, #Z790 Dark Hero

[achugh]

REGARDING TOPIC No. 7 (quote for quick reference)

The officially published driver on the ASUS Support downloads has couple of mistakes or issues.

What type of recording or screenshots do you need? I already shared the issue. The problem here is that DTS SoundUnbound App is NOT installed and the Realtek Audio Control App is NOT PINNED to the Start Menu. Here is my attempt to show you the original vs fix.

I have already shared the fixed install.bat file in my very first post. See the file difference between the original vs the fixed installer. LEFT side is original. RIGHT side is fixed. This can be seen the screenshot of the folder names being compared towards the top.

This screenshot shows the missing file that has to be manually copied. I have highlighted the RUN folder on the LEFT which is missing the file shown in PURPLE on right that I copied. There are couple of copies of this file in the ZIP file. Since they are all the same it does not matter which one gets copied to this RUN folder.

Here' the fixed install.bat file which is shown in RED. I have already provided this fixed install file as text in my first post for anyone else to easy copy around.

On the LEFT is the original. Here you can see that the DTS SoundUnound App is first installed on line no 8. Then on line no 13 it is being removed. It is best to remove any installation first and then do a fresh install. Which is what I have changed on the right side. I added the delays assuming that is what is needed and how your development and QA team in ASUS is building these installers. This worked for me.

[achugh]

REGARDING Bongiovi APO Drivers (Refer to Topic No 4 above, part a that talks about installation problems with getting these drivers installed correctly)

Multiple posts on this forum about Bongiovi drivers causing issues. Some of which have been solved other resulted towards uninstalling these drivers.

First, I also uninstalled these drivers using the following commands with "Command Prompt" running as administrator.

%windir%/system32/pnputil /delete-driver %_OEMFILE% /uninstall /force

I run the above command TWICE to remove both the INF files installed. For details, please see Re: ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero Low Microphone Volu... - Republic of Gamers Forum - 1019225 (asus.com...

When I uninstalled these drivers, while the driver files were deleted, not everything about Bongiovi got removed as it left behind files (see Solved: Re: Bongiovi Acoustics/audio enhancements causes p... - Page 10 - Republic of Gamers Forum -...)

In my constant attempt to find a proper uninstaller, I was finally able to figure out that the MbLedSDK version 3.0.25 file contains the installation of these drivers. I uninstalled Armoury Crate (which has now left my Armoury Crate to get into a constant spinner with loading; so a new problem has shown up), I was able to use debugging tools to find the following:

1. If I uninstall Armoury Crate and half install Bongiovi i.e. only the DriverStore files were removed but everything else in terms of things in the registry and files on the drive are all still there; installing Armoury Crate again DOES NOT reinstall these Bongiovi Drivers. So, be very careful in uninstalling these INF files.
2. Next, I went to "C:\Program Files\BongioviMBApp" folder and saw the INF files and CAT file here. I thought I should manually try to install them. When I RIGHT CLICK on any of the INF file in this folder and choose INSTALL from the popup menu, I get a warning that these drivers are not trusted. This made me think that something with respect to a clean install on a brand new machine must have gone wrong because these INF files were installed at least once.
3. As I continue my debugging to my surprise, I found that while the INF files installed first time on a fresh installation do use the correct CAT file, what gets copied to this folder for future reference or reinstallation is actually wrong due to an INSTALLATION DEFECT.

Here's the defect. I still don't understand what causes it. The files copied to "C:\Program Files\BongioviMBApp" folder are for some reason X86 versions and not the X64 version of the files. Somehow, the Bongiovi SDK file copied to "C:\Windows\System32\Bongiovi\MB" folder is the correct X64 version that goes with the INF files. Since the files in the application folder at "C:\Program Files\BongioviMBApp" are the wrong X86 version, the Windows Startup Application named "RoutingService" is now running with X86 version. I believe it loads the wrong X86 versions of the files including the X86 version of the SDK. This X86 version is not able to work with the X64 version of the BongioviAPO.dll from the Windows System folder at "C:\Windows\System32\Bongiovi\MB" which got correctly installed.

So, my theory is that the installer mixed up things on this motherboard as part of the MbLedSDK version 3.00.25 and this is causing all sorts of issues for people.

To show these wrong versions, here's a screenshot.

This first screenshot is showing on LEFT the folder I dumped and backed up after a fresh clean install. The RIGHT side is the dump of files used by the installer inside the MbLedSDK v3.00.25. As you can see everything is matching to the X86 version except APO dll which is shown in RED.

Here's another screenshot showing LEFT side with files installed by the installer and RIGHT side now using X64 versions.

Everything is now RED and nothing is matching as expected since they all matched to the X86 versions.

NOTE: I have not shared these installer files because I am not sure if my analysis is correct. I am still testing things out but installing the correct files have definitely starting to solve few problems for me i.e. my Microphone Volume is now normal rather than being extremely low.

REQUEST TO ASUS DEVELOPMENT TEAM

I love the fact that you are now using Windows Batch files and Powershell scripts. This helps people like me in the community to solve the issues quickly together. Can you please make these installers accessible easily? There is no easy way to download and save Armoury Crate files. Can you please add an option to "Save and Download Only" but not install? Also, the MbLedSDK is a native InstallShield installer. This makes it really hard for armatures like me to extract and investigate what it is doing. Maybe you can think about converting this installer to script based installer because it took me 4 days just to figure out how I can get access to these files for simple comparison.

Lastly, the MbLedSDK does not perform force installation i.e. if I uninstall Armoury Crate, these Bongiovi stuff is not uninstalled. Similarly, when I reinstall, there is no reinstallation happening. What I have observed is that the installer checks something in the registry or some file that is left behind by the Armoury Crate and does not even attempt to run the Bongiovi Installation again. Only time it works is on a fresh installation of Windows 11.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @achugh 

Thank you for providing comprehensive information and corresponding explanations. 
I have compiled the seven questions and related discussions and submitted them to the relevant team, and I believe that you would understand that verifying these issues may take some time. 
If there are any responses or further inquiries to confirm, I will update this thread promptly. 
Kindly feel free to supplement any additional information to this discussion at any time as well.

Thank you in advance for your patience.

[achugh]

Hi @Jiaszzz_ROG , 

I understand it will take time for the team to look into these issues and request. In order to troubleshoot and find the installation issue with MbLedSDK v3.00.25 I tried to uninstall and reinstall Armoury Crate. While that did not help as the installation does not uninstall or perform a force installation of Bongiovi Drivers, I created a new problem that now my Armoury Crate Motherboard device is no longer showing. It simply shows LOADING message. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Armoury Crate multiple times but have not figured out what is failing.

Can you please suggest what should I do at this time short of formatting Windows all over and starting fresh?

-Amit

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @achugh 

Apologies for the delayed response.
We have investigated the first issue you raised:
Our relevant department confirmed that after installing the official website drivers, there is a noticeable change in the Amplify level when adjusted in the Realtek Audio Console UWP, as shown in the link provided.
***Due to the unclear audio changes in the video, additional recordings were made.
Through screenshots of the recorded audio signal, you can observe the sound changes, contrary to what you described as ineffective.

If you are still experiencing this issue, we recommend recording a video of the complete installation and testing steps for further analysis.

Regarding the loading circle in the Armoury Crate, is this something that has been happening consistently since installation, and if you reboot the system and wait for a while (for example, half an hour or an hour), does it still spin without accessing the interface?
Could you please provide screenshots or more detailed descriptions of the situation, such as where you downloaded the Armoury Crate  from and what version you installed?
You may also consider testing it on a fresh or restored system configuration.

Thank you.

[Warryor3D]

I returned to the default driver of ASUS I did not use those of the forum, the Z790 has behavioral problems, while Antens used the Z790hero with the driver of the forum everything was going very well.

https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-motherboards/re-logitech-z906-encoded-sound-using-z790-dark-her...

Podrías experimentar esto en tu configuración, si usas salida óptica, solo busca un video con un sonido codificado o una película de alta calidad ya que vienen con sonidos codificados, y si la cosa te pasa como el video que comparto el problema va Be at the Board Z790 Dark Hero. Viene con problemas de firma.

[achugh]

Hi @Jiaszzz_ROG thank for you sharing this update. I downloaded the file from your development team and did hear a difference like it is shown in the waveform as well.

I believe the test done by your team is not the same as my problem. My understanding is the ASUS team tested the sound connecting an external speaker and then recording the sound using a different device like a phone or another computer to show the volume difference. I would love to know where did the ASUS team connect these speakers? To the Front Panel connector or the REAR PANEL connector? If it is the REAR PANEL, which COLOR connector was used for sound output to the speaker?

To reproduce my issue, the ASUS team would need to connect a HEADSET in the front panel connector. As a reminder, a header is the used for phones which comes with a headphone a microphone all in one device and has a 3 PIN connector that goes properly into the ASUS PROART PA602 front panel audio connector on the case.

Because I am listening on the headset, I get NO CHANGE in volume using the AMPLIFY LEVEL at all. Can your team confirm that the volume changes are not observed when using headset? FYI, I also have the DTS SoundUnbound app installed and activated in case DTS Headphone portion of the audio chain is breaking this setting? Here's how the Windows SOUND SETTINGS look like for me at the moment.

I have tried everything including the official 6.3.9600.2368 version of the drivers and there is no difference in the headset volume. I have even tried to disable spatial sound OFF to disable DTS and that does not help. In fact as @Warryor3D reported above, spatial sounds are not making a difference at all. Now changing the headset I am using inside the DTS SoundUnbound App does make a difference in the sound profile i.e. it affects the way low frequencies in DTS SoundUnbound test clip sound. So I can confirm that DTS SoundUnbound is able to change and affect the sound however, Realtek console is not able to make any changes.

Since there are no audible changes observed in the headset, I am not sure what exactly is needed by your team. If you can get me specifics, I would be more than happy to comply and provide the needed information.

[achugh]

Hi @Jiaszzz_ROG I also wanted to share that I have completely formatted my Windows machine (not reinstalled keeping original files but actually formatting the drive losing every file on the drive and doing a proper fresh install). When I did the most recent fresh installed I used the Windows 11 Pro 23H2 ISO file while staying 100% disconnected from the network. Here are my findings from this fully clean install:

I disabled Armourmy Crate and MyASUS installation in BIOS so that when the Windows installation is finished, nothing is injected into Windows and I can start fully fresh.

1. With no drivers installed (not even the Intel Chipset Drivers), I observed that my headset was sounding the same i.e. has a proper volume like it was when the Audio Drivers were installed later. At this point, I noticed that I have the default usb2audio drivers installed from Microsoft just to get basic sound working.
   1. I did however observe that my Microphone was having the low volume and initial loud POP (the waveforms have been provided in this thread already).
   2. On a different machine where I had internet connectivity I did some searching and found https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/674744/realtek-usb-audio-2-0 where it was mentioned that Realtek ALC40XX drivers are having issues going in and out of power states. So, I thought maybe the Realteck ALC4082 chip on the Z790 DARK HERO has something similar happening on the CAPTURE side used by the Microphone and I went into BIOS 1202 and disabled every Power Managed settings I could find. I even changed the USB SELECTIVE SUSPEND setting of the Power Profile to DISABLED. I even TURNED OFF FAST START and Hibernation was disabled by default anyways on a fresh install. Making all these changes did not help at all with the Microphone POPS.
   3. Since I was disconnected from the internet, when I tried to start the "VOICE RECORDER" app, it gave me an error that it needs to be updated so I could not record these POPS as a waveform.
   4. My way to testing that these pops are happening were as follows (this is because I could not record anything that I can later playback in such a vanilla state).
      1. I went to Windows 11 newer Sound Settings (see below). Here when I click on START TEST, windows will report the volume of the sound it detected. I will get 0% volume indicating the Microphone Volume is extremely low.
         
         
      2. Next, I observed that once the stop the test and then click on "START TEST" a 2nd time, I will see the microphone volume bar in BLUE spike up all the way for a brief moment and then will not show move. In these case windows reported the volume between 45 and 47% attributing to the initial POP as part of the sound it was recording when in fact that is the bad sound that should not be recorded at all.
      3. In this thread, I have shared that I was NOT ABLE TO PREVIOUSLY figure out why causes the AUDIO BUFFERS to not clear. Well after reading this article which confirmed that power states have something to do with this Realtek Chip, I now have 100% reproducible state. If anyone DISABLES FAST START and then SHUTDOWN the machine. Windows will do a clean shutdown, clearing all buffers and power states. After waiting for 15 seconds or longer (let the small energy in the audio capacitors to also dissipate), a COLD start will give me 1 CLEAN recording where the microphone WILL NOT have a loud pop in the beginning. All subsequent recordings from the microphone will always start with a loud pop.
   5. This reminds me of the Intel HDMI Audio issue where even today, installing the Intel GFX drivers have a check if Intel AudioFix registry entry is needed or not which can be observed by running any Intel GFX driver installer package in the last 15 years including the most recent one from Intel at https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/785597/intel-arc-iris-xe-graphics-windows.html which still has this check. Maybe Realtek did something non-standard that requires some special registry fix to tell OOTB MS Drivers to know how to deal with low microphone volume as well as these loud pops when starting the microphone.
2. Anyway, I continued with the clean windows install by first enabling all the power saving settings I had disabled since at this point they did not make any difference. I followed the following driver installation order.
   1. Intel Chipset Drivers
   2. Intel Management Engine (ME) Consumer
   3. Intel Serial-IO
   4. Intel I226 Gigabit Ethernet
   5. Intel WiFi
   6. Intel Thunderbolt
   7. Realtek Audio
   8. Intel Graphics Accelerator
   9. Intel Bluetooth
   10. Intel Dynamic Tuning Technology (DTT)
   11. Wacom Intous PTZ 630
   12. Logitech Setpoint
   13. Logitech Options
   14. nVidia RTX 4090 (Studio Drivers)
   15. EIZO ColorNavigator 7
       
       
3. After this clean install, I have the exact same issue. Basically, my issue #4 above where I said, it was partially fixed by fixing the Realtek Audio Universal Service to start automatically is NO LONGER working. In fact, after a shutdown and restart the fix stopped working. So, it only worked very briefly or maybe I did not test enough.
4. At the moment, I DO NOT have Armory Crate installed and hence have NO TRACES of Bongiovi drivers. I have concluded the problem is in the Realtek Drivers or the Realtek Chip and not in Bongiovi drivers.
   1. It seems Realtek has fixed the RENDER side pops in the past 2-3 years going by this Microsoft Community post talking about SPEAKER (RENDER) pops that are no longer happening.
   2. Can Realtek team also look into solving the Microphone (CAPTURE) side pops as well?
   3. Also, the Microphone volume is overly suppressed even when microphone volume is 100 and the boost is set to + 30 db.

Why do I care about this microphone loud pop and low volume?

I cannot game at all since the microphone sends these loud pops only. Other than the pops, no one is able to hear me at all hence I am looking for a solution instead of spending for another USB Audio hardware when my premium motherboard already should be able to do bare minimum needs of basic audio in today's world.

[achugh]

Hi @Jiaszzz_ROG , I can also confirm that if I simply plug in my headset into the REAR GREEN connector labeled "Front Speaker Out" then the AMPLIFY LEVEL is working. See screenshot of Realtek Audio Control showing in WHITE where I plugged in my headset below. The unused connectors are showing in GREY color including the Front Panel as there is nothing connected in this test.

In this configuration of using a REAR OUT (FRONT SPEAKER OUT) connector with the following Speaker Configuration of STEREO, I can confirm the AMPLIFY LEVEL does work which like I said in my previous post is NOT my setup. I am trying to use HEADPHONES from the front panel where this AMPLIFY LEVEL is not working.

Here you can also notice that the LEFT side of the MENU shows SPEAKERS (SELECTED AND HIGHTED WITH RED BAR IN THE MENU AREA) and NO MICROPHONE because I am using the REAR Speaker Out.

When I connect my headset to the Front Panel this same screen shows like below

If you notice above, the device has changed from SPEAKERS to HEADPHONES and Microphone has also shown up as a device. In this configuration, the AMPLIFY LEVEL does nothing or does not work.

Now my device information is shown below. See FRONT PANEL GREEN connector is highlighted in WHITE color and everything else is shown in GREY color. I have selected MIC IN as the input level for my microphone for my headset when windows notification pops up asking what type of device have I connected to the front panel connector.

I believe the Realtek Drivers have the DEVICE routing messed up for HEADPHONE device. I am referring to RtDUsbAD_asus.inf and ExtRtXUsb_Asus_BJ_RTK.inf file which I believe has the Windows configuration mistake causing Headphones to not work properly.

I do not understand Windows Device Driver development to exactly point out the mistake so this is my best guess that these two files require some adjustment.

NOTE: I have done this test on a freshly cleaned machine with no Armoury Crate or Bongiovi Drivers installed. Hence, this issue is in the BASE Realtek Driver package as I mentioned in my very first thread with all the issues in the base driver package that needs help.

REQUEST TO ASUS DEVELOPMENT TESTING TEAM

Can your team, attach the same speakers they connected in the rear to the front panel and confirm if they hear the volume increase? When they do connect the speakers in the front panel, please FIRST MAKE SURE in Realtek Audio Console the speaker is listed as HEADPHONE and not as a SPEAKER. The routing mistake is for the device type HEADPHONE.

Looking forward to the next update from your team.

[Warryor3D]

How to get the Realtek audio control screen?
In my case, it is not shown, it is always damaged.