Speakers Realtek USB 2.0 Audio low volume

[JozunoOnixed]

Hi folks,

I'm looking for help to solve this low volume issue I'm having. My motherboard is ROG Crosshair X670E Hero. I've installed the latest BIOS and drivers. I even reinstalled Windows 11. Despite all this, the device "Speakers Realtek USB 2.0 Audio" that pops up when I plug my speakers to the back of my MB.

That said, something very odd happens when I use the audio jack from my computer case. The audio in my headphones is right, but if I also select it from "Sound Ouput" menu, for some reason it also fixes the volume output from my speakers!. I would appreciate any help. I also posted on Reddit with a clip showing what I described.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ASUSROG/comments/13pk8oe/speakers_realtek_usb_20_audio_low_volume/

[Nate152]

Have you tried setting your headphones as the default device?

Did The Realtek audio driver install Sonic Studio III? You can quickly switch between devices with the device routing feature.

https://www.asus.com/Microsite/mb/ROG-supremefx-gaming-audio/sonic_studio.html

[JozunoOnixed]

If I set it to default, but unplug my headphones, it goes away. Also, for some reason, when I plug it in the Realtek Audio Console ask what I plugged - but only gives a line in and Mic option.

Sonic Studio III did install. I can switch between my speakers and headphones as long as my headphones remain plugged in. Which shouldn't matter.

[JozunoOnixed]

Is there no solutions for this ~$700 motherboard? 😞

[Vega-85]

I have this problem with ROG CROSSHAIR X670E EXTREME ,

Audio on front left and right channel are at low volume almost half as loud as the rest of the speakers on Logitech z906 5.1 channel rear speakers, center and subwoofer are much louder. Sonic Studio 3 pop-up The current system is not supported, or the audio driver has not been properly installed. TIMEOUT. Note When installing Realtek Audio Driver from Realtek USB Audio Driver VB6.3.9600.2342 For Windows 10/11 64-bit. By running setup when asked to restart now or later I don’t choose on or click finish and go to control panel then hardware and sound, click on sound select speakers Realtek USB Audio right clicking test or configure speakers then test sound is fine. Its only when I click restart now that the front left and right channels drop in audio volume.

Tried another 3 3.5mm pin cable for surround sound (green, orange, black) no change.

Tried Logitech Surround Sound Speakers Z506 no change. Using Logitech z906 Did not have this problem with my x99 motherboard (non-asus). Contacted Asus was told that it was a hardware issue and was asked to RMA the motherboard, I got a replacment from amazon seince it was only 20 days. Same problem. So not a hardware issue.  Also Tried all drivers listed with clean installs on both windows 10/11

[daveg13]

I am having the exact same problem on a brand new Crosshair X670E Hero build with new Windows installation. I too have replaced the Motherboard through Amazon with no change to the problem. The build date of the MB's was August and October of 2022. While it seems the motherboard is not the problem so far as being outright defective, it does seem it could be a hardware problem with many production boards. (Maybe not all) 

Like others, I can get the sound level to work correctly by plugging anything into the 3.5mm jack of the case. As soon as I unplug from the case 3.5 jack, the sound level of my speakers connected to the motherboard drops in half.

Vega, I am curious, when  you contacted Asus, did they act like it was a know issue with the hardware? Would be sad to have to RMA a brand new MB I've had for all of 3 days. 

[Vega-85]

Hey daveg13, I tried what you said about the 3.5mm front panel jack on my case. After I plugged in my headphones my front left and right channels of my surround sound my audio shot up to normal volume. Realtek audio console popup line in or mic i, but they are Massdrop X Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones so no microphone on the prong. So I don't know why that popped up the only thing I can think of is maybe because its a headphone/mic combo jack. As soon as I unplug the headphones the front left and right channels drop massively in volume.

As far as what your saying about it may be a production problem with boards from August and October of 2022, I didn't even think of that was just kinda hoping that it was just a driver Issue cause if you manually install the driver setup.exe not asusSetup.exe ( I think) and when it ask you to restart now or later dont click finish. Go to control panel and hardware and sound and in sound right click and test, it sounds normal, but as soon as you restart its back to being low volume. All of that does not seam normal so it could very well be a hardware problem with eairly motherboards Cause both of mine were from October 2022.

So I just called Asus again just now about plugging the headphones into the front panel headphone jack increases audio surround sound from the back of the motherboard. I ask them if there were other cases of customers with this problem. It didn't really sound like it, guy just said if customers had this problem reinstalling the drivers would fix the problem or they would RMA. So maybe? and the first time they were just like sounds like a hardware issue gotta RMA it. So I wander if there are others with Realtek USB audio that don't have this problem or if its just some people. Maybe alot of people don't notice it because they are using Headphones these days?

Yeah I feal you about RMAing a motherboard that you have for a few days or weeks, I am still making payments on this one. Might just get a USB Sound card. FML

[JozunoOnixed]

Hey guys,

Still no luck on this one. 😞 Now that I've using the "multiple features" for the audio options I'm noticed other anomalies. Like when I would boot up, the audio settings that would load on my headphones would be louder than what I had left them at. So not only is the Software crappy as hell. It turns out it's trying output at the right default sounds, but it's then forced to be different.

Asus, How do you make such a terrible piece of software? I love all this fancy options. But it's meaningless if it doesn't work out of the box or has issues. I'm supposed to get remote assistance this week to get it look into. Since the terrible support line (40 min wait time) just wanted me to RMA it. It's clear that something SOFTWARE is wrong.

-Why would plugging my headphone into my computer case jack change the audio volume coming from the speaker?

-Would would my speaker continue to output anything anyways? Typically it defaults to 1 device for outputting...

One thing that I'm curious about is, can this be a BIOS issue? I did some looking around and saw info that said it could be, since it tells what is what on your computer.

I'll update if anything comes out of the remote troubleshooting with Asus. God ****** it. $700 and of all things audio issues exist in 2023 - But a Windows 98 computer runs perfectly fine.

[JozunoOnixed]

Oh, I forgot to ask Vega and Dave, did you guys get a windows not compatible message when you try to install the Asus audio drivers?

This is the driver from the website.

This is the driver from the USB that came with the motherboard.

[Vega-85]

JozunoOnixed, I don't think I ever got that error message. I also never tried installing the drivers that came with the motherboard on the usb stick. Just the 3 drivers listed on their website (more like 2 cause 1 just disables a mixer I think). I am thinking about getting a cheap surround sound reciver that has 4k hdr, dolby vision passthough, and vrr 120Hz and just getting my surround sound through hdmi and being done with it. I still hope ASUS can fix this some how. 

[daveg13]

Sorry for the slow reply. Not a ton new to offer.

Jozuno, I did not get the windows errror that you did. I have installed Windows 11 (both home & pro) on two different new motherboards. (both Crosshair Heros) I have tested with just the default windows audio drivers that get installed by default as well as the latest Realtek drivers from ASUS's driver download page. I have also tested with the original BIOS as provided on the mothertboard fresh from the box as well as retesting once the latest BIOS V1415 was installed. No difference either way. None of these changes made any difference. This is why suspect  a hardware issue at some level. Possibly correctable through an update... BIOS, Audio Drivers, etc. I was tempted to try one more motherboard while I am in the 30 day return period with Amazon, but decided against it. I don't have enough confidence that will make a difference given the time involved for the tear down and re-setup. Everything else about my system has gone very well, so for now I am just leaving a 3.5mm jack plugged in to the headphone jack of my case. It's small and relatively unabtrusive so that is my 'fix' for the time being. 

Vega I think you are right that many others may not use the analog audio output on the back of the motherbaord and don't realize there is even a problem. It's possible some just turned up the speaker volume level (on the speakers) to correct the issue without really thinking that it was a problem at all. I hope to eventually spend some time playing with the drivers by removing and re-installing them and test along the way. Based on how I did the initial setup of Windows I don't have a ton of confidence in that being a solution at present.

If I do run across anything that corrects the problem I will definitely post here with what worked. I doubt I will try RMA'ing the board to ASUS as that seems like a long shot at best and it takes my system down for who knows how long.

Anyway, good luck to both of you. Maybe eventually others will chime in that are having the same issue. Oh I forgot to verify, Vega, you have the Extreme motherboard, not the Hero... right? 

Thanks

Dave