G751 Imbalanced Sound Problem OFFICIAL SUPPORT THREAD (thread closed)

[BRSxIgnition]

I've created this thread to condense the information we've gathered on this issue over the course of the old thread, which can be found here.

Current Fix Status:
Fix Here: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57462-G751-Imbalanced-Sound-Problem-FIX-IS-OUT!

Current Probable Issue Diagnosis:
Regular Signal instead of LFE (Low Frequency Effects) Signal to Subwoofer

Description (In different states):

Installed Drivers (Main Issue):

All speakers "working", but WITH massive imbalance issue.Sub greatly overshadows L/R Speakers & also distorts at volumes above 35%. Can hear sound very faintly coming from L/R speakers with ear pressed up against them.

Uninstalled Drivers (Temporary Fix):

Subwoofer (Only) is default playback device, with L/R Speakers being listed as a separate playback device. Left and Right Speakers working at full volume when selected as default playback device, with no sound
coming from subwoofer. Subwoofer can play audio when selected as default device, but distorts at volume levels above 35%, and does not work in conjunction with rear speakers in this configuration. (Either/Or Situation)

Reinstalled Drivers (Main Issue, Again):

Same effect as "Installed Drivers" every time. (All speakers "working", but WITH the imbalance issue. Sub greatly outpowers L/R Speakers & also distorts at volumes above 35%. Can hear sound very faintly coming from L/R speakers with ear pressed up against them.)

**NEW** Subwoofer Disabled (New Finding/Confirmation):

L/R Speakers can be heard perfectly fine when Subwoofer is disabled using the "Vbcmd_mute_int_woofer" Mute.exe file provided by MarshallR@ASUS on the ROG Forums. Cannot comment on volume level, but volume seems to scale fine without the subwoofer to overshadow it. This confirms the situation is a software issue, and all speakers are physically fine.

This issue is known to arise both brand new "out of box" units as well as on units where the OS has been cloned or reinstalled on a new drive and the ASUS Support Site drivers have been used. All G751 Models can have this issue.

Temporary Fixes:
As mentioned in the description, the speakers still work fine, proving that the issue is Software, not Hardware-related.

To get your Left & Right back speakers working correctly, follow the temporary fix guides below.

**NEW** TEMPORARY FIX - DISABLE SUBWOOFER:

• Download and extract this RAR file.
  
• Make sure you have the ASUS G751 Realtek Drivers installed. You can find them here.
  
• Unzip Vbcmd_mute_int_woofer tool, and run Mute.exe.
  
• If it returns a "Success!" message, your subwoofer should now be disabled.
  
• If you ever need to enable your subwoofer again (when a fix is issued), simply unzip Vbcmd_unmute_int_woofer and run Unmute.exe.
  
• Viola.
  

Enjoy your tinny-back speakers with no sub until we get a fix from ASUS. Until then, keep checking in here for updates, and let us know if you find anything!

Edit by cl-Albert 2/5/15: Very late thanks for looking into this and apologies for the delay, BRSxIgnition.
The new *.7432 G751 audio driver has finally been released, so this thread has been closed (to avoid 2 competing threads) and a new thread started.
If anybody is interested, please post your testing results or comments about this new audio driver at the post below. Thanks!

G751 Imbalanced Sound Problem FIX IS OUT!
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57462-G751-Imbalanced-Sound-Problem-FIX-IS-OUT!

[rmuniak]

Edweird the issues i noted are common, i wasn't unlucky i just got the average laptop. I haven't decided to return it, because i would be without a laptop which i needed. You can clearly live with DVD not aligned with, i can always send it for repasting to get the temp down, or do tweaks (max fan profile, undervolting). For Hitachi drive i can write a software which will always do something on Hitachi drive, thanks to it will stop clicking on idle. Trackpads will probably not come off completely, they are just not glued like in a premium laptop - i can live with that. Bleeds are usually do to the case being to tight for the screen - you can try to flex the case a bit by opening it or flexing manually to help with bleeds. But with sound there is nothing you can do - at least unistalling the drivers and using default realtek ones helps a bit.
I just wasn't expecting so many issues that i would need to deal with, mitigate or just live with. Not for that kind of money. Apart from that, it's a really good piece of harware and i'm quickly getting used to it. It has tons of prons as well.

Sorry for the offtop.

[Edweird]

rmuniak wrote:
Edweird the issues i noted are common, i wasn't unlucky i just got the average laptop. I haven't decided to return it, because i would be without a laptop which i needed. You can clearly live with DVD not aligned with, i can always send it for repasting to get the temp down, or do tweaks (max fan profile, undervolting). For Hitachi drive i can write a software which will always do something on Hitachi drive, thanks to it will stop clicking on idle. Trackpads will probably not come off completely, they are just not glued like in a premium laptop - i can live with that. Bleeds are usually do to the case being to tight for the screen - you can try to flex the case a bit by opening it or flexing manually to help with bleeds. But with sound there is nothing you can do - at least unistalling the drivers and using default realtek ones helps a bit.
I just wasn't expecting so many issues that i would need to deal with, mitigate or just live with. Not for that kind of money. Apart from that, it's a really good piece of harware and i'm quickly getting used to it. It has tons of prons as well.

Sorry for the offtop.

My 4yo N61 has always had the noisy Hitachi drive it has now and its extremely easy to get used to for me. This G751 is no different. I still think you got unlucky - I don't think you can decide that an issue is common based on what you see on these forums (if that is what you're trying to do, that is). There's maybe 20-30 people on here with the issues that you have (at least that's how I see it) and the reason they are here in the first place is because they have those issues. I'm willing to bet most G751 owners will never visit these forums and a lot of people really aren't into computers enough to care if there is some issue with their machine.

Either way, those issues do suck and it sucks that you have to deal with them - next time you might get the one example of a product in the world that doesn't have an issue each and every other one does. My dad's K95 also has a wobbly trackpad but on this G751 it looks like it's welded in there. I also have some tiny bits of light bleed but they're so insignificant they can only be viewed on a completely black screen. This audio situation is weird on several points but we're in the process of dealing with it, at least. The materials and general quality is good for me.

Like I said earlier, I doubt ASUS will continue selling the G751 product line for a year while not fixing its issues - which is, of course, no excuse for the unlucky bunch who got defective equipment.

[Sanctrum]

rmuniak wrote:
Edweird the issues i noted are common, i wasn't unlucky i just got the average laptop. I haven't decided to return it, because i would be without a laptop which i needed. You can clearly live with DVD not aligned with, i can always send it for repasting to get the temp down, or do tweaks (max fan profile, undervolting). For Hitachi drive i can write a software which will always do something on Hitachi drive, thanks to it will stop clicking on idle. Trackpads will probably not come off completely, they are just not glued like in a premium laptop - i can live with that. Bleeds are usually do to the case being to tight for the screen - you can try to flex the case a bit by opening it or flexing manually to help with bleeds. But with sound there is nothing you can do - at least unistalling the drivers and using default realtek ones helps a bit.
I just wasn't expecting so many issues that i would need to deal with, mitigate or just live with. Not for that kind of money. Apart from that, it's a really good piece of harware and i'm quickly getting used to it. It has tons of prons as well.

Sorry for the offtop.

Could you please tell the manufacturing date of your G751? Also where have you bought it. At x-kom.pl or else?

[rmuniak]

Sanctrum wrote:
Could you please tell the manufacturing date of your G751? Also where have you bought it. At x-kom.pl or else?

Yes from x, manufacturing date is 10/2014.

[Edweird]

That's a good midway decision, to be honest.
I won't be returning mine. But returning and rebuying may mean you get a newer machine...

[BRSxIgnition]

Tonight or tomorrow I'll be organizing my return with Amazon and shipping this thing out to them.

It's been fun, but I don't move around enough to spend this much on a gaming laptop, so I'll be getting the Tier 3 Nvidia Greenbox GTX instead. (Costs $450 less for me, and is more powerful.)

[thamann2000]

Alienware 17 is shipping to me in 10 days. Seems to have everything I need!

[x7007]

Is the Alienware 17 is better performance than the Asus G751JT ?

[sk3tch]

x7007 wrote:
Is the Alienware 17 is better performance than the Asus G751JT ?

No. It's just a different machine - which has its own set of potential issues. 🙂

I'm really happy with my G751...it's an amazing machine. Perfectly designed and mine is pretty much flawless. Funny, too - since mine was open box at NewEgg. I actually figured that was a "safer" way to go than new - because I heard of a lot of initial quality issues with this machine (bad keys, dead pixels, etc. - relatively minor stuff).

Anyway, the cooling system is unmatched. I am not interested in being able to upgrade my GPU (MXM-compatibility missing) - so it's great.

Anyway - back on topic...I guess I have some issues with the sound, but I use headphones. Sure, the touchpad isn't perfect, but I use a gaming mouse. 🙂

[thamann2000]

I only proposed the alienware 17 because I thought it met most people's needs. I can't speak for everyone but the ch71 was perfect for me (if working) because it had 16gb of ram, an IPS screen, great cooling, and good support. Well the alienware has all of that plus high quality sound and an optional touchscreen. The cooling is great, the weight is reduced, and dell customer service has legitimately gotten better. I made an order online and before sending my order I chatted online. Told them what I wanted and asked for a deal. They gave me one $1700 out the door with touchscreen, true life display, 16gb ram. I have zero use for an optical drive and got an amazing deal on an m.2 ssd. After buying that and getting the dell reward money back it's almost a wash. Plus. Alienwares just look cool. But for the record, if ASUS had fixed the issue in the last 70+ days since I opened three escalations I would've just stayed with Asus.